Shout! Factory did us all a favor with its recent DVD reissue of The Electric Company. Even though I watched the show religiously in my youth (strictly for entertainment value, since I already knew how to read), over time I had forgotten how good both the adult and youth casts were. This DVD set brought back lots of good memories of what was an otherwise turbulent period in my life.
The menacing set of eyes in the image above belong to Mr. Morgan Freeman, then just part of the Company, but now an Academy Award-winning actor with a long resume of great roles to his credit. The other performers in the picture, members of the youth cast, are June Angela, the late Gregg Burge, Steven Gustafson and Bayn Johnson - four fifths of the "Short Circus" lineup from 1973-1975 (to me, its golden era).
Except for a few cast fine-tweaks after the first couple of years - including the departure of Bill Cosby - the adult cast became a finely tuned repertory company that could hold its own with the "Saturday Night Live" gang in the comedy department. Judy Graubart, in particular, is a very funny lady. In all, I like to think of "The Electric Company" as the hipper, smarter younger sibling to "Sesame Street" - and its bastard child as well, since it didn't have the longevity or fundraising oomph as "Sesame".
If you click on the link above, you too can relive those 5:30 weekday afternoons where the Blue Beetle tried to make things right, Fargo North decoded, Jennifer of the Jungle hung out with Paul the Gorilla, and the air was filled with piercing screams of "HEY YOU GUYS!"
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