Mister Rogers Neighborhood

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is a PBS children's television series that starred Fred Rogers.

Fast Facts

1. Starring/Created by: Fred Rogers
2. Network: PBS
3. Produced by: Family Communications Inc.
4. Total Seasons: 31
5. Debut: February 19, 1968
6. Final show: August 31, 2001
7. Runtime: 28 min
8. Rogers wrote all the songs
9. Theme composer: Johnny Costa
10. Longest running series on PBS

Background

Originally broadcast in Canada as a 15-minute program called Misterogers in the early 1960s, the first Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episode was shown on the National Education Network in 1968, later moving to PBS two years later.

The last original episode of the program aired in 2001. It remains one of the most appreciated and beloved shows on PBS.

Format

Each show began with opening credits over a model of Rogers's neighborhood. Rogers entered the studio singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and then discussed the theme of the show directly to the camera.

Rogers always spoke calmly and slowly, catering his words (and the rest of the show) towards the growth and development of children.

Midway through each episode, he brought out a toy trolley, which the camera followed to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, a fantasy land where puppets interacted with people to further elaborate on the lessons Rogers taught. Many of the puppet voices were Rogers's.

Rogers sometimes went on excursions in his "neighborhood" to museums and zoos, or played videos on a screen he called "Picture Picture" to show how certain objects were made. He also often used models or toys to teach children to use their imagination.

He closed most of his shows with a song, "It's a Good Feeling," reassuring children that people can like them "exactly as they are."

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