Square One TV | |
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The Square One Logo
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Starring |
Reg E. Cathey Beverly Mickins Arthur Howard Larry Cedar Luisa Leschin Cynthia Darlow Cristobal Franco Beverly Leech Toni DiBuono Joe Howard |
Narrated by | Cynthia Darlow |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 230 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Children's Television Workshop |
Release | |
Original network | PBS |
Audio format |
Mono (1987–91) Stereo (1992–94) |
Original release | January 26, 1987 | – November 6, 1992 , reruns aired until October 7, 1994
Website |
Mathman | |
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Mathman Titlecard.
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Genre | Education, Comedy, Humor, Animation, Cartoon |
Created by | Jim Thurman |
Presented by | Jim Thurman (as the unseen Introduction Announcer) |
Starring | Mathman Mathdog Mr. Glitch The Announcer |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Blue Sky Studios |
Running time | 1 to 2 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | PBS |
Original release | January 26, 1987 – November 6, 1991 |
Square One Television (sometimes referred to as Square One or Square One TV) is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers.
Created and broadcast by PBS in the United States from January 26, 1987 to November 6, 1992, the show was intended to address the math crisis among American schoolchildren. After the last episode aired, the show went into reruns until October 7, 1994. The show was revived for the 1995–1996 PBS season as a teacher instruction program, Square One TV Math Talk.
Square One was also shown on the U.S. cable television channel Noggin in syndication beginning in 1999, but was removed from its lineup along with other Sesame Workshop shows on May 26, 2003.
Square One comprised short sketches that introduced and applied concepts in mathematics such as counting, combinatorics, vulgar fractions, estimation, probability, and geometry. The sketches featured regular characters and were mainly parodies of pop culture icons, popular television commercials or popular television shows. Sketches were presented in various formats, including music videos featuring a particular subject in mathematics and taught the subject through song (e.g., Roman numerals, obtuse and acute angles, percentages, negative numbers, etc.) or comedic sketches (e.g., General Mathpital, a parody of General Hospital; Nobody's Inn, a parody of Fawlty Towers; Late Afternoon with David Numberman, a parody of Late Night with David Letterman; etc.). "Patterns", a polka about patterns that can be detected in daily life, was performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Since Yankovic did not write this song, it is unavailable on any of his records, though bootleg versions have circulated. The Judds appeared on Square One Television many times, as they performed various songs.