Here are some e-mails I have been sent regarding this site and other TVOntario shows. These people share many of the same fond memories I have. Some recall shows I didn't watch. Some need help trying to remember show titles. Others offer more links. Have a read and feel free to send me an e-mail
Jan 5/10 from Steve:
The name "Sperling" came across my screen reminding
me of Louise Sperling McNamara, who was the host of "All About You",
a children's'
show produced at WGBH. On a whim, I entered the name in Google to see if I could
find any reference to her. I had not heard anything of her since
she did those programs so many decades ago and when I was just beginning my
television production career.
I was amazed to find you not only had information about
the program, you had a listing of titles. IRAs I read them, I flashed back over
the hours
in the studio when we had recorded them. As well as being a devoted teacher,
Louise was a beautiful woman and she had all of us young studio
types eating out of her hand. Many of the people who worked on that program
(directors, producers, cameramen, stage managers) went on to
rather distinguished careers in American television and I think they all remember
Louise.
(It's always nice to hear things like this! Thank you for the great words about her!)
Jan 6/10 from Tara:
Hi!! My name is Tara and I am trying desperately to figure out the name of this kids show my little sister watched in the 90's. She was born in 1990 so it was probably mid to late 90s when she watched it. I have no clue what station it was on, I am thinking TVO Kids or YTV. It was not a cartoon and the main character was a girl and she was maybe 12 and had a best friend who was a boy. She may have lived in her grandmother's house. Iknow the house she lived in was full of old looking stuff. I know there was something about themtravelling into another dimension or something and possibly something to do with a large mirror and some sort of bird (maybe a falcon). These are just pieces of information popping into my head. I know it was centered in an old house though. And it is possible that the main characters wrote for a newspaper or something. There was definately something about going into another dimension though. PLEASE HELP ME i can not figure out what this show was!!!!! Thank you so much, lol
(Anyone know?)
Jan 20/10 from Suzanne:
Hi ! My name is Suzanne & I live in SC. I stumbled upon your site (which I absolutely love) when I was looking up shows from my childhood. Thank you….I couldn’t remember the name of the show with boot & pretty (readalong), it was driving me nuts. I saw that you have dvds of readalong, dragons wagons & wax & several others that I would love to have.
(Glad to help!)
Jan 26/10 from Barb:
I am trying to see if anyone remembers show which I think was from the early 70's. It was not a cartoon but it did feature a large squirrel that was based in a wood cabin. You can write in a join the fan club and the squirrel would read your letters and show your pictures on the show. I have asked many people and nobody seems to recall anything about it. I am starting to think that I imagined the show. Can you help
(CUCUMBER!!! A true classic!)
Feb 9/10 from Carmen:
Hi my name is Carmen and I am desperatrely trying to find the name of a tv show I watched as a child... it was a french woman painter who lived in a tree and had an English speaking sock puppet who spoke to us viewers and the lady please help me
(Anyone know?)
Feb 18/10 from Jen:
I have looked all over the net trying to find any little clips from Monkey Bars, I remember it so fondly and have had flashes of this show go thru my mind for the last 35 plus years. Is there any place that I could find a clip of this show???
(If it's not on youtube, then chances are slim)
Feb 19/10 from Nav:
Do you remember some show from the 80s – an educational show about learning computers about a gray haired guy trying to learn computers – and he talks to a lady on a big tv screen who steps him through and teaches him how to use it? I forget the name, it was on for a while.
Thanks and great site! I wish tv Ontario would relase some of these on dvds/internet.
(Bits and Bytes)
Mar 14/10 from Georgette:
I stumbled upon your site today. I was trying to look
up old BBC series' that played on TVO. I noticed you had some of the shows I
watched listed :). I'm 42 as of March 9th.
I used to watch Tom Grattons War; Ballet Shoes; The Phoenix and the Carpet;
Tom's Midnight Garden (just found out the title for that one tonight and they
remade it in the 1990's), and of course Dr. Who. I just found another show I
liked from those days. I couldn't think of the title, but found it; The Ghosts
of Motely Hall.
I used to watch Vision On, Jeremy, Simon and his chalk garden, the green forest,
and a few other stories.
