The Electric Company

By Adam Thomas

Wednesday February 15, 2006

Children’s Television Workshop Featuring voices and appearances by an insane cast of unknowns and celebrities like Zero Mostel, Mel Blanc, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, Gene Wilder, Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno and more, this PBS show was amazing. Focusing on reading and early learning, it opened with its signature scream of “Hey You Guys!” There were animations, puppets, weird movies, songs and even a live action Spiderman segment where he shot a real web. Running from 1971 to 1977 it was a flagship program for PBS, proving educational programming can be awesome. Having disappeared for years, a two disc “Best Of” is available on DVD as of February 21st, with rumour of a new version in the works.