3-2-1 Contact
Encyclopedia
3-2-1 Contact is an American
science
educational television show that aired on PBS
from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop
, teaches scientific
principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G. Atkins, who was responsible for much of the scientific content of the show, felt that the TV program wouldn't replace a classroom but would open the viewers to ask questions about the scientific purpose of things.
for CTW from 1971 to 1977. (Gibbon actually left CTW before Contacts production began, though he was still credited as "Senior Consultant.")
The first season of 65 programs began airing January 14, 1980 on select PBS member stations; it featured a cast of three college students who discussed science in an on-campus room known as the Workshop. The first season came to an end on April 11, 1980, but funds for more episodes were not sufficient until 1982.
When production resumed for the second season, which premiered on October 17, 1983, the show presented a more realistic appearance, as the new cast convened in a suburban basement (these segments were shot at Reeves Teletape
, which also housed Sesame Street
at the time). This cast continued until October 18, 1985. Ozzie Alfonso
was Contacts new director and Al Hyslop its executive producer.
When the fifth season began on September 22, 1986, a third cast was introduced. However, unlike the previous casts, they did not meet in any specific setting; instead, they appeared in various taped and filmed segments. Episodes continued to be produced through November 1988.
For a time in the mid-1980s, the program was co-produced with the French television network
FR3
and featured several new French cast members in addition to the American
cast. From 1982 to 1983 the program was aired in Spain with dubbed-over versions of the American original broadcasts, and some local add-ons with four Spanish cast members: Sonia Martínez
, Luis Bollain, Fernando Rueda and Marifé Rodríguez. Another Spanish version of the broadcast was aired from 1990 to 1992.
From September 1, 1991 until May 1, 1992, an edited version of the series titled 3-2-1 Classroom Contact was produced, specifically for in-school viewing.
It was reported in 1984 that 3-2-1 Contact had an audience of over 7 million viewers and was broadcast in 26 countries including West Germany
, France
, Italy
and Spain
making their own dubbed-over versions.
Broadcasters wanted the children to record the episodes without being afraid of infringement of copyright violations.
, a series about a group of young detectives who used science to solve crimes. Episodes of the series needed to be run in regular sequence for understandable viewing, as many Bloodhound Gang mysteries were cut among two or three Contact episodes.
(which went out of print that same year), including reader submissions of computer programs written in the BASIC computer language as well as reviews of popular computer programs. A new feature called "The Slipped Disk Show" appeared in mid-1985, starring a fictional disc jockey who answered computer-related questions submitted by readers.
Beginning in 1987, the magazine also featured content from another CTW production, Square One Television
. Such content frequently took the form of a two-page comic strip, often parodying a popular show or movie of the time, with a math-related question at the end.
The Bloodhound Gang mysteries also made the leap to the magazine, but they were subsequently replaced with a series entitled The Time Team in September 1990. These stories found teenage characters Sean Nolan and Jenny Lopez traveling to different time periods in the past and future. Their surroundings and personal encounters were described with great detail, educating readers as to the customs of various cultures throughout history, and – on trips to the future – often pushing present day hot-button issues. For example, a 1993 story saw the duo traveling to what appeared to be a prehistoric forest, but near the end, they found a Brazil
flag, a newspaper clipping from 1995, and a bulldozer at work: this was in fact a Brazilian rainforest
being levelled.
In 1996, The Time Team was replaced by a comic serial, Cosmic Crew, which focused on the adventures of a group of teenagers and their robot butler in space. Their first story arc (which ran for more than a year) had them trying to figure out a series of riddles relating to places in the solar system in order to claim a treasure (which turned out to be a scholarship fund). Another story arc had a delinquent (who had been a villain in the first arc) join them in order to chase down a gang of other delinquents. Despite being effectively replaced, a few Time Team stories were run whenever there were gaps between installments of Cosmic Crew.
Many of the magazine's cover stories involved current events, such as 1990s oil fires in the Middle East
. In addition, the magazine offered a games section in which most of the games were related to the stories in the issue.
