Square One Television
Square One Television (sometimes referred to as Square One) is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers.
Created and broadcast by PBS in the United States from 1987 to 1994, the show was intended to address the so-called "math crisis" among American schoolchildren. The show was revived for the 1995-1996 PBS season as a teacher instruction program, Square One TV Math Talk.
Square One was also shown on the U.S. cable television channel Noggin in syndication beginning in 1999, but was removed from its lineup along with other Children's Television Workshop shows on May 26, 2003.
Sketches
Square One comprised short sketches that introduced and applied concepts in mathematics such as counting, combinatorics, vulgar fractions, estimation, probability, and geometry. The sketches featured regular characters and were mainly parodies of pop culture icons or popular television shows:
- Music videos, similar to ones seen on MTV, used a particular subject in mathematics and taught the subject through song, including:
- "Infinity" a song about the concept of infinity performed by The Jets.
- "The Mathematics of Love" a 1960s pop-styled song about numbers and Roman numerals.
- "Count The Ways," a country song performed by The Judds about a secret admirer who expresses his sentiments in mathematical terms.
- "Nine, Nine, Nine," a country music song demonstrating that the digital root of a multiple of 9 is 9.
- "Angle Dance," a New Wave/synth-pop song reminiscent of Devo (even though the title references "Safety Dance") about obtuse and acute angles.
- "8% of My Love," a song about percentages, reminiscent of Meatloaf's style and heavily referencing Bruce Springsteen themes.
- "Less Than Zero," a song about negative numbers.
- "That's Math" sung by Gregory Hines, a jazz number about how mathematics is used in various situations.
- "Patterns", a polka about patterns that can be detected in society, performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. (Since Yankovic did not write this song, it is unavailable on any of his records, though bootleg versions have circulated.)
- "Probability" (or "Ghost of a Chance"), an 1980s pop video reminiscent of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Somebody's Watching Me, involving a pizza delivery guy walking through a haunted house and gambling on his life as he calculates the odds of suffering the deadly dangers in each room.
- "Rules of Thumb," a song about making estimations from well-known facts, performed by Kid 'n Play.
- "Sign of the Times," a salsa song about using the letter X for multiplication.
- "Wanna Be," a song about needing to know math to be productive, performed by Bobby McFerrin.
- "Time Keeper," a synth-pop song about clock arithmetic, performed by Tempestt Bledsoe of The Cosby Show fame.
- "One Billion is Big," A song about the number one billion, performed by The Fat Boys.
- "Neighborhood Super Spy," a song about cryptography sung by cast member Cynthia Darlow.
- "Tessellations," in the style of Good Vibrations, dealing with the plane tiling technique associated with the art of M. C. Escher.
- Mathman, a parody of Pac-Man, helped viewers learn to recognize common mistakes while solving math problems, such as forgetting to carry a digit, or making errors with negative numbers. A blue tornado character named "Mr. Glitch" was Mathman's enemy.
- Pauline's Perilous Pyramid taught addition and subtraction with negative and positive numbers. It is reminiscent of Q*bert, except the pyramid is numbered with positive and negative numbers. Each time she jumped on a square, that number was added to her score. Her goal was to reach the top of the pyramid and keep her score between +25 and -25. She also was given one "zapper" which allowed her to change a positive to a negative or vice versa.
- Mathnet (starring Joe Howard as George Frankly and Beverly Leech as Kate Monday; Toni DiBuono later replaced Leech as Pat Tuesday), a parody of Dragnet, was distinguished by its quirky scripts and guest stars. Each episode of Square One ended with a Mathnet segment, and each Mathnet story spanned five episodes. Since Square One was on weekdays, this meant that the case was introduced on Monday, worked on throughout the week, and finally brought to a conclusion on Friday. On a few occasions, all five segments of a story were aired back-to-back in prime time specials on PBS.
- Late Afternoon with David Numberman, a parody of Late Night with David Letterman.
- Mathcourt, a parody of The People's Court and Perry Mason, applied Mathematics to solve cases.
- General Mathpital, a parody of General Hospital where a team of "doctors" would work together to "operate" on a mathematical problem until the problem is fixed.
- Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade, an original idea, was distinguished from most of the other sketches in that it was animated. Dirk would often use his mathematical skills to help his friends and neighbors in everyday situations. Square One TV co-creator Jim Thurman hired Fred Crippen to model the styling and the design of the Dirk Niblick cartoons after his own classic 1960s cartoon, "Roger Ramjet", in which Thurman was once involved. Veteran announcer Gary Owens who voiced the main character Ramjet was the voice of Dirk Niblick.
- Zook & Alison, an animated segment featured in later seasons. In each episode, Uncle Wilt took some sort of trip to Earth without securing permission from his sister (whereupon she always cried, "FIND UNCLE WILT!") and Zook and Alison had to use mathematics to locate him and bring him home. In one episode they triangulate his location on a map using the clue that Wilt is "equidistant from Venice, Milan, and Florence." The segment was unique in that the characters and scenery were not colored in, but were multi-colored outlines against a solid black background, like in the creator's film Snowie and the 7 Dorps.
- FAX HEADFUL, a computer animated addition to the final season, and a sendup of Max Headroom. FAX's monologues typically involved statistics and estimation, such as his musing on population density, or average yearly donut consumption.
- Nobody's Inn, a parody of Fawlty Towers. The main running gag is when someone tries to call the hotel, the owner will reply with "Nobody's Inn!", but the caller will mistakenly think he is saying "Nobody's in" to which the caller then says they'll call back later (thinking literally no one is at the hotel) and hang up.
- A segment called Oops!, in which someone would make an erroneous calculation or computation, after which would be shown a clip of a disaster from an old movie. The person would say "Oops" and correct the error. Then the announcer would say "Oops! has been brought to you by erasers. Don't make a mistake without one."
- Callous, a parody of Dallas.
- Backstage with Blackstone, Math-related magic tricks and performances by Harry Blackstone, Jr. that involved two cast members at a time (Reg E. Cathey portrayed Blackstone's assistant). Unlike most magic shows however, Blackstone does explain later how the trick works.
- Several parodies of game shows:
- Several mini-game shows using actual child contestants and awarding small prizes:
- Piece of the Pie, a survey-based game show similar to Family Feud, using pie charts and teaching percentages; hosted by Cristobal Franco and Arthur Howard, and later by Beverly Mickins.
- Close Call, a game show about estimation, using "how many beans are in this big jar" type of questions, and bearing a similarity to The Price Is Right, hosted by Arthur Howard, later by Arthur Howard and Luisa Leschin, and later by Luisa Leschin and Reg E. Cathey.
- Triple Play, a show teaching addition and multiplication by connecting numbers and making triangles on a game board; hosted by Cynthia Darlow.
- But Who's Adding? / But Who's Multiplying?; the show's first original game, hosted by Larry Cedar.
- Square One Squares, a tic-tac-toe game similar to Tic-Tac-Dough and Hollywood Squares. This later evolved into Square One Challenge, bearing a similarity to To Tell the Truth.
University of Michigan athletics
The number of references to the Michigan Wolverines that appeared in the show leaves little doubt that the people behind the show counted fans of the school among their ranks. In fact, executive producer David Connell and head writer Jim Thurman were both Michigan graduates.
- The show would occasionally feature a segment about estimation in which a Michigan cheerleader would place a small object (e.g., a hamburger, a playing card, or a ping pong ball) in the corner of the playing field of Michigan Stadium. The viewer was then asked to estimate how many of the same object it would take to fill (or cover the playing field of) the stadium.
- Mathman was a walking green head in a Wolverines football helmet.
- In one Dirk Niblick segment, his mother posed a riddle about probability which mentioned a drawer full of maize and blue socks (Michigan's team colors are maize and blue).
- Another Dirk Niblick episode called "Do Not Fold, Spindle or Tape" had Roy "Wrong Way" Tiredamage (Dirk's old college friend from Where Was University) wearing a GO BLUE! shirt backwards. "GO BLUE!" is a phrase frequently used by Michigan athletics.
- In a number of Dirk Niblick mini-segments where he conversed with his mother on the phone, her "speech" was the University of Michigan's fight song.
- Among other sightings of the Michigan logo, a member of a ship's crew during an episode of Mathnet set in Monterey, California, wore a cap commemorating Michigan's 1989 Final Four appearance in NCAA men's basketball.
