Talk:Futurama and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Difference between pages
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{{infobox television|
| show_name = Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
| image = [[Image:Bwsweep.jpg|240px]]
| caption = '''Mister Rogers and a model of the Neighborhood'''
| format = [[Children's television series]]
| runtime = 30 minutes (No Commercials)
| creator = [[Fred Rogers]]
| starring = Fred Rogers
| country = {{USA}}
| network = [[National Educational Television|NET]] (1968–1970), [[PBS]] (1970-2001)
| first_aired = [[February 19]], [[1968 in television|1968]]
| last_aired = [[September 20]], [[1976 in television|1976]]<br />[[August 20]], [[1979 in television|1979]]–[[August 31]], [[2001 in television|2001]]
| num_episodes = 998
| imdb_id = 0062588
|}}
'''''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''''' or '''''Mister Rogers''''' was an [[United States|American]] [[children's television series]] that was created and hosted by [[Fred Rogers]]. ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was produced by [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] public broadcaster [[WQED (TV)|WQED]] and Rogers' non-profit production company [[Family Communications, Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/08/10/rogers/ |title=Brilliant Careers: Fred Rogers |accessdate=2007-05-31 |last=Millman |first=Joyce |date=1999-08-10 |work=Salon }}</ref> (named Small World Enterprises prior to 1971). It is the longest running series on [[PBS]], while [[Sesame Street]] began a year and a half later.
==History of the show==
The series began in [[1962]] as ''MisteRogers'', a 15-minute program on the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]. [[Ernie Coombs]], a.k.a. [[Mr. Dressup|Mister Dressup]], got his start as a puppeteer on ''Mister Rogers''.
The first broadcast of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was on the [[National Educational Television]] network on February 19, 1968. When NET ceased broadcasting in 1970, the series moved to PBS. The first series of episodes were produced and aired from 1968 to 1976. The second series of episodes were produced and aired from 1979 to 2001 (modern series).
''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' was characterized by its quiet simplicity and gentleness. Episodes usually eschewed a defined plot, and instead consisted of Rogers speaking directly to children about various issues, taking them on tours of factories, demonstrating experiments and crafts, and interacting with his friends. The half-hour episodes were punctuated by a puppet segment chronicling occurrences in the [[Neighborhood of Make-Believe]].
At the beginning of each episode, Fred Rogers enters his television studio house, singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" He hangs his coat in a closet and puts on a [[cardigan (sweater)|cardigan]] sweater and removes his dress shoes to put on [[sneakers]]. One of Rogers' sweaters now hangs in the [[Smithsonian Institution]], a testament to the cultural influence of his simple daily ritual.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://go.si.edu/ct/Ud1111119PDS/Mr_Rogers |title=NMAH - Mister Rogers' Sweater |accessdate=2007-05-31 |publisher=National Museum of American History |archiveurl=http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:TPSmMhdpwH8J:go.si.edu/ct/Ud1111119PDS/Mr_Rogers+%22Mr.+Rogers%22+site:si.edu&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14&gl=us&client=firefox-a |archivedate=2007-05-27 |quote=The red sweater, knitted by his late mother, was donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History by Fred Rogers on Nov. 20, 1984.}}</ref>
Starting in 1979, episodes were grouped into week-long series, with each series focused on a particular topic. Rogers' monologues throughout the week explore various facets of the topic, and the ongoing story from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe serves as illustration.
Rogers covered a broad range of topics over the years, and the series did not gloss over issues that other children's programming avoided. For example, the series dealt with competition, divorce, death, and war. Rogers returned to the topic of anger regularly and focused on peaceful ways of dealing with angry feelings.
Mister Rogers always made a clear distinction between the realistic world of his television neighborhood and the fantasy world of Make-Believe. He often discussed what was going to happen in Make-Believe before the next fantasy segment was shown ("Let's pretend that Prince Tuesday has been having scary dreams..."), and sometimes acted out bits of Make-Believe with models on a table before the camera transitioned to the live-action puppet rendition. The miniature motorized [[tram|trolley]], with its accompanying piano theme music, was the only element that appeared regularly in both the realistic world and Make-Believe: it was used to transport viewers from one realm to the other. Rogers, however, was mentioned from time to time in Make-Believe, particularly by Mr. McFeeley, who appeared occasionally in the Make-Believe segments and seemed to form a link between the two worlds.