In 1996, CTW presumably concluded that faithful readers from the late 80s and early 90s had long since moved on, and the magazine began to reprint non-time-sensitive stories from years past. For example, a 1991 article on the geography of the Galápagos Islands
– a relatively unchanging subject – could very well re-appear in an identical format a half a decade later.
Under Sesame Workshop
the magazine later became Contact Kids, removing the original reference to the television show. Production of the magazine was suspended indefinitely in 2001.
. Occasionally, shows were also rerun on Nickelodeon's Cable in the Classroom time period. For all these Nickelodeon and Noggin airings, the series was rated TV-Y7 (possibly due to the target audience). It also still aired on some PBS stations as reruns from 1989 to 1998 before it was switched to Noggin in 1999. As of 2003, Noggin no longer airs any shows produced by Sesame Workshop. The shows were modified for the shorter running time on these networks to allow for their interstitials
.
Five sponsors funded the show for its entire run. They were originally supposed to fund for 20 new episodes until 1989.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
educational television show that aired on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
, teaches scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G. Atkins, who was responsible for much of the scientific content of the show, felt that the TV program wouldn't replace a classroom but would open the viewers to ask questions about the scientific purpose of things.
History
3-2-1 Contact was the brainchild of Samuel Y. Gibbon, Jr., who had been the executive producer of The Electric CompanyThe Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
for CTW from 1971 to 1977. (Gibbon actually left CTW before Contacts production began, though he was still credited as "Senior Consultant.")
The first season of 65 programs began airing January 14, 1980 on select PBS member stations; it featured a cast of three college students who discussed science in an on-campus room known as the Workshop. The first season came to an end on April 11, 1980, but funds for more episodes were not sufficient until 1982.
When production resumed for the second season, which premiered on October 17, 1983, the show presented a more realistic appearance, as the new cast convened in a suburban basement (these segments were shot at Reeves Teletape
Teletape Studios
Reeves Teletape Studios was a group of American TV studios located in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. Owned by Reeves Communications Corp., Teletape was established in 1968, then bankrupt into Kaufman Astoria Studios in 1992.-Studios:...
, which also housed Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
at the time). This cast continued until October 18, 1985. Ozzie Alfonso
Ozzie Alfonso
Ozzie Alfonso was the director and one of three Senior Producers of 3-2-1 Contact from season 2 to 8 when the series stopped production. He was also one of the writers for the series from season 3 through 8. Following production of the daily series, Alfonso was the director of all the 3-2-1 Contact...
was Contacts new director and Al Hyslop its executive producer.
When the fifth season began on September 22, 1986, a third cast was introduced. However, unlike the previous casts, they did not meet in any specific setting; instead, they appeared in various taped and filmed segments. Episodes continued to be produced through November 1988.
For a time in the mid-1980s, the program was co-produced with the French television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
FR3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
and featured several new French cast members in addition to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cast. From 1982 to 1983 the program was aired in Spain with dubbed-over versions of the American original broadcasts, and some local add-ons with four Spanish cast members: Sonia Martínez
Sonia Martínez
Sonia Martínez was a Spanish actress and TV introducer, known by her role in the Spanish version of American educational TV broadcast 3-2-1 Contact aimed to spread Science through 12-14 year old audiences...
, Luis Bollain, Fernando Rueda and Marifé Rodríguez. Another Spanish version of the broadcast was aired from 1990 to 1992.
From September 1, 1991 until May 1, 1992, an edited version of the series titled 3-2-1 Classroom Contact was produced, specifically for in-school viewing.
It was reported in 1984 that 3-2-1 Contact had an audience of over 7 million viewers and was broadcast in 26 countries including West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
making their own dubbed-over versions.
Broadcasters wanted the children to record the episodes without being afraid of infringement of copyright violations.
Hosts
| And as themselves:
|
The Bloodhound Gang
A frequent segment of the show was The Bloodhound GangThe Bloodhound Gang (TV series)
The Bloodhound Gang is a popular segment from the PBS television program 3-2-1 Contact about three young people who solved crimes, largely with the help of their knowledge of science...
