The Puzzle Place

The Puzzle Place
Format	Children's television series
Starring	Alice Dinnean-Vernon Carmen Osbahr Jim Martin Noel MacNeal Peter Linz Matt Vogel Allison Mork
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	75
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	KCET Los Angeles (1995–) and Hollywood (1997–1998)
Broadcast
Original channel	PTV
Original run	September 15, 1994 (official premiere on January 16, 1995) – December 4, 1998

The Puzzle Place is an American children's television series produced by KCET in Los Angeles, California and Lancit Media in New York City, New York. It officially premiered on the PTV on Monday January 16, 1995, (although it had already first premiered on two Los Angeles PBS stations, KCET and KLCS on Thursday September 15, 1994), and ran for just under four years, airing its final new episode on Friday December 4, 1998, however the show would continue in reruns until 2000. The show followed a multi-ethnic group of kids (puppets) from different parts of the United States who hung out at "the Puzzle Place", which is a teen hangout themed around jigsaw puzzle pieces. In each episode the characters were confronted with an everyday conflict usually encountered in childhood and even early teenagerdom, such as making moral decisions, sharing, racism, sexism, etc.

Characters

Julie Woo

A Chinese American girl from San Francisco, California. She is very sensitive and caring of her personal possessions and she sometimes tries a little too hard. She is puppeteered by Alice Dinnean-Vernon.

Kiki Flores

A Mexican American girl from San Antonio, Texas. She is very outgoing and has a temper. She also is a great chili cook and has a Spanish-speaking cousin who helped everyone to learn about acceptance. She is puppeteered by Carmen Osbahr, the same actress that plays the similar character Rosita, Monstrua de las Cuevas on the program Sesame Street.

Ben Olafson

A Norwegian-German-American boy descent from a farm near Renner, South Dakota. He is good at difficult puzzles and is a talented dancer. He is puppeteered by Jim Martin.

Leon MacNeal

An African American boy from New York City. He wears dreadlocks and gets jealous easily and sometimes does not think before he acts. He is a fan of hip-hop music (as in Gotta Dance) and loves basketball. He is puppeteered by Noel MacNeal, the same puppeteer of Bear from Breakfast with Bear and Bear in the Big Blue House (in fact, the puppet's first name is the puppeteer's first name spelled backwards, and the last name is the same).

Skye Nakaiye

An Indian-American Apache boy from an Indian reservation in Arizona who always wears a bandana, raincoat, and feather necklace. He's very curious and always sticks to his values and his culture. He also falls in love with Julie. He is puppeteered by Neil Morrisey, the puppeteer of Lofty from Bob the Builder. In Season 3, the role of Skye was taken over by Matt Vogel [1].

Jody Silver

A Lithuanian-Jewish girl from Cincinnati, Ohio. She does not like to be called names and is very gullible but also very enthusiastic. She is puppeteered by Allison Mork.

Sizzle and Nuzzle

The anthropomorphic pet dog and cat at the Puzzle Place. They are seen mostly in the basement, talking to each other and act as animals around the Puzzle Place kids. They are usually involved in a subplot. They were played by the same puppeteers as the ones who played Julie and Skye, Alice Dinnean-Vernon and Peter Linz. However, in Season 3, the role of Nuzzle was taken over by Matt Vogel [2].

The Piece Police

Multicolored inhabitants of the Puzzle Place. They don't speak, communicating amongst themselves using grumbling noises, although they understand the English language. It has been hinted in some episodes that they all know what both Sizzle and Nuzzle are saying.

