Polka Dot Door
Encyclopedia
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse. The show was an adaptation of the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's show, Play School.
Format and hosts
Each episode had two human hosts, always one man and one woman, although there were many different human hosts over the course of the series. The same pair would host the show for a week; the next week would bring a new pair of hosts.Hosts of Polka Dot Door included Denis Simpson
Denis Simpson
Denis Simpson was a Canadian actor and singer, best known as a host of the TV series Polka Dot Door...
, Carolann Reynolds, Gerry Mendicino
Gerry Mendicino
Gerry Mendicino is a Canadian actor.Throughout his career he has been able to play various and versatile characters. He began on the television series King of Kensington and went on to host the popular Polka Dot Door show. He played the role of Sam Ramone in the hit television series Ready or Not...
, Gloria Reuben
Gloria Reuben
Gloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress of film and television, known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the popular medical drama ER and for her role of Rosalind Whitman in the TV show Raising the Bar.-Life and career:...
, Tonya Lee Williams
Tonya Lee Williams
Tonya Lee Williams is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007. She returned to the series in the fall of 2008.-Early life:Williams was born in London, England to...
, Taborah Johnson
Taborah Johnson
Taborah Johnson , also known as Tabby Johnson, is a Canadian singer and actor. She is the sister of actor Clark Johnson and rock and jazz singer Molly Johnson....
, Cindy Cook
Cindy Cook
Cindy Cook is a Canadian children's entertainer.A graduate of York University's theatre program , she auditioned for the long-running children's series Polka Dot Door in 1981, and became the longest-serving host in the program's history...
, Catherine Bruhier, Rex Hagon
Rex Hagon
Rex Hagon is a Canadian actor and television host. His career began in his youth, most notably with The Forest Rangers....
, Garth Mosbaugh, Jim Codrington, Sherry Miller
Sherry Miller
Sherry Miller is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Jane Oliver on the Canadian drama E.N.G. , Jennifer Taylor on the Showtime television show Queer As Folk and Dorothy O'Sullivan on The Best Years .- Biography :Miller began her career as a singer and dancer, gaining attention...
, Johnnie Chase, Gordon Thomson, Nonnie Griffin
Nonnie Griffin
Nonnie Griffin was born in 1933 in Canada. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and even with famed mime artist Marcel Marceau....
, Ken John Grant, Peter van Wart, Carrie Loring, Nerene Virgin
Nerene Virgin
Nerene Virgin is a Canadian journalist, actress and television host, best known for her role on the children's television series Today's Special.-Background:After growing up in Toronto, Ontario, she attended Toronto Teacher's College...
, Nina Keogh
Nina Keogh
Nina Keogh is a Canadian puppet builder, puppeteer based in Toronto. She is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, UDA and ACTRA. She has worked for TVO and CBC Television...
, and Mishu Vellani.
The hosts would lead young children in young songs and young stories, and interact with young stuffed animal characters Humpty, Dumpty, Marigold and Bear. (Minou, a French-Canadian stuffed cat, also appeared in some episodes in the later years). These characters never spoke or moved; the hosts would let the audience know what they were saying, for example, one of the hosts would say "What's that Marigold? You would like..." On certain theme days the hosts would invite the audience to peer through the Polka Dot Door to witness an educational video of some sort, showing, for instance, how crayons are made. When the Storytime Clock chimed, one of the hosts would visit Storytime Mouse, who had appeared next to the oversized blue grandfather clock. This grey stuffed mouse would usually be represented as engaged in some activity related to that day's story. The host would then tell the time in a deliberate, educational way before beginning the story. Sometimes the show would feature the music director John Arpin
John Arpin
John Francis Oscar Arpin was a Canadian composer, recording artist and entertainer, best known for his work as a virtuoso ragtime pianist....
as well as musicians such as Peter Appleyard
Peter Appleyard
Peter Appleyard, is a Canadian jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer of English birth. He has spent most of his life living and performing in the city of Toronto where for many years he was a highly popular performer in the city's nightclubs and hotels...
, Jane Bunnett
Jane Bunnett
Jane Bunnett is a Canadian soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader known for her Afro-Cuban jazz melodies.In 2004, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada...
, and Henry Cuesta
Henry Cuesta
Henry Falcon Cuesta was an American-born musician who was a member of The Lawrence Welk Show. His primary instrument was the clarinet....
for a round of songs, or have a visit from a special guest such as Marcia Darling from the Toronto Humane Society
Toronto Humane Society
The Toronto Humane Society is a Toronto charity that operates animal shelters and animal rescue operations. It was founded by crusading journalist John J. Kelso after he added the comment “Why don't we have a society for the prevention of cruelty?” to a November 1886 letter in the Toronto World...
or a keeper at the Metro Toronto Zoo.
Little young children.
The music was played by virtuoso Canadian pianists Herbie Helbig
Herbie Helbig
Herbie Helbig is a Canadian pianist, harpsichordist, and composer of German birth. He studied music composition and piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music with Samuel Dolin and privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont. He is best known for his work as a concert pianist and film and television...
(1971-1984) and John Arpin (1985-1993). It was produced by Ted Coneybeare (1971-1984) and Jed MacKay
Jed MacKay
Jed MacKay is a Canadian children's TV producer/writer/composer. He began his career writing for TVOntario's long-running success Polka Dot Door, for which he was honoured with a Masterworks Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television in 2010, and CBC's Homemade Television, winner of the...
(1985-1993). MacKay began as a writer and also wrote much of the show's original music. He went on to create and produce two multi-award winning series for TVOntario, Join In!
Join In!
