The Puzzle Place

The Puzzle Place is an American children's television series produced by KCET in Los Angeles and Lancit Media in New York City. It premiered on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 16, 1995, (although production was dated and first premiered on two Los Angeles PBS stations, KCET and KLCS, on September 15, 1994.) and ran for about four years, airing its final episode on December 4, 1998. Reruns were continued until March 31, 2000. It became one of PBS Kids most popular series on the line-up since Barney & Friends and Sesame Street. It follows a multi-ethnic group of kids (puppets) from different parts of the United States who hang out at "the Puzzle Place", which is a teen hangout themed around jigsaw puzzle pieces. In each episode the characters are confronted with an everyday conflict usually encountered in childhood and even early teenage years, such as making moral decisions, sharing, racism, sexism, etc.

Characters

Julie Woo

A Chinese American girl from San Francisco, California. She is very sensitive and caring of her personal possessions and she sometimes tries a little too hard, and her favorite thing is singing. She is puppeteered by Alice Dinnean-Vernon.

Kiki Flores

A Mexican American girl from San Antonio, Texas. She is very outgoing and has a temper. She once pretended to be a homeless alien after being teased about her "accent" . She also is a great chili cook and has a Spanish-speaking cousin who helped everyone to learn about acceptance. She is puppeteered by Carmen Osbahr.

Ben Olafson

A boy of German and Norwegian descent from a farm near Renner, South Dakota. He is good at difficult puzzles and is a talented dancer. Though normally easily going and friendly, he can be unforgiving when angered. He is puppeteered by Jim Martin.

Leon MacNeal

An African American boy from New York City. He wears dreadlocks and gets jealous easily and sometimes does not think before he acts. Leon is a fan of hip-hop music and loves basketball. He is puppetered by both Noel MacNeal and Eric Jacobson. His first and last name are a direct allusion to his puppeteer, seeing as "Leon" is "Noel" backwards, and the fact that they share a last name.

Skye Nakaiye

An Apache boy from an Indian reservation in Arizona who always wears a bandana, a raincoat, and a feather necklace. He's very curious and always sticks to his values and his culture. He is puppeteered by both Peter Linz and Matt Vogel.

Jody Silver

A Lithuanian-Jewish girl from Cincinnati, Ohio. She does not like to be called names and is very gullible but is very enthusiastic. She is puppeteered by Alison Mork in Season 1, Stephanie D'Abruzzo in Season 2, and Terri Hardin in Season 3.

Sizzle and Nuzzle

The anthropomorphic pet dog and cat at the Puzzle Place. They are seen mostly in the basement, talking to each other and act as animals around the Puzzle Place kids. They are usually involved in a subplot. Sizzle is puppeteered and Voiced by Alice Dinnean-Vernon (who also performed Julie) and Nuzzle was performed and Voiced by Peter Linz (who also performed Skye).

The Piece Police

Multicolored inhabitants of the Puzzle Place. They speak, communicating amongst themselves using grumbling noises, although they understand the English language. It has been hinted in some episodes that they all know what both Sizzle and Nuzzle are saying. They are puppeteered by Carmen Osbahr (who also performed Kiki), Jim Martin (who also performed Ben), Noel MacNeal (who also performed Leon), and Alison Mork (who also performed Jody). Stephanie D'Abruzzo also singing.

Reception

In the weeks after its debut, The Puzzle Place won a great deal of acclaim and "enjoyed an average audience-per-viewing second only to Barney and Friends among shows in the popular PBS daily children's block."^[1] It received a citation of excellence from UNIMA-USA for its use of puppetry.^[2] In 1997, ten more episodes of the show were "in the works".^[3] Toys "R" Us, Sears, and Payless Shoe Source all announced that they would carry merchandising from the series and showcase that merchandise in its own separate "boutique" rather than integrating it with the other products.^[4]

