Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop, a children's television series featuring Olympic champion gymnast Mary Lou Retton

Mary Lou Retton

Mary Lou Retton is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, after 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-Personal life:Retton was born in Fairmont, West...

, was created to motivate young children to believe in themselves and get moving. The show takes place in a wacky Flip Flop shop and features 4 "real" children per episode and five characters: Jumpy, Mr. Bump, Miss Warble, Professor Blinky, and L.Z. Bones.

Jumpy, a green and blue monkey, serves as Mary Lou's silent and energetic sidekick. Mr. Bump, a clumsy yet charming delivery-man, rides around on a noisy bike with a box full of interesting packages. Miss Warble, the singing custodian, constantly keeps watch over the cleanliness of the Flip Flop Shop. Professor Blinky, an owl puppet, never fails to share wise proverbs and stories with the members of the Flip Flop Shop. L.Z. Bones always tries to get out of physical activity and must be persuaded by the others to get up and join in the fun.

The show was produced by KUHT

KUHT

-Technical firsts:The station is also noted in Houston for many technical firsts at the local level. In 1981, KUHT became Houston's first closed captioned television station, and ten years later, in 1991, it became the first station in Houston to offer Descriptive Video Service , and other services...

 Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 and was shown on PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 affiliates. In 2008 the program was added to FamilyNet

FamilyNet

FamilyNet is a broadcast television network owned by ComStar Media Fund and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of Jerry Falwell. The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in...

's Saturday morning children's program block.

Cast

Cast members include:

• Mary Lou Retton
  Mary Lou Retton
  Mary Lou Retton is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, after 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.-Personal life:Retton was born in Fairmont, West...
  
   as Herself
• Luci Christian
  Luci Christian
  Louisa Michelle Christian is an American voice actress and ADR Script Writer who is affiliated with Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000...
  
   as Jumpy
• Ralph Ehntholt as Mr. Bump
• Jeffrey S. Lane as L.Z. Bones
• Paula Nielsen as Miss Warble
• Scott Young as Mouse
• Alicia Church as Fruit Lady
• Chelsea Ricketts
• Connor Konz
• Shelbie Bruce
  Shelbie Bruce
  Shelbie Carole Bruce is an American teen actress fluent in both English and Spanish who had a lead role in the film Spanglish....
  
  
• Gabi Chennisi
• Mary Moon
• Jimmy Moon
• Mary Moran
• Lauren Story