WGBH and Discovery Kids are serving up some feathery fun for Thanksgiving with all-new episodes of the animated preschool science series, PEEP AND THE BIG WIDE WORLD. Join Peep, the newly-hatched chicken, Chirp, the smart and sassy robin, and Quack, the endearingly egotistical duck, as they flap their way through five new, wide-ranging, hair-raising, always comical (mis)adventures, debuting Nov. 14�18, 2005, at 9:00 am and 11:30 am on the Discovery Kids Channel and then on Nov. 21-25 at 8:00 on TLC, as part of the READY SET LEARN! preschool block. The series, narrated by comedienne Joan Cusack, won this year�s Emmy Award-winner for Outstanding Children�s Animated Program.
As PEEP starts its second season, the little birds have already made a huge impression, also receiving the Parents� Choice Gold award, the Award of Excellence from the Alliance for Children and Television and a CINE Golden Eagle. Its website, www.peepandthebigwideworld.org, was a runner-up for the Japan Prize. To add yet another feather to PEEP's cap, Goodman Research Group Inc., an independent research firm, found that the series successfully models science inquiry skills, including making predictions, observing, and problem solving. PEEP is based on characters created by Academy Award nominated animator Kai Pindal.
Each half-hour of PEEP contains two animated stories that highlight simple science and math concepts. These are followed by short live-action films depicting real kids discovering their own �big wide worlds.� For example, in "Peep's Color Quest," Quack sees the world in a whole new light (after borrowing funky orange sunglasses from the Fish Museum), while the real kids do kitchen table experiments with color and light. In "The Many Moons of Quack the Duck," the birds debate the number of moons in the sky (Quack maintains that the "day moon" and the "night moon" are completely different), while real kids observe and draw the moon at different times of day.
Discovery Kids evp/gm Marjorie Kaplan said, �We couldn't be happier to have Peep as part our READY SET LEARN! weekday morning block. The series has really struck a chord with kids, parents, and critics alike. and we're looking forward to more charming and silly adventures that will ignite young children�s interest in the wonders of the world around them.�
New Episodes Descriptions:Nov. 14 � �Finders Keepers� (Quack finds a perfect slice of bread. Should he listen to his duck wisdom, which tells him to save it for a rainy day?) & �Quack Quiets the Universe� (Another sleepless night for Quack. Why can't everyone be QUIET and let a poor duck get some rest?!)
Nov. 15 � �Peep�s Moon Mission� (Peep, Quack and Chirp argue over whether the moon is perfectly round � or more like a half-eaten peach.) & �The Many Moons of Quack the Duck� (Quack insists that there are many moons in the sky � the day moon, the night moon, the orange moon, the striped moon...)
Nov. 16 � �The Mystery of the Thing that Went and Came Back� (Peep sets sail, accidentally, in the Good Ship Easter Egg.) & �Peep�s Color Quest� (Quack has an exciting new toy � a pair of orange sunglasses, on loan from the Fish Museum.)
Nov. 17 � �Reflection Affection� (Here are two things you might not know about mirrors: they can help you practice flying and they're GREAT for scaring cats!) & �Peep Deep in Big Muddy� (On a hot summer's day, Peep discovers a mucky, slimy way to cool off!)
Nov. 18 � �Dry Duck Part 1� (Beaver Boy moves away, leaving behind a sad, sad duck� and a lot of extra sticks.) & �Dry Duck Part 2� (Beaver Boy has left town and Quack's pond has dried up. Is something fishy going on?)
PEEP AND THE BIG WIDE WORLD can be seen weekday mornings during Ready Set Learn! on the Discovery Kids Channel and TLC. The series is produced by WGBH Boston and 9 Story Ent. in association with TVOntario and Discovery Kids. The National Science Foundation provides major funding for PEEP. PEEP is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers by The Media Access Group at WGBH.
WGBH Boston (www. wgbh.org) is the producer of award-winning children's series such as ARTHUR, BETWEEN THE LIONS, POSTCARDS FROM BUSTER and ZOOM, airing on PBS. Guided by vp Brigid Sullivan, the WGBH children's lineup leads the field in educational multimedia (including the Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in technologies and services that make media accessible for people with disabilities.
The Discovery Kids Channel (www.discoverykids.com) is a 24-hour digital channel that offers fun, engaging, high-quality, real-world programming for kids, building on Discovery's signature areas of science, adventure, exploration and natural history as well as a genre just for kids, real-world narrative and its signature animation, RealToons. Each Discovery Kids show gives kids another perspective on the world in which they live and the possibilities available to them.
