OWL/TV is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
children's educational television series that aired on
CBC, from 1985 to 1990,
and then later on
CTV, from 1990 to 1994. It focused on nature and science discovery, emphasizing to viewers how they can affect their own environment.
Segements
Each half-hour program presented cartoon segments mixed with serious themes and contains segments from several recurring themes:
* ''Mighty Mites'': Three kids who possess the magical ability to shrink in size in order to discover microscopic environments.
* ''Animals Close Up'': Discovers other aspects of animal life. Kids meet the animals first-hand and see on-the-spot interviews with zoologists and experts on animal behaviour.
* ''Tomorrow Today'': Looks at the future from a kid's point of view, brings kids into working laboratories.
* ''Real Kids'' features youths who are actively involved in trying to develop their environment. These are kids who are not afraid to try. Real Kids nurtures the idea that individuals of any age can make a difference.
* ''You and Your Body'': Kids learn about themselves with the help of a wise and funny skeleton named Bonepart (voiced by Michael Lennick).
* ''Boneparte'' shares his energy for individual action on behalf of the environment.
* ''Dr. Zed'' discovers the connections between nature and science and shows kids exciting experiments.
* ''The Hoot Club Kids'': Set up and work through a project, solving production/performance problems, experimenting with materials, interacting with their community and environment.
Opening Theme
This series' opening theme was performed by voice actress and musician
Cree Summer Francks. The lyrics were written by Tim Ryan and music composed by Jonathan Goldsmith.
USA broadcasts
In the United States,
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
and
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
also aired the series for a short time. Reruns of the series have aired on
YTV. A Quebecois French dub of the series also aired as Télé-Hibou on the youth-aimed channel Canal Famille (now
Vrak
Vrak (stylized as VRΔK) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts live-action programming aimed at youth audiences.
History Background
The youth channel TVJQ () went on the air in 19 ...
). This series was based on
''OWL''. Funding for the series was initially provided in part by PBS, with the
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
serving as a co-producer.
[
]
British Version
A British Version was created in 1989 with Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer.
Early life
Born in Ewell, Surrey, Strachan grew up in Hinchley Wood and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both i ...
as presenter. The series was made for CITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
by Thames Television with repeats on Channel 4. When Thames lost it's franchise Channel 4 picked up the series in 1993 for one last series made by Tetra Films Tetra Films was a London-based independent production company, trading between 1992 and 2000.
Films and television
Tetra Films was founded by Alan Horrox in 1992, the same year when classic ITV series The Tomorrow People was revived. Prior to thi ...
[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7cb11276]
This version did use the same opening titles, but unlike the Canadian version, the British version was a straight wildlife programme with no animation segments and most editions were 20mins long, however North American segments were incorporated into the programme.
Broadcast guide
* Series 1: 5 January - 9 March 1989: 10 Episode for Thames Television.
* Series 2: 16 March - 25 May 25 1990: 10 Episode for Thames Television.
* Series 3: 3 January - 28 March 1991: 12 Episode for Thames Television
* Series 4: 8 January - 11 March 1992: 10 Episode for Thames Television.
* Series 5: 31 July - 2 October 1993: 10 Episode for Tetra Films.
References
CBC Television original programming
CTV Television Network original programming
1980s Canadian children's television series
1990s Canadian children's television series
1985 Canadian television series debuts
1994 Canadian television series endings
Canadian children's education television series
Canadian television series with live action and animation
Television shows based on magazines
English-language television shows
{{Canada-kids-tv-prog-stub