Pinwheel (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pinwheel |
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| Genre |
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| Created by | Vivian Horner |
| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Voices of |
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| Opening theme | "Pinwheel Theme" |
| Ending theme | "Pinwheel Theme" (followed by an instrumental arrangement) |
| Composer(s) | George James |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 260 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Vivian Horner Lois Fortune |
| Producer(s) | Sandy Kavanaugh |
| Production location(s) | Columbus, Ohio (1977–79) New York City (1979–84) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment |
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| Picture format | NTSC |
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| Original release | December 1, 1977 – 1984 |
Pinwheel was a special American TV show for kids. It was the very first show ever shown on Nickelodeon! It also started the Nick Jr. block, which is for younger children. The show was made for preschoolers, usually kids aged 2 to 6.
Vivian Horner, an educator, created Pinwheel. She had worked on Sesame Street before this show. Pinwheel was designed for young children who have short attention spans. Each episode was split into many small parts. These parts included songs, short plays, and animated cartoons.
The show takes place in a big house called Pinwheel House. A pinwheel on the roof makes the house work. The people and puppets who live there are the main characters. Many of the show's songs sound like they are played on a wind-up music box.
Contents
The Story of Pinwheel House
Pinwheel first aired on December 1, 1977. It was shown on Channel C-3 in Columbus, Ohio. This channel was part of a local cable system called QUBE. In April 1979, Channel C-3 grew into a national TV network. This network became what we know as Nickelodeon!
Pinwheel continued to be shown on Nickelodeon until 1990. From 1988 to 1990, it was only shown during the new Nick Jr. block. Over time, another preschool show called Eureeka's Castle took its place. Some people even called Eureeka's Castle a follow-up show to Pinwheel.
Life at Pinwheel House
The show is set in a large, old-fashioned house called Pinwheel House. A pinwheel on the roof powers the house. Human actors and puppets live and work together in the house and its yard. They talk about things that are important for kids to learn. These include sharing, being kind, and caring for the environment.
When Pinwheel became a national show in 1979, some things changed. The show started being filmed in New York City. The set of the house was rebuilt there. New actors like Arline Miyazaki, Betty Rozek, and Dale Engel joined the cast. They played Kim, Sal, and Smitty. New puppet characters were also created by Craig Marin and Olga Felgemacher.
Nickelodeon also bought many short children's films. These short films were shown during the show. They were used between the puppet and human parts. These shorts were also used in other early Nickelodeon shows.
Meet the Pinwheel Characters
The characters in Pinwheel are a mix of humans and puppets. They all live and work together in Pinwheel House.
Human Characters
- Franci (played by Franci Anderson) - Franci loves to tell stories. She also enjoys writing and acting in plays. She had a special glass box called a terrarium. Inside, she kept small alien puppets called the Wonkles. Franci was only in the first season of the show.
- Coco (played by Caroline Cox Loveheart and later Lindanell Rivera) - Coco is a mime from Paris. She never speaks, but she is very good at fixing things. She often had her own parts in the show. She would do magic tricks and mime routines. An unseen narrator would describe what she was doing.
- Jake (played by George James) - Jake loves music. He collects unusual sounds in small boxes. He opens them when he needs ideas for music. His room is full of musical instruments. He hangs them in a unique way on a coatrack.
- Smitty (played by Dale Engel) and Sal (played by Betty Rozek) - This elderly couple runs a local newspaper called The Daily Noodle. Smitty always tries to take a picture of a rare bird called the Admiral Bird. He wants it for the front page of his newspaper. But he always misses his chance!
- Kim (played by Arline Miyazaki) - Kim is Aurelia's niece. She is the artist of Pinwheel House. You often see her wearing a painter's smock. She also carries a painting palette. Besides painting, she sometimes makes sculptures.
Puppet Characters
- Aurelia - Aurelia owns Pinwheel House. She is like a mother figure to everyone. She has a friendly and bubbly personality. She works as a fortune teller. She has a special crystal ball that works like a telephone!
- Ebenezer T. Squint - Ebenezer is a green-skinned inventor and part-time magician. He lives in a basement storage room. He loves to build machines. He also tries to get featured in Smitty's newspaper. He pretends to be grumpy, but he secretly likes being part of things. He even wrote a song about weeds, which he collects!
- Plus and Minus - These are Aurelia's twin nephews. They live in the attic room. Plus has black hair and orange skin, while Minus has white hair and purple skin. Minus is very happy and excited. Plus is more thoughtful and can get discouraged easily. A common scene shows Plus trying to fly to the moon in a spaceship. But Minus often distracts him, making him miss the launch! Their favorite game is "Gotcha Last."
- Luigi O'Brien - Luigi is an Italian produce seller. He has a small food stand in the backyard. He is happy and relaxed. He often gives good advice. All of his fruits and vegetables can talk and sing! They each have their own personalities.
- Molly the Mole - Molly is an elderly mole. She lives in a tree in the backyard. She often introduces cartoon shorts by telling stories. Another mole named Leo sometimes visits her.
- The Admiral Bird - This is a bright red bird puppet. He is known for being hard to catch. He often drops from the sky with a strange call. Smitty dreams of taking his picture for the newspaper. But the Admiral Bird always teases Smitty and gets away!
- Silas the Snail - Silas is an elderly snail. He is always on his way to an annual snail gathering. But he never gets further than the backyard! This is because snails are very slow. He tells people to slow down and enjoy life. He says, "half the fun is getting there."
- The Hobo Bugs - These are a brother and sister pair of marionettes named Herbert and Lulu. They love to dance and play on the hedges in the backyard. They often visit Luigi's food stand. They ask for special items, like custom sandals. Luigi somehow always manages to make them! They also enjoy playing with Ebenezer. He usually tells them to leave him alone, but he secretly likes their company.
- The Wonkles - These are alien puppets from the planet Zintar. They live in Franci's garden terrarium. Three of them look like birds: Tika (yellow and pink), Gorkle (blue), and Woofle (red). Another Wonkle, a green creature named Sorbin, sometimes visits. These characters, along with Franci and Spiderbelle, left the show in 1979.
- Spiderbelle - Spiderbelle is a purple spider puppet who wears a bonnet. She also left the show in 1979, along with Franci and the Wonkles.
