Beakman's World
Encyclopedia
Beakman's World is an educational children's television show produced by ELP Communications
, Columbia Pictures Television
, Universal
Belo
Productions, and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution
.
The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate
syndicated comic strip You Can With Beakman and Jax
created by Jok Church. The series premiered September 18, 1992 on The Learning Channel
(TLC) cable network and in national syndication (225 stations, a freshman year record). On September 18, 1993 it moved from national syndication to CBS
Saturday morning children’s lineup. At the peak of its popularity, it was seen in nearly 90 countries around the world. The series was canceled in mid-1998. Reruns returned to national syndication in September 2006, after which it was transferred to local stations such as KICU. The show debuted a year prior to Bill Nye the Science Guy
, which covered similar topics. The show's host, Paul Zaloom
, still performs as Beakman in live appearances around the globe.
as Beakman, an eccentric scientist
who performed comical experiments and demonstrations in response to viewer mail to illustrate various scientific concepts from density
to electricity
to flatulence
. When his experiments were successful, he would often exclaim "Zaloom!", referring to his last name.
Over the years, Beakman was aided in his experiments by a female assistant just as in the comic strip on which it was based. The assistant's name changed throughout the show's run; for the episodes of season 1, it was Josie (played by Alanna Ubach
); for the episodes of seasons 2 and 3, it was Liza (played by Eliza Schneider
); and for the episodes of season 4, it was Phoebe (played by Senta Moses
). Beakman was also assisted by his "lab rat" Lester. In the pilot episode, Lester was a puppet
, but in every subsequent episode he was simply a clueless, crude man (Mark Ritts
) in a tattered rat suit. In a running joke
, it was never asserted that his character was actually supposed to be a rat; rather he was specifically identified by himself and others as a guy in a rat suit, or as a serious actor with a bad agent. Sometimes unwilling to help out, Lester was often persuaded by Beakman with the promise of food. Another occasional cast member is the unseen cameraman "Ray," who is played by prop-master Ron Jancula's hands. Ray assists Beakman by handing him various items, such as the "boguscope." It is suggested throughout the program that Ray has a romantic crush on the show's unnamed makeup lady. Actress Jean Stapleton also appeared on the show as Beakman's mother, "Beakmom". In some of the skits during the show the character Professor I.M. Boring (also played by Paul Zaloom, in a dual role
) makes appearances and talks about various science topics. Zaloom also appeared as various 'guest scientists' and historic figures, such as Thomas A. Edison, Robert H. Goddard, and Philo T. Farnsworth. When Senta Moses was added to the show's cast, the producers began to use a majority of the sound effects from the NBC game show Scrabble
.
One segment of the show was the famed "Beakman Challenge". During this segment, Beakman would challenge Lester to do a stunt that illustrated a basic scientific feat. During the first season, virtually every challenge related to either Air Pressure or Bernoulli's Principle
. The show addressed this during the second season, by having Lester exclaim to Beakman (as he was explaining the science behind a trick) "AIR PRESSURE! IT'S ALWAYS AIR PRESSURE!"
At the beginning and end of the show, as well as before or after commercial breaks, the show featured short scenes portraying puppet penguin
s, Don (voiced by Bert Berdis) and Herb (Alan Barzman), at the South Pole
watching Beakman’s World on television. The penguins were named after Don Herbert, who starred as Mr. Wizard in Mr. Wizard's World. Mark Ritts
(Lester) was also one of the puppeteers operating the penguins.
Beakman's World currently plays in weekend syndication in the United States
and in several other countries. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Television
in the U.S. and Sony Pictures Television International in other countries. A Spanish-dubbed version used to air on Univision
(titled El Mundo de Beakman) as part of its Planeta U
programming block.
As of 10/12/2011, all 4 seasons are available, as streaming content only, on Netflix with the exception of the following five episodes: 9(1-9), 24(1-24), 31(2-5), 51(2-25), & 66(4-1) as noted in the chart below.
* First Officially Aired Episode
of Devo
fame. The Beakman's World theme is an amalgam of Zydeco and Synthpop
. An accordion
is used for its main riff. The song also prominently features a wide array of wacky sound effects.
opened an interactive exhibit called Beakman's World On Tour, based on the television show. The 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) exhibit toured dozens of cities in the United States.
Embassy Television
...
, Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
, Universal
Universal Press Syndicate
Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, is the world's largest independent press syndicate. It distributes lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebert and News of the Weird...
Belo
Belo
Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
Productions, and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution
Columbia TriStar Television
Columbia TriStar Television was the third name of the television studio Screen Gems, named after its then-current 1991 home video division....
.
The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate
Universal Press Syndicate
Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, is the world's largest independent press syndicate. It distributes lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebert and News of the Weird...
syndicated comic strip You Can With Beakman and Jax
You Can With Beakman and Jax
You Can With Beakman and Jax is a syndicated comic strip by Jok Church. The strip was used as the basis for the children's television program Beakman's World....
created by Jok Church. The series premiered September 18, 1992 on The Learning Channel
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
(TLC) cable network and in national syndication (225 stations, a freshman year record). On September 18, 1993 it moved from national syndication to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Saturday morning children’s lineup. At the peak of its popularity, it was seen in nearly 90 countries around the world. The series was canceled in mid-1998. Reruns returned to national syndication in September 2006, after which it was transferred to local stations such as KICU. The show debuted a year prior to Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Bill Nye the Science Guy is an educational television program that originally aired from September 10, 1993 to June 20, 1998, hosted by Bill Nye and produced by Buena Vista Television. The show aired on PBS Kids and was also syndicated to local stations, making it the second first-run television...
, which covered similar topics. The show's host, Paul Zaloom
Paul Zaloom
Paul Finley Zaloom is a U.S. actor and puppeteer best known for his role as the character Beakman on the television show Beakman's World.-Career:...
, still performs as Beakman in live appearances around the globe.
Premise
The program starred Paul ZaloomPaul Zaloom
Paul Finley Zaloom is a U.S. actor and puppeteer best known for his role as the character Beakman on the television show Beakman's World.-Career:...
as Beakman, an eccentric scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
who performed comical experiments and demonstrations in response to viewer mail to illustrate various scientific concepts from density
Density
The mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
to electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
to flatulence
Flatulence
Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
. When his experiments were successful, he would often exclaim "Zaloom!", referring to his last name.
Over the years, Beakman was aided in his experiments by a female assistant just as in the comic strip on which it was based. The assistant's name changed throughout the show's run; for the episodes of season 1, it was Josie (played by Alanna Ubach
Alanna Ubach
Alanna Noel Ubach is an American actress and voice actress. She is known for her roles in Legally Blonde as Serena and Meet the Fockers as Isabel Villalobos...
); for the episodes of seasons 2 and 3, it was Liza (played by Eliza Schneider
Eliza Schneider
Elizabeth Jane "Eliza" Schneider is an American actress, singer-songwriter, playwright, dialect coach and dialectologist, historian, and voice artist.-Early life:...
); and for the episodes of season 4, it was Phoebe (played by Senta Moses
Senta Moses
Senta Moses is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Delia Fisher in the television series My So-Called Life and for her co-starring role as lab assistant Phoebe in Beakman's World....
). Beakman was also assisted by his "lab rat" Lester. In the pilot episode, Lester was a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
, but in every subsequent episode he was simply a clueless, crude man (Mark Ritts
Mark Ritts
Mark Ritts was an American actor, puppeteer, television producer and director, and author. Ritts also produced and directed many independent videos and television spots as President of Mark Ritts Productions, Inc., to clients around the world.-Biography:Ritts was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania...
) in a tattered rat suit. In a running joke
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, it was never asserted that his character was actually supposed to be a rat; rather he was specifically identified by himself and others as a guy in a rat suit, or as a serious actor with a bad agent. Sometimes unwilling to help out, Lester was often persuaded by Beakman with the promise of food. Another occasional cast member is the unseen cameraman "Ray," who is played by prop-master Ron Jancula's hands. Ray assists Beakman by handing him various items, such as the "boguscope." It is suggested throughout the program that Ray has a romantic crush on the show's unnamed makeup lady. Actress Jean Stapleton also appeared on the show as Beakman's mother, "Beakmom". In some of the skits during the show the character Professor I.M. Boring (also played by Paul Zaloom, in a dual role
Dual role
Dual role refers to one actor playing two or more roles, which may be deliberately scripted in a play or film, or merely be a by-product of a low budget. In a theatrical production where more than one actor plays multiple characters, it is sometimes referred to as an "Ironman" cast...
