Hi-5 (American TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hi-5 |
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Genre |
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Directed by | Rob Cotterill |
Presented by |
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Opening theme | "Hi-5 Theme" |
Ending theme | "Hi-5 Theme (Reprise)" |
Composer(s) | Chris Harriott |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 70 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Helena Harris |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor | Southern Star International |
Release | |
Original network | Discovery Kids TLC |
Picture format | |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | February 15, 2003 | – October 7, 2006
Chronology | |
Related shows | Hi-5 (Australian TV series) |
Hi-5 (also known as Hi-5 USA) is an American children's television series produced by Kids Like Us, which aired on Discovery Kids and TLC on the Ready Set Learn blocks of both networks. It is based on the Australian series of the same name, created by Helena Harris and Posie Graeme-Evans. The program is known for its educational content, and pop music appeal, with the cast of the show known collectively as Hi-5. The series premiered on February 15, 2003. The program was nominated for three Emmy Awards.
Contents
Format
Hi-5 is a variety-style series for preschoolers which features music as an integral part of its premise. The program features five presenters who are collectively known as Hi-5, and perform songs as a group as well as presenting individual segments.
The Puzzles and Patterns segment has a focus on logical thinking and mathematics, with a puppet named Jup Jup used as a tool for the presenter to complete puzzles or solve problems. The presenter of Body Move encourages children to participate in movement and dance, developing physical coordination and motor development. Linguistics and aural skills are at the centre of the Word Play segment, featuring a puppet named Chatterbox who assists in the exploration of language through stories and rhymes. Shapes in Space focuses on visual and spatial awareness, with the presenter exploring shapes, colour and everyday materials such as boxes and playdough. Musicality is explored through Making Music, with an emphasis on pitch, rhythm, beat, melody, and using a variety of real and pretend instruments. The final segment in which the cast comes together is entitled Sharing Stories, where a story is told that explores interpersonal relationships and emotions.
The episodes are bookended with a Song of the Week; a pop-style feature song which corresponds with the weekly theme and sets an educational topic for the week's episodes.
Production
Due to the popularity and international appeal of the original Hi-5 series in Australia, it was announced in 2002 that a local American series would be introduced. The U.S. version was filmed in the Australian studios from September 2002 to February 2003 and made its debut in February, premiering on TLC and Discovery Kids. The cast consisted of Kimee Balmilero, Karla Cheatham Mosley, Curtis Cregan, Jennifer Korbee (née Peterson-Hind) and Shaun Taylor-Corbett. The series was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
The final group of 10 episodes from the second season premiered on September 25, 2006.
In late 2006, Cheatham Mosley and Taylor-Corbett left the cast to pursue other ventures. New touring members Sydney James and Yasmeen Sulieman joined Balmilero, Cregan, and Korbee, but were not featured in the television series. The group last performed together in Puerto Rico in 2008.
Cast
Presenters
- Kimee Balmilero - Puzzles and Patterns
- Karla Cheatham Mosley - Body Move
- Curtis Cregan - Making Music
- Jennifer Korbee (née Peterson-Hind) - Word Play
- Shaun Taylor-Corbett - Shapes in Space
Sydney James and Yasmeen Sulieman joined the group in late 2006, replacing Taylor-Corbett and Cheatham Mosley, respectively, but were not featured in the television series.
