Wednesday 19 November 2014

bring back wishbone!






Sundog Rising!
Reflections on living the life literary by the Urban Sundog




The Little Dog with the Big Imagination





What's the story Wishbone?
What's this you're dreaming of?
Such big imagination for such a little pup.
What's the story Wishbone?
Do you think it's worth a look?
It kinda seems familiar like a story from a book.
Shake a leg now Wishbone let's wag another tail.
Sniffin' out adventure with Wishbone on the trail.
Come on Wishbone.
What's the story Wishbone?
What's the story Wishbone?

(Tim Cissell and Lynn Adler)


We were lucky. Our only child made his debut in 1994, and Wishbone made his television debut in 1995. Which guaranteed there was at least one quality kids TV show on all through Dylan’s childhood.

The fact that the show was literary as well was an astounding bonus! Every episode, Wishbone, a live action Jack Russell terrier, would enter a great work of literature as one of the piece’s central characters. The book adaptation would illustrate some important point regarding the framing story usually concerning Wishbone’s owner Joe Talbot and his two friends David Barnes and Samantha Kepler. Joe’s widowed mother Ellen and neighbour the flaky Wanda Gilmore usually got involved somehow too.





But the main appeal of the show was always the book adaptation in the middle. Played out with a full human cast of supporting characters, everyone would treat Wishbone as if it was perfectly normal for Sherlock Holmes or Dartagnan to be a tiny dog, and could hear his voice perfectly, thereby enabling full interaction. Wishbone has a voice in the framing story as well, but the kids never get to hear it. Even though he often provided some very rich commentary on what was going on in their lives at the moment.





Wishbone’s human voice was provided by Larry Brantley. I considered searching out a picture of Larry and putting it in here. But no, the symbiosis was too complete. The dog was Wishbone, but so was Larry’s voice. You can’t spoil the illusion.





Wishbone ran on PBS from 1995 through 1998, and stayed on in reruns until 2001. I judge there were at least 47 episodes. From Frankenstein to personal favourites like Don Quixote and Pride and Prejudice. Don Quixote featured Wishbone playing Sancho Panza in probably the most magical segment of them all. The series was often praised for staying true to the original texts, even in their less than Disneyesque or kid-friendly aspects.





According to Wikipedia, Wishbone won four Daytime Emmies, a Peabody Award, and honours from the Television Critics Association.

It was a special part of Dylan’s childhood for him and my wife to settle on the couch at the same time everyday and sing along to the opening theme. And then immerse themselves in whichever masterpiece the players chose to bring to a young yet appreciative audience that day.

Of course, Dylan’s tastes in music have somewhat changed over time.





What appeals to me most is that even if Dylan never gets around to reading the classics himself, he’s been exposed to their existence and their values in a way that totally proved they still have relevance. And the show had good jokes too. Such as Wishbone introducing his version of Rip Van Winkle as taking place in the Catskills. Which was a laugh because cats don’t have skills!





What more could you ask for in a kids show?

So thank you Soccer, Slugger, Shiner, Phoebe, and Bear, for providing the physical presence for Larry Brantley’s magic.

And is there any good reason not to revive this show for today’s audience? They’re supposed to love books more than ever after Harry Potter …









*****

BOOK LAUNCH!

Continuing the Grand Tradition!

Local writer Cathy Macdonald debuts her first mystery novel
Put on the Armour of Light
from Dundurn Press, at McNally Robinson Bookstore in Winnipeg
November 30, 2014,  1 pm in the Travel Alcove.
The launch will also feature an interview between Cathy and
local CBC Radio personality Terry MacLeod.





For more information on Cathy and her sleuth Charles Lauchlan, check out her website at:

http://www.charleslauchlan.com/

and blog at:

www.portageandslain.com




*****

REALITY FICTION AND BEYOND!

This week:

Continuing The Twitchy Gal with Chapter Twenty-Nine posted on Monday and Chapter Thirty coming on Friday, November 14th at:

http://realficone.blogspot.ca/

What do you do when the forest just starts throwing you back at yourself?



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