Play School

Play School is an educational television programme for pre-school aged children.

United Kingdom

The original manifestation of Play School was a long-running British series. It was produced by the BBC and ran from 21 April 1964 until 11 March 1988. It accidentally became the first ever programme to be shown on the fledgling BBC2 after a power cut halted the opening night programming. Play School originally appeared on weekdays at 11am on BBC2 and later acquired a mid-afternoon BBC1 repeat. It was superseded in October 1988 by Playbus.

Presenters

Presenters throughout the 24-year run included Brian Cant, Carol Chell, Chloe Ashcroft, Derek Griffiths, Eric Thompson, Floella Benjamin, Fred Harris, Carmen Munroe, Johnny Ball, Carol Leader, Simon Davies, Julie Stevens, Toni Arthur and Stuart Bradley.

In many cases five programmes would be produced in the space of two days, with one day of rehearsal and one day of recording.

Toys

The presenters were accompanied by a supporting cast of cuddly toys and dolls. The five regulars included:
* Big Ted and Little Ted, teddy bears.
* Humpty Dumpty, a soft toy version of the nursery rhyme egg, usually referred to as just 'Humpty'.
* Jemima, a ragdoll with long red and white striped legs.
* Hamble, a rather dirty and ordinary plastic doll.
* Poppy, a black doll who replaced Hamble in the later years of the series in response to changing attitudes in society (the Hamble doll was also getting rather fragile at this point.)

A rocking horse named Dapple was also seen in some episodes, when a particular song or item suggested it.

Pets

* Katoo - a cockatoo
* Bit and Bot - goldfish
* A rabbit
* Mice
* Guinea pigs

The pets were cared for by Wendy Duggan.

Contents of the show

The high point of each episode was the video excursion into the outside world taken through one of three windows: the young viewers were invited to guess whether the round, square, or arched window would be chosen that day. A triangular window was added in 1983. Very often the film would be of a factory producing something such as chocolate biscuits, or of a domestic industry such as refuse collection.

Both the clock and the three window option lives on in the children's programme Tikkabilla, which borrows much from Play School, while a similar choice of portal into a film clip was provided by the abdomen-mounted video displays in the children's show "Teletubbies".

There would also be songs and stories.

From 1971 to 1984, Play School also had a sister programme, called Playaway.

Australia

An Australian version, also called Play School, is still being produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for Australian and international distribution. It is notable because it is the second longest-running program on Australian television (Behind Four Corners). The first episode aired on 18 July 1966. Two episodes screen every weekday, at 9am and 3pm.

The format of the show is activities, songs and games with either host passing back to each other at the end of their segment, and frequently joining each other in activities. Each day the presenters look at the calendar to find out which day of the week it is, read a story, and look through the windows. Every week there is a common theme running through the program that the actors will reflect upon during the episode.

From the inception of the program, the producers of Play School have made efforts to promote equality, playful education, and a love of learning in its audience. Working on Play School has come to be considered an unusually demanding and important job for some talented actors, because they feel they are becoming part of a generation of children's lives and providing a foundation for learning that will last for life.

Play School is widely accepted as the most influential and 'grass roots' childrens show on Australian Television.

Long-running Play School presenters have included:
* Noni Hazlehurst
* Benita Collings
* Alister Smart
* Don Spencer (who also appeared in the UK Play School)
* John Hamblin
* Janet Kingsbury (as Jan)
* Alister Smart
* George Spartels
* Monica Trapaga
* Philip Quast
* Trisha Goddard
* Simon Burke
* Jay Laga'aia
* Deborah Mailman
* Rhys Muldoon
* John Waters
* Christine Anu
* Ruth Cracknell
* Georgie Parker
* Matt Passmore
* Monica Trapaga
* Justine Clarke
* Colin Buchanan

Play School's stated philosophy is to encourage a child 'to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine'. The two presenters (always a male/female pairing) address the child directly and personally, so that every child watching the show feels that they are spending time with two people they know and can trust. From the Play School website: [1]

Into this relationship are woven the stories, songs and activities that form the fabric of Australian children's culture. Play School is successful because it satisfies our basic human need to interact with other people and to be valued by them.

Pets

* Bit and Bot - Fish
* Henry and Henrietta - Mice
* Jack and Jill - Guinea Pigs
* Peppino and Peppina - Budgerigars

Controversy faced by the show

On the 31 May 2004 a segment was shown showing what was taken by the public to be two homosexual women taking their children to an amusement park. A little girl narrated the clip, stating "My Mums are taking me and my friend Meryn to an amusement park." The clip was raised as controversial by the media, and three federal ministers expressed dislike over the screening of the clip. The ABC responded however, saying that "Play School aims to reflect the diversity of Australian children, embracing all manner of race, religions and family situations." The producers of the segment also claimed that they scripted the work with the girl being accompanied by her birth mother and her step mother (hence "two mums"), they believed most people would automatically assume the same.

Play School also faced conyroversy soon after the World Trade Center attacks when a segment aired showing the two presenters building two towers side by side then knocking them over. Play School producers stated that the episode was filmed many months in advance, and that most of the target audience would be unable to make the connection anyway.

Logies Hall of Fame

To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the show, Play School was granted entry into Australia's Logie Awards Hall of Fame in 2006. This was in recognition of the strong influence the show has had in at least three generations of Australian children. Play School is the third show to enter the Hall of Fame in its own right, after Four Corners (1992) and Neighbours (2005).

During the presentation of the Logie Awards, a package showing memorable scenes from the show throughout its history was shown, before notable presenters (from past and present) came onto the stage with some of the favourite toys from the show. After these presenters accepted the award, the audience then joined them for a stirring rendition of the Play School Theme.

Canada

The Canadian show The Polka Dot Door is an adaptation of the Play School format.

New Zealand

The NZ version was based on the BBC show of the same name. It started filming in Dunedin in 1975 and was hosted there for nearly 15 years.Playschool always included the Maori language in counting and singing activities.

"...a programme for New Zealand children, and the thing that we really wanted to show was that adults could work very well together and that toys could also be your best friends," says Playschool producer Lorraine Isaacs.
*Remembering a childhood favourite

Quotes

Here is a house, here is a door, windows Opening voiceover of the BBC version.
* A House, with a door, windows later version of the opening voiceover of the BBC version.
* Get ready, to play! It's (insert name of day)! --1983 version of the opening voiceover of the BBC version.
* Five currant buns in a baker's shop,/ Big and round with a cherry on top./ Along came [Hamble/Jemima/Big Ted/Little Ted/Humpty] with a penny one day;/ Bought a currant bun and took it away! -- A recurrent counting song on the BBC version.
*''There's a bear in there, and a chair as well. There are people with games, and stories to tell. Open wide, come inside Opening jingle of the Australian (ABC) version.

References

* 25 Minutes Peace - Celebrating Play School (BBC TV programme, 1979)

See also

* List of UK television series
* List of Australian television series
* List of Canadian television series

External links

*BBC Play School home page
*ABC Play School home page

*British Film Institute Screen Online