You'd be surprised how much meme material is in things that aren't popularized by memes. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the Tim Burton one) is an absolute goldmine.
This show deserved to live on forever like Sesame Street imo. It was proven to be effective, so the fact that they stopped rerunning episodes by 2011 and haven't done anything new since is baffling to me.
Probably 2 problems. PBS kids was made cheaper around that time for worse, and it's a little expensive to make such an engaging show. It deserves to come back, but theres a war on animation right now
@ralphwiggum1982 unfortunately this has more to do with funding than anything else, we were much more willing to spend tax money on education even just a few decades ago, now all that goes straight to faux wars and oil companies. It's a depressing sight
Holy shit you’re right... I completely missed that as I am old enough to remember the image of a library entrance flanked by two lions statues, which the theme song references. But considering the idea behind the show, it makes total sense. Damn, this show was good.
The segment that always stuck with me was the scientist. He'd announce some new universal rule of English spelling. His assistant would then innocently praise him, using words that violated this rule. Got me to understand the futility of "correct" spelling from an early age.
My dumb ass just realized this show was teaching me to read as a kid. Just goes to show how good the content was in getting kids excited about learning. Thank you so much for sharing 😊
You know, it took me WAY TOO LONG to get pun "Between the Lions" as "Between the lines", like 6 years ago, watching the intro as an adult, it just clicked. OOH AH DANCING SMARTY PANTS! OOH AAAHHH DANCING SMARTY PAAAAANNNTTTTSSS!!!!!
When I was in 1st grade, our teacher, Ms. Roland would take us into the library every Friday to watch this show. Thanks for reuniting me with six-year-old me; it's been a while since we talked.
As a first generation eldest daughter of immigrants, pbs and shows like this one were the backbone of my household. I didn’t have the experience of having a parent read a book to me so between the lions filled that gap for me
That was my experience too! Teachers would send home books for my parents and me to read together but that was not possible because they didn't speak English. My parents left me to my own devices and this show definitely helped me correct my phonetics. At first i struggled thinking i hated reading but it was that missing experience of someone being encouraging and showing me how a pair of words is supposed to sound
That cooking segment made me realize Leo and Cleo are just age-appropriate Gomez and Morticia Addams, a married couple passionately in love and able to be weird together. Also, they freaking had a Sailor Moon parody. Damn
@@AnimeboyIanpower That question made me just HAVE to look it up, here's the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rMkxOqhadRM.html It's a segment called "Little Wendy Tales", not sure what Between The Lions episode it's from but it has something to do with a party...
THEY STOPPED AIRING _BETWEEN THE LIONS?_ No wonder my numerous clever Cliff Hanger references have been going unappreciated. CAN'T. HOLD. ON. MUCH. LOOOOOOONGER!
Is it weird that I don't remember the lions but Cliff Hanger is like engrained in my memory for some reason. Like, I remember a lot of this stuff but it was kinda forgotten until about now.XD
This just made me so so SO happy. I have a core memory of my mom noticing that I knew all the words to the Between the Lions theme song, writing down the words, and practicing the sight words with me even when I wasn't watching the show. I learned how to read super early (~2/3) and based on this video, it seems like I got hooked right around season two. PBS absolutely raised me, and I will FOREVER have the fondest memories of watching these shows every morning at my Grandma's house.
I can tell ya which ones I recall. & not even from revisiting it on RU-vid! Cliffhanger, Dance In Smarty Pants (I think), that kitchen one, Opposite Bunny, the one with the knights, one with a white haired guy who... put words together? Or was that one about syllables?
Sagwa! That's what it was called! Out of all my young childhood shows, that was somehow the most obscure in my memory. All I remember is that it had something to do with Ancient China, cats, and a bat...
Nobody in my family knows how I learned to read. When I started 1st grade I was already ahead of everyone. I can't prove it but I think it was Between the Lions.
I had a lot of trouble really reading in 3rd grade. My teacher had me watch an episode a day after school along with zoboomafoo. It literally helped me be more confident in reading. By the time I hit middle school I was reading at a 12th grade reading level and not high school either. College. I could read some pretty advanced books and words at a young age. It actually led me to reading the entire cirque de freak series in middle school. So this show DEFINITELY helped me.
