Pinwheel (TV series)

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Pinwheel
Format Educational, Children's
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States, Flag of Canada Canada
No. of episodes 260
Production
Running time 60 minutes per episode (ran in 3-5 hour blocks)
Broadcast
Original channel Nickelodeon
Picture format NTSC
Original run April 1, 19791990

Pinwheel is a children's television show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable network from 1979 to 1990. The show was the original program featured on the Nickelodeon network (the channel itself was known as "Pinwheel" until 1981).

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[edit] Longevity

There were a total of 260 one-hour Pinwheel episodes recorded. However, Pinwheel was typically broadcast in 3 to 5 hour long blocks with multiple one-hour episodes shown back-to-back. It remains the longest running Nickelodeon show in episodes, and was the longest running in years until You Can't Do That On Television broke the record. It is now #4, behind All That, You Can't Do That On Television and Rugrats.

[edit] Notable characters

It was notable for featuring a variety of animation from around the world, in addition to live action segments where humans acted along with puppets. Live action characters included Sal and Smitty (an elderly couple who ran a newspaper called The Daily Noodle), Jake (a man who had small boxes which emitted various sound effects), Coco (a female mime), and Kim (played by Arline Miyazaki).

Puppet characters included Plus and Minus (similar-looking characters whose favorite game was "Gotcha Last!"), Aurelia (a gypsy who lived in the house and used a special phone [actually a desk phone base with a crystal ball on it and no receiver] to dial the "Opposite City Operator"), Silas the Snail (had an elderly-looking face, and took an entire episode to go from one end of the garden to the other), Ebeneezer T. Squint (green-faced equivalent to Sesame Street 's "Oscar the Grouch"; his sole goal in life was to be on the front page of The Daily Noodle), Luigi (ran a produce stand), Molly the Mole (lived in a tree in the backyard) and the Hobo Bugs, Herbert and Lulu.

[edit] Program content

[edit] External links