Play School (Australian TV series)

Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia with an estimated 80% of children under four watching the programme at least once a month.[1] It is screened twice every weekday at 9am and 3pm on ABC TV.

History

Play School began production in 1966 based on a British programme of the same name. It has been produced continuously from this time. It has launched the careers of several Australian actors and television presenters. It was admitted to the Logies Hall of Fame on its 40th anniversary of the show in 2006. This was in recognition of the strong influence the show has had in at least three generations of Australian children. Play School was the third show to enter the Hall of Fame in its own right, after Four Corners (1992) and Neighbours (2005).

During the presentation of the Logie Awards, a package showing memorable scenes from the show throughout its history was shown, before notable presenters (from past and present) came onto the stage with some of the favourite toys from the show. After these presenters accepted the award, the audience then joined them for a stirring rendition of the Play School Theme.

On the 31 May 2004 a segment was shown showing what was taken by the public to be two lesbian women taking their children to an amusement park. A little girl narrated the clip, stating "My Mums are taking me and my friend Meryn to an amusement park." The clip was raised as controversial by the media, and three federal ministers expressed dislike over the screening of the clip. The ABC responded however, saying that "Play School aims to reflect the diversity of Australian children, embracing all manner of race, religions and family situations." The producers of the segment also said the segment showed the girl being accompanied by her birth mother and her step mother (hence "two mums") and they believed most people would automatically assume the same.

Format

The format of the show is activities, songs and games with either host passing back to each other at the end of their segment, and frequently joining each other in activities. Each day the presenters look at the calendar to find out which day of the week it is, read a story, and look through the windows. Every week there is a common theme running through the program that the actors will reflect upon during the episode.

Teachings

From the inception of the program, the producers of Play School have made efforts to promote equality, playful education, and a love of learning in its audience. Working on Play School has come to be considered an unusually demanding and important job for some actors, because they feel they are becoming part of a generation of children's lives and providing a foundation for learning things that will last for life.

Play School's stated philosophy is to encourage a child 'to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine'. The two presenters (always a male/female pairing) address the child directly and personally, so that every child watching the show feels that they are spending time with two people they know and can trust.

Into this relationship are woven the stories, songs, and activities that form the fabric of Australian children's culture. Play School is successful because it satisfies our basic human need to interact with other people and to be valued by them.

Themes

This is a list of themes presented over the Play School series:

Animals Babies Bags Beds Beginnings Birds Blocks Boats Boxes Buckets and Spades Building Buses and Trains Bush Cats and Dogs Celebration Changes Children's Games City Clothes Collections Communication Containers Dance and Shoes Dinosaurs Dogs and Cats Doors and Windows Dressing Earth Eggs

Environment Faces Family Feet Finding Out Fingers and Toes First Steps Flight Flowers Food Friends Friends and Family Frogs Funny Going Out Hair Hats Hip Hip Hooray Home Horses Light Machines Messy Move Music Native Animals Nursery Rhymes Open and Close Paper

Pigs Puppets Rhymes Road Safety Round and Round Sea Shapes and Patterns Sheep and Cows Shoes and Socks Shopping and Bags Space Television The Sea Theatre Time Tools and Toys Toys and Games Transport and Toys Travel Toys Treasures Trees Up Up and Away Vehicles Visual Arts Water Weather Well Being What If What is it Now?

Theme Song

There's a bear in there

And a chair as well

There are people with games

And stories to tell

Open wide, come inside

It's Play School.

