Play School (Australian TV series)

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Play School
Genre Children's television
Presented by see Presenters
Opening theme "There's A Bear In There", composed by Richard Connolly
Country of origin Flag of Australia Australia
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 42
Production
Running time 25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC TV
Original run 18 July 1966 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Animation by Yoram Gross Films Ltd. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia with an estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watching the programme at least once a month. Former host Trisha Goddard went onto host a British version of the Maury Povich show. [1] It is screened twice every weekday at 9:30am and 3:05pm on ABC TV.

Contents

[edit] History

Play School began production in 1966 based on a British programme of the same name. It has been produced continuously from this time. It has launched the careers of several Australian actors and television presenters. It was admitted to the Logies Hall of Fame on its 40th anniversary of the show in 2006. This was in recognition of the strong influence the show has had in at least three generations of Australian children. Play School was 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.

On the 31 May 2004 a segment was shown showing what was taken by the public to be two lesbian women taking their child and her friend to an amusement park. A little girl narrated the clip, stating "My Mums are taking me and my friend Merryn 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 said the segment showed the girl being accompanied by her birth mother and her step mother (hence "two mums") and they believed most people would automatically assume the same.

[edit] Format

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. From 1970 to 1999 they had a rocket clock which obviously was shaped like a rocket and a flower clock which was shaped like a flower. Until 1999, the windows looked almost exactly like their British counterparts with a few slight differences. They changed the background behind the windows from black to white at the end of 1967 and they then changed it white to light blue in 1985. In the late 80's they also changed the windows to look like their British counterparts had in the late 70s through to the axing of the show. Every week there is a common theme running through the program that the actors will reflect upon during the episode.

In 1999, the show had a massive revamp, with the rocket and flower clocks and the three windows were put in storage in favour of a newer style Playschool. The main clock was now simply called the Playschool Clock (which was controlled by one of the presenters standing at the top of the clock and turning a winding device which caused the clue to the story to slide down a slippery dip. Later in the "noughties" the clock was changed again which featured clockwork resembling the Hickory Dickory nursery rhyme (why this clock is called the Hickory Dickory Clock). The windows were also heavily changed. They were now built into a massive rotating prop which was built underneath the clock (shown one week) and 'controlled' by one the presenters pulling a lever back and forwards. The windows (now including a diamond window) would spin around and would slowly be eliminated as the window they would look through until they got to the fourth window and the camera would slowly zoom in and fade out into the fill.

[edit] Toys

  • Big Ted
  • Little Ted
  • Maurice (frequently pronounced 'Morris')
  • Jemima
  • Meeka
  • Jim
  • Scrap (sometimes 'Scraps')
  • Slush
  • Fergus
  • Humpty
  • Diddle
  • Sam the Lamb
  • Banana (see also Bananas in Pyjamas)
  • Daisy
  • Henny Penny
  • Kim and Lisa
  • Owl

[edit] Teachings

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 actors, because they feel they are becoming part of a generation of children's lives and providing a foundation for learning things that will last for life.

Play School's stated philosophy is to encourage a child 'to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine'. The two presenters (now always a male/female pairing, but has previously been two females) 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.

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.

[edit] Theme Song

There's a bear in there
And a chair as well
There are people with games
And stories to tell
Open wide, come inside
It's Play School.

[edit] Presenters

[edit] Current presenters

[edit] Former presenters

[edit] See also

[edit] External links