This reality/fantasy distinction put Rogers' series in sharp contrast with other children's series, such as fellow PBS program ''[[Sesame Street]]'', which freely mixed realistic and fantastic elements.
The series was also notable for its use of [[jazz]]-inspired music, mostly arranged and performed by Rogers' long-time friend [[Johnny Costa]], until Costa's death in [[1996]], when he was succeeded by Michael Moricz for the remainder of the series. The music was unique in its simplicity and flow that blended with the series' sketches and features. The music was usually played live during taping. Lyrics and melodies were written and sung by Rogers—in total, he created more than 200 original songs. The final episode of the series aired on [[August 31]], [[2001]]. This occurred on the same day [[Wishbone (TV Series)]] was airing its farewell.
When Fred Rogers died in [[2003]], PBS' website communicated some ways to make children not be scared about Mr. Rogers' passing away; it presented suggestions to parents on what to say to them about Mr. Rogers and how to approach a child who asks about him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pbskids.org/rogers/parentsteachers/special/feb27.html |title=If Your Child Asks about Fred Rogers' Death |accessdate=2007-05-31 |author=Family Communications, Inc. |date=2003-02-27 }}</ref>
==Broadcast history==
[[Image:Net.JPG|left|thumb|150px|The [[National Educational Television|NET]] logo, from the opening sequence of ''MisteRogers'' (1969-1970).]]
The first broadcast of ''MisteRogers' Neighborhood'' was on the [[National Educational Television]] network on February 19, 1968; the color NET logo appeared on a model building at the beginning and end of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' from [[1969]] to [[1970]]. When NET ceased broadcasting, the series moved to PBS. (The former NET model house was "remodeled", first to a small yellow orange sided house, and then into a red apartment building. The roof's lopsided slant from its days as a NET logo remained.) The series changed to its 3-worded name, ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', in 1970.
The final week of original episodes of the "first series", first broadcast on February 16-20, 1976, featured Mister Rogers in his workshop, watching scenes of past episodes of his series, which he recorded on videocassettes and kept on the shelf in his workshop. On the Friday episode of that week, he reminded viewers that they, too, can watch many of those old episodes beginning the following week.
As of [[August 11]], [[1995]], all of the episodes of the first half are no longer shown on television, since there is already an ample supply of the second series in circulation, and since many of the episodes of the first series have become outdated. Most episodes from the first half exist in the [[Museum of Television & Radio]], including the first episode of the series and the first color episode.
===Reruns===
When PBS began rerunning the first 460 color episodes of the series in 1976, some of the early color episodes from 1969 and 1970 were re-edited with new voice-overs or footage. For example, in one 1969 episode where Mister Rogers demonstrates the noise-proof ear protectors that airport workers use on the tarmac, the film footage used featured a worker directing a [[United Airlines]] jet with its stylised "U" logo—which wasn't introduced until 1974. All of the episodes revised from the first series also included an extra segment following the closing credits, mentioning the episode number and additional companies that provided funding since these episodes originally aired, even though they had not provided funding at the time of original production.
Almost all of the 1979-2001 episodes are in active rotation on [[PBS]]. The only exception is the week-long "Conflict" series (episodes #1521–#1525, first aired in November of 1983), which covered the topics of war, bombs, and an arms race.
The "Conflict" series was last aired April 1-5 1996, due to the bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. In that week of episodes, Corny's factory was making oddly-shaped parts for a project in Southwood. The king originally determined that they were parts for a bomb, so he ordered Corny to make extra "bomb" parts for the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Furthermore, King Friday had most of the human characters of the Neighborhood of Make Believe trained as generals, but forgot to train regular soldiers. In the end, they found out that the parts were for a bridge that the Southwooders were building and the Neighborhood was able to use the parts King Friday had bought to make record players. At the end of the Friday episode, instead of Mister Rogers singing the ''Good Feeling'' song, he sang a lullaby, ''Peace and Quiet'', wishing his television friends "peace". This was followed by an on-screen display of Isaiah 2:4:
: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
: And their spears into pruning forks;
: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
: Neither shall they learn war any more."
===Funding===
From 1968 to 1976, the sponsor credits were part of the series credits; the ones used in the opening are silent other than the theme, and an announcer or Fred Rogers reads the sponsor credits aloud during the closing credits. From 1976 onward, repeats of episodes from 1969 to 1974 have additional closing sponsor credits over a still of the trolley with the series logo and episode number. From 1979 onward, the sponsor credits were in a separate segment at the start and end of each episode, announced by Fred Rogers. Only the sponsors' names were shown on screen.