Thanks for listing the programs you used to watch. It was a really wild trip
down memory lane
Mar 15/10 from Brian:
I found your site after looking for the theme song for Monkey Bars. I could not find it on YouTube but for those unsure if it was real, rest assured it did exist. I can't remember the entire theme but it had an annoying repetion of, " Muh-muh-muh-muh, muh-muh, muh-muh-muh, Monkey Baaaaars!"
(Thanks!)
Mar 20/10 from Brian:
First, let me start off by saying thank-you for the great site. All those screen grabs sure bring back fond memories.
In helping with the info on the What If show, I actually recall it playing in the summer months (July or August) with the shows nearly back to back. I recall one of the 'lost' kids not getting back til the very end of the series.
The two major points I recall was that at the end of every show there was a viewer feedback announcement. So it was basically a pilot series.
Shortly after the end of its run, Read All About it popped up in the fall season with I believe one of the original cast members...it could be David or Lydia...but I could be wrong.
So in short, I was convinced that What If was a pilot of Read All About It. It had the clubhouse, the monitor and the mysterious hidden adult enemy plotting his schemes. Only the target demographics appeared to be lowered to a younger age group...actually mine...LOL!
(FINALLY!!!! Someone else who recalls What If... this is going onto said page - THANK YOU!!!!)
April 14/10 from Chris:
Hi there. My Outlook wouldn't work, I found this email on your Seeing Things page (amazing, by the way). Hey, do you know where I can find/download episodes of Write On? I looked around on all those groups, didn't see much talk of it but it's the one that sticks out in my head the most (apart from Read All About It). So dark! Anyway, thanks for your help, and good site!
April 20/10 from Shelley:
February 5/09 from Cheryl:
I, and a few of my friends, are looking for the title of a kids show back in
the 80’s. All I can remember is the robot. It had the traditional dryer
duct for the arms and legs. It was silver. It went on the adventures too. Can
you help?
(Sounds kind of weird, I do not know it)
By the description of the robot, could it be Groundling Marsh?
(I have let the person asking know - I hope so)
May 8/10 from Ian:
I've just been going through the TVO page on your website. There's an TVO program that I remember the theme song to, although I haven't heard it since the 1970s.
It was a TVO produced show called "People and Pets" Have you heard of it? Any idea where the theme song could be obtained? I'd really like to hear it again.
(I recall the show and even remember the logos for the show - but that's it)
May 19/10 from Kurasu:
There are four shows that I am looking for they are :
"Neon: An Electric Memoir," about classic neon signs; "Vita Futurista,"
about the
Italian Futurist movement that was the first art /of/ the Machine Age; "Mies,"
about architect Mies van der Roh, who (among other things)
redefined corporate architecture in Toronto with his TD Bank buildings; and
"Black Leather Jacket," about the cultural history of the article
of
clothing in the title.
(Anyone have these?)
May 30/10 from Rosalyn:
I was trying to find the show that Jan Rubes hosted..."Guess What" and found all of these great little shows i watched as a kid. It brought back memories of having a cold and staying at my grandmas and watching these shows in the morning starting with Polka Dot Door. This is is awesome I wish I could get episodes of all of these programs. BTW I remember a program where the characters were hats...One character's name was Mrs Bagwash what was the name of that program?
(Anyone?)
July 6/10 from Dan:
You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get my hand on a copy of The Ugly Little Boy from the 70’s would you?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176261/
I saw it a couple of times on TVO in the 70’s before I had a VCR, but not since then.
(Anyone?)
July 7/10 from Denis:
I am looking to find the name of a regular FRENCH TV
show that was on TV Ontario in the late 70's and 80's when I was a kid. What
I remember was the show was about this guy who looked/dressed like a hobo/vagrant.
I believe it was a half hour show but it may have been shorter I was just so
young that I don't remember back then. Sorry I can't think of more details.
(Parlez-Moi)
July 13/10 from Peter:
Would you happen to have an episode of Images and Things? All I'm looking for is the theme song. I remember seeing it in elementary school and never laughed so hard in class.
(I do not know the show - anyone?)