- There were also a number of joking references to Michigan's longstanding cross-state rivalry with Michigan State University. Two examples, both from Mathnet, included a villain saying that he had flunked out of the University of Michigan and "had to finish at Michigan State," and another villain having attended "Michigan Agricultural College" (MSU's original name) in "West Lansing."
- Another episode of Mathnet involved the kidnapping of a rockstar for a ransom to rent the University of Michigan Marching Band to play a march written by the kidnappers.
- In another episode of Mathnet, a reference was made reflecting the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State University. While examining a list of bank accounts that had been robbed, the Ohio State Alumni fund was noted as having lost $136. When Pat Tuesday states, "At least they didn't get much," George Frankly replies, "What do you mean? They cleaned the whole thing out!"
- In one episode, George Frankly, in reaction to the name of a fugitive they were currently searching for, said, "Sounds like a linebacker from Penn State!" Penn State is a rival of the Michigan Wolverines.
- Although not related to Michigan athletics, George Frankly is shown as a diehard fan of all the Los Angeles area teams, especially the Dodgers and Kings.
Connections to other media
- Cartoonist Jim Jinkins, popular for his show Doug, did animated shorts for the show.
- David Yazbek was a frequent writer during the first season. Yazbek is best known for writing the theme songs to Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?. He later wrote the scores for the Broadway shows The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
- Yeardley Smith was featured in the early Mathnet episode "The Problem of the Missing Monkey". She went on to be the voice of Lisa in the animated series The Simpsons.
- A special version of the third PBS ident, with the P-heads in a dark purple color, was used at the end of the first episode of Square One TV in 1987, where the P head and letters multiplied and went into the distance with the vocals "And on, and on, and on..." This was to tie in with the song "Infinity," which was featured in that particular episode.
VHS Releases
There are 10 Tapes from 1987 to 1995.
1. Video Juke Box
2. Episode 7.1
3. Episode 7.69
Episodes
| # |
List of Episodes |
Release Date |
| 1 |
Episode #1.1 |
January 26, 1987 |
| 2 |
Episode #1.2 |
January 27, 1987 |
| 3 |
Episode #1.3 |
January 28, 1987 |
| 4 |
Episode #1.4 |
January 29, 1987 |
| 5 |
Episode #1.5 |
January 30, 1987 |
| 6 |
Episode #1.6 |
February 2, 1987 |
| 7 |
Episode #1.7 |
February 3, 1987 |
| 8 |
Episode #1.8 |
February 4, 1987 |
| 9 |
Episode #1.9 |
February 5, 1987 |
| 10 |
Episode #1.10 |
February 6, 1987 |
| 11 |
Episode #1.12 |
February 10, 1987 |
| 12 |
Episode #1.13 |
February 11, 1987 |
| 13 |
Episode #1.14 |
February 12, 1987 |
| 14 |
Episode #1.15 |
February 13, 1987 |
| 15 |
Episode #1.16 |
February 16, 1987 |
| 16 |
Episode #1.18 |
February 18, 1987 |
| 17 |
Episode #1.19 |
February 19, 1987 |
| 18 |
Episode #1.20 |
February 20, 1987 |
| 19 |
Episode #1.21 |
February 23, 1987 |
| 20 |
Episode #1.22 |
February 24, 1987 |
| 21 |
Episode #1.23 |
February 25, 1987 |
| 22 |
Episode #1.24 |
February 26, 1987 |
| 23 |
Episode #1.25 |
February 27, 1987 |
| 24 |
Episode #1.26 |
March 2, 1987 |
| 25 |
Episode #1.27 |
March 3, 1987 |
| 26 |
Episode #1.28 |
March 4, 1987 |
| 27 |
Episode #1.29 |
March 5, 1987 |
| 28 |
Episode #1.30 |
