Country of origin CanadaUnited States | ||
Original release September 30, 2000 – September 5, 2004 | ||
PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch was a Canadian/American children's animated television block produced by Toronto-based entertainment company Nelvana that aired on PBS from September 30, 2000, to September 5, 2004. It typically aired on either Saturday or Sunday mornings, depending on station preference and scheduling. The shows that formed the "Bookworm Bunch" were based on then-popular children's books. The initial shows were Timothy Goes to School, Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse, Corduroy, Elliot Moose, Maurice Sendak's Seven Little Monsters, and George Shrinks.
Contents
History
The idea behind "Bookworm Bunch" came about in August 1999, when Nelvana offered to create PBS' first-ever weekend cartoon block. A proposed show titled Junior Kroll and Company was set to premiere, but that idea was shelved and replaced by Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse. The block's first season premiered on September 30, 2000, and aired until October 27, 2001. It competed with another preschool-oriented Saturday morning cartoon block, Nick Jr. on CBS, which premiered two weeks prior. Originally, all the shows (with the exception of the first 15-minute "Corduroy" segment), were shown on the :15 and :45 minute mark, and ran for three hours. The second season premiered on November 3, 2001, and with this premiere came a drastic revamp. Corduroy and Elliot Moose were removed entirely, thus shortening the block to two hours. The four remaining shows were instead seen on the traditional :00 and :30 marks, and the first season was subsequently never shown again. By 2002, Timothy Goes to School and Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse had already ended production, but the two-hour weekend block continued to air in re-runs for two more years.
By 2003, some PBS stations began to gradually phase out the weekend block in favor of a non-branded weekday version, which premiered on January 6 of that year. The shows included The Berenstain Bears and new episodes of both Seven Little Monsters and George Shrinks. Berenstain Bears and Seven Little Monsters shared the same half-hour time-slot (with a 15-minute episode of each series, respectively). This experiment did not last very long, as Berenstain Bears eventually became a half-hour show beginning September 15, 2003, thus permanently removing Seven Little Monsters from the PBS lineup. A few stations continued to air Berenstain Bears/Seven Little Monsters well into 2004, though not many did so. George Shrinks was successful as a half-hour standalone program, and continued to air well into 2008 in some markets. It's important to note that some stations aired the weekday block as an hour-long one, while others scheduled the two shows at different times. A few other stations, including the former PBS Kids Channel, continued to air the two-hour weekend block until September 5, 2004.
After the cancellation of the "Bookworm Bunch", the non-cable qubo channel aired reruns of Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse and Timothy Goes to School as part of its daily programming. Elliot Moose reruns also aired on qubo from 2007–2010. Cable channel Discovery Kids also aired reruns of Timothy Goes to School from 2004 until 2006.