Fred Penner's Place
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''Fred Penner's Place'' is a Canadian children's musical television series that aired on
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
from 1985 to 1997. It stars
Fred Penner Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song "The Cat Came Back" and his television series, '' Fred Penner's Place'', which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 199 ...
as a fictionalized version of himself, as well as an array of
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
s, musical numbers, and occasional guest stars. Internationally, it aired on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
in the United States beginning in 1989, and later on
Odyssey Network The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies an ...
. The show was positively received by audiences and critics, and won or received nominations for several awards including a
Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
in 1989 and a
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
in 1994. After the series' cancellation in 1997, Penner admitted to being a "little bit lost" in the succeeding years as he continued to perform at concerts and give keynote speeches, but was waiting for the "next big thing to come along". Beginning in the mid-2000s, he began to reconnect with the generation of children that watched ''Fred Penner's Place'' as they entered adulthood. He has performed several sold-out concerts at universities and pubs across the country, and receives positive reactions and feelings of nostalgia from the overwhelmingly
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
audiences.


Series overview

The series was created in the mid-1980s by its eponymous namesake Fred Penner, who viewed it as an opportunity to " rovidean alternative to advertisement-and violence-filled programming" for children. The series educates children in different subjects including the teaching of French, one of Canada's official languages. The series is very musical in nature, with Penner playing several musical pieces on his acoustic guitar throughout most episodes. Aside from the variety of puppets that shared the screen with Penner, a number of special guests appeared on the show throughout its run, including
Holly Larocque Holly Larocque is a Canadian actress and theatre performer. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Holly is perhaps best known for her role as Holly Higgins on the children's series ''Under the Umbrella Tree'' which aired from 1986 to 1993. She resumed the ro ...
as the character she portrayed on ''
Under the Umbrella Tree ''Under the Umbrella Tree'' is a Canadian children's television series created by Noreen Young that originally aired on CBC from 1987 to 1993. It was produced by CBC and Noreen Young Productions, and later by The Disney Channel, which began airi ...
'', another CBC children's television series that aired during the 1990s. ''Fred Penner's Place'' is noted for its distinctive
title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...
, featuring a theme song written and performed by Penner himself. The sequence shows Penner walking along a beach and into a forest, observing several wild animals in their natural habitat, and eventually crawling into a hollow log and exiting out the other side, where he introduces himself and greets the viewer.


Development and production

''Fred Penner's Place'' originated when the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
was in the process of organizing a replacement series for the long-running children's series ''
The Friendly Giant ''The Friendly Giant'' was a children's television program that aired on CBC Television from September 30, 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant (mythology), giant named Friendly (played by Bob Homme), who lived in ...
'', which had aired for over 25 years between 1958 and 1985. Dodi Robb, head of
CBC Kids ''CBC Kids'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian children's television series, children's Block programming, block on CBC Television. The block was launched as Hodge Podge Lodge in 1987 and contains programming targeted at children. The block a ...
at the time, called Penner and told him that the CBC had been watching his career progress over the last several years, and thought he would be ideal as a host for their new television series. When Penner inquired on how the series would be structured, he was asked for his own input, and that is when Penner came up with the idea that resulted in ''Fred Penner's Place''. The series was filmed in both
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
and
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. Originally (and throughout the series' run) a 15-minute program, the show also began adding 30-minute episodes to its production in 1987. The pace of the show has been described as "rigorous", and due to particular set requirements, ''Fred Penner's Places crew had to rush through filming before the set was removed to allow for other productions. They were often given only a month to finish work. In many cases the crew would spend a month writing and shooting in Winnipeg, followed by another month in Vancouver. Executive producer Randy Roberts estimated that the production team's goal was to produce three 15-minute episodes per day. He characterized both Penner and the series crew as working tremendously hard to get through production. Penner called the production an "intense process" and a "complex dance", but noted that he relished in it. According to Penner and Roberts, scripts were sometimes rewritten if they didn't "strike the right tone" for the show, with Penner explaining that a respect of the show's young audience was of paramount importance, and if the storylines became too silly they would be changed to avoid insulting the intelligence of the intended audience.


Music

''Fred Penner's Place'' is most notable for its musical elements, with song performances by Penner being one of the show's most central components. Music director Dave Jandrisch worked closely with Penner; Jandrisch would chart songs, while Penner would often write them the night before a taping, or even on his way to the studio.
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
musicians including Reg Kelln and
Ron Halldorson Ron Halldorson (born 1943) is a Canadian jazz musician, arranger, and producer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for his work with guitarist Lenny Breau. Beginning his career as a country musician in the 1950s, Halldorson switched to jazz in the ...
were also involved with music production on the show. During the 1980s, the show
covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
many songs from artists going back decades. Penner indicated that because ''Fred Penner's Place'' was a children's show, producers "didn't have to worry about royalties because it was for a generation that would grow up to appreciate it." However, by the 1990s, Penner began writing more original songs because of growing concerns regarding
music royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
.


Cancellation

''Fred Penner's Place'' was abruptly canceled in 1997 shortly after management changes at the Children's and Family Programs division of CBC Television. Although a
buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...
permitted CBC to air the program for a further three years at no cost, they chose not to do so. Reruns of the show were aired until 2000, and the series has never formally been released on any
home media Home media refers to media used for recording, copying, delivery, and playback of various types of entertainment and information in the home. Forms of home media include: * Home video * Magnetic tape * Phonograph record See also * ''Home Media M ...
to date.


References


External links


Fred Penner's official website
* {{IMDb title, id=0402644 1985 Canadian television series debuts 1997 Canadian television series endings CBC Television original programming Nickelodeon original programming Canadian television shows featuring puppetry 1980s Canadian children's television series 1990s Canadian children's television series 1980s Canadian music television series 1990s Canadian music television series Nick Jr. original programming Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television shows filmed in Winnipeg