Martha Speaks (TV series)
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| Martha Speaks | |
|---|---|
 The show's logo |
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Format | Children's television series Animated television series |
| Created by | Based on the series of children's books by Susan Meddaugh |
| Written by | Ken Scarborough (head writer) |
| Directed by | Dallas Parker (supervising director) Colleen Holub (co-director) |
| Voices of | Tabitha St. Germain Madeleine Peters Brian Drummond Alex Ferris Cedric Payne Christina Crivici (seasons 1-3) Michelle Creber (season 4-) Vanesa Tomasino Nicole Oliver Kathleen Barr French Tickner Betty Phillips Maxine Miller Matt Hill Samuel Vincent Terry Klassen |
| Narrated by | J.T. Turner |
| Theme music composer | Daniel Ingram |
| Opening theme | "Martha Speaks theme", lyrics by Ken Scarborough, performed by Robert Wilson |
| Ending theme | "Martha Speaks theme (instrumental)" |
| Composer(s) | Daniel Ingram |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 [1] |
| No. of episodes | 80 (72 aired)[2][3] (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Carol Greenwald Chris Bartlerman Blair Peters |
| Producer(s) | Sarah Wall |
| Running time | 28 minutes (approximately 13 minutes per episode) |
| Production company(s) | DHX Media Vancouver WGBH Boston |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Picture format | 16:9 HD |
| Original run | September 1, 2008 – present |
| External links | |
| PBS Kids website | |
Martha Speaks is an animated children's television series based on the 1992 children's book of the same name by Susan Meddaugh, about a talking dog named Martha (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain), who is owned by ten-year-old Helen Lorraine (known in the books as Helen Finney). When Helen feeds Martha some alphabet soup, the soup travels to her brain instead of her stomach, resulting in her ability to speak. The show focuses on synonyms and vocabulary, with each episode featuring an underlying theme illustrated with key words. The show takes place in the fictional town of Wagstaff City, a parody of Flagstaff, Arizona.
The show is produced by WGBH in Boston, along with Vancouver based animation studio DHX Media Vancouver (formerly Studio B Productions), and debuted on September 1, 2008 on PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! stations across the United States. Some episodes of this TV series were available for limited theatrical release on January 3, 2009.[4]
The third season of Martha Speaks premiered on PBS Kids on October 11, 2010.[5], and the series has been renewed for a fourth season with 10 episodes.[6] This season began airing on January 23, 2012.
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[edit] Production
The episodes are produced by Carol Greenwald, and was developed for television by Emmy Award-winning writer Ken Scarborough, the show's head writer and creative producer. Mr. Scarborough is also head writer for the show. Other writers include Joe Fallon, Peter Hirsch, Raye Lankford, Pippin Parker, Ron Holsey, and Dietrich Smith. Music for the series and the theme song is by Canadian composer Daniel Ingram. Lyrics for the theme song are by head writer, Ken Scarborough.[7] The show is animated in Vancouver by Studio B Productions using Flash.[8] Meddaugh, author of the book. is involved in the show and oversees the production.[9] Despite some concerns over the word definitions presented on the show, she said she is now satisfied that they do not interrupt the story.[10] Producer Carol Greenwald first contacted Meddaugh when she was involved in the TV series Arthur;[11] the author has also been approached by HBO and Disney.[10]
[edit] Characters
[edit] Language system
Martha can understand most animal languages except for a few exotic animals such as monkeys and giraffes. These languages are simple, as slight elongation or slightly higher pitch will mean something entirely different. In the episode "Itchy Martha", Martha teaches T.D.'s father to speak a word in dog, coaching him to say it exactly right. Almost all animals are able to understand some sort of human language but are unable to speak it. In a newer episode, it is revealed that Martha understands a wide range of animal languages, possibly because they have the same grammar system.
[edit] Episodes
Season one of the series ended with a total of 40 episodes; it premiered in September 2008. 30 episodes were produced for Season 2 and then split in half to be aired over two broadcast seasons, with 15 episodes each.[12]
When aired, the show was followed by Music Time With Steve Songs and later by Dot's Story Factory. Season two episodes have been followed by a segment called Who's That Dog!, in which a clip of a kid and their dog is shown.
| Season | Episodes | First airdate | Last airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | September 1, 2008 | July 24, 2009 |
| 2 | 15 | September 14, 2009 | May 14, 2010 |
| 3 | 15 | October 11, 2010 | June 28, 2011 |
| 4 | 10 | January 23, 2012 | 2012 |
[edit] Merchandise
PBS KIDS! reported that episodes of the series would be available as downloads in fall 2008.[13] Episodes are available for purchase via downloading.[9]
In the Fall of 2009, Martha Speaks launched its first list of official tie-in books, which include 24-page readers, chapter books, and a picture book.[11]
On March 9, 2010, a DVD set of the series was released.[14] It features eight episodes from Season One: "Martha Says It with Flowers," "Raiders of the Lost Art," "Martha Gets Spooked," "Martha Changes Her Luck," "Martha Sings," "TD Makes the Band," "There Goes the Neighborhood," and "Ice Scream."
[edit] Funding
- US Department of education ready to learn grant
- Chick-Fil-A
- The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- kiddie academy
- Viewers Like You
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Weiss, Joanna (August 17, 2008). "PBS set to unleash a new tutor". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/08/17/pbs_set_to_unleash_a_new_tutor/.
- ^ Weiss, Joanna (August 17, 2008). "PBS set to unleash a new tutor". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/08/17/pbs_set_to_unleash_a_new_tutor/.
- ^ http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6589305.html?nid=2788
- ^ Kidtoon Films
- ^ http://www.opb.org/television/programs/martha-speaks/
- ^ http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/727803/dhx-media-s-martha-speaks-series-renewed-and-analyst-call
- ^ "Martha Speaks TV Credits". PBS Parents. http://www.pbs.org/parents/martha/program/credits.html.
- ^ "2008: The year that was". Top Draw Animation. http://topdrawanimation.com/from_the_top.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ a b "Martha Speaks . FAQ". PBS KIDS!. WGBH. http://pbskids.org/martha/parentsteachers/program/faq.html. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
- ^ a b Nesi, Ted (2009-05-12). "Good dog". Wheaton Quarterly. Wheaton College. http://wheatoncollege.edu/Quarterly/Q2009Winter/Gooddog.html. Retrieved 2009-07-31.[dead link]
- ^ a b ‘Martha Speaks’ to Launch on PBS - 8/21/2008 - Publishers Weekly
- ^ http://pbskids.org/martha/parentsteachers/program/episodes.html
- ^ Martha Speaks . FAQ | PBS KIDS!
- ^ http://www.igglevideo.com/content/movies/index.html?client=iggle&id=120644
[edit] External links
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