) makes appearances and talks about various science topics. Zaloom also appeared as various 'guest scientists' and historic figures, such as Thomas A. Edison, Robert H. Goddard, and Philo T. Farnsworth. When Senta Moses was added to the show's cast, the producers began to use a majority of the sound effects from the NBC game show Scrabble
Scrabble (game show)
Scrabble is an American television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show was co-produced by Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions. It ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18 to June 11, 1993, both runs on NBC. A total of 1,335 episodes were...
.
One segment of the show was the famed "Beakman Challenge". During this segment, Beakman would challenge Lester to do a stunt that illustrated a basic scientific feat. During the first season, virtually every challenge related to either Air Pressure or Bernoulli's Principle
Bernoulli's principle
In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy...
. The show addressed this during the second season, by having Lester exclaim to Beakman (as he was explaining the science behind a trick) "AIR PRESSURE! IT'S ALWAYS AIR PRESSURE!"
At the beginning and end of the show, as well as before or after commercial breaks, the show featured short scenes portraying puppet penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s, Don (voiced by Bert Berdis) and Herb (Alan Barzman), at the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
watching Beakman’s World on television. The penguins were named after Don Herbert, who starred as Mr. Wizard in Mr. Wizard's World. Mark Ritts
Mark Ritts
Mark Ritts was an American actor, puppeteer, television producer and director, and author. Ritts also produced and directed many independent videos and television spots as President of Mark Ritts Productions, Inc., to clients around the world.-Biography:Ritts was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania...
(Lester) was also one of the puppeteers operating the penguins.
Beakman's World currently plays in weekend syndication in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in several other countries. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
in the U.S. and Sony Pictures Television International in other countries. A Spanish-dubbed version used to air on Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
(titled El Mundo de Beakman) as part of its Planeta U
Planeta U
Planeta U , usually called Tu Planeta U , is a three hour block of children's programming that airs on Saturday mornings on the Spanish language Univision network. Debuting on April 5, 2008, Planeta U features programming that comply with federal E/I content rules as mandated by the Federal...
programming block.
As of 10/12/2011, all 4 seasons are available, as streaming content only, on Netflix with the exception of the following five episodes: 9(1-9), 24(1-24), 31(2-5), 51(2-25), & 66(4-1) as noted in the chart below.
Season 1
| Episode # | Title | Original air date |
|---|
Season 2
| Episode # | Title | Original air date |
|---|
Season 3
| Episode # | Title | Original air date |
|---|
Season 4
| Episode # | Title | Original air date |
|---|
Theme song
The Beakman's World theme song was composed by Mark MothersbaughMark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
of Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
fame. The Beakman's World theme is an amalgam of Zydeco and Synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
. An accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
is used for its main riff. The song also prominently features a wide array of wacky sound effects.
DVD release
On September 7, 2004 a DVD entitled The Best of Beakman's World was released. This DVD is a direct transfer of the VHS of the same name, and features only experiments and segments taken from The Beakman Challenge. There have yet to be any full-episode releases on VHS or DVD, although Netflix added seasons one through four to their online streaming video service with the exception of the following five episodes: 9(1-9), 24(1-24), 31(2-5), 51(2-25), & 66(4-1) as noted in the chart above.Exhibit
In 1998, the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union TerminalCincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, originally Cincinnati Union Terminal, is a passenger railroad station in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States...
opened an interactive exhibit called Beakman's World On Tour, based on the television show. The 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) exhibit toured dozens of cities in the United States.
Awards
Beakman’s World was nominated for and won numerous awards:- Excellence in Media's Silver Angel Award (1993)
- International Monitor Award for Outstanding Audio Post Production (1993)
- Television Critics Association nomination for Outstanding Children's Program (1993)
- Ollie Award - American Center for Children's Television (1993)
- Parent's Choice Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Children's Programming (1993)
- Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects (1993–1994)
- CableACE Award for Best Children's Programming 7+ older (1994)
- International Monitor Awards for Best Achievement in Children's Programming and Best Audio Post *Production in Children's Programming (1994)
- Nominated for Seven Daytime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Children's Series (1995)
- Daytime Emmy Awards (2) for Outstanding Achievement in Live and Tape Sound and Sound Effects (1994–1995).
External links
- Jok Church Interview
- http://www.beakmansworldtv.com/Official Beakman's World Site from Sony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
] - Where to Watch Beakman's World
- Beakmaniac's Beakman's World Fansite (Archive)