March 6, 1987 |
| 29 |
Episode #1.35 |
March 13, 1987 |
| 30 |
Episode #1.39 |
March 19, 1987 |
| 31 |
Episode #1.74 |
May 3, 1987 |
| 32 |
Episode #2.1 |
September 19, 1988 |
| 33 |
Episode #2.2 |
September 20, 1988 |
| 34 |
Episode #2.4 |
September 22, 1988 |
| 35 |
Episode #2.6 |
September 26, 1988 |
| 36 |
Episode #2.7 |
September 27, 1988 |
| 37 |
Episode #2.8 |
September 28, 1988 |
| 38 |
Episode #2.9 |
September 29, 1988 |
| 39 |
Episode #2.10 |
September 30, 1988 |
| 40 |
Episode #2.12 |
October 4, 1988 |
| 41 |
Episode #2.13 |
October 5, 1988 |
| 42 |
Episode #2.14 |
October 6, 1988 |
| 43 |
Episode #2.15 |
October 14, 1988 |
| 44 |
Episode #2.20 |
October 14, 1988 |
| 45 |
Episode #2.26 |
October 24, 1988 |
| 46 |
Episode #3.1 |
January 15, 1990 |
| 47 |
Episode #3.2 |
January 16, 1990 |
| 48 |
Episode #3.3 |
January 17, 1990 |
| 49 |
Episode #3.4 |
January 18, 1990 |
| 50 |
Episode #3.5 |
January 19, 1990 |
| 51 |
Episode #3.13 |
January 31, 1990 |
| 52 |
Episode #3.14 |
February 4, 1990 |
| 53 |
Episode #3.15 |
February 2, 1990 |
| 54 |
Episode #3.19 |
February 8, 1990 |
| 55 |
Episode #3.20 |
February 9, 1990 |
| 56 |
Episode #3.36 |
March 5, 1990 |
| 57 |
Episode #3.41 |
December 23, 1990 |
| 58 |
Episode #4.1 |
September 30, 1991 |
| 59 |
Episode #4.2 |
October 1, 1991 |
| 60 |
Episode #4.3 |
October 2, 1991 |
| 61 |
Episode #4.4 |
October 3, 1991 |
| 62 |
Episode #4.5 |
October 4, 1991 |
| 63 |
Episode #4.6 |
October 7, 1991 |
| 64 |
Episode #4.8 |
October 9, 1991 |
| 65 |
Episode #4.9 |
October 10, 1991 |
| 66 |
Episode #4.12 |
October 15, 1991 |
| 67 |
Episode #4.30 |
November 8, 1991 |
| 68 |
Episode #5.1 |
September 21, 1992 |
| 69 |
Episode #5.4 |
September 24, 1992 |
| 70 |
Episode #5.5 |
September 25, 1992 |
| 71 |
Episode #5.6 |
September 28, 1992 |
| 72 |
Episode #5.11 |
October 5, 1992 |
| 73 |
Episode #5.16 |
October 12, 1992 |
| 74 |
Episode #5.17 |
October 13, 1992 |
| 75 |
Episode #5.18 |
October 14, 1992 |
| 76 |
Episode #5.19 |
October 15, 1992 |
| 77 |
Episode #5.20 |
October 16, 1992 |
| 78 |
Episode #5.21 |
October 19, 1992 |
| 79 |
Episode #5.35 |
November 6, 1992 |
| 80 |
Episode #5.74 |
April 30, 1992 |
| 81 |
Episode #6.1 |
September 2, 1993 |
| 82 |
Episode #6.74 |
May 6, 1994 |
| 82 |
Episode #7.70 |
May 6, 1995 |
Sources of funding
Among the funders of Square One were
- The Carnegie Corporation of New York (January 26, 1987–December 20, 1991)
- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (January 26, 1987–November 30, 1990)
- The U.S. Department of Education (January 26, 1987–December 14, 1988)
- The National Science Foundation (January 26, 1987–May 4, 1995)
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (January 26, 1987–May 4, 1995)
- IBM (January 26, 1987-October 2, 1989)
- Viewers Like You (October 1, 1989–May 4, 1995)
- Ford Foundation (January 25, 1987–Decemeber 22, 1993)
- Intel (January 5, 1992-May 4, 1995)
The National Science Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting were the only permanent funders for Square One. IBM funded the show for season 1 only, and Viewers Like You (Public Television Viewers) funded the show for seasons 1 and 2 only.
References
External links
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| Current shows |
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| PBS Kids GO! |
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| See also |
- PBS network shows
- Educational television
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