The show's creator was the husband of a teacher in my school in New York. I wrote a letter to the show's production team and got a reply. I was asked to write a few sentences for homework. What was turned in was a sarcastic story about Cliff Hanger as a child. He recklessly hung on lightbulb switches, much to his mother's dismay. She questioned how helpful his survival manual was when it only gave advice over problems that could never happen. After yelling at him, Cliff's solution was to hang on a bookshelf and knock it over. The manual did not explain how to avoid his mother. Apparently, the crew members could not stop laughing. The humor of children is comedy gold.
10 seasons and 130 episodes. Thats a worthy legacy for such a high production value educational show. At some point, it has to end, but it's good to see this seemed to get a respectable end overall
I had a reading disability. This show actually helped me get through it. My little sister learned to read at an early age because of it too. She learned she hates cliffhangers.
You know whats weird. Cyberchase episodes were pretty decent, but the early season finales had some ridiculously great scenes. Member when hacker, finally hacked motherboard. "And now!!! I am your mummy too!!!" Chilling... 10 year old me was like, "what the fuck!!!"
Arthur, Sagwa, Liberty's Kids, Anne of Green Gables and In Between the Lions were my favorite PBS shows growing up. They made education and "lesson learning" fun.
@ariannasv22 Oh yea I do remember that a lil. I also forgot about the last show to air before the news came on, which would be dragon tales. Does anybody remember zoboomafoo?
The nostalgia :') I'll never forget a meteor shower episode where the kid lions kept singing about how excited they were about a "meat shower" thinking drumsticks would rain down
As a kid with Dyslexia this show probably helped me more then I could've ever realized as a kid. Reading and writing were always the most frustrating, difficult parts of school and Between the Lions was the perfect way to help at the time. No time deadline, no one yelling or getting mad, great characters, reruns and more. This show will always have a special place in my heart.
Christopher Calvert Dude I wasn't even diagnosed 'till grade 6... and even then no one told me or my family... Wasn't until grade 11 when I started self diagnosing when the truth came out... and even then the "psychologist" said "Oh we don't call it "that" anymore... We call it Genuine Reading Disorder".... My mom had to actually pry it out of her to say that I genuinely have Dyslexia.... All those years I could've had a diagnosis and compensation but nope.... Not visible or severe enough to get that.... Even after the diagnosis came out things didn't change much... But I'm graduated now so I don't have to deal with that anymore :D
Indeed... My high school was full of crappy teachers... Just because it's not painfully obvious doesn't mean it's not there... My grade 10 English teacher thought Dyslexia didn't exist and that you could tell someone's intelligence from their ability to read and write.... She was also the one that played favourites and sent me to summer school which in the end proved to be a waste of time...
My reading levels were advanced for my age back in elementary school. I 100% attribute that to watching these old educational PBS shows. They made such a difference in my education.
I feel like I underestimate just how influential children's shows were on my education as a kid. I can't quite remember what I watched when I was really little, but I know when I got into Kindergarten, I was ready Day 1 to point out things like shapes when asked. First question we were ever asked in class, which I was intimidated about until I heard the question, was "what is this shape" and I remember raising my hand and answering confidently "triangle". Never quite nailed down the social anxiety pressure until I got into college, though, and past early childhood school got harder and my focus became more erratic (I am now quite certain that was undiagnosed ADHD), but the point is that there's inherent value in entertainment education. TV especially. I will always remember this show fondly.
My reading level was so bad when I was in 5th grade I could only read at a 2nd grade level and could barely spell I figured out I was dyslexic when my brother told me about it
Although it breaks my heart to hear a show like this stop being made. I am happy that the show ended because the people working on it decided to end it. Not because of it being cancelled or business relationships, or a star passing away. I have nothing but good to say about this show. My sister and I still talk about this show to this day.
Between the Lions makes my eyes water every time. On days that I feel overwhelmed with bad emotions, I sometimes watch episodes on RU-vid. I don’t know what it is about the show, it was always so soothing for me.