Series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 45 | 25 | February 24, 2003 | March 28, 2003 |
20 | April 19, 2004 | May 14, 2004 | ||
2 | 25 | 15 | September 26, 2005 | October 14, 2005 |
10 | September 25, 2006 | October 6, 2006 |
Episodes
Season 1 (2003–04)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Song of the Week | Theme | Original air date | |||||||
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1 | 1 | "Touching" | Five Senses | Senses | February 24, 2003 | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Hearing" | Five Senses | Senses | February 25, 2003 | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Seeing" | Five Senses | Senses | February 26, 2003 | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Smelling" | Five Senses | Senses | February 27, 2003 | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Tasting" | Five Senses | Senses | February 28, 2003 | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Jungle Animals" | So Many Animals | Animals | March 3, 2003 | |||||||
7 | 7 | "Insects" | So Many Animals | Animals | March 4, 2003 | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Farm Animals" | So Many Animals | Animals | March 5, 2003 | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Water Animals" | So Many Animals | Animals | March 6, 2003 | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Animals in the Neighborhood" | So Many Animals | Animals | March 7, 2003 | |||||||
11 | 11 | "Machines in the House" | Robot Number One | Machines | March 10, 2003 | |||||||
12 | 12 | "Machines in the City" | Robot Number One | Machines | March 11, 2003 | |||||||
13 | 13 | "Machines in the Country" | Robot Number One | Machines | March 12, 2003 | |||||||
14 | 14 | "Machines That Carry People" | Robot Number One | Machines | March 13, 2003 | |||||||
15 | 15 | "Fun Machines" | Robot Number One | Machines | March 14, 2003 | |||||||
16 | 16 | "Adventures to Other Countries" | North, South, East and West | Adventure | March 17, 2003 | |||||||
17 | 17 | "Adventures Around Your House" | North, South, East and West | Adventure | March 18, 2003 | |||||||
18 | 18 | "Adventures Around Your Town" | North, South, East and West | Adventure | March 19, 2003 | |||||||
19 | 19 | "Adventures to the Universe" | North, South, East and West | Adventure | March 20, 2003 | |||||||
20 | 20 | "Underground" | North, South, East and West | Adventure | March 21, 2003 | |||||||
21 | 21 | "Outside" | Ready or Not | Games | March 24, 2003 | |||||||
22 | 22 | "Rainy Days" | Ready or Not | Games | March 25, 2003 | |||||||
23 | 23 | "Fantasy Games" | Ready or Not | Games | March 26, 2003 | |||||||
24 | 24 | "Physical Games" | Ready or Not | Games | March 27, 2003 | |||||||
25 | 25 | "Silly Day" | Ready or Not | Games | March 28, 2003 | |||||||
' | ||||||||||||
26 | 26 | "Faces" | Move Your Body | Bodies | April 19, 2004 | |||||||
27 | 27 | "Arms and Legs" | Move Your Body | Bodies | April 20, 2004 | |||||||
28 | 28 | "Movement" | Move Your Body | Bodies | April 21, 2004 | |||||||
29 | 29 | "Inside and Outside" | Move Your Body | Bodies | April 22, 2004 | |||||||
30 | 30 | "Games and Sports" | Move Your Body | Bodies | April 23, 2004 | |||||||
31 | 31 | "Imaginary Friends" | Three Wishes | Wishes | April 26, 2004 | |||||||
32 | 32 | "When I Grow Up" | Three Wishes | Wishes | April 27, 2004 | |||||||
33 | 33 | "Imaginary Places" | Three Wishes | Wishes | April 28, 2004 | |||||||
34 | 34 | "Daydreams" | Three Wishes | Wishes | April 29, 2004 | |||||||
35 | 35 | "What If?" | Three Wishes | Wishes | April 30, 2004 | |||||||
36 | 36 | "Instruments" | Feel the Beat | Music | May 3, 2004 | |||||||
37 | 37 | "Styles of Music" | Feel the Beat | Music | May 4, 2004 | |||||||
38 | 38 | "Music from Around the World" | Feel the Beat | Music | May 5, 2004 | |||||||
39 | 39 | "Music and Movement" | Feel the Beat | Music | May 6, 2004 | |||||||
40 | 40 | "Silly Music" | Feel the Beat | Music | May 7, 2004 | |||||||
41 | 41 | "Imagination" | Living in a Rainbow | Colors | May 10, 2004 | |||||||
42 | 42 | "Animals" | Living in a Rainbow | Colors | May 11, 2004 | |||||||
43 | 43 | "Nature" | Living in a Rainbow | Colors | May 12, 2004 | |||||||
