Lamb Chop's Play Along

Production

PBS commissioned the show from Shari Lewis in May 1991, and the show premiered in September 1991. This marked Lewis' return to television after about 15 years (following the BBC version of The Shari Lewis Show in 1975). Lamb Chop's Play-Along was shot at the CBC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The series honoured Lewis' father, college professor Abraham Hurwitz - "the official magician of New York City".

Ellensburg Daily Record explains: "each half hour is filled with jokes, games, songs, and tricks".

Philosophy

Shari Lewis said her goal for the audience is "participation, not passive observance". She said: "our goal is, don't just sit there - come play with me". She wanted to "attack the shorter attention span of today's children with a fast-paced show using colorful electronic effects". She said in an interview with Philadelphia Inquirer: "I know that when children watch TV, they go into a stupor. Parents think (their children) are interested, but what they really are is [bored]".

Lewis testified that making smart content for kids was not that hard to produce and should be done with increasing frequency. She said that if kids are challenged, they will be productive members of society. She said "I don't care if you tack a prosocial message at the end of the show. You have not done a quality show".

Synopsis

Appropriately, Lamb Chop is a sheep; other characters are puppets of other farm animals, including Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy.

Cast

Episodes

86 half-hour episodes produced.

Season 1 (1991–1993)

1. Charlie's Basketball Shoes (4 acts)
2. Stop Biting Your Nails (4 acts)
3. Too Sick to Go to The Circus (5 acts)
4. Hush Puppy and the Bully (4 acts)
5. Lamb Chop Gets The Sniffles (5 acts)
6. Lamb Chop's Hiccups (3 acts)
7. Charlie's Magic Kit (2 acts)
8. Lamb Chop Works Out (4 acts)
9. The Charlie Newspaper (4 acts)
10. Robin Hoof (3 acts)
11. Charlie's Toothache (4 acts)
12. Hush Puppy Practices Baseball (3 acts)
13. Hush Puppy's Trip to Yzarc (4 acts)
14. Lamb Chop's Imaginary Friend (3 acts)
15. Charlie Horse Directs a Movie (4 acts)
16. Lamb Chop Runs Away (5 acts)
17. Charlie's Lemonade Stand (4 acts)
18. Lolly Crushing on Hush Puppy (4 acts)
19. Rings and Cookies (4 acts)
20. Happy Birthday Charlie Horse (4 acts)
21. Shari and Lamb Chop Switch Places (4 acts)
22. Charlie Horse for Class President (4 acts)
23. Shari's Obedience School (4 acts)
24. Lamb Chop and the Necklace (4 acts)/Shari Tells the Story of the Musicians of Bremen
25. Lamb Chop's Allowance (4 acts)
26. Lamb Chop Practices for a Talent Show (3 acts)
27. Hush Puppy and the Ice Show (3 acts)
28. Lamb Chop Wants to be Big (2 acts)
29. The Lamb Chop Show

Season 2 (1993–1994)

1. So Long Freddy (3 acts)
2. Shari Makes a Beanstalk
3. School Daze (3 acts)
4. The Circus (1 act)
5. I'm Back! (2 acts)
6. Shari Tells the story of Tikki Tikki Tembo
7. Farnsworth (3 acts)
8. A Cat By Any Other Name (3 acts)
9. Born To Dance (3 acts)
10. Super Angelo (3 acts)
11. I Write The Songs (1 act)
12. United We Stand (3 acts)
13. Lucky Puppy (3 acts)
14. The Wallet (3 acts)
15. Trading Bases (4 acts)
16. When You Grow Up (3 acts)
17. Lamb Chop's Cold
18. Musical Chopsticks (3 acts)
19. Principal Swanson (3 acts)
20. Gold Diggers (3 acts)
21. The Story of How Baby Lamb Chop Learned to Walk
22. Peer Pressure (3 acts)
23. Toulouse La Chop (3 acts)
24. Anchor Desk (3 acts)
25. The Dark (3 acts)
26. Lamb Chop's Lullaby

Season 3 (1994–1995)

1. Horse of a Different Color (2 acts)
2. Monopoly (3 acts)
3. TATTLETALE! (3 acts)
4. Sooo Mad! (3 acts)
5. Lamb Chop's Pet (3 acts)
6. Togetherness (3 acts)
7. What A Mess (3 acts)
8. Buster and Butch the bully
9. Busted-up Buster (3 acts)
10. Lamb Chop practicing violin

Season 4 (1995–1997)

1. Charlie Horse tells a lie (3 acts)
2. Shari's Favorite? (3 acts)
3. Lamb Chop's Art embarresses Charlie Horse (3 acts)
4. A Yo-Yo for Hush Puppy (3 acts)
5. Lamb Chop's Glasses (3 acts)
6. Counting on Your Knuckles

Introduced in Season 1

Introduced in Season 2

Introduced in Season 3

Introduced in Season 4

Critical reception

The show received a rating of 8.0 based on 128 votes, at TV.com, and score of 7.8/10 at IMDb based on 407 ratings. Greensboro News & Record said of this show, "she (Lewis) made the sort of mischief that gave a vicarious thrill to millions of children watching at home".

Syndication

Reruns of the first 26 episodes were broadcast on Qubo's digital channel, which is partially owned by Classic Media. In 2012 Kids & Teens TV started airing the series. The show can be seen as a skit in the Fairness segment from episode 5 of the 4th season of the series which is used for Kids for Character.