@@WindyREDPanda It's alright, how bout you come back with an actual response and none of this "why not?" shit. Because you've clearly got a reason to be triggered by a joke.
You know with such a rich library of episodes under their belt I'm surprised that PBS or some other stations haven't reaired the show. Surely there could be a new audience if there was put passion into finding a place for the show to educate the kids of tomorrow.
yeah, not to sound like an old person, but I feel like kids nowadays don't really read books as much. I mean, they read phones and such, but it isn't the same. This show seems really cute and could get younger kids excited about reading? Or maybe they just watch the show idk
@@FireofGia111 I love physical books - I have two bookshelves to prove it - but I'm of the mind that a child reading is a child engaged and learning. Whether they're holding a physical book, reading on a tablet, or their dad's phone, it doesn't matter. Get. Them. Reading.
Oh my lord, I remember I loved watching this show as a kid. I particularly remember the Cliff Hanger portions of the show. I recall that I felt really bad for Cliff Hanger as no matter what he did, he would go through a never ending cycle of finding a way off the cliff and then returning to the same branch on the cliff.
My childhood was comprised of: - this show - Sagwa - Blue's Clues - Zaboomafoo - Arthur - Mister Rogers - Wallace and Gromit as far as I'm concerned, the nineties and 00's was the golden age of children's television. Presently, there is nothing else on tv that compares.
@@Iriswildgem I know right it's so disconnected from reality and is instead substituted with fiction and science fiction that blurs the meaning behind the core values they are trying to teach
Somehow, I wish "Between the Lions" could come back. This really made a great impact in my life. I more than became a reader, but a writer as well. As a Teacher and Parent, I would like to share the experience with my Students and Children
I'll tell ya, when I was really young, it was this, Zamboomafo, Bear in the Big Blue House, Sagwa, ect. Then, when I was a little older, Arthur and Cybeechase. Then, Word Girl and Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman. PBS was my childhood defined!
This is the first defunctland I've watched for something deeply deeply nostalgic and near and dear to my heart. I was so obsessed as a kid, and I probably watched it even longer than I needed, long after I was already beyond proficient in reading. I was just smiling the whole time.
I loved that show, when I was little I would beg my mom to let me go on our computer so I could watch episodes on the website, since they had every episode for free.
This was hands down my favorite PBS show. It was so real to me. I always wanted to go to that library. The visuals and segments were also so damn great. I could honestly watch it as an adult and be transfixed.
$500,000 a episode to produce? My God. That's a lot of funding. This show had a lot of potential. It's sad that it got cancelled. A lot of children could have benefitted from watching it. I didn't have this kind of show growing up.
Not nearly in the same content or style, King of the Pride, with John Goodman, also took $1M per ep to create since the project was put together by Siegfried and Roy. Which is also the anagram for Sarmoti.
As soon as I heard that theme song again, my heart utterly melted from the sheer happy nostalgia that came flooding in. I'm not even joking about that. This show helped define my childhood, and it's always fun to revisit an old classic like this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go look up the opening theme and potentially cry tears of joy (gonna depend on how much it gets to me).
I'm from Tijuana Mexico and this show was the main reason I learned English. I never took any real classes. In middle school we had English, but they where so basic I always got the best score because I had already learned from this and other PBS kids shows and I even have been working since 2008 on costumer bilingual service and haven't had any complains about my english (apart from my accent, but I like to have an accent). I love Between the Lions :D
You and me both dude. PBS Kids was the reason I learned english while being from Mexico as well:). English classes were so boring in school because by the time they taught me something I had already learned it on PBS Kids xD. I, to this day, still remember Vowel Boot Camp and the long/short sounds for the vowels:')
Recurring gags like Cliff Hanger, Chicken Jane, Gawaine's Word, and Sam Spud were how I learned about tropes which I'm sure were inserted to entertain the parents. It probably had a larger influence on my sense of humor today than I can possibly remember. But dishonor on you for making me remember what Arty Smartypants' face looked like.
My family and I LOