Oobi (TV series)

Oobi (TV series)
Created by Josh Selig
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons

2

Production
Running time 22 - 23 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Nick Jr.
Original airing April 1, 2002

Oobi (pronounced OO-bee) is a American educational TV show. ,[1] the show is directed by preschoolers. It currently airs on Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin). It was created by Josh Selig and produced by his company Little Airplane Productions.[2]It is currently shown at 2:00am and 2:30am. It is the first show to be seen on Nick Jr.

Contents

Style

The characters are actually hand "puppets" wearing only eyes and sometimes hair.

The thumbs of the "puppets" are used to represent mouth movement, and the fingers flutter, clench, and make other movements to indicate emotions (when the thumb scratches the side of the hand, that symbolizes that the character is thinking or feeling confused.) The hands also serve usual purposes, such as holding objects and turning doorknobs. A majority of the characters are right-handed, but three (Mrs. Johnson, Mimi and Paula) are left-handed.

The speech of the characters consists of simple vocabulary and simple sentences. For example, "Uma, school, first day" is said in place of "It's Uma's first day of school" or "It's my first day of school."

Cast

Episodes

There are fifty ten-minute episodes of Oobi, twenty-five full episodes, and forty-eight shorts.

Concept

Oobi goes on everyday adventures of the "title" character, his younger sister Uma, his best friend Kako, and his grandfather, Grampu. It mirrors the life of its young audience, in which everything is new. The show is intended to build skills such as mathematics, early literacy, and logical thinking. The show is considered miraculous to some parents and caregivers of autistic children, who find the simple sentences easier to communicate.[3][4]

During breaks between each episode (there are two per show) the characters leave their home to talk to real preschoolers. They interact according to the theme of the episode.

Main characters

Other characters

Animals

Songs

Lyrics: Oobi's like me, Oobi's like you. -- Oobi's got a lot of big things that he's gonna do -- Uma's his sis, he's big, she's small -- Kako is his very best friend, Gramdpu loves them all -- Oh Oobi−Oobi Oobi Oobi Oobi Oobi -- He's got a lot to see, he's got a lot to do -- And he's always with you -- Kids: Noggin presents, Oobi. --- or --- Oobi: Oobi, you, friends. (giggles) ---

List of Show Segments

Make Pizza![5] - Uma has a cold so Oobi and Kako spend the day trying to make her feel better. They cheer her up by making a card filled with things that Uma likes, then performing a 'get-better dance," but are discouraged to find that Uma is still sick. Grampu explains that what Uma really needs to do is rest. The boys sing Uma a beautiful lullaby until she falls asleep. Soon she is back to her healthy self and they play a rhyming game.

References