ZOOM

'''ZOOM''' was an American educational television show, created almost entirely by children, which aired on PBS from January of 1972 to February of 1978. A new version of the show, also on PBS, premiered in 1999 and ended production in 2005. Both versions were produced by WGBH-TV in Boston. Christopher Sarson was ''ZOOM's'' creator and original producer (1972-1974).
''ZOOM'' encouraged children to "turn off the TV and do it!" On the show, a rotating cast of seven kids (known as ''ZOOMers'') performed various activities such as games, plays, poems, recipes, jokes, and science experiments, all suggested by viewer contributions. The performers in the original series were known for wearing striped rugby shirts, and for performing the show barefoot. The mail-in request became a pop culture reference for its musical exhortation to, "Write ''ZOOM'', Z-Double-O-M, Box 3-5-0, Boston, Mass 0-2-1-3-4: send it to ''ZOOM''!". There was also a language game on the show called Ubbi-Dubbi and another called Fannee Doolee.
''ZOOM'' was a new kind of series when it premiered on January 3, 1972. Unlike other children's fare at the time, it was for the most part unscripted. Far from seeking to capitalize by making stars of the child actors, the contracts prohibited them from making any television appearances or doing commercials for three years after they left the show.
''ZOOM'' was intended to inspire children to be active investigators, creators, and problem-solvers as well as introduce them to the principles of ethnic diversity. The show's ''ZOOMSci'' segment, for example, featured on the later incarnation, encouraged viewers to try the activities shown on ''ZOOM'' and to send in their results.
When ''ZOOM'' made a comeback in 1999, parents who had grown up watching the show could now share it with their own children, and found that it was very much the same as it had been in the 1970s. The theme song was similar, there was still Ubbi-Dubbi, and the ''ZOOMers'' continued to play games and perform skits suggested by other children. While the ZOOMers would occasionally appear barefoot for certain games and skits, the entire show was no longer performed barefoot. With the advent of the Internet, the "0-2-1-3-4" jingle was rarely sung, supplanted by one that emphasized "PBSKids, dot org!" Also, when reading aloud the names of contributors, the later version provided only first names and abbreviated surnames (e.g., "Paul T."), presumably as a compromise between crediting the children and meeting modern privacy expectations for child safety.
The show was last filmed during the summer of 2005, many episodes taking place off of the ''ZOOM'' set. The decision to cancel the show was largely due to falling ratings, with the last season's ratings down almost a fifth from the previous year. There is currently talk of putting ''ZOOM'' on either PBS Kids Sprout or a soon-to-be 24-hour digital PBS Kids Go! channel.
The first ''ZOOM'' series lasted six seasons (1972–1978) and featured 49 ''ZOOMers''. The second ''ZOOM'' series lasted seven seasons (1999–2005) and featured 32 ''ZOOMers''. At the end of every season of the second series, cast members who had grown too old were replaced by new cast members.

Contents

Cast members

First Series (1972–1978)

Cast names and update

Second Series (1999–2005)

Cast names and updates

Theme song

1970s Version

Second Generation Version

Merchandise

First Series

Second Series

References to ''ZOOM'' in popular culture

See also

External links

Articles

Media

Cast members

First Series (1972–1978)

''(Source: IMDB)''
'First Season (Early 1972)': Joe Shrand, Jon Reuning, Nina Thomassen, Tommy White, Kenny Marshal, Nancy Tates, Tracy Schulman
'Second Season (1972-1973)':

★ ''Cast 1'': Kenny Marshal, Nancy Tates, Tracy Schulman, Ann Davis, David Alberico, Jay Schertzer, Maura Mullaney.

★ ''Cast 2'': Ann Davis, David Alberico, Jay Schertzer, Maura Mullaney, Bernadette Yao, Leon Mobley, Luiz Peterton.