44 | 44 | "Favorites and Feelings" | Living in a Rainbow | Colors | May 13, 2004 | |||||||
45 | 45 | "Playing" | Living in a Rainbow | Colors | May 14, 2004 |
Season 2 (2005–06)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Song of the Week | Theme | Original air date | |||||||
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46 | 1 | "Making in Nature" | Making Music | Making | September 26, 2005 | |||||||
47 | 2 | "Making a Work of Art" | Making Music | Making | September 27, 2005 | |||||||
48 | 3 | "Making a Space for Me" | Making Music | Making | September 28, 2005 | |||||||
49 | 4 | "Making a Surprise" | Making Music | Making | September 29, 2005 | |||||||
50 | 5 | "Things That Animals Create" | Making Music | Making | September 30, 2005 | |||||||
51 | 6 | "Games and Sports" | Action Hero | Action | October 3, 2005 | |||||||
52 | 7 | "Jobs" | Action Hero | Action | October 4, 2005 | |||||||
53 | 8 | "Machines and Other Things That Move" | Action Hero | Action | October 5, 2005 | |||||||
54 | 9 | "Action Heroes" | Action Hero | Action | October 6, 2005 | |||||||
55 | 10 | "Health and Fitness" | Action Hero | Action | October 7, 2005 | |||||||
56 | 11 | "Sports" | T.E.A.M. | Teams | October 10, 2005 | |||||||
57 | 12 | "When Am I a Team Player?" | T.E.A.M. | Teams | October 11, 2005 | |||||||
58 | 13 | "Animals" | T.E.A.M. | Teams | October 12, 2005 | |||||||
59 | 14 | "Cooperation and Communities" | T.E.A.M. | Teams | October 13, 2005 | |||||||
60 | 15 | "Teams" | T.E.A.M. | Teams | October 14, 2005 | |||||||
' | ||||||||||||
61 | 16 | "Wonderful World" | Some Kind of Wonderful | Wonderful | September 25, 2006 | |||||||
62 | 17 | "Wonderful People" | Some Kind of Wonderful | Wonderful | September 26, 2006 | |||||||
63 | 18 | "Wonderful Places" | Some Kind of Wonderful | Wonderful | September 27, 2006 | |||||||
64 | 19 | "Wonderful Days" | Some Kind of Wonderful | Wonderful | September 28, 2006 | |||||||
65 | 20 | "Wonderful Gifts and Treasures" | Some Kind of Wonderful | Wonderful | September 29, 2006 | |||||||
66 | 21 | "Animals" | Underwater Discovery | Journeys | October 2, 2006 | |||||||
67 | 22 | "People" | Underwater Discovery | Journeys | October 3, 2006 | |||||||
68 | 23 | "Places" | Underwater Discovery | Journeys | October 4, 2006 | |||||||
69 | 24 | "Journeys Through Life" | Underwater Discovery | Journeys | October 5, 2006 | |||||||
70 | 25 | "Journeys Through Your Imagination" | Underwater Discovery | Journeys | October 6, 2006 |
Other media
Music
The program uses music as an integral part of its concept, and like the original Australian group, the cast of the American series became a recognised musical group for children outside of the show, known collectively as Hi-5. The debut album of the group, Jump and Jive with Hi-5, corresponded with the first season of the show and was released in September 2004 by Koch Entertainment. A special holiday album, It's a Hi-5 Christmas, was released in October 2005. The cast also toured malls and theaters in the U.S., performing songs from the television series. After Cheatham Mosley and Taylor-Corbett departed, the group continued to tour around America with Sulieman and James throughout 2007 before the group's final performance in Puerto Rico in 2008. Chris Harriott is the primary composer of the show, with the songs written for the Australian group also being used for the American cast.
Home media
MGM Home Entertainment, through the MGM Kids label, released 3 VHS/DVD's on August 3, 2004, titled "Color Craze", "Music Magic" and "Game Time!". Each volume contained three episodes.
In 2006, the home video rights were transferred over to Well Go USA, who would release many DVDs based on the show, eventually releasing the complete series on four DVD boxsets from 2008 until 2009.
Awards and nominations
The series was nominated for an Emmy in 2005, 32nd Daytime Emmy Awards 2006, 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards 2007 34th Daytime Emmy Awards.
- Barrera, Sandra. (August 18, 2007) Los Angeles Daily News Hi-5 cast members talk about what it's like to be pop icons and role models. Section: LA.COM; Page L12
See also
In Spanish: Hi-5: USA para niños