Timberwood Tales: A show that MIGHT'VE aired on ABC in USA
Jun 21, 2023 16:52:51 GMT
extremewreck2000 likes this
Post by plastik on Jun 21, 2023 16:52:51 GMT
I've been looking for this show for years, and I go searching for it every now and then, only to find absolute nothing. It wasn't even on IMDB for a while. It has recently come to my attention that there are others doing the same thing and that it's considered lost media. So here are a few things that I know about the show that I haven't seen in this thread (or elsewhere).
I've actually seen the show. Both the original English version and the Arabic dub. They were both aired on the Saudi terrestrial TV channels in the early 90s, though I know that it aired on other channels in the Middle East as well in both languages.
I've actually seen the show. Both the original English version and the Arabic dub. They were both aired on the Saudi terrestrial TV channels in the early 90s, though I know that it aired on other channels in the Middle East as well in both languages.
I have also stumbled across this paper on the challenges faced by educational programming. In it, I found this interesting tidbit (page 12):
Dick Cignarelli pulled Timberwood Tales, an environmentally-themed animation series, from the market rather than switch to barter from a cash arrangement. "I wasn't prepared to offer it for barter," he said (personal communication, Jan.6, 1994), ''because they stick it on in the 5 am time slot to meet the FCC requirements, and then they don't deliver the ratings. They get something for nothing and we get screwed."
A search for "Dick Cignarelli" shows that he worked for several TV stations including ABC. This industry magazine names him as the sale contact for Timberwood Tales. I've also found Timberwood Tales mentioned as part of this elementary school curriculum.
All of this leads me to believe that Timberwoood was intended for ABC, but because they wouldn't give it a good time slot, it was pulled by Dick Cignarelli and marketed directly to other TV stations (including international ones) and to educational institutions. That's why no one remembers seeing it on ABC nor is there a trace of it. It probably never even aired there, or maybe aired a few episodes on a crappy time slot so that nobody actually watched it, before getting pulled.