★ ''Cast 3'': Bernadette Yao, Leon Mobley, Luiz Peterton, Danny McGrath, Edith Mooers, Lori MacNeal, Neal Robinson.
'Third Season (1973-1974)':

★ ''Cast 1'': Danny McGrath, Edith Mooers, Lori MacNeal, Neal Robinson, Donna Fellows, Mike Dean, Timmy Rudman.

★ ''Cast 2'': Donna Fellows, Mike Dean, Timmy Rudman, Hector Seandon, Rose Clarkow, Shawn Miranda, Danny (II).
'Fourth Season (1974-1975)': Andrae Nelisan, Carmen Peterson, Cate Albonda, David (II) Sales, Harvey Reed, Norman Christian, Red Lyman, Tishy Lyman, Tommy (II) Schultz, Tracey Dunlap. (This was the only season of the original show that featured more than seven ZOOMers at one time.)
'Fifth Season (Late 1976)': Arcadio Gonzales, Chris Tedford, Jennifer Hagley, Karen Lew, Levell Thomas, Nell Hullman, Ron Dairy.
'Sixth Season (1977-1978)': Amy Clark, Carolyn Malcolm, Chee Bong, John Lathan, Nicholas Butterworth, Shona Wiseman, Susan Hobbie.
Originally funded by the National Science Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Corporation For Public Broadcasting and Viewers Like You, ZOOM lost its funding in 1975, after the end of the fourth season. It was off the air from the summer of 1975 until January of 1976, when it was brought back in reruns.
Some PBS stations continued to broadcast reruns of the series as late as early 1980.

Cast names and update

During the 1970s version of the series, WGBH never disclosed the ZOOMers' last names, which was likely part of the producers' policy of just using ordinary kids who would be likely to stay ordinary kids; this policy also included a contract, in which the ZOOMers would not appear on television for five years after leaving the show.
Listed below are some cast members' full names which have come to light in later years.

★ David Alberico (1972-73)

★ Nicholas Butterworth (1977-1978) is Founder, President & CEO of Diversion Media.

★ Mike Dean (1973-1974)

★ 'John Lathan' (1977-1978) has had guest parts in ''The West Wing'' and was a member of the Engine Crew on ''Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?''

★ 'Danny McGrath' (1973-1974) is a songwriter and appears with The John Cate Band in the Boston area.

★ 'Leon Mobley' (1972-1973) is founder of DJIMBE West African Drummers and Dancers (DWADD)^[1], and has performed with the Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Peter Wolf.

★ Edith Mooers (1973-1974)

★ Maura Mullaney (1972-1973)

★ Harvey Reed (1974-1975)

★ Jon Reuning (1972)

★ Jay Schertzer (1972-1973)

★ Joe Shrand (1972)

★ Nancy Tates (1972)

★ Tommy White (1972)

★ Bernadette Yao (1972-1973) practices the healing arts.^[2]

Second Series (1999–2005)

'Season 1 (1999)': Lynese Browder, Alisa Besher, Zoe Costello, Jared Nathan, David Toropov, Pablo Velez, Keiko Yoshida.
'Season 2 (2000)': Alisa Besher, Caroline Botelho, Claudio Cook, Zoe Costello, Ray MacMore, Jessie Ogungbadero, Kenny Yates.
'Season 3 (2001)': Kaleigh Cronin, Eric Rollins, Rachel Redd, Kenny Yates, Kevin "Buzz" Barrette, Caroline Botelho, Frances Domond.
'Season 4 (2002)': Garrett DiBona, Estuardo Mazzu, Aline Ramirez, Caroline Botelho, Matt Runyon, Rachel Redd, Kaleigh Cronin.
'Season 5 (2003)': Garrett DiBona, Mike Hansen, Elena "Shing Ying" Shieh, Estuardo Mazzu, Kortney Sumner, Aline Ramirez, Caroline Botelho.
'Season 6 (2004)': Kyle Larrow, Mike Hansen, Francesco Tena, Maya Morales, Elena "Shing Ying" Shieh, Kortney Sumner, Cara Harvey.
'Season 7 (2005)': Kyle Larrow, Nick Henry, Taylor Garron, Francesco Tena, Noreen Raja, Emily Marshall, Elena "Shing Ying" Shieh.

