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| Lamb Chop's Play-Along | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Written by | Lan O'Kun Bernard Rothman |
| Directed by | Michael Watt Stan Jacobson |
| Presented by | Shari Lewis |
| Starring | Shari Lewis Lamb Chop (puppet) Charlie Horse Hush Puppy |
| Opening theme | "It's Lamb Chop's Play-Along!" |
| Ending theme | "The Song That Doesn't End" |
| Composers | Bob Golden John Rodby |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 85 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Burnaby andVancouver,British Columbia, Canada |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Paragon Entertainment Corporation WTTW Chicago |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | January 13, 1992 (1992-01-13) – September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22) |
| Related | |
| The Charlie Horse Music Pizza | |
Lamb Chop's Play-Along! is a half-hourchildren's television series aimed at toddlers that was shown onPBS in theUnited States from January 13, 1992, until September 22, 1995, with reruns airing on PBS until January 4, 1998, and on KTV FAVE - KIDZ in 2019. It was created and hosted by thepuppeteerShari Lewis, and featured her puppet charactersLamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy. The series was based on several home videos Lewis created throughout the 1980s, particularly the 1988 videoLamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along.Lamb Chop's Play-Along! was followed by the short-lived spin-off series,The Charlie Horse Music Pizza.
Lamb Chop is ananthropomorphic sheep puppet who lives with her guardianShari Lewis and her two siblings, Charlie Horse (an anthropomorphic horse) and Hush Puppy (an anthropomorphic dog). In each episode, Lewis encourages the audience to participate or interact in a number of activities through several segments, including those involving crafts, songs and stories. The shows are wrapped around with a multiple-act segment known asAt Home With Lamb Chop, which typically revolves around a situation involving one of the puppet characters.
PBS commissioned the show from Shari Lewis in May 1991, and the show premiered in January 1992.[1] This marked Lewis' return to television after about 15 years (following the BBC version ofThe Shari Lewis Show in 1975).Lamb Chop's Play-Along was shot in Canada, first in Burnaby, British Columbia and then at theCBC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2]
The series honored Lewis' father, college professor Abraham Hurwitz, who died in 1981. He is referred to as "the official magician of New York City".[3]
Ellensburg Daily Record said "each half hour is filled with jokes, games, songs, and tricks".[4]
WTTW jointly distributed it with Paragon Entertainment Corporation to PBS stations across the country. The rights to the show are currently owned byUniversal Television on behalf ofDreamWorks Classics.[citation needed]
Shari Lewis explained her goal for the audience is "participation, not passive observance". She said: "our goal is, don't just sit there - come play with me".[4] She wanted to "attack the shorter attention span of today's children with a fast-paced show using colorful electronic effects". She said in an interview withThe Philadelphia Inquirer: "I know that when children watch TV, they go into a stupor. Parents think (their children) are interested, but what they really are is [bored]".[5]
Lewis testified that making smart content for children was not that hard to produce and should be done with increasing frequency. She explained that if children are challenged, they will be productive members of society.[6] She said, "I don't care if you tack a prosocial message at the end of the show. You have not done a quality show".[7]
Both the opening and closing songs were written by Broadway composer Norman Martin. Other songs were written bySquare One TV songwriter, John Rodby. Two versions of the opening song with different lyrics have been used; one involves bouncing, and the other strength. The ending theme song is "The Song That Doesn't End", as sung by the children and puppets while Lewis frantically attempts to stop them. The children and puppets eventually leave at Shari's urging, and the song fades even before beginning a sixth verse. Finally, at the end of the end credits sequence, Charlie Horse returns and tries to get to sing the song again but Lewis successfully stops him (by putting her hand over his mouth). She then orders him to go away and not let the song back in her sight again. As Charlie leaves, he slams the door before Lewis could tell him to close the door properly. Despite Charlie slamming the door, her only consolation is that everything is now silent (as a result of Charlie, the other puppets, and the singing group children "gone"). However, she glares at the viewers at fade-out.[citation needed]
An instrumental version of the show's theme song was used for a most recent show ofMallory Lewis (daughter of the show's host) and Lamb Chop.[citation needed]
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85 half-hour episodes produced.
2 one-hour episode specials were produced:[citation needed]
The show received a rating of 8.0 based on 128 votes, at TV.com,[8] and a score of 7.8/10 at IMDb based on 407 ratings.[9] Greensboro News & Record said of this show, "she (Lewis) made the sort of mischief that gave a vicarious thrill to millions of children watching at home".[10]
In 2025, the documentaryShari and Lamb Chop was set to be widely released byKino Lorber.[11][12]
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| Year | Award | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis | Won |
| 1992 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design | Molly Harris Campbell | Nominated |
| 1992 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series | Bernard Rothman, Jon Slan, Richard Borchiver, Shari Lewis | Nominated |
| 1992 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series | Bernard Rothman, Shari Lewis | Nominated |
| 1993 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis | Won |
| 1993 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis, Ken Steele, Bernard Rothman, Mallory Tarcher, Lan O'Kunx, Aubrey Tadman | Won |
| 1993 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction | Carl Gibson | Nominated |
| 1994 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis | Won |
| 1994 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series | Richard Borchiver, Shari Lewis, Bernard Rothman, Jon Slan | Nominated |
| 1994 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series | Mallory Tarcher, Ken Steele, Steve Edelman, Bernard Rothman, Lan O'Kun, Shari Lewis, Aubrey Tadman, Tibby Rothman, Jeremy Tarcher, Michael Lyons, Kimberley Wells | Nominated |
| 1995 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis | Won |
| 1995 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series | Shari Lewis, Bernard Rothman, Jon Slan, Richard Borchiver | Nominated |
| 1995 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series | Bernard Rothman, Shari Lewis, Mallory Tarcher, Ken Steele, Lan O'Kun, Aubrey Tadman | Nominated |
| 1996 | Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series | Shari Lewis | Won |
| 1996 | Daytime Emmy Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series | Jon Slan, Richard Borchiver, Shari Lewis, Bernard Rothman | Nominated |
| 1996 | Daytime Emmy Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series | Mallory Tarcher, Shari Lewis, Aubrey Tadman, Ken Steele, Tibby Rothman, Lan O'Kun, Bernard Rothman | Nominated |
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