Cast & Crew

Presenters

Current presenters

• Alex Papps (2005- current, 1+ year)
• Andrew McFarlane (2000- current, 6+ years)
• Brooke Satchwell (2005- current, 1+ year)
• Christine Anu (2004- current, 2+ years)
• Georgie Parker (2005- current, 2+ years)
• Jay Laga'aia (2000- current, 6+ years)
• Justine Clarke (2000- current, 6+ years)
• Karen Pang (1998- current, 8+ years)
• Leah Vandenberg (2000- current, 6+ years)
• Matt Passmore (2002- current, 4+ years)
• Rhys Muldoon (2000- current, 6+ years)
• Simon Burke (1988- current, 18 years)
• Sofya Gollan (1991- current, 15+ years)
• Teo Gebert (2003- current, 3+ years)
• Brenton Maxfield (2004- current, 2+ years)

Long-running presenters

Long-running Play School presenters have included:

• Don Spencer (1968-1999, 31 years) (who also appeared in the UK Play School)
• Benita Collings (1969-1999, 30 years)
• John Hamblin (1970-1999, 29 years)
• Alister Smart (1966-1993, 27 years)
• Noni Hazlehurst (1978-2001, 23 years)
• John Waters (1972-1991, 19 years)
• Janet Kingsbury (1969-1986, 17 years) (as Jan)
• Philip Quast (1981-1996, 15 years)
• George Spartels (1985-1999, 14 years)
• Lorraine Bayly (1966-1978, 12 years)
• Trisha Goddard (1987-1999, 12 years)
• Monica Trapaga (1990-1998, 8 years)
• Colin Buchanan (1991-1999, 8 years)
• Simon Burke (?)

Other Presenters

• Angela Moore (1994-2000, 6 years)
• Anne Haddy (1966-19??)
• Barbara Frawley (? -1980's)
• Carlton Lamb (1992-1993, 1 year)
• Colin Friels (? -1980)
• Darlene Johnson (1968- ?)
• David James (1994-2000, 6 years)
• David McCubbin (1991-1995, 4 years)
• David Whitney (? -2002)
• Deborah Mailman (1998-2001, 3 years)
• Dianne Dorgan (1966- ?)
• Donald MacDonald (1966- ?)
• Elaine Hudson (1980's)
• Glenn Butcher (1997-2000, 3 years)
• Ingrid Ruz (? -2001)
• James Valentine (1989 & 1992)
• Jamie Oxenbould (? -1997)
• Jennifer Ludlam (? -1987)
• Jeremy Scrivener (? -1994)
• Joy Hopwood (1995-1997, 2 years)
• Ken Shorter (1969- ?)
• Kerry Francis (1966- ?)
• Liddy Clark (?)
• Liz Burch (?)
• Mark Owen-Taylor (? -2000)
• Merridy Eastman (1986-1989, 3 years)
• Nicholas Opolski (?-1994)
• Penny Biggins (?)
• Peter Sumner (1974-198?)
• Ruth Cracknell (1960's)
• Sarah Chadwick (?- 1991)
• Tara Morice (1989 & 1993)
• Tom Oliver (19??)

another person

Musicians

Pianist

• Brian Castles-Onion
• Peter Dasent

Toys

The presenters are accompanied by a supporting cast of toys and dolls:

Teddies

• Big Tyler, a very big bear
• Little Ted, a brown bear
• Big Ted, a yellow bear
• Maurice, a white bear

Dolls

• Jemima, a ragdoll
• Jim
• Kim & Lisa
• Meeka
• Hamble

Animals

• Darcy (the Donkey)
• Daisy (the Cow)
• Diddle (the Cat)
• Fergus (the Frog)
• Henny Penny (the Hen)
• Owl
• Sam (the Lamb)
• Scrap (the Dog)
• Slush (the Pig)

Other Toys

• Humpty Dumpty (known as 'Humpty'), a soft toy version of the nursery rhyme egg.
• Banana - a character later used in the spin-off Bananas in Pyjamas.

Pets

• Bit and Bot - Fish
• Henry and Henrietta - Mice
• Jack and Jill - Guinea Pigs
• Peppino and Peppina - Budgerigars

See also

• ABC TV
• Play School (UK TV series)
• List of Australian television series
• List of Australian Broadcasting Corporation programs

External links

• Play School on IMDB
• Official Play School Website