Vegetable Soup (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vegetable Soup |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Written by | Yanna Kroyt Brandt Terence Taylor John L. Figueroa Carolyn Miller Jesús Papoleto Meléndez Brumsic Brandon, Jr. Lou Potter Joan Griffiths Lucille Clifton |
| Directed by | George Bowers Luis Soto Al Brodax Douglas Cheek Frank S. Abbott Ivan Cury |
| Starring | Gordon Smith Carla Pinza Gary Goodrow Kingman Hui |
| Voices of | James Earl Jones Bette Midler |
| Opening theme | Vegetable Soup |
| Composer(s) | Bob Sakayama |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Yanna Kroyt Brandt |
| Producer(s) | Yanna Kroyt Brandt Al Brodax George Bowers William Hetzer |
| Editor(s) | Paul Evans Joe Staton |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Production company(s) | New York State Education Department, Bureau of Mass Communications |
| Distributor | PBS |
| Release | |
| Original release | September 22, 1975 – December 14, 1978 |
Vegetable Soup was a fun and educational TV show for kids. It was made in America by the New York State Education Department. The show first aired on PBS from September 22, 1975, to December 14, 1978. Interestingly, NBC also showed it on Sunday mornings. This was special because it meant the show was on both public and commercial TV at the same time!
In 2019, many episodes of Vegetable Soup were saved digitally. The New York State Archives made 40 episodes available online. You can find them in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Each episode was a mix of different styles. They included live actors, cartoons, puppets, and other cool media.
Contents
Why Vegetable Soup Was Made
The main idea behind Vegetable Soup was to help kids. It aimed to fight against negative ideas about different races. The show wanted to stop kids from feeling alone because of their background. It also wanted to show how great it is that people are all different.
The creators wanted to teach kids about human diversity. They did this in a fun and easy-to-understand way. The show used many different methods to entertain and educate. It combined music, animation, puppets, and live-action films. These parts all focused on how diverse people are. This included differences in money, race, and culture.
Fun Segments of the Show
Vegetable Soup had many regular parts that kids loved. Here are some of the popular segments:
- The Big Game Hunt - This segment was hosted by Gary Goodrow.
- The Big Job Hunt - Susan Taylor was the host of this part.
- Children's Questions - This segment answered questions from young viewers.
- How Do You Find Yourself? - A segment about self-discovery.
- Know Yourself - This part encouraged kids to learn about themselves.
- Long Ago - This segment explored stories from the past.
- Luther - A recurring segment featuring a character named Luther.
- Make A New Friend - This part taught kids about making new friends.
- Mr. Emeritus - Another regular segment with a special character.
- Nigel - This segment featured a character named Nigel.
- Outerscope 1 - A segment that explored different topics.
- Real People - This part showed stories about everyday people.
- Storytelling Time - A segment dedicated to sharing stories.
- Superlative Horse - This segment featured a special horse.
- What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? - This part explored different career ideas.
- What Would You Do? - A segment that presented dilemmas for kids to think about.
- Woody the Spoon Recipes - This part showed fun recipes with Woody the Spoon.
- Words Have Stories - This segment explored the history of words.
Meet the Characters
The show had many memorable characters and actors. Here are some of them:
- Long John Spoilsport (James Earl Jones) - This character often appeared in "The Big Game Hunt" and "The Big Job Hunt."
- Larry Hama - He hosted many different segments on the show.
- Kingman Hui - This child actor starred in the "Long Ago" segment.
- Martin Harris (Martin Brayboy) - He was a regular in the "Nigel" segment.
- Eddie (Edward M. Beckford, Jr.) - Also a regular in the "Nigel" segment. He sang the show's opening song!
- Scot Richardson (Scot Smith) - He also appeared regularly in the "Nigel" segment.
- Bob (Daniel Stern) and Robin (Judy Noble) - These two were often seen in the "Outerscope" segment.
- Woody the Spoon (Bette Midler) - This fun character was in the "Woody the Spoon Recipes" segment. Bette Midler did all the voice work for Woody.
How the Animations Were Made
The animated parts of Vegetable Soup were very important. Jim Simon's Wantu Studios created many of them. They made the musical opening for the show. They also created 13 "Woody the Spoon" cooking spots. Plus, they made 48 short, thirty-second animated breaks.
Later, starting in the second season, Colossal Pictures also made many animated segments. Vegetable Soup was one of their first big projects. Animators Drew Takahashi and Gary Gutierrez worked on the show's first season. They did this before Colossal Pictures was even officially started.
