Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Wishbone - Behind the Scenes
    Wishbone - Behind the Scenes
    Wishbone - Behind the Scenes
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    Wishbone - Behind the Scenes

    By Denise Noe

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "What's the story, Wishbone?" was the question asked by the theme song of one of the most inspired children's TV shows ever made. Wishbone was a sort of Masterpiece Theater made just for youngsters — although easily enjoyed by adults as well. On Wishbone, children were introduced to the greats of classic literature as they watched a talented Jack Russell Terrier depict such literary luminaries as Ulysses, Romeo, Sherlock Holmes, and Oliver Twist. This book takes the reader behind the scenes to see how this wonderfully educational program was thought up and then put together. The reader learns how both human and animal actors were chosen and how the special challenges of working with a canine star were met.

    Wishbone Behind the Scenes shows how the child actors were able to combine regular schooling and the fun of childhood with the hard work of playing characters in a regular TV series. It discusses the ways human actors played both contemporary roles and classic roles and the special accommodations they made when acting with dog actors. It shows how the stunts were performed and how a few had unexpected "oopsies." Perhaps most of all, the reader learns how many varied individuals worked to create a show for children that entertained and educated in equal amounts.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBearManor Media
    Release dateJun 14, 2022
    ISBN9798201356965
    Wishbone - Behind the Scenes

    Read more from Denise Noe

    Related to Wishbone - Behind the Scenes

    Related ebooks

    Performing Arts For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Budget Coop Scoop

      Feb 12, 2021

      The Budget Coop Scoop
      9 min read

    • Article

      Why It's A Perfect Time For Greta Gerwig's Version Of 'Little Women'

      Jul 6, 2018

      Screenwriter Robin Swicord remembers the questions: Why make another movie out of "Little Women"? It's been done before, right? And quite well. What could another version possibly have to offer? Swicord heard those queries in 1994 while promoting the

      5 min read

    • Article

      Feeling Herd

      Mar 13, 2022

      At high noon on an early-spring day in 2017, six steers doomed to die escaped their slaughterhouse and stormed the streets of my city. The escape became a nuisance, then a scene, then a phenomenon. “Man, it was crazy!” one onlooker told the local alt

      13 min read

    • Article

      Hatching The Impossible

      May 17, 2021

      Hatching The Impossible
      13 min read

    • Article

      Inside Inveraray

      Feb 21, 2020

      Inside Inveraray
      4 min read

    • Article

      Books With The Most Impact

      Mar 15, 2022

      Books With The Most Impact
      8 min read

    • Article

      That damned smile Brandon Flynn

      Jun 3, 2018

      That damned smile Brandon Flynn
      3 min read

    • Article

      Towpath Tune

      Sep 24, 2019

      Towpath Tune
      3 min read

    • Article

      'Isle Of Dogs' Is A Stop-motion Tour De Force That Is Flabbergastingly Original

      Mar 23, 2018

      The film is director Wes Anderson’s second foray into stop-motion animation, coming after the delightfully inventive 2009 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.'

      3 min read

    • Article

      The British Invasion

      Nov 6, 2019

      The British Invasion
      6 min read

    • Article

      With 'Christopher Robin,' Winnie The Pooh Faces His Greatest Challenge Yet: A Marriage In Crisis

      Aug 3, 2018

      So many Disney films follow a child or young adult suddenly thrown into a grown-up world and forced to overcome all of its headaches. "Christopher Robin," however, turns a childhood hero of those who grew up admiring A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" ta

      4 min read

    • Article

      One to Watch!

      Sep 7, 2022

      “You can pronounce my name like ‘Taya.’” “I remember always dancing to music my parents would put on and constantly thinking how cool it would be to hear my name, or a song I wrote, playing on the radio.” “When I was eight years old I experienced bul

      6 min read

    • Article

      CHILL Out

      May 31, 2024

      CHILL Out
      4 min read

    • Article

      For The Love Of Dogs

      Aug 9, 2018

      For The Love Of Dogs
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Social Animal

      Mar 3, 2020

      Although still busy with her teaching duties at Bard, Kelly Reichardt made time to discuss her latest film on a grey morning in early December. We met outside the Walter Reade Theater in New York. You open First Cow with a wonderful quote by William

      14 min read

    • Article

      Talking Cats

      Dec 20, 2019

      Talking Cats
      2 min read

    • Article

      How To Make An Origami Hank!

      Nov 2, 2022

      There’s loads to love about the new animated adventure Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank. It’s a super-stylish splash of swordplay and belly laughs, as Hank – a dog with zero combat experience – is enlisted as a samurai to defend the cat town of Kakam

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Wishbone - Behind the Scenes

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Wishbone - Behind the Scenes - Denise Noe

      Classic Cinema.

      Timeless TV.

      Retro Radio.

      BearManor Media

      BearManorBear-EBook

      See our complete catalog at www.bearmanormedia.com

      Wishbone: Behind the Scenes

      © 2022 Denise Noe. All Rights Reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      This version of the book may be slightly abridged from the print version.

      BearManorBear

      Published in the USA by:

      BearManor Media

      1317 Edgewater Drive #110

      Orlando, Florida 32804

      www.bearmanormedia.com

      ISBN 978-1-62933-914-6

      Cover Design by John Teehan.

      eBook construction by Brian Pearce | Red Jacket Press.

      Table of Contents

      What’s the Story, Wishbone?