Episode List

Season one

1. Tippy Woo (1/16/1995)
2. Train Drivin' Kids (1/17/1995)
3. Rip Van Wrinkle (1/18/1995)
4. Accentuate the Positive (1/19/1995)
5. Gotta Dance (1/20/1995) The kids have a dance contest and Ben and Jody win.
6. Rudy One (1/23/1995)
7. Butterfingers (1/24/1995)
8. Rock Dreams (1/25/1995)
9. Roamantics (1/26/1995)
10. Spud Buds (1/27/1995)
11. Different Drummer (1/30/1995)
12. I Love Kiki (1/31/1995)
13. True Colors (2/1/1995)
14. Cute Is as Cute Does (2/2/1995)
15. Leon's Pizza (2/3/1995)
16. Real Horses (2/6/1995)
17. Going by the Book (2/7/1995)
18. Mad Music Magic (2/8/1995)
19. Party of One (2/9/1995)
20. Dancing Dragon (2/10/1995)
21. Picture Perfect (2/13/1995)
22. Maiden Voyages (2/14/1995)
23. Donuts and Dithering (2/15/1995)
24. Bully for Jody (2/16/1995)
25. Ben's Bad Hair Day (2/17/1995)
26. All Weather Friends (2/20/1995)
27. Bread and Matzo (2/21/1995) Jody celebrates Passover.
28. Owning It (2/22/1995)
29. Baffled Ben (2/23/1995)
30. Practice Makes Perfect (2/24/1995)
31. Finders Keepers (2/27/1997)
32. You Say Potato (2/28/1997)
33. At the End of Our Race (3/1/1995)
34. Just Kidding (3/2/1995)
35. Everything in Its Place (3/3/1995) Everything ends up a huge pile on the living room table.
36. Big Boys Don't Cry (3/6/1995)
37. Here's to the Winners (3/7/1995)
38. A World of Difference (3/8/1995)
39. Willing and Able (3/9/1995)
40. It's Magic (3/10/1995)

Season two

1. Deck the Halls (1/15/1996) While the gang celebrates Christmas. Jody brings her Menorah for Hanukkah while Leon celebrates Kwanzaa.
2. Dressing Up is Hard to Do (1/16/1996)
3. One Way (1/17/1996)
4. Oldies But Goodies (1/18/1996)
5. Helping Hands (1/22/1996)
6. Yellow Belt (1/23/1996)
7. The Mystery of the Fabulous Hat (1/24/1996)
8. How Much is That Doggie in the Window? (1/26/1996)
9. The New Adventures of Julie Woo (1/29/1996)
10. We Three Kings (1/30/1996)
11. Hello, Maggie (2/1/1996)
12. Off the Track (2/2/1996)
13. Beautiful Doll (2/5/1996)
14. Those Ears, Those Eyes (2/6/1996)
15. That's Weird (2/7/1996)
16. Little Leon, Big Ben (2/8/1996)
17. I Scream, You Scream (2/9/1996)
18. Skye's Coat (2/12/1996)
19. It's Mine (2/13/1996)
20. One Big, Happy Family (2/14/1996)
21. Leon Grows Up (2/15/1996)
22. Hurricane Julie (2/16/1996)

Season three

1. Family Fun (10/19/1998)
2. Anything She Can Do (10/20/1998)
3. You Don't Match (10/21/1998)
4. Fiesta Follies (10/26/1998)
5. Between You and Me (10/27/1998)
6. A Star is Burned (10/28/1998)
7. Spooky (10/30/1998)
8. Up! (12/3/1998)
9. I'm Talking to You (12/4/1998)

Reception

In the weeks after its debut, The Puzzle Place won a great deal of acclaim and "enjoyed an average audience-per-viewing second only to 'Barney and Friends' among shows in the popular PBS daily children's block." It received a citation of excellence from UNIMA-USA for its use of puppetry. In 1997, ten more episodes of the show were "in the works". Toys "R" Us, Sears, and Payless Shoe Source all announced that they would carry merchandising from the series and showcase that merchandise in its own separate "boutique" rather than integrating it with the other products.

Funding

• Edison International (1994–1996) (1996–1999)
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (1995–1999)
• Viewers Like You (1995–1999)
• Sears Roebuck & Co. (1995–1996)
• IBM (1995–1998)
• NORRIS (a.k.a The Kenneth T. and Ilene L. Norris Foundation) (1997–1999)
• Chef Boyardee (1997–1998)

Ending

After 3 seasons and 75 episodes, the show ended its run in December of 1998, but it was seen on repeats until 2000.

Home video releases

For some time after the show's airing, a few, particular, mostly regular episodes were brought to VHS by Warner Home Video. There was even a tape compiling songs from various episodes that was also released. They have long since been out of print. Recently, no plans for the show to be brought to DVD have been announced yet. Titles include:

• Accentuate The Positive
• Rock Dreams
• Tuned In
• Rip Van Winkle
• Party Of One
• Deck The Halls

External links

• The Puzzle Place at the Internet Movie Database