Sesame Park
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Sesame Park | |
---|---|
Also known as | Sesame Street Canada (1972-1980's) Canadian Sesame Street (1980's-1996) |
Created by | Daniel McCarthy |
Country of origin | Canada[a] |
Original languages | English French |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 340 |
Production | |
Producer | Daniel McCarthy |
Running time | 60 minutes (1972–1996) 30 minutes (1996–2001) |
Production companies | Sesame Workshop Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
Original release | |
Network | CBC Television |
Release | May 15, 1972 August 24, 2001 | –
Related | |
Sesame Street |
Sesame Park is the Canadian[b] version of Sesame Street co-produced by Sesame Workshop and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named Sesame Street Canada and later, Canadian Sesame Street, with some of the segments replaced with ones produced in Canada and later featuring Canadian-exclusive Muppet characters. In 1996, the series adopted a new format and was renamed Sesame Park.[1]
Canadian Sesame Street
The series was later titled Canadian Sesame Street. During the 1970s and 1980s it anchored a three-show block that included
Most of the production of the Canadian segments took place in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Halifax, and Montreal.
Content
In 1972, the bulk of Sesame Street's content was licensed out to
In 1981, the amount of Canadian content per show was increased to 30 minutes.
In 1990 a seasonal special was created for the series, titled Basil Hears A Noise.[3]
Characters
In 1987, a series of specially made Canadian
The Henson Muppet shop also provided some Anything Muppets which could be redressed to become whatever characters the script called for, including Barbara Plum (a parody of CBC broadcasting legend Barbara Frum). Beau Beaver, an animated character, would discuss national symbols, particularly those appearing on Canadian money. In 1994, anchorman Peter Londonbridge and storyteller Margaret Redwood were added to the cast.[6]
Messaging
The 1987 season focused on multiculturalism, family, and the environment.[5]
Sesame Park
In 1996, the CBC decided to take on the job of producing different kinds of content for the series; specifically to have their own "street". Producer Shirley Greenfield and screenwriter Jill Golick decided to set the show in a park, rather than on an urban street. A new half-hour series entitled Sesame Park was born. The series premiered in September 1996.[1] It joined the CBC Playground lineup on October 21, along with Wimzie's House.[7]
The show's animated sequences were created in Toronto, while live-action segments were shot in Regina, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.[8]
Sesame Park was cancelled in 2001 for undisclosed reasons.[citation needed]
Characters
Added to the cast were a
Guest appearances included
Content
About sixty percent of the new series was produced in Canada, with the remaining forty percent being segments from Children's Television Workshop.[1]
Awards
In 1999, the series received its nomination and win from the Gemini Awards, for Best Preschool Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb). Bob Stutt was nominated that year for Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series. In 2000, Sheila McCarthy won Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series, for her role in an episode of the show, beating out fellow guest star Pier Kohl, as well as others. In 2001, the series won Best Preschool Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb), beating out Land O' Hands and The Nook Counting Network. Guest Eric Peterson won again for Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series, beating out Pier Kohl, James Rankin, Natasha LaForce and Gisèle Corinthios.
Legacy
As with the original Sesame Street, some segments of Canadian Sesame Street and Sesame Park were farmed out to other versions of Sesame Street, in particular,
Sesame Street now airs on
Cast
- Basil the Polar Bear (1987–1996)[9]
- Trish Leeper - Katie,[8]Barbara Plum
- Rob Mills - Dodi (1987–1996),[9] Garth Burmengi
- Pierre Paquette - Louis the Otter[8][9]
- Derek Ritschel - Ray
- Gord Robertson - Dodi (assistance in flying sequences)
- Basil the Polar Bear(1996–2001)
- Karen Valleau -
- Noreen Young - Dodi (1996–2001)[8]
References
- ^ Hamilton Spectator. 15 February 1996. pp. F4.
- ^ "Friendly Giant producer Daniel McCarthy dies, Former head of CBC children's programming also developed Mr. Dressup". CBC News. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
- The Toronto Star. 8 December 1990. pp. S5.
- Montreal Gazette, April 11, 1987.
- ^ The Toronto Star. 2 July 1988. pp. F8.
- The Toronto Sun. 24 June 1994. p. 94.
- ^ Quill, Greg (2 October 1996). "Kids' CBC". The Toronto Star. Toronto ON. p. B3.
- ^ a b c d e f Gorman, Brian (31 October 2000). "Sesame Park's cast and crew - small but mighty; All-Canadian series consists of five talented puppeteers". The Chronicle Herald. pp. M19.
- ^ The Toronto Star. pp. S4.
- ^ The original series was produced in the United States. Originally, only the especially-made segments were Canadian, but after the Sesame Park rebranding, the show became fully Canadian.
- ^ The original series was produced in the United States. Originally, only the especially-made segments were Canadian, but after the Sesame Park rebranding, the show became fully Canadian.
External links
- Sesame Park at IMDb
- Sesame Park on Muppet Wiki