Credited sponsors include:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sponsor !! Years
|-
| [[Sears, Roebuck and Company|Sears-Roebuck Foundation]]
| 1968–1976, 1979–1993
|-
| [[National Educational Television|NET-affiliated stations]]
| 1968–1970
|-
| [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]]
| 1971–1976, 1992–2001
|-
| [[Johnson & Johnson]]
| 1975–1976
|-
| [[Ford Foundation]]
| 1975–1976
|-
| [[PBS|Public Television Stations]]
| 1971–1976, 1979–2001
|-
|}
The series does not use the "[[Viewers Like You]]" credit but adds "We thank you" at the end on the sponsor credits in episodes from 2000 and 2001, to partially comply with PBS regulations.
==Characters==
===Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood===
Characters on the series include: Mr. McFeely the delivery man ([[David Newell]], who was named for Fred Rogers' maternal grandfather, Fred McFeely<ref name="newellcnn">{{cite interview |subject=David Newell |subjectlink=David Newell |interviewer=Carol Lin |title="Mr. Speedy Delivery" talks about his neighborhood |type= |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/31/mcfeely.chat.cnna/ |format= |program= |callsign=CNN |city= |date=2001-08-31 |accessdate= }}</ref>), Neighbor Aber ([[Chuck Aber]]), Lady Aberlin ([[Betty Aberlin]]), [[Marilyn Barnett]], Chef Brockett ([[Don Brockett]]), [[Tony Chiroldes]], [[Jose Cisneros]], Officer Clemmons ([[François Clemmons]]), Music Director from 1968 - 1996 ([[Johnny Costa]]), [[Keith David]], Music Director from 1996 - 2001 ([[Michael Morciz]]), Mrs. McFeely ([[Betsy Nadas]]), Handy Man Negri ([[Joe Negri]]), [[John Reardon (singer)|John Reardon]], [[Audrey Roth]], [[Maggie Stewart]], [[Sergio Pinto]], [[Bob Trow]]. Other regular puppeteers included [[Michael Horton]], Lenny Meledandri(1980-2001), and [[Carole Switala]].
===Neighborhood of Make-Believe===
Many of the puppet characters appearing in the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" segment were developed by Rogers years earlier for the ''The Children's Corner'', an educational program that he co-produced with [[Josie Carey]]. Rogers was the puppeteer behind many of the characters in the [[Neighborhood of Make-Believe]], including:
* Collette
* Cornflake S. Pecially
* Daniel Striped Tiger
* Donkey Hodie
* Edgar Cooke
* Grandpere
* Henrietta Pussycat
* Ino A. Horse†
* King Friday XIII
* Lady Elaine Fairchilde
* Queen Sara Saturday
* Tadpole Frogg†
* X the Owl
Other characters include:
* Anna Plattypus
* Betty Okonak Templeton-Jones
* Bob Dog
* Cousin Mary Owl
* Cousin Steve Owl
* Dr. Duckbill Plattypus
* Elsie Jean Plattypus
* Harriett Elizabeth Cow
* H.J. Elephant III
* Hula Mouse
* James Michael Jones
* Mrs. Frogg
* Prince Tuesday
* Purple Panda
* Robert Troll
† = Ino A. Horse and Tadpole Frogg disappeared after the pre-79 MRN show.
Thirteen in-series "operas" took place during the course of the series within the Make-Believe segments.<ref name="newellcnn"/> Many of them feature American baritone [[John Reardon]] as a main character. Among these operas are "A Star for Kitty", "Pineapples & Tomatoes", "Key to Otherland", "All in the Laundry", "Potato Bugs and Cows", "A Granddad for Daniel", "Spoon Mountain", "Windstorm in Bubbleland" and "Josephine The Short-Necked Giraffe".
Pittsburgh-area native [[Michael Keaton]] got his first major acting break as a "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" character in 1975. Keaton played an acrobat in a troup called The Flying Zookeenies that performed for King Friday's birthday. He was also in charge of running the Trolley.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Michael_Keaton/192243 |title=Michael Keaton at Hollywood.com |accessdate=2007-05-31 |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>
==
[[Image:Fred Rogers and Yo Yo Ma.jpg|thumb|Fred Rogers and [[Yo-Yo Ma]] discuss how music can be used to deal with angry feelings.]]Guests on the series ranged from [[cellist]] [[Yo-Yo Ma]] to [[actor]] and [[bodybuilder]] [[Lou Ferrigno]] of TV's ''[[The Incredible Hulk (TV Series)|The Incredible Hulk]]''. (In a 2001 piece where celebrities were asked about their heroes, Rogers cited Ma as one of his heroes.) A 1968 visit by electronic music pioneer [[Bruce Haack]] resurfaced in the 2004 documentary ''Haack: King of Techno''.
