Kids' CBC
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Kids' CBC is a preschool commercial-free programming block aired mornings on CBC.
The lead host of the block is Patty Sullivan. She is also the host for Ontario. The rest of the hosts are: Holly Bernier (Prairies), Mark O'Brien in Atlantic Canada, Joyce Quansah in Quebec and Kush Uppal in Western Canada (British Columbia). An animated character by the name of Dot and her dog Paws are also part of the series.
[edit] History
Children's programming has always been part of CBC's weekday lineup since the 1950s. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, the lineup was called Hodge Podge Lodge (no relation to the American series of the same name), with interstitals featuring animated multi-coloured geometric shapes. In the early 1990s, the lineup was relaunched as CBC Playground, featuring some of the most famous shows ever to air on CBC. Among these shows were Mr. Dressup, Theodore Tugboat, Dig and Dug, Old Bear Stories, Fred Penner's Place, and Guess What?. In the late 90s, two human hosts, Lisa and Drew, were added to the block along with Polka Dot Shorts, Rolie Polie Olie, and (for a short time) The Busy World of Richard Scarry.
In 2000, CBC Playground was replaced with Get Set For Life, a block named after a partnership between non-profit parenting organization Invest in Kids and the CBC Children's Programming Department. It featured Alyson Court and Michael Clark as hosts.
Get Set For Life saw the departure of Theodore Tugboat, Guess What?, Fred Penner's Place, and Polka Dot Shorts. In their places, Dragon Tales, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Zoboomafoo started airing daily on the GSFL block.
Kids' CBC started in 2003, taking the place of Get Set For Life on CBC. Alyson and Michael still appeared from time to time, but the look and the studio sets had been drastically changed. The little child seen in the GSFL logo was slightly redesigned and turned into a separate animated character called Dot, and the GSFL theme song and opening sequence were rewritten and reshot. Five regional hosts appeared, providing links from all over Canada. The hosts were Patty Sullivan (Ontario), Joyce Quansah (Quebec), Kush Uppal (Western Canada), Hayley Gene (the Prairies) and Dashi Malone (Atlantic Canada).
In December of 2005, the first season of Kids' CBC was deemed a success. There was only one major change, which was changing the set from a colourful fantasy world to a garden in a geometric type dome.
Current Kids' CBC shows include Curious George, Lunar Jim, Poko, Pinky Dinky Doo, Arthur, Save-Ums, Tractor Tom, Clifford the Big Red Dog, You're It!, George Shrinks, Zoboomafoo, Wilbur and The Doodlebops.