July 16/10 from Dennis:
Thank you for the TVO dedicated site. Having just seen Paul Brown (of Write On) in Harvest at the Lighthoue Festival Theatre in Port Dover, I was keen to find information on the show that I had seen him on so many years earlier.
In one of the photos a guest actor listed is Frank Ruffo. Frank has also been billed as Angelo Ruffo and A. Frank Ruffo. An early role was as the lead dancing Turtle in the "Turtles, Turtles, Ya, Ya, Ya" ads. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749325/
In your 1970's TVO program list you do not mention Dr. Who. Jim Dator (aka Dr. Jim Dator) introduced and closed the time slot for the show recorded by a telephone box (not at all like the T.A.R.D.I.S.) across thre street from TVO HQ. The earliest Dr. Who episodes on TVO that I remember were from the Jon Pertwee era. TVO had "The Doctor" in its original episodic format long before it showed up on PBS.
(Great to hear Paul is still doing acting)
July 18/10 from Tyson:
Fantastic site....just wonderful! So many memories come back to life!
Anyways, I was reading in your feedback section about
someone looking for a show that featured a robot with duct-tubing for arms.
This is a
show I remember from when I was a really small child as well, to the point where
images from certain sequences of the show have haunted me
for years.
I've been trying desperately to dig up information on
this show, but to little avail. Having found a few other people who've described
a show
that seems very similar to it, I think it maybe have been titled "How do
you do? Learning English". A description of that show I found on another
forum said it featured a woman and a silver robot (which is exactly what I remember).
So on one hand I may have a title for the other user whose message you posted on your feedback section (she was wondering what it was called).
On the other hand, does the name of this show ring a
bell for you? I've contacted TVO to see if it still exists in their archives,
and I'm
contacting you on the off-chance you might have this show somewhere on your
VHS recordings.
It used to air in the afternoons on TVO from around 1990 - 1994ish.
(A little after my time - anyone?)
July 21/10 from Samuel:
Like many others, I absolutely love your site. It brings
back great memories of a great time in my childhood -- in front of the TV
watching TVO and PBS.
I stumbled across your site because my wife and I were
trying to find the intro theme music for a TV show that we both loved when we
were
young, The Fables of the Green Forest. When I found your site, not only did
I find the theme, I was in nostalgia heaven.
The best part is that your site has solved a very long
running mystery for me. For many, many years, I have been trying to remember
a great
TV show from the late 70's / early 80s, but I could never remember enough about
the show to track it down. The only things I could
remember about the show were very vague images in my memories (an educational
cartoon about history) and that the intro featured a
famous but haunting classical music tune (that I couldn't name). For years,
I have been asking my friends to see if they remember anything
based on these clues and there was nothing. I tried the internet and I just
couldn't find the right search terms to ever make it work. Now,
thanks to your site, I know it is "Once upon a Time ... Man".
To be honest, given how we seem to very similar tastes
in 70's children's TV shows, I am surprised that you don't have this show
featured more on your site.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for having such a great site.
(A very popular show I have found out over the years - somehow I missed it)
July 23/10 from Jennifer:
Hello, I am trying to figure out the name of the show that had a grandfather clock and once it got to a certain time ( I think midnight) the kids can go out this back door and into this amazing garden and have some adventures and wake up in their beds. I am racking my brain trying to remember this show. I also loved Read All About It.
(Anyone?)
Shows on this site: TVOntario TVO TV Ontario PBS AIT All About You Barbapapa The Body Works Bits and Bytes Cucumber Eureka Fables of the Green Forest Guess What? (With Jan Rubes) Harriet's Magic Hats Jeremy Kidsworld Let's All Sing(with Tony Saletan) Mathmakers Math Patrol Parlez-Moi Read All About It Readalong Report (with Heather Conkie) The Adventures of Timothy PilgrimTwo Plus You! Vision On(with Tony Hart) What If...(starring Billy Van)World of B.J. Vibes Write On AIT Programming PBS Programming (In Other Words, Math Wise, It Figures, Thinkabout, Inside/Out, High Feather, Dragons, Wagons & Wax) Edison Twins, Just Like Mom, Camp Cariboo, YTV's Rec Room)