| medialifemagazine.com Younger viewers
But during the 1970s, PBS had the hippest kids’ show on the air, “The Electric Company,” a skit show whose contemporary references and laid-back vibe made it a sort of “Saturday Night Live” for the elementary school set. The show has since developed a cult following among Generation X and Y viewers who were too young to catch the show the first time around, and now PBS hopes to attract their children with a revival of “TEC,” as fans call it, launching next year. The new “TEC,” which targets kids 6-9, will launch in January on PBS Kids, the preschool cable network available in 35 million households. Production on the show started this week. This is just the latest in a series of retro kids shows that have been relaunched in recent years. "George of the Jungle" and "Speed Racer" are two of the most recent. "TEC" will retain the snappy dialogue and funny songs intended to help kids learn to read. It will also include more interactive and online elements, a push being led by a group that has experience writing and directing for grown-ups. The writing staff includes Jeff and Craig Cox, who wrote the Will Ferrell film “Blades of Glory,” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” scribe Jerome Hairston. “TEC” directors Chris Jackson, Thomas Kail and Bill Sherman all worked on Tony-nominated musical “In the Heights.” And perhaps that experience will be a boon. PBS’s “TEC” web site has loads of comments from grown-ups who bought the show’s recently released first- and second-season DVD box sets. “My husband and I have been reliving our childhoods by watching these best-of DVDs,” writers one poster. “So many memories have come flooding back. When the Silent-E song came along on the third DVD, my husband had to rewind and watch it about 5 times in a row (that was his favorite)!” The original show debuted in 1971, and it lasted six seasons, with reruns airing for another eight years. Oscar-winning actors Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno starred on “TEC,” as did (briefly) Bill Cosby. The mix of humor and totally off-the-wall sketches, featuring the likes of Spiderman and random gorillas, helped producer Sesame Workshop avoid the preachy, teachy vibe it worried would turn kids off. The show played off pop culture with skits like “Easy Reader,” a take off on “Easy Rider” featuring a smooth-talking Freeman, and “Here’s Cooking at You,” a riff on Julia Child. Moreno uttered the show’s classic opening line, “Hey you guuuuuys,” which itself has become a part of pop culture. But “TEC” also made more important contributions to TV history. The original helped revolutionize the use of computer-generated imagery in live-action shows, with cast members sometimes interacting with animated characters or words. *** Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending May 11: Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.9 rating and 7 share, followed by the CW at 1.4/5, ABC and CBS at 1.3/5, Univision at 0.9/3, NBC at 0.7/3, Telemundo at 0.1/1,Telefutura at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11, Fox was first with a 1.4/6, followed by ABC and Univision at 1.1/5, CBS at 0.8/4, the CW at 0.7/3, NBC at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.2/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer” (Friday 11:30 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “Ni Hao Kai Lin” (Friday 11 a.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 9:30 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer” (Thursday 10:30 a.m.); 5. Disney’s “Handy Manny” (Saturday 8:30 a.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 9:30 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 9 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Sunday 11 a.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11 a.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 2. Fox’s “American Idol” (Tuesday 8 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Monday 5:30 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” (Monday 5 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 12:30 p.m.)
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