TVOKids

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TVOKids - The Space (formerly known as '"The Crawlspace"') launched on April 1, 1994, on TVOntario, as a block of afterschool children's programming dedicated to being non-violent, commercial free, educational, and positive social role modelling. Since younger children are home earlier from school, the programming schedule includes 'younger' shows in the earlier time slots, and more 'mature' shows in the later slots.

TVOKids' Afterschool block The Space: The Space is the place!

The programming block is designed with live, hosted interstitial segments between educational programs of varying lengths. These hosted segments take the place of commercials (TVO is commercial-free) and tie the day's programming together. TVOKids also has an award-winning website (external link at the foot of this article), and often converges the educational content of the broadcast and internet components, for which it's been nominated for three Gemini Awards, winning Most Popular Web Site in 2001, and Best Interactive in 2004 for Time Trackers.

[edit] History

Since its inception in 1994, TVOKids has had numerous hosts. In chronological order, they are: Patty Sullivan, Kevin Brauch, Joe Motiki, Rekha Shah, Gisele Corinthios, Phil Singh, Phil McCordic (voice of Tumbleweed the Hamster), Julie Zwillich (aka Julie 1), Julie Patterson (aka Julie 2), Nicole Stamp (voice of Daisy the Hamster and host of Ontario Championships of Reach For The Top), Milton Barnes, Jackie English, Mark Sykes and Ryan Field
(bold text indicates current hosts)

Jackie, Mark and Ryan host the show as the "3-Pak", while Julie does field segments about getting active. TVOKids' Preschool Block, Gisele's Big Backyard (formerly known as "The Nook"), is hosted solely by Gisele, where she is often joined by her puppet friends, Sticks the Squirrel (Jason Hopley), Jay the Blue Jay (Ali Eisner), Melvin the Skunk and Polkaroo.

[edit] Schedule

THE SPACE airs:
Monday to Friday, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Gisèle's Big Backyard airs:
Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

[edit] TVOKids' In-house Productions

Some of the most popular programs on TVOKids are its in-house productions, which are all based around the provincial curriculum and are generally short (about 3-4 minutes per episode) and humorous. These shows star the hosts as various characters and include:

Super Citizens - A comedic live action show about a group of superheros that promote good citizenship. The Super Citizens are: EnviroGirl (Nicole Stamp), Professor Atlas (Milton Barnes), Atomic Guy (Mark Sykes), FlyGirl (Julie Patterson), NiftyGirl (Jackie English), and the Blue Brain (Ryan Field).
EnviroGirl - A series promoting energy conservation, starring idealistic superhero EnviroGirl (played by Nicole Stamp)
The Royals - A queen of hearts and her jester explore good manners and games.
The Bod Squad / BOD TV - Spoofs of popular television shows and movies, and starring the TVOKids hosts, these short episodes humorously promote healthy eating. One of the most popular episodes is a parody of [The Wizard of Oz] entitled "The Wizard of Moz", which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Television in LA and NYC.
The Bodies - A series promoting healthy eating using characters who live inside a computer program.
The Reading Rangers - A Western-style series of short episodes, promoting literacy.
Artbot - Meet adult artists who explain visual arts concepts such as line, colour, and composition. The robot Artbot is played by Jackie English.
Tumbletown Tales - Popular series performed entirely by small live rodents (using the TVOKids hosts as voice talent). The star of the series is Tumbleweed the Hamster (voiced by Phil McCordic); the learning objective is real-world application of mathematical concepts.
Time Trackers - Gemini Award-winning series converging the broadcast and web aspects of TVOKids to teach Canadian history in a humorous and interactive way.
Space Trek - Explore the solar system and beyond with host Captain Kent (Mark Sykes)
Dino Dig - Paleontologist character Alberta Rex (Jackie English) hosts this informational show on dinosaurs.
Critter Corner - Host Jackie English explores the animal kingdom.
Mark's Moments - Host Mark Sykes interviews kids with disabilities to learn about their lives.