, a series about a group of young detectives who used science to solve crimes. Episodes of the series needed to be run in regular sequence for understandable viewing, as many Bloodhound Gang mysteries were cut among two or three Contact episodes.
The magazine
Three months before the show premiered, a print magazine of the same name that also focused on science was released. In 1985, the magazine absorbed some of the content of sibling publication EnterEnter (magazine)
Enter was an American magazine published from October 1983 to May 1985 by Children's Television Workshop...
(which went out of print that same year), including reader submissions of computer programs written in the BASIC computer language as well as reviews of popular computer programs. A new feature called "The Slipped Disk Show" appeared in mid-1985, starring a fictional disc jockey who answered computer-related questions submitted by readers.
Beginning in 1987, the magazine also featured content from another CTW production, Square One Television
Square One (TV series)
Square One Television is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers....
. Such content frequently took the form of a two-page comic strip, often parodying a popular show or movie of the time, with a math-related question at the end.
The Bloodhound Gang mysteries also made the leap to the magazine, but they were subsequently replaced with a series entitled The Time Team in September 1990. These stories found teenage characters Sean Nolan and Jenny Lopez traveling to different time periods in the past and future. Their surroundings and personal encounters were described with great detail, educating readers as to the customs of various cultures throughout history, and – on trips to the future – often pushing present day hot-button issues. For example, a 1993 story saw the duo traveling to what appeared to be a prehistoric forest, but near the end, they found a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
flag, a newspaper clipping from 1995, and a bulldozer at work: this was in fact a Brazilian rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
being levelled.
In 1996, The Time Team was replaced by a comic serial, Cosmic Crew, which focused on the adventures of a group of teenagers and their robot butler in space. Their first story arc (which ran for more than a year) had them trying to figure out a series of riddles relating to places in the solar system in order to claim a treasure (which turned out to be a scholarship fund). Another story arc had a delinquent (who had been a villain in the first arc) join them in order to chase down a gang of other delinquents. Despite being effectively replaced, a few Time Team stories were run whenever there were gaps between installments of Cosmic Crew.
Many of the magazine's cover stories involved current events, such as 1990s oil fires in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. In addition, the magazine offered a games section in which most of the games were related to the stories in the issue.
In 1996, CTW presumably concluded that faithful readers from the late 80s and early 90s had long since moved on, and the magazine began to reprint non-time-sensitive stories from years past. For example, a 1991 article on the geography of the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
– a relatively unchanging subject – could very well re-appear in an identical format a half a decade later.
Under Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
the magazine later became Contact Kids, removing the original reference to the television show. Production of the magazine was suspended indefinitely in 2001.
After production
Though the show went off the air in 1988, it appeared in reruns from 1999 to 2003 on the cable television network Noggin, then a joint venture of CTW and NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. Occasionally, shows were also rerun on Nickelodeon's Cable in the Classroom time period. For all these Nickelodeon and Noggin airings, the series was rated TV-Y7 (possibly due to the target audience). It also still aired on some PBS stations as reruns from 1989 to 1998 before it was switched to Noggin in 1999. As of 2003, Noggin no longer airs any shows produced by Sesame Workshop. The shows were modified for the shorter running time on these networks to allow for their interstitials
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
.
Sources of funding
Funding for 3-2-1 Contact was provided by the following:- National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(January 14, 1980–November 18, 1988) - United States Department of EducationUnited States Department of EducationThe United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
(January 14, 1980–November 18, 1988) - Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
(January 14, 1980–November 18, 1988) - Andrew W. Mellon FoundationAndrew W. Mellon FoundationThe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
(January 14, 1980–November 18, 1988) - IBM Corporation (January 14, 1980–November 18, 1988)
- Carnegie Corporation of New YorkCarnegie Corporation of New YorkCarnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
(October 31, 1983-November 18, 1988)
Five sponsors funded the show for its entire run. They were originally supposed to fund for 20 new episodes until 1989.