The Best of The Electric Company has arrived on DVD. The Electric Company is one of the most revered and loved children’s educational series’ of all time. The shows use of music and engaging adult actors was integral in teaching kids about phonics and skills they would need to become better readers. The show also introduced punctuation, grammar and sentence structure.

The four disc DVD set is a welcome blast to the past. The set begins with the show’s first episode which aired nearly 35 years on October 25th, 1971. Rita Moreno, who starred in the series and appeared in the first episode and many others episodes on the set provides an introduction to the first few episodes on this first disc. From the first episode you can tell that The Electric Company is a show that is a lot of fun for kids–and adults. It’s fun learning with words and letters. Bill Cosby and a young Morgan Freeman also appear in the shows first episode. Watching Morgan Freeman as “Easy Reader” and Rita Moreno dancing is priceless. This show is such a wonderful trip down memory lane. Another actor who was an important part of the series is character actress Lee Chamberlin. Irene Cara also appears in episodes from the shows first season as a member of The Short Circus. What else is remarkable about this series is just how much the educational tactics used in the show held up over time. The show teaches as good then as it does now. My kids instantly fell in love with this series and I plan to use it as a learning tool in our home learning environment. As an educator (M.S. Curriculum and Instruction) I am so impressed with The Electric Company and wonder why it didn’t last. Current shows like Beyond The Lions try to fill that gap but no show since The Electric Company has proven to be as educational and engaging as The Electric Company.

The 4 DVD box set is as impressive as the show. The set includes twenty episodes taped between 1971 and 1977, complete with bonus features. For additional details about the box set visit the product page at Shout!

The Best Of The Electric Company at Shout!

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