Les Cents tours de Centour
Encyclopedia
Les 100 tours de Centour was a 1971-1972 French language
children's television show made in Quebec
by Radio-Québec
. Its stories revolved around Verbo, a genie
with magical power who was trying to recapture Centour (another genie who had escaped from the same land as Verbo).
The show's foremost purpose was language acquisition, which was conveyed by the way Verbo would do magic: when he needed to perform a trick, he would ask his talisman (named "Memo") for a formula (always in the form of "it is a [subject], it is a [object], it is the [subject] of the [object]".) He would then close his eyes and repeat, asking the children at home to do the same.
Centour on his part would perform magic by reciting similar formulas while shaking his magic wristband (which looked like a gaudy wristwatch).
Memo's constant companion was Picot Cotton, a young human male whose family was often the target of Centour's tricks.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
children's television show made in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
by Radio-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
. Its stories revolved around Verbo, a genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
with magical power who was trying to recapture Centour (another genie who had escaped from the same land as Verbo).
The show's foremost purpose was language acquisition, which was conveyed by the way Verbo would do magic: when he needed to perform a trick, he would ask his talisman (named "Memo") for a formula (always in the form of "it is a [subject], it is a [object], it is the [subject] of the [object]".) He would then close his eyes and repeat, asking the children at home to do the same.
Centour on his part would perform magic by reciting similar formulas while shaking his magic wristband (which looked like a gaudy wristwatch).
Memo's constant companion was Picot Cotton, a young human male whose family was often the target of Centour's tricks.
Cast
- Roland Chenail (Head of the genies)
- Julien Genay (Verbo)
- Yves Massicotte (Centour)
- Ghyslain Tremblay (Pico)