Lamb Chop's Play-Along! is a Canadian-American half-hour preschool children's television series that was shown on PBS in the United States from January 13, 1992 until September 22, 1995, with re-runs airing until August 29, 1997. It was created and hosted by puppeteerShari Lewis, and featured her puppet characters Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy. "Lamb Chop's Play-Along!" was followed by the short lived spin-off series, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.
Production
PBS commissioned the show from Shari Lewis in May 1991, and the show premiered in January 1992. This marked Lewis' return to television after about 15 years. Lamb Chop's Play-Along was shot in Canada, first in Burnaby, British Columbia and then at the CBC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. The series honoured Lewis's father, college professor Abraham Hurwitz - "the official magician of New York City". Ellensburg Daily Record explains: "each half hour is filled with jokes, games, songs, and tricks".
Philosophy
Shari Lewis said her goal for the audience is "participation, not passive observance". She said: "our goal is, don't just sit there - come play with me". She wanted to "attack the shorter attention span of today's children with a fast-paced show using colorful electronic effects". She said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I know that when children watch TV, they go into a stupor. Parents think are interested, but what they really are is ". Lewis testified that making smart content for children was not that hard to produce and should be done with increasing frequency. She said that if children are challenged, they will be productive members of society. She said, "I don't care if you tack a prosocial message at the end of the show. You have not done a quality show".
Synopsis
Lamb Chop is an anthropomorphicsheep; other characters are puppets of other farm animals, including Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy. At the end of each show, Charlie Horse would try to sing The Song That Never Ends, much to the annoyance of Shari.
Cast
Shari Lewis - Herself/Lamb Chop/Charlie Horse/Hush Puppy
Pat Brymer - head puppeteer
Gord Robertson - Buster the Bus, featured puppeteer
jointly distributed it with Paragon Entertainment Corporation to PBS stations across the country. The rights to the show are currently owned by Universal Television on behalf of DreamWorks Classics.
Opening and closing
Both the opening and closing songs were written by Broadway composer Norman Martin. Other songs were written by Square One TV songwriter, John Rodby. Two versions of the opening song with different lyrics have been used; one involves bouncing, the other strength. The ending theme song is "The Song That Doesn't End", as sung by the children and puppets while Lewis frantically attempts to stop them. The song eventually fades even before beginning a 6th verse. Finally, at the end of the song, Charlie Horse returns. He then tries to get to sing the song again, but Lewis successfully stops him. She orders him to go away. Resigned, Charlie leaves as she asks. But he slams the door before Lewis could tell him don't. Her only consolation is that she is now at peace and quiet with the singing group gone, though she glares at the viewers at fade-out. An instrumental version of the show's theme song was used for a most recent show of Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop.
Critical reception
The show received a rating of 8.0 based on 128 votes, at TV.com, and score of 7.8/10 at IMDb based on 407 ratings. Greensboro News & Record said of this show, "she made the sort of mischief that gave a vicarious thrill to millions of children watching at home".
