Wishbone (TV series)

Wishbone
Format	Children's television series
Created by	Rick Duffield (Executive producer)
Starring	Soccer & Larry Brantley (voice) as Wishbone
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	48 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Picture format	480i SDTV
Audio format	Dolby Surround
Original run	October 9, 1995 (1995-10-09) – 1998

Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas. As he tends to daydream about being the lead character of stories from classic literature, drawing parallels between the stories and events in the lives of Joe and his friends, he was known as "the little dog with a big imagination". The show follows his daydreams, as Wishbone acts out a famous story from literature or folklore. Only the viewers and the characters in his daydreams can hear Wishbone speak (and furthermore, the characters from his daydreams see Wishbone as whatever famous character he is currently portraying and not as a dog). The show has won four Daytime Emmies, a Peabody Award, and honors from the Television Critics Association. Wishbone's exterior shots were filmed on the backlot of Lyrick Studios's teen division Big Feats! Entertainment in Allen, Texas, and its interior shots were filmed on a sound stage in a 50,000 square foot (4,600 square metres) warehouse in Plano, Texas.

The theme song was written by Tim Cissell and Lynn Adler.

This show garnered particular praise for refusing to sugarcoat many of the sadder or more unpleasant aspects of the source works, which usually enjoyed a fairly faithful retelling in the fantasy sequences.

It also inspired several book series. Altogether, there are more than fifty books featuring Wishbone, which were published even after the TV series ended production, up to 1998. It continues to air reruns by some PBS affiliates.

Episodes

Main article: List of Wishbone episodes

A standard episode of Wishbone consists of an opening scene, introducing Wishbone's and his family's current situation (for example, Arbor Day planting a tree, or Joe catching a lunch lady trying to donate food to a homeless shelter). When one of the main characters decides to get involved in the noble act, Wishbone flashes to a famous work of literature it reminds him of, usually with him playing the lead role, in costume. Wishbone may not play the lead role if the character is difficult to relate to (he plays Sancho Panza in Don Quixote) or is female (in the show's "Joan of Arc" episode, he plays Louis de Conte). By the end of both stories, the real-life situation usually follows the work of literature closely (such as the King saving Robin Hood at the last minute, and the Principal saving Joe at the last minute). The last 2 minutes of nearly every episode feature Wishbone narrating some background description of how the episode was made, such as showing how stunts were done, how costumes were made, or how the visual effects were created.

One 90-minute movie was released, Wishbone's Dog Days of the West, based on Heart of the West.

The series also featured a clip show episode called Picks of the Litter.

Characters

Main characters

One of Wishbone's many portrayals, Robin Hood of Nottingham

• Wishbone: A well-read dog who sees parallels between classic literature and the dilemmas he and his human friends face every day. Wishbone is a male tri-color Jack Russell Terrier (white with brown and black markings), who lives with the Talbots at their home on Forest Avenue in Oakdale. In his normal contemporary life, none of the humans can hear Wishbone speak, though the audience can. He seems to be under the impression that humans would hear him if they just paid attention and he often bemoans the fact that they do not do so. In the classic literature stories he imagines himself in, humans can hear him and they apparently perceive him as a human. He is portrayed by "Soccer" the dog, his thoughts given voice by Larry Brantley.

• Joe Talbot: Wishbone's teen-aged owner, the only child of Steve and Ellen Talbot. Joe has brown hair and a great interest in sports, particularly basketball. He is a player on the Sequoyah Middle School basketball team. His best friends are Samantha Kepler and David Barnes. His father Steve, a basketball coach, died from a rare blood disease when Joe was six years old. Portrayed by Jordan Wall.

• David Barnes: Joe and Sam's best friend and Joe's neighbor. He lives on Forest Avenue with his parents, Nathan and Ruth Barnes, and his younger sister, Emily. David aspires to be a scientist. Portrayed by Adam Springfield.

• Samantha "Sam" Kepler: Joe and David's best friend. Her father, Walter Kepler owns and runs the local pizzeria, Pepper Pete's. She has long blonde hair, and is the most outgoing and adventurous of the three friends. She is allergic to coconut. Her parents are divorced. Portrayed by Christie Abbott.

• Ellen Talbot: Joe's widowed mother, who, like him, has dark brown hair. She works as the reference librarian at Henderson Memorial Library in Oakdale. Portrayed by Mary Chris Wall.

• Wanda Gilmore: The Talbots' slightly eccentric next-door neighbour. Wanda is the owner of the Oakdale Chronicle newspaper and president of the local Historical Society. She is a very friendly and cheerful person, but hates it when Wishbone digs up her flower beds. She has a crush on Joe's teacher, Bob Pruitt. Portrayed by Angee Hughes.

Other characters

• Damont Jones: The local bully, always up to no good, who usually causes trouble with his friend Curtis.

• Emily Barnes: David's mischievous little sister who is often seen with her friend Tina; a running gag seem to involve an adult telling Emily and Tina to be good, to which they reply in unison "we will", before giggling insincerely and being bad.

• Amanda Hollins: Samantha's academic rival who always tries to prove she is smarter than Samantha.

• Mr. Bob Pruitt: Joe's English teacher and later a love interest of Wanda.

• Walter Kepler: Samantha's dad and a former friend of Joe's dad. He owns and operates Pepper Pete's Pizzeria in the later episodes.

• Nathaniel Bobelesky: A geeky kid who is terrible at sports and allergic to everything, but is still friends with Joe and Sam.

• Mr. Natonabah: A Native American who is a college professor in Dances with Dogs. The actor appeared as Dan Bloodgood the mailman in later episodes.

• Mr. King: A real-estate developer who is an occasional antagonist of Joe and Sam.

Cast

• Soccer, also Slugger, Shiner, Phoebe, and Bear as Wishbone
• Larry Brantley - Wishbone's voice
• Jordan Wall - Joe Talbot
• Adam Springfield - David Barnes
• Christie Abbott - Samantha Kepler
• Mary Chris Wall - Ellen Talbot
• Angee Hughes - Wanda Gilmore
• Justin Reese - Nathaniel Bobelesky
• Adan Sanchez - Lee Natonabah/Dan Bloodgood
• Rick Perkins - Mr. Bob Pruitt
• Taylor Pope - Curtis

Awards

• Academy of Television Arts & Sciences First Honor Roll of Children's Programming, 1999
• George Foster Peabody Award, 1998
• Emmy Award - Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design, 1997
• Emmy Award - Costume Design/Styling, 1997
• Emmy Award - Graphics and Title Design, 1997
• Emmy Award - Costume Design/Styling, 1996
• Emmy Award Nominations, 1998, "WISHBONE's Dog Days of the West"
• Directing in a Children's Special
• Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design
• Main Title Design
• Costume Design/Styling
• Television Critics Association - Best Children's Show, 1996 and 1997

Other

Only a handful of the Wishbone episodes have been released to VHS and DVD. There were also a few computer games in 1996, such as Wishbone Activity Center and Wishbone and the Amazing Odyssey. Wishbone has also inspired several book series: Wishbone Classics, Wishbone Mysteries, and The Adventures of Wishbone, which is similar to the TV series. Wishbone also appeared in a segment in the video called "Kids for Character: Choices Count" a sequel to the 1996 video Kids for Character.

Recently, Lionsgate has released a new Wishbone DVD, The Little Dog With a Big Imagination, on February 15, 2011.

Funding

• Viewers Like You

External links

• World Wide Wishbone
• Wishbone at the Internet Movie Database
• Wishbone at TV.com