Episode guide

Season One

1. Tippy Woo (January 16, 1995)
2. Train Driving Kids (January 17, 1995)
3. Rip Van Wrinkle (January 18, 1995)
4. Accentuate the Positive (January 19, 1995)
5. Gotta Dance (January 20, 1995)
6. Rudy One (January 23, 1995)
7. Butterfingers (January 24, 1995)
8. Rock Dreams (January 25, 1995)
9. Roamantics (January 26, 1995)
10. Spud Buds (January 27, 1995)
11. Different Drummer (January 30, 1995)
12. I Love Kiki (January 31, 1995)
13. True Colors (February 1, 1995)
14. Cute Is as Cute Does (February 2, 1995)
15. Leon's Pizza (February 3, 1995)
16. Real Horses (February 6, 1995)
17. Going by the Book (February 7, 1995)
18. Mad Music Magic (February 8, 1995)
19. Party of One (February 9, 1995)
20. Dancing Dragon (February 10, 1995)
21. Picture Perfect (February 13, 1995)
22. Maiden Voyages (February 14, 1995)
23. Donuts and Dithering (February 15, 1995)
24. Bully for Jody (February 16, 1995)
25. Ben's Bad Hair Day (February 17, 1995)
26. All Weather Friends (February 20, 1995)
27. Bread and Matzoh (February 21, 1995)
28. Owning It (February 22, 1995)
29. Baffled Ben (February 23, 1995)
30. Practice Makes Perfect (February 24, 1995)
31. Finders Keepers (February 27, 1995) (This episode been featured as a skit about trustworthiness on the Kids for Character with Tom Selleck VHS)
32. You Say Potato (February 28, 1995)
33. At the End of Our Rope (March 1, 1995)
34. Just Kidding (March 2, 1995)
35. Everything in Its Place (March 3, 1995)
36. Big Boys Don't Cry (March 6, 1995)
37. Here's to the Winners (March 7, 1995)
38. A World of Difference (March 8, 1995)
39. Willing and Able (March 9, 1995)
40. It's Magic (March 10, 1995)

Season Two

1. Deck the Halls (January 15, 1996)
2. Dressing Up is Hard to Do (January 16, 1996)
3. One Way (January 17, 1996)
4. Oldies But Goodies (January 18, 1996)
5. Helping Hands (January 19, 1996)
6. Yellow Belt (January 22, 1996)
7. The Mystery of the Fabulous Hat (January 23, 1996)
8. How Much is That Doggie in the Window? (January 24, 1996)
9. The New Adventures of Julie Woo (January 25, 1996)
10. We Three Kings (January 26, 1996)
11. Hello, Maggie (January 29, 1996)
12. Off the Track (January 30, 1996)
13. Beautiful Doll (January 31, 1996)
14. Tattle Tales (February 1, 1996)
15. Those Ears, Those Eyes (February 2, 1996)
16. That's Weird (February 5, 1996)
17. The Ballad of Davy Cricket (February 6, 1996)
18. Little Leon, Big Ben (February 7, 1996)
19. I Scream, You Scream (February 8, 1996)
20. Skye's Coat (February 9, 1996)
21. It's Mine (February 12, 1996)
22. One Big, Happy Family (February 13, 1996)
23. Leon Grows Up (February 14, 1996)
24. Cowpokes (February 15, 1996)
25. Hurricane Julie (February 16, 1996)

Season Three

1. Family Fun (October 19, 1998)
2. Anything She Can Do (October 20, 1998)
3. You Don't Match (October 21, 1998)
4. To Have and Have Not (October 26, 1998)
5. Fiesta Follies (October 27, 1998)
6. Between You and Me (October 28, 1998)
7. A Star is Burned (October 29, 1998)
8. Spooky (October 30, 1998)
9. Up! (December 3, 1998)
10. I'm Talking to You (December 4, 1998)

Merchandise

VHS

• Tuned In (10. Spud Buds and 14. Cute Is as Cute Does)
• Rock Dreams (18. Mad Music Magic and 8. Rock Dreams)
• Rip Van Wrinkle (17. Going by the Book and 3. Rip Van Wrinkle)
• Deck the Halls
• Sing-Along Songs
• Accentuate the Positive (6. Rudy One and 4. Accentuate the Positive)

Cancellation

After three seasons and 75 episodes, the show stopped production, but it was seen on reruns until March 31, 2000. The show was replaced on the PBS Kids schedule by Between the Lions the following Monday.

References

External links

• The Puzzle Place at the Internet Movie Database