Circle Square
Encyclopedia
Circle Square was a Canadian
children's television series that ran from 1974 to 1986. The series was produced by Crossroads Christian Communications
in cooperation with the Circle Square network of summer camp
s for children of Christian
parents. (Circle Square Ranches, founded by Crossroads, are Christian based non-profit camps welcoming children of any faith and race.)
Mixing human actors — both youth and adult counselors — with puppets in a Sesame Street
-like manner, the series was set at a Circle Square Library. Each episode taught a lesson in moral values and Christian faith.
The series was syndicated
to Canada and the United States, and usually aired in a weekend slot on stations that also aired Crossroads' 100 Huntley Street
.
1984-1986 reruns of Circle Square were formerly shown Saturday mornings on the Trinity Broadcasting Network
(TBN).
In 2003 a pilot for a new version of Circle Square called Circle Square Network (CSN) was produced by Crossroads, but was never picked up.
Episodes of the original Circle Square program can be viewed on the Circle Square Ranch website.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
children's television series that ran from 1974 to 1986. The series was produced by Crossroads Christian Communications
Crossroads Christian Communications
Crossroads Christian Communications is a Canadian non-profit charitable corporation located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. While it focuses on media development and production, it also has extensive involvement in Christian missions and aid and relief work....
in cooperation with the Circle Square network of summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
s for children of Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
parents. (Circle Square Ranches, founded by Crossroads, are Christian based non-profit camps welcoming children of any faith and race.)
Mixing human actors — both youth and adult counselors — with puppets in a Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
-like manner, the series was set at a Circle Square Library. Each episode taught a lesson in moral values and Christian faith.
The series was syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
to Canada and the United States, and usually aired in a weekend slot on stations that also aired Crossroads' 100 Huntley Street
100 Huntley Street
100 Huntley Street is a Christian daily talk show and the flagship program of Crossroads Christian Communications based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Created in 1976 by Rev. David Mainse, it first aired on June 15, 1977 from its first studios located at 100 Huntley Street in the St...
.
1984-1986 reruns of Circle Square were formerly shown Saturday mornings on the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
(TBN).
In 2003 a pilot for a new version of Circle Square called Circle Square Network (CSN) was produced by Crossroads, but was never picked up.
Episodes of the original Circle Square program can be viewed on the Circle Square Ranch website.
Characters
These were the main ongoing characters in the series; the children featured on the show tended to rotate through too quickly to be established as ongoing presences on the show.- Durk (Reynold Rutledge): a kindly, grandfatherly-like figure. He is the library's maintenance man, and in every episode, the kids come to him with problems. Durk answers these problems with a story, which often features the real kid facing a similar problem.
- Vince (actor unknown): a furry white dog-like puppetPuppetA 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....
character with a straight, rounded nose and a little work hat. He is Durk's assistant and companion, and is frequently seen with him. Vince mostly speaks gibberishGibberishGibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can be described as a presence of nonsense...
, but he can say short little words like "uh-oh" and "uh-huh". His original predecessor was a parrot named Polly.
- Gert and Egbert (Blair Stewart and Sabrina Paul): the main puppetPuppetA 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....
characters, Gert and Egbert (a librarian and her assistant, respectively) help provide questions and thoughts (but mostly comic reliefComic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
) for the segments at the libraryLibraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
with the kids. Gert is the scatter-brained, overly-worried, patronizing of the pair, while Egbert is childish, goofy, and dumb. Gert and Egbert's puppets originally had exaggerated features and silly looks during the show's starting season. But as Gert and Egbert started to mature (only a little bit), their puppets were replaced with new figures whose appearances were less silly and more basic. The old Gert puppet disappeared into oblivion, but the old Egbert puppet managed to spend the rest of his days as a puppet character for the stories.
Trivia
- Canada AMCanada AMCanada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
news anchor Marci IenMarci IenMarci Ien is a Canadian broadcast journalist. Born in Toronto, Ontario on July 29, 1969, Ien currently works as the host of Canada AM Early Edition and is the news anchor for CTV's Canada AM...
got her television career started on Circle Square at age 10. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1499420/