Polka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by
TVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO, is a publicly-funded, educational English language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario...
from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse. The show was an adaptation of the long-running
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
children's show,
Play School.
Format and hosts
Each episode had two human hosts, always one man and one woman, although there were many different human hosts over the course of the series. The same pair would host the show for a week; the next week would bring a new pair of hosts.
Hosts of
Polka Dot Door included
Denis SimpsonDenis Simpson is a Canadian actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, songwriter, writer, director, judge and humanitarian. The original bass vocalist for The Nylons, he left the band to appear in the Broadway musical Indigo before they became commercially successful.Simpson was also a longtime host of...
,
Gloria ReubenGloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress of film and television, known for her role on ER.-Life and career:Reuben was born in Toronto to a...
,
Tonya Lee WilliamsTonya Lee Williams is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, from 1990 to 2005, and for a brief time in 2007...
,
Taborah JohnsonTaborah Johnson , also known as Tabby Johnson, is a Canadian singer and actor. She is the sister of actor Clark Johnson and rock and jazz singer Molly Johnson....
,
Cindy CookCindy Cook is a Canadian children's entertainer.A graduate of York University's theatre program , she auditioned for the long-running children's series Polka Dot Door in 1981, and became the longest-serving host in the program's history...
, Catherine Bruhier,
Rex HagonRex Hagon is a Canadian actor and television host. His career began in his youth, most notably with The Forest Rangers....
, Garth Mosbaugh, Jim Codrington,
Sherry MillerSherry Miller is a Canadian actress.Miller began her career as a singer and dancer, gaining attention throughout Canada for her role in television commercials for Spumante Bambino wine...
, Johnnie Chase,
Gordon ThomsonGordon Thomson is a Canadian actor. His most prominent role was in the ABC prime-time soap opera Dynasty playing the villainous Adam Carrington, son of Blake Carrington and Alexis Colby...
, Carrie Loring,
Nerene VirginNerene Virgin is a Canadian journalist, actress and television host, best known for her role on the children's television series Today's Special.-Background:After growing up in Toronto, Ontario, she attended Toronto Teacher's College...
and
Nina KeoghNina Keogh is a Canadian puppet builder, puppeteer based in Toronto. She is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, UDA and ACTRA. She has worked for TVO and CBC Television...
. In the show's first decade the most frequent host was Alex Laurier.
The hosts would lead children in songs and stories, and interact with stuffed animal characters Humpty, Dumpty, Marigold and Bear. (Minou, a French-Canadian stuffed cat, sometimes also appeared in later years.) These characters never spoke or moved; the hosts would let the audience know what they were saying (What's that Marigold? You would like...). On certain theme days the hosts would invite the audience to peer through the Polka Dot Door to witness an educational video of some sort, showing, for instance, how crayons are made. When the Storytime Clock chimed, one of the hosts would visit Storytime Mouse, who had appeared next to the oversized blue grandfather clock. This grey stuffed mouse would usually be engaged in some activity related to that day's story. The would host would then tell the time in a deliberate, educational way before beginning the story. Sometimes the show would feature the music director
John ArpinJohn Francis Oscar Arpin was a Canadian composer, recording artist and entertainer, best known for his work as a virtuoso ragtime pianist....
as well as musicians such as
Peter AppleyardPeter Appleyard, OC is a Canadian jazz vibraphonist. He was born in Lincolnshire, England.In 1992, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his being an "internationally renowned vibraphonist [who] has represented the Canadian jazz community across North America, Europe, the...
,
Jane BunnettJane Bunnett is a Canadian soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader known for her Afro-Cuban jazz melodies.In 2004, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada...
, and
Henry CuestaHenry Falcon Cuesta was an American-born musician who was a member of The Lawrence Welk Show. His primary instrument was the clarinet....
for a round of songs, or have a visit from a special guest such as Marcia Darling from the Toronto Humane Society or a keeper at the Metro Toronto Zoo.
The music was played by virtuoso Canadian pianists Herbie Helbig ('71-'84) and John Arpin ('85-'93). It was produced by Ted Coneybeare ('71-'84) and
Jed MacKayJed MacKay is a Canadian children's TV producer/writer/composer. He began his career writing for TVOntario's long-running success Polka Dot Door and CBC's Homemade Television, winner of the Children's Broadcast Institute prize for Best Children's Show. MacKay became a producer in 1985...
('85-'93). MacKay began as a writer and also wrote much of the show's original music. He went on to create and produce two multi-award winning series for TVOntario:
Join In!Join In! was a Canadian educational children's television show which aired on TVOntario between 1989 and 1995. It was created and produced by Jed MacKay, who also wrote all of the show's original songs. The first two seasons were directed by Doug Williams. The next four seasons were directed by...
and
Polka Dot ShortsPolka Dot Shorts is a children's television show from TVOntario in Canada, but which has been broadcast around the world. It was created, produced and story edited by Jed MacKay, creator of TVO's successful show Join In!, and veteran children's TV writer/producer/composer...