      A Masterpiece Theater for Kids

      The Wishbone: A Digression On the History Behind a Name

      Back To the Making of a Show

      Two Casts Tied Together By One Four-Footed Star

      Second Second (that repetition is right!) Assistant Director Allison Graham

      Catering To a Canine Star

      Wishbone Performers Discuss Their Performances

      People Who Got Their Breaks On Wishbone

      The Process of Writing Wishbone Episodes

      Safety and Protection for Kid Actors

      Hair and Makeup

      Stunts

      When a Stunt Goes Oops!

      Real Life Attack on Mary Chris Wall!

      Possible Sex Discrimination

      Making Music for Wishbone

      About Visual Effects

      The Work of a Video Assist

      Proper Treatment of Props

      Awards and Recognition

      Of Dogs and Humans, Performers Bipedal and Four-Footed

      Wishbone Appendix

      References

      Dedicated to my friend, film restoration expert Jay Fenton, and to Dorcas Washburn, whose work as my therapist many years ago helped make it possible for me to become a published author.

      What’s the Story, Wishbone?

      What’s the story, Wishbone?

      What’s this you’re dreaming of?

      Such a big imagination on such a little dog

      What’s the story, Wishbone?

      Do you think it’s worth a look? It kind of seems familiar, like the story from a book.

      Shake a leg now, Wishbone,

      Let’s wag another tale

      Sniffing out adventure

      With Wishbone on the trail

      Come on, Wishbone!

      This jaunty song introduces a children’s television show called Wishbone that debuted on March 23, 1995. A handsome and sprightly Jack Russel Terrier is shown running here and there, sometimes with only a dog collar on his neck and sometimes in colorful costumes. The dog is shown standing on a stack of books, running down a street, gazing through a telescope, peering through a window, and looking at a small sculpted version of himself. The canine is seen with wings attached to either side of him, apparently flying through the air. There is a shot of Wishbone vigorously scratching himself as dogs so often do. Dog paw prints appear against a white background. Wishbone appears to trot across a globe.

      Each Wishbone episode lasted half an hour and consisted of two separate but linked parts from which it would switch back and forth. There was a realistic, contemporary part of the show that took place in the fictional town of Oakdale, Texas and revolved around a dog named Wishbone, his owner, the teenaged Joe Talbot (Jordan Wall), his widowed mother Ellen Talbot (Mary Chris Wall), and other people in his neighborhood and at his school. There was another part of the show that we saw through what the song called the big imagination of the little dog. That part told a story from classic literature, myth, fairy tale, or legend. The episode always began in the contemporary segment. The segments were linked through Wishbone who is seen as just a dog by people in the modern segment but whose thoughts, voiced by actor Larry Brantley, are heard by the audience. The concept of the show is that the dog is magically familiar with classic stories of various sorts. He thinks about what is going on with Joe, Ellen, and others in the Talbot orbit and is reminded of something from a famous novel, short story, play, fairy tale, legend, or myth. Then Wishbone takes the audience into a segment in which that is acted out. In the fantasy section, Wishbone is in costume and plays a major character — often, but not always, the hero — and the other characters do not see him as a dog, but (usually) as a human, and react to Brantley talking as Wishbone’s classic character talking. There was a segment about African folktales in which Wishbone did not become a human but a legendary spider. The sight of a dog in a spider costume was a delightful case of cuteness overload! The central plot device of having something in the modern world remind Wishbone of something from a classic helped to underline the perennial relevancy of the classics.

      Wishbone was most frequently played by a Jack Russell Terrier named Soccer although there were other dogs of similar appearance who also played Wishbone. The main Wishbone substitute actors were Shiner, Slugger, Bear, and Phoebe. These dogs might perform stunts that Soccer was unable to perform or at which they were just better than he was. For example, Soccer disliked being in water so Phoebe, who took to water well, often did swimming scenes. She loved to swim, jump, and run, Rick Duffield, the show’s creator, commented. When we needed action, we might go to Phoebe or Slugger. Soccer is more of a close-up dog. He’s a hero if ever there was one. Although Phoebe frequently took over when a script called for Wishbone to swim, Soccer was well able to dunk his head in water to retrieve items. Shiner, Slugger, Bear, and Phoebe — or a toy dog — were used for rehearsals, saving Soccer’s tricks for the actual filming.

      Most commonly, Wishbone was the protagonist of the fantasy segments but he could also be in a secondary or supporting role. For example, he never took the star’s role if it was a story built around a female character. We did not place him in the part of a female hero simply because we felt that might run the risk of mocking a female hero, Duffield explained. He continued that having Larry Brantley put on a higher-pitched, feminine voice might be viewed as disrespectful. Thus, in the episode entitled Bone of Arc, Wishbone did not play Joan of Arc but a friend of hers, Louis de Conte. Wishbone was also unlikely to be cast as the main character if that protagonist was a fool or villain. For example, Wishbone did not play Don Quixote but sidekick Sancho Panza. Similarly, he was not the divided protagonist in the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde segment but his friend, Gabriel John Utterson.

      Perhaps it was in homage to the program’s role as an introduction to the great books that, in the contemporary story, Ellen Talbot was given a job as a reference librarian. Several other characters regularly appeared in the contemporary story. Living next door to the Talbots are Joe’s close friends David Barnes (Adam Springfield) and his parents, Nathan Barnes (Alex Morris) and Ruth Barnes (Maria Arita). Something of a whiz kid, David hopes to become a scientist when he grows up. His high-spirited little sister, Emily (played by Jazmine McGill in the first season and Brittany

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1