Are there different edits/versions of Sid the Science Kid?

[dwmckim]

Okay, i read the review of Sid the Science Kid on Toughpigs, and one part confused me.

The reviewer based his critique on the first four episodes, mostly focusing on the debut (the chart episode). In describing the first episode, he talks about the part of the show where they do their playground version of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In's Joke Wall, quoting some of the jokes they tell.

I've got these episodes recorded and even though they did get around to doing the "joke wall" segment during week 2, none of my episodes from the first week has such a segment (including the first episode). In the part of the show where one would typically expect a Joke Wall segment to appear (play time after the kids learn about the subject of the day), there's a scene with Sid and Gabriella pretending to be a mom and child with Sid convincing his mom to fill up his reward chart for politeness by saying "please" and "thank you" a whole bunch of times.

Now of course like a lot of Toughpigs articles, there's jokes and humor, but i don't get from the way its written that the reviewer is making up having seen this segment. (and if he only watched the first four episodes, he wouldn't have seen it at all...if his episodes match mine that is).

So did he see a version of this episode that i didn't? Anyone else see this? I taped each episode on its first airing and did not watch any when they were reran since i had the episodes on tape...perhaps they altered them slightly when they reran them?

 

[Redsonga]

The only version I saw was them playing house and I am sure it was a rerun

 

[dwmckim]

Well i bought the Sid dvd Change Happens and got my answer (The Sticker Chart episode is on the bonus dvd).

It looks like there is a small scene that gets cut out of the PBS broadcasts in each episode - so far it looks like they're all one of the scenes after Susie has the kids play with their new ideas. So to use the Sticker Chart episode as an example, the Good Laughternoon segment occurs after Susie dismisses the kids for recess and before the Gabriella/Sid playing "mommy/baby" scene whereas PBS omits it. (The PBS broadcasts include intros by Sid sneak previewing the episode and a bit by Sid at the end sneak previewing the themes of upcoming episodes.)

 

[Drtooth]

Well i bought the Sid dvd Change Happens and got my answer (The Sticker Chart episode is on the bonus dvd).

It looks like there is a small scene that gets cut out of the PBS broadcasts in each episode - so far it looks like they're all one of the scenes after Susie has the kids play with their new ideas. So to use the Sticker Chart episode as an example, the Good Laughternoon segment occurs after Susie dismisses the kids for recess and before the Gabriella/Sid playing "mommy/baby" scene whereas PBS omits it. (The PBS broadcasts include intros by Sid sneak previewing the episode and a bit by Sid at the end sneak previewing the themes of upcoming episodes.)

Hmmm... surprising. The PBS broadcast actually cut stuff out? Usually, I notice the opposite. Seems when a show is made for PBS, but with options to run somewhere else in the future, there's a couple extra scenes that are made to be removed when they get a commercial network run. Examples- Liberty's Kids: In the PBS edition there are more/longer news report segments than in the DIC syndicated broadcasts. Magic School Bus: The "Follow the Magic School Bus" segment (the one where they correct facts and point out impossibilities in the episode) has been dropped for the Fox Kids broadcast. Zula Patrol: a segment made clearly to stretch time for PBS where the cast watches a documentary in every episode is not featured on the qubo broadcasts.

I find it weird that there's less in the PBS broadcast... clearly something used for DVD releases.

 

[mr3urious]

PBS is commercial-free, yet stuff still gets edited out? Weird.

 

[dwmckim]

Yeah it is a bit odd - especially when one figures that PBS is the network commissioning the show so one would figure they'd taylor the running times especially for their airings.

Though quite honestly the days of PBS being totally "commercial free" are over - instead of having programs interupted by ads they do quick runners at the beginning and the end of the show announcing their sponsors (Remember all the hoopla about Mcdonald's being one of Sesame Street's sponsors having their mini-ad before and after the show...especially at a time when eating healthy was a major focus of their cirriculum?)

Still, if they just cut one of those ad rolls and just did those sponsor announcements at either the beginning or the end rather than both, they wouldn't have to cut a scene. Now mind you these days all the networks are split into various channels so instead of the "regular" PBS airing (which is what i watch since i don't have one of those fancy 100+-channel packages), maybe they show the whole thing elsewhere like on Sprout or somewhere else (heck, maybe each PBS station has their choice of how much ads they show and determines which "version" of the show they get for all i know - the Toughpigs reviewer saw that uncut version SOMEWHERE before the dvd came out so either they were provided a review copy or saw it on some network or station where they don't cut anything).

 

[GelflingWaldo]

Yes, PBS edits down Sid episodes for some airings...

Sid the Science Kid is shown as part of the Miss Lori and Hooper programing block on many PBS stations. Some PBS stations only show Sid inside this block. Other stations don't air the Miss Lori and Hooper block and air Sid independently in their PBS Kids programing; while other PBS stations air Sid in both (airing the show twice a day).

The shows that are sandwhiched in the Miss Lori and Hooper programing block are trimmed to make room for the between-show segments, bumpers and segues featuring Miss Lori, Hooper, Miss Rosa, Dash and Dot.

If you watch Sid the Science Kid episodes shown in the Miss Lori and Hooper block (which may be the only place your local PBS station shows Sid) you'll notice a few minutes trimmed from the episodes - often the "Good Laughternoon" or playtime segments.

My local PBS station airs Sid twice a day -- once in the Miss Lori and Hooper block (in the morning) and once outside of it (in the afternoon). The afternoon episodes are a bit longer and include the stuff that had to be trimmed out of the morning shows. The DVDs, iTunes collections, and other releases of episodes feature the full (unedited) episodes.

 

[muppets2]

yea

 

[Drtooth]

(Remember all the hoopla about Mcdonald's being one of Sesame Street's sponsors having their mini-ad before and after the show...especially at a time when eating healthy was a major focus of their cirriculum?)

I get the feeling the two are VERY closely related... he he he. Sort of a PR damage control. but, hey! That's what happens when people don't donate to PBS and government funding gets cut. The outrage shouldn't have been that they have McDonalds sponsorship... the outrage should have been that they needed McDonalds sponsorship.

The shows that are sandwhiched in the Miss Lori and Hooper programing block are trimmed to make room for the between-show segments, bumpers and segues featuring Miss Lori, Hooper, Miss Rosa, Dash and Dot.

Toss that into the stuff I SHOULD have known pile. I forgot it aired at that time, and I know that the Speckle stories were cut from airings of Clifford.... and I could only assume the "George is a Monkey... sometimes he does stuff you can't do." segments.