Cast names and updates

★ Kevin "Buzz" Barrette is a 2007 graduate of Auburn High School. He will be attending Boston University in the fall of 2007.^[3]

★ Lynese Browder is a junior (class of 2008) at Pine Manor College.^[4]

★ Zoe Costello is attending and studying at Experimental Theatre Wing at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

★ Kaleigh Cronin has performed in numerous professional theatrical productions.^[5]

★ Garrett DiBona is a freshman at University of Tampa

★ Ray MacMore is currently living in Brooklyn NY, attending Brooklyn College. He works at a hotel in midtown Manhattan and is one of three members of The Prospects, an up and coming rap/hip-hop group.^[3][3]

★ Estuardo Mazzu has worked with Sociedad Latina and is currently in Guatemala.^[3]

★ Jared Nathan was a third-year acting student at the Juilliard School;^[9] he was killed in an automobile accident in Hollis, New Hampshire on December 28, 2006. The driver of the automobile Nathan was riding in was alleged to be drunk.^[10][11][12]

★ Jessica-Kate "Jessie" Ogungbadero is a sophomore (class of 2009) at Harvard University^[13].

★ Rachel Redd is a freshman at Spelman College.

★ David Toropov is a 2007 graduate of Phillips Academy Andover. He will be attending Bard College in the fall of 2007.

★ Pablo Velez graduated from Emerson College in May, 2007.

★ Kenny Yates, whose full name is Kenneth Yates Jr., is an assistant to film directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, as of 2006.^[3]

★ Keiko Yoshida graduated from Muhlenberg College in 2006.

★ Noreen Raja is a Sophomore at Grafton High School in Massachusetts and is a member of the Central Massachusetts Regional Student Advisory Council to the Board of Education.

★ Cara Harvey is a current junior at WRHS and is a member of the National Honors Society.

★ Maya Morales is a current freshman at Worcester Academy.

★ Taylor Garron was a contestent on season 1 of ZOOM's successor show FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman.

Theme song

1970s Version

:''(spoken)Cha cha cha, ZOOM!''
:''Come on and zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom!''
:''We're gonna zoom-a, zoom-a, zoom-a zoom!''
:''Everybody's movin' it, everybody's doin' it,''
:''Everybody's writing the show, yeah!''
:''So would you zoom, zoom, zoom-a zoom?''
:''Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom!''
:''I'm (name of ZOOMer)!'', etc.
::Each introduction in the roll call is followed by a few quick slides of that particular ZOOMer in various poses (often in a silly fashion).
:''Who are you?''
:''What do you do?''
:''How are you?''
:''Let's hear from you...''
:''We need you!''
:''We're gonna zoom, zoom zoom-a zoom!''
:''Come on and zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom!''
:''Come on, give it a try,''
:''We're gonna show you just why,''
:''We're gonna teach you to fly high!''
:''Come on and zoom!''
:''Come on and zoom, zoom!''
::These last two lines were repeated until fading out. In the early seasons, after the kids left the stage in the closing credits, it was often replaced after a few times with an instrumental version.

Second Generation Version

:Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
:Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
:Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom-a, ZOOM!
:ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!
:Come on and Zoom, You call the tune,
:Come on and Zoom, We're starting soon,
:Come and Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom-a, ZOOM!
:ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM,
:I'm (ZOOMer's name) ''(each ZOOMer introduced in this fashion)''
:We're all plugged into one world map.
:So lets talk we want to here from you.
:Come on give it a try.
:And if you like what you see then turn off your tv and do it.
:Zoom! (3 times).
:Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom,
:Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom-a, Zoom
:Come on and Zoom, Come on and Zoom
:Come on and Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom-a, Zoom!
:ZOOM!
'The seventh season had a completely different format for the song and opening credits.'