Guests on ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' were often surprised to find that although Rogers was just as gentle and patient as he was on his series, he was nevertheless a [[perfectionist]] who did not allow [[ad-lib]]bing;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,79742,00.html |title=Children's TV Icon Fred Rogers Dies at 74 |accessdate=2007-05-31 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2003-02-27 |publisher=Associated Press |quote= Joe Negri . . . said Rogers demanded perfection, refusing to accept shoddy ad-libbing by guests who may have thought they could slack off during a kids' show.}}</ref> he believed that children were thoughtful people who deserved programming as good as anything produced for adults on television.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tvshows.aol.com/show/mister-rogers-neighborhood/SH0029300000/main |title=Mister Rogers' Neighborhood |accessdate=2007-05-31 |date= |year= |month= |format= |work=AOL@Television |publisher=AOL LLC |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>
Rogers appeared as a guest on some other series. On the children's [[animated cartoon]] series ''[[Arthur (TV series)|Arthur]]'', for example, Rogers plays himself as an [[aardvark]] like Arthur. Prior to this, Arthur appears as a guest in hand-puppet form in an episode of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. [[Bill Nye]] (the Science Guy) and Rogers also exchanged appearances on each other's series, as did Rogers and [[Captain Kangaroo]]. Rogers appeared in an episode of ''[[Sesame Street]]'' where he explains to Big Bird, that after he beat out Mr. Snufflelupagus in a running race, that even if one loses the race, that there are no hard feelings to ever break the two of them apart. Big Bird himself also appeared in one episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood in the Land of Make Believe.
==Specials==
A Christmas Special aired in 1978. This special had Francois Clemmons introducing a storyteller and flutist friend to Rogers. They filmed a couple of narrated segments of the stories Francois' friend told. The special also had the [[Neighborhood of Make-Believe]] segment which shows how they celebrated Christmas. Even the [[tram|trolley]] had a banner on the roof that said "Merry Christmas" on one side, and "Happy Hannukah" on the other. This special was aired every Christmas season until 1982. This special's opening and close have Rogers walking through a real neighborhood while the titles roll rather than the model neighborhood used in the series.
In 1994, Rogers created another one-time special for PBS called ''Fred Rogers' Heroes'' which consisted of documentary portraits of four real-life people whose work helped make their communities better. Rogers, uncharacteristically dressed in a suit and tie, hosted in wraparound segments which did not use the "Neighborhood" set.
For a time Rogers produced specials for the parents as a precursor to the subject of the week on the Neighborhood called "Mister Rogers Talk To Parents About (whatever the topic was)". Rogers didn't host those specials though as other people like [[Joan Lunden]], who hosted the Conflict special, and other news announcers played MC duties in front of a gallery of parents while Rogers answered questions from them. These specials were made to prep the parents for any questions the children might ask after watching the episodes on that topic of the week.
==Legacy outside television==
* Ligonier, Pennsylvania theme park [[Idlewild and Soak Zone]] has an attraction called "Mister Rogers Neighborhood of Make-Believe" featuring a life-size trolley ride.<ref>[http://www.idlewild.com/in_the_park/?show=mr_rogers&view=misterrogers Idlewild and Soak Zone // In the Park] </ref>
* The [[planetarium]] show "The Sky Above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" is a computer animated adaptation of the television show for preschool-aged children.<ref>CommerSel Studios. "[http://www.commersel.com/Services/TheSkyAboveMisterRogersNeighborhood.asp The Sky Above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]".</ref>
* After three years as a traveling exhibit, the Pittsburgh Children's Museum<ref>[http://www.pittsburghkids.org/Templates/CMP_ExhibitsDetail.aspx?CID=196&SECID=1&MENUID=94 Welcome to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood]</ref> had Welcome to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood installed as a permanent exhibit in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04305/403304.stm |title=The Real Deal: Museum promises hands-on fun with "stuff" |accessdate=2007-05-31 |last=Haynes |first=Monica |date=2004-10-31 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>
The music of the show was interpreted by an eclectic mix of modern artists for the 2005 album ''Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mr. Rogers''. Other artists have paid homage to the show's music, including:
* "Hank and Fred," a song on [[Loudon Wainwright III]]'s 2005 album ''[[Here Come the Choppers]]'', deals with Fred Rogers' death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fci.org/newsletter/readnews.asp?ID=45&newsletterid=12 |title=Loudon Wainright III, Hank Williams and Fred Rogers |accessdate=2007-05-31 |year=2005 |month=09 |format= |work=Family Communications Neighborhood News}}</ref>
* "Intermezzo: M. Good v M. Trolley", an attempt by [[Matthew Good]] to play the Trolley's trademark music. On the track, he claims that "no human being can play that." It appears on the album ''Loser Anthems'' (2001).
