PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch

In August 1999, PBS and Nelvana teamed up to create the network's first-ever animated weekend programming block.[1] It was essentially created to boost viewership of the preschool audience on weekends, specifically on Saturday mornings when that attention was shifted elsewhere. A proposed series called Junior Kroll and Company was set to premiere, but that idea was eventually shelved and replaced by Marvin.[2] News of the block's expansion was paired with the release of a study from the University of Kansas that demonstrated the idea that children can learn to read from television programs.[3] Upon its launch on September 30, 2000, Bookworm Bunch became the second preschool-oriented Saturday morning block after Nick Jr. on CBS, which premiered two weeks prior.[4]

During the block's first season, all the shows (with the exception of the first 15-minute Corduroy episode), were shown either 15 or 45 minutes past the hour. A final 15-minute Corduroy episode then ended the block, making its total run three hours. Bookworm Bunch proved to be extremely popular in its first season, and weekend viewership increased dramatically. The season finale premiered on February 24, 2001, and reruns (including reruns of Elliot Moose and Corduroy) aired until October 27 of that same year. For reasons most likely due to cancellation and/or waning interest in programming, PBS never aired first season repeats after the aforementioned date. Interstitials and other materials from this season were considered to be lost media for almost 16 years until footage finally surfaced online.[5]

The second and final season premiered one week later on November 3, 2001,[6] and with this premiere came a drastic revamp: Corduroy and Elliot Moose were removed from the block entirely, thus shortening it to two hours. The four remaining series were instead seen on the hour and half-hour, and Marvin and Timothy both ended production by late 2001. The second season finale premiered on February 23, 2002.

Some PBS stations began to gradually phase out the weekend block a year later in favor of an unbranded weekday edition, which premiered on January 6, 2003. This included a revival of Berenstain Bears, and new episodes of Seven Little Monsters and George Shrinks. Although originally a half-hour program, PBS commissioned new 15-minute episodes of Monsters that aired alongside Bears in the same half-hour timeslot.[7] This did not last long as Bears eventually became a half-hour show beginning September 15, 2003,[8] thus permanently removing Monsters from the PBS lineup. George Shrinks was given its own half-hour timeslot,[9] in which it also proved to be extremely popular. Select member stations, including the former PBS Kids Channel, continued to air the two-hour weekend block until September 5, 2004.

After the cancellation of Bookworm Bunch, cable channel Discovery Kids aired reruns of Timothy from 2004 to 2006. Qubo has also aired reruns of Elliot, Marvin, and Timothy as part of its daily programming.

One of the staples of the Bookworm Bunch were music video interstitials that aired at the end of each program before the credits. These spots initially replaced promotions for Elliot Moose, which are the only materials as of late that are still considered to be lost. These music videos were essentially montages of scenes from all of the shows with musical accompaniment. Each of the songs was performed by American musical artist Nancy Cassidy, appearing on three albums released between 1986 and 1992.

• ¹ Debuted individually as a separate PBS program.

• PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch official site at the Wayback Machine (archive index)