Merchandise

First Series

In 1974, A&M Records released an album of songs from the show entitled ''ZOOM'' (LP ; cassette ). The master number for the album was SP-3402. There were at least two books published for children that were based on the 1970s ZOOM series:

★ ''The ZOOM Catalog'' (ISBN 0394825322), published by Random House in 1972, featured the best stories and activities from the show;

★ ''Do a ZOOMdo'', published by Little Brown in 1975, featured activities from the show.
In 1997, WGBH released the video and book set ''Best of the 70's'' and ''ZOOMers Revisited--Where Are They Now?'' (ISBN 1578072077).

Second Series

Three videos were released based on the show: ''Party with ZOOM'' (1999, ISBN 157807200X), ''The ZOOMers Video Special: The Making of ZOOM!'' (1999), and ''ZOOM: America's Kids Remember'' (2002).
Four books compiled by Amy E. Sklansky were published by Little, Brown and Company:

★ ''ZOOM Zingers'' (1999, ISBN 0316952613)

★ ''ZOOM Fun With Friends'' (1999, ISBN 0316952753)

★ ''ZOOMdos You Can Do!'' (2000, ISBN 0316952761)

★ ''ZOOMfun Outside'' (2000, ISBN 0316952788)
As always, all material in these books were submitted by the viewers.

References to ''ZOOM'' in popular culture

★ In the Hard 'n Phirm music video for their song "π", they parody ZOOM in a program called ZAP. The kids are named Javier, Jessica, Steve, Susan, and twins Hector & Diego. The show is produced by "WHNP" (whose logo is a clear take-off on WGBH's famous "outline" logo) and is "funded by a grant from the Windsor Pneumatics Foundation". In the video, two unidentified wizards watch the kids do increasingly more bizarre activities, including spinning around on a mop and pretending to kill each other. A phony-looking robot appears, which leaves them enraptured. Near the end of the video, the kids and the robot confront the wizards, who vaporize Steve, Hector, and Diego with laser beams. Jessica reflects one of their lasers back with a mirror, and the robot destroys the other wizard. The three remaining kids are shrunken, and they jump into a portal in the wizard's book.

★ In a rare (for the time) cross-PBS parody, ''The Electric Company'' had a sketch called "BOOM", featuring the Electric Company cast in striped turtlenecks on a mockup of the ''ZOOM'' set. "BOOM" was intentionally less polished than most ''Electric Company sketches'', to poke fun at ''ZOOM''s unscripted format.

★ Similarly, ''SCTV'' had a regular segment called "Pre-Teen World" which featured the ''SCTV'' cast pretending to be preteens who were improvising a television program they wrote and produced themselves. Often, the 'unscripted' segments would turn into disasters as real life turned out to be less cheerful than the kids implied. This was largely a parody of ''ZOOM'' (including a parody of the 0-2-1-3-4 jingle) and similar local programs.

★ An episode of the series ''You Can't Do That on Television'' began with the cast members running up to camera singing "Come on and boom, boom, booma, boom," before an explosion erupts, causing them to choke on the ensuing smoke.

★ In one episode of the popular TV series Friends, Joey admits to having lied on his CV and also adds, "I wasn't one of the kids on ZOOM either."

★ A segment of Jonathan Caouette's film Tarnation describes an idea that a young Caouette had for a rock musical based on his life. His hypothetical cast included the cast of ''ZOOM'' as a chorus of children in foster care. During this segment, a montage of clips from movies and TV are shown, including a few from ''ZOOM''.
In the six episode of the TV show Queer as Folk, Brian sees 17 year-olds Justin and Daphne at Club Babylon and exclaims, "Well, if it isn't the cast of ZOOM!".

See also

★ Studio See (another PBS children's program that used content from viewers)

External links

★ PBS Kids Official Site

★ (1972-1978)

★ (1999-2005)

Articles

★ ''Boston Globe'': "Childrens' Show ZOOM a victim of ratings drop", story about 2004 cancellation of ''ZOOM''

★ ''Zoom:America's kids respond''[2]

Media

★ KeithSchofield.com - Hard 'N Phirm: "Pi" (Quicktime & Windows Media)