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Sesame Park was a Canadian version of Sesame Street. In its first format, it was referred to as Canadian Sesame Street and was a re-edited version of the American series; it adopted a new format and the Sesame Park title in 1996.
In 1972, the bulk of Sesame Street's content was licensed out to CBC Television, originally as a 15 minute program but by the mid-1970s became a full hour program. The CBC then added live action and animated segments teaching about Canadian culture and French bilingualism, replacing segments on Spanish and American history on the original program. (Some Spanish segments still aired in Canada, although fewer in number.) Most of the production of the Canadian segments took place in Winnipeg and in Quebec. Between 1972 and 1995, this hybrid of American and Canadian production was known as Canadian Sesame Street and became an institution for preschool Canadian children.
In the 1980s, a series of specially made Canadian Muppet characters were introduced, including Basil the Bear (played by Bob Stutt), French-Canadian Louis the Otter, Dodi a bush pilot and Katie, a girl in a wheelchair.
The Henson Muppet shop also provided some "anything" Muppets which could be redressed to become whatever characters the script called for, including Barbara Plum (a parody of CBC broadcasting legend Barbara Frum) and Beau Beaver.
In 1996, the CBC decided to take on the job of producing different kinds of content for the series; specifically to have their own "street". Feeling it would better reflect the Canadian educational goals for the show, Producer Shirley Greenfield and screenwriter Jill Golick decided to set the show in a park, rather than on an urban street. A new half hour series entitled Sesame Park was born. In addition to three or four segments set in the park, each episode also consisted of a combination of Canadian and American produced segments. Added to the cast was a muppet kitten named Chaos (named after Golick's own cat) and a human character named Ray. Many guests made appearances on the series, including Red Green, a Canadian situation-comedy character played by Steve Smith, and Eric Peterson as Old King Cole.
In 1999, the series received its nomination and win from the Gemini Awards, for Best Pre-School Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb). Bob Stutt was nominated that year for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series. In 2000, the Sheila McCarthy won Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series, for her role in an episode of the show, beating out fellow guest star Pier Kohl, as well as others. In 2001, the series won Best Pre-School Program or Series (Wendy Smith, Susan Sheehan, Duncan Lamb), beating out Land O' Hands and The Nook Counting Network. Guest Eric Peterson won again for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series, beating out Pier Kohl, James Rankin, Natasha LaForce, and Gisèle Corinthios.
Sesame Park was cancelled in 2002.
Cast
- Basil the Polar Bear, Bob Stutt
- Louis the Francophone Otter, Pier Paquette
- Dodi the fearless pilot, Noreen Young
- Katie, Trish Leeper
- Chaos, Karen Valleau
- Ray, Derek Ritschel
External links
- CBC Sesame Street: A Description and Discussion of Issues - an essay on the reasons why the Canadian version was made.