. Between 1979 - 1984, Susan Murgatroyd directed 50 programs and wrote 20 scripts. From 1985 on, episodes were directed by
David MooreDavid Moore may refer to:* David Moore , English botanist* David Moore , politician in Victoria, Australia* David Hastings Moore , American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church...
. The show's initial executive producer was Vera Good.
Polkaroo
Each day's episode had a particular theme. Monday was "Treasure Day", Tuesday was "Dress-Up Day", Wednesday was "Animal Day", Thursday was "Imagination Day", and Friday was "Finding Out Day". On "Imagination Day", the character
Polkaroo appeared. The actor playing Polkaroo donned a tall, green plush costume that resembled a
kangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo...
. In its mended, yellow and multi-coloured polka-dot
muumuuThe muumuu or muumuu is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that hangs from the shoulder. Like the Aloha shirt, muumuu exports are often brilliantly colored with floral patterns of generic Polynesian motifs. Muumuu for local Hawaiian residents are more subdued in tone...
, the creature spoke using various repeated exclamations of its own named accompanied by elaborate gestures. The meaning of this
pantomimeA mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
was to be guessed by the audience. This was usually followed by a song whose lyrics began "Imagine, imagine, you can imagine Polkaroo...". Polkaroo appeared only to the female host while the male host was absent for some reason. The male host would return upon Polkaroo's departure, habitually exclaiming, "Polkaroo was here?!? And I missed him again?!?" The absent male host was in fact the actor in the Polkaroo costume, and though some sources have claimed that an uncredited third actor played the role, that was not the case.
Because of the
ironyIrony is a situation, literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity, discordance or unintended connection that goes beyond the most evident meaning....
laden in this sentence, Polkaroo has become something of a cultural icon to the generation raised on
Polka Dot Door, and the catchphrase "Aw, I missed him again" may often be employed for humorous effect.
In the late 1990s, TVOntario capitalized on the success of Polkaroo by placing him and the other animal characters, now also actors dressed in costumes, in a new series,
Polka Dot ShortsPolka Dot Shorts is a children's television show from TVOntario in Canada, but which has been broadcast around the world. It was created, produced and story edited by Jed MacKay, creator of TVO's successful show Join In!, and veteran children's TV writer/producer/composer...
, which also had its own catchphrase moment, as each episode included the unlikely discovery of a pair of polka dot shorts, leading to the exchange:
The Polkaroo costume as seen above and on the original series was hand made in Toronto, Ontario by Tanya Petrova, a relatively unknown artist who made brief appearances on numerous television shows from
Mr Dressup to
The Steve Allen ShowThe Steve Allen Show was an hour-long U.S. television variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, and from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC....
in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Tanya Petrova also created Charlie Horse for
Shari LewisShari Lewis was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s...
, along with 24 other puppet creations, as well as costumes for
Ontario PlaceOntario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, and owned by the Crown in Right of Ontario. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, just south of Exhibition Place, it is approximately 4 km west of downtown Toronto. Opened on May 22, 1971, it...
,
Eaton'sEaton's was once Canada's largest department store retailer. Founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant, Eaton's first advertisement read "We propose to sell our goods for CASH ONLY – In selling goods, to have only one price." In an era where haggling for goods was...
(i.e. Glump) and other events and attractions.
Parodies
The 1980s Canadian sketch-comedy show
Smith & SmithSmith & Smith was a Canadian sketch comedy series, which aired from 1979 to 1985 on Hamilton, Ontario's CHCH-TV, and through syndication on other Canadian television stations...
, starring real-life husband and wife team
SteveSteve Smith, CM is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian.Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario. Before turning to comedy, he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and then worked a variety of jobs. In 1979, he began to produce, write, and star in Smith & Smith, a sketch comedy series with...
and
Morag SmithMorag Smith is a Canadian television comedian, who with her husband Steve Smith, Jr., performed as a comedy duo in several television series.Steve and Morag Smith began their professional partnership with the sketch comedy series Smith & Smith in 1979...
, used to parody the
Polka Dot Door with a recurring sketch called "The Kids Show", with male and female hosts who loathed each other and bickered their way through the sketch. The sketches also featured the "Jerkaroo", played by Steve Smith with a paper bag over his head.
A Canadian sketch type educational TV show called
Bod TV, which focuses on nutrition education and is also produced by
TVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO, is a publicly-funded, educational English language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario...
, has a parody of Polka Dot Door called
Polka Dot House as one of its sketches. The sketch plays as a combination of the TV show with reality TV show
Big BrotherBig Brother is an American version of the Big Brother reality television show based on the Dutch television series of the same name originally created in 1997 by John de Mol...
. In it, one of the hosts gets tired of Bear repeatedly making honey sandwiches for everyone day in day out, and schemes with Marigold to get Bear out of the kitchen so she can prepare a meal that provides a more balanced diet.
International syndication
The series also aired on
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television service with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. However, its operations are largely funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting...
stations in the
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between 1982 and 1988. As well, it was the first Canadian kids show to be syndicated in the U.S.
Three series of the show also aired in the
Republic of IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
and parts of
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The show, while originally in English, was dubbed with Irish accents. Polkaroo was renamed "Polkadotroo" in the Irish version.