==Parodies==
<!--Please do not list every appearance of the show in television or movies. That practice falls under trivia.-->
Fred Rogers and his television series are often parodied for their gentleness and kind demeanor. Notable parodies include:
*The recurring ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch [[Saturday Night Live TV show sketches#Mister Robinson's Neighborhood|Mister Robinson's Neighborhood]], which starred [[Eddie Murphy]] in the title role of a considerably grittier version of the series. He hosted the series from a run-down row home in a slum district. Like Rogers, Robinson's speaking manner was similarly stilted, although he constantly had to dodge the law and landlords wanting the rent. On occasion, [[Gilbert Gottfried]] appeared as Mr. McFeely.
*A [[sketch comedy|sketch]] on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' featured Carson in a sketch as an evil "Mister Rogers" who, like [[Soupy Sales]], wanted children to steal money from their parents in order to give the funding to him, if he still wanted to be their friends. (Soupy Sales received a week's suspension for this similar act on his series.) In addition, he used small dolls to explain what happens when the parents of a child commit adultery or have an affair, resulting in lawsuits and counter-lawsuits against each other. Fred Rogers, in real life, shunned this sketch as a direct insult to his integrity.
*A sketch titled "Battle of the PBS Stars Part 1: Boxing" on the sketch comedy series ''[[Second City Television]]'' featured [[Mr. Rogers]] (portrayed by Martin Short) facing [[Julia Child]] (portrayed by John Candy) with [[Howard Cosell]] (portrayed by Eugene Levy) commentating at ringside. The fight is close until Mr. McFeely surreptitiously hands Rogers the loaded King Friday puppet which Rogers then uses to club Julia Child. Rogers is declared the winner despite the "weapon". Cosell states that it is a dark day in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.
*The [[Flash]] animation [[Ultimate Showdown]] has Mr. Rogers as the winner of the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.
[[Image:Kingstewie.jpg|thumb|Stewie as King Friday in "[[No Chris Left Behind]]".]]
*In the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "[[Brian in Love]]", Stewie dreams about destroying the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and murdering Fred Rogers. Family Guy spoofed the show again in the episode "No Chris Left Behind" using puppets to further drive in the reference, portraying Stewie as King Friday. Stewie then complained about how a king can live next to the train tracks, yelling, "What is this, [[Mexico]]!?"
*On the [[stop-motion]] [[animated series]], ''[[Robot Chicken]]'', Mr. Rogers was spoofed in int episode "Toyz in the Hood". During the 'Bloopers' skit at the end of the episode, a blooper from an episode of Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood is shown in which Mr. Roger's gets an electric shock from the train tracks because they were too close to the pond. He then calls over one of the technical supervisers, Peter, and tells him they need to "solve the problem". Mr. Roger's does so by holding Peter's head in the water until he drowns.
*[[Robin Williams]] has spoofed Mr. Rogers in stand-up routines, particularly the "Pop goes the weasel" routine ("Let's put Mr. Hamster in the microwave . . . that's severe radiation. Can you say 'severe radiation'?") from [[Reality . . . What a Concept]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://pbskids.org/rogers/ PBS Kids: Official Site]
* [http://www.fci.org/ Family Communications, Inc.]
{{CurrentPBSKids_shows}}
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[[Category:1968 television program debuts]]
[[Category:1960s American television series]]
[[Category:1970s American television series]]
[[Category:1980s American television series]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[Category:2000s American television series]]
[[Category:PBS network shows]]
[[Category:Fictional neighborhoods]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh in film and television]]
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