Join In! was a Canadian educational children's television show which aired on TVOntario between 1989 and 1995. It was created and produced by Jed MacKay, who also wrote all of the show's original songs. The first two seasons were directed by Doug Williams. The next four seasons were directed by...
and Polka Dot Shorts
Polka Dot Shorts
Polka Dot Shorts is a children's television show from TVOntario in Canada, but which has been broadcast around the world. It was created, produced and story edited by Jed MacKay, creator of TVO's successful show Join In!, and veteran children's TV writer/producer/composer...
. From 1979-1984, Susan Murgatroyd directed 50 programs and wrote 20 scripts. From 1985 on, episodes were directed by David Moore
David Moore
David Moore may refer to:* David Moore , English botanist, see Banksia victoriae* David Moore , politician in Electoral district of Sandridge, Victoria, Australia...
. The show's initial executive producer was Vera Good. In 2010, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television gave "Polka Dot Door" a Masterworks award, calling it a "groundbreaking children's educational series" that "changed the nature of children's television programming" and "impacted countless young Canadians and raised the international profile of the Canadian television industry."
Polkaroo
Each day's episode had a particular theme. Monday was "Treasure Day", Tuesday was "Dress-Up Day", Wednesday was "Animal Day", Thursday was "Imagination Day", and Friday was "Finding Out Day". On "Imagination Day", the character Polkaroo (sometimes referred to as "the Polkaroo") appeared. The actor playing Polkaroo donned a tall, green plush costume that resembled a kangarooKangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
. In its mended, yellow and multi-coloured polka-dot muumuu
Muumuu
The muumuu or muumuu is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder. Like the Aloha shirt, muumuu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynesian motifs. Muumuu for local Hawaiian residents are more subdued in tone...
, the creature spoke using various repeated exclamations of its own name accompanied by elaborate gestures. The meaning of this pantomime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
was to be guessed by the audience. This was usually followed by a song whose lyrics began "Imagine, imagine, you can imagine Polkaroo...". Polkaroo appeared only to the female host while the male host was absent for some reason (with one, possible solitary exception where it appeared for the male host). The male host would return upon Polkaroo's departure, habitually exclaiming, "The Polkaroo was here?!?And I missed him again?!?"
In the very early days of the show, there was a one-time appearance of an upside-down clown, that appeared alongside the female host.
In the late 1990s, TVOntario capitalized on the success of Polkaroo by placing him and the other animal characters, now also actors dressed in costumes, in a new series, Polka Dot Shorts
Polka Dot Shorts
Polka Dot Shorts is a children's television show from TVOntario in Canada, but which has been broadcast around the world. It was created, produced and story edited by Jed MacKay, creator of TVO's successful show Join In!, and veteran children's TV writer/producer/composer...
, which also had its own catchphrase moment, as each episode included the unlikely discovery of a pair of polka dot shorts, leading to the exchange:
The Polkaroo costume as seen above and on the original series was hand made in Toronto, Ontario by Tanya Petrova, a relatively unknown artist who made brief appearances on numerous television shows from Mr Dressup to The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Petrova also created Charlie Horse for Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s...
, along with many other puppets, including costumes for Ontario Place
Ontario Place
Ontario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal waterfront park attraction located in Toronto, Ontario, and owned by the Crown in Right of Ontario. It is administered as an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just south of...
, Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
(i.e. Glump) and other events and attractions.
There were several other versions of the Polkaroo costume as well: the one with the long slender neck was built by Lorraine Cramp in 1982. She also made the Moose and Beaver costumes for Cucumber
Cucumber (TV series)
Children's Underground Club of United Moose and Beaver for Enthusiastic Reporters or Cucumber, was a TV show produced by TVOntario in the 1970s, and repeated in the 1980s during TVOntario's daytime kids' programming....
, the Sidney the Kangaroo costume for Math Patrol
Math Patrol
Math Patrol was a children's educational television show produced by TVOntario in 1977 and aired by the public broadcaster in the late 1970s and the early 1980s....
, and the Subterranean Monster costume for Mathmakers
Mathmakers
Mathmakers was a Canadian educational children's television series produced in 1978 by the province of Ontario's public television network, TVOntario. The series starred Derek McGrath and Lyn Harvey....
.
Parodies
The 1980s Canadian sketch-comedy show Smith & SmithSmith & Smith
Smith & Smith is a Canadian sketch comedy series, which aired from 1979 to 1985 on Hamilton, Ontario's CHCH-TV, and through syndication on other Canadian television stations...
, starring real-life husband and wife team Steve
Steve Smith (comedian)
Steven "Steve" Smith, Jr., is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian.Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Before turning to comedy, he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and then worked a variety of jobs...
and Morag Smith
Morag Smith
Morag Smith is a Canadian television comedian, born in Mississauga, Ontario. She attended Streetsville Secondary School. With her husband Steve Smith, Morag performed as a comedy duo in several television series....
, used to parody the Polka Dot Door with a recurring sketch called "The Kids Show", with male and female hosts who loathed each other and bickered their way through the sketch. The sketches also featured the "Jerkaroo", played by Steve Smith with a paper bag over his head.
A Canadian sketch-type educational television show called Bod TV, which focuses on nutrition education and is also produced by TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
, has a parody of Polka Dot Door called Polka Dot House as one of its sketches. The sketch plays as a combination of the television show with reality television show Big Brother
Big Brother (US TV series)
Big Brother is the American version of the Big Brother reality television show based on the Dutch television series of the same name originally created by John de Mol in 1997. The show follows a group of House Guests living together twenty-four hours a day in the "Big Brother" house, isolated from...
. In it, one of the hosts gets tired of Bear repeatedly making honey sandwiches for everyone day in day out, and schemes with Marigold to get Bear out of the kitchen so she can prepare a meal that provides a more balanced diet.
International syndication
The series also aired on PBSPublic 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....
stations in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between 1982 and 1988. As well, it was the first Canadian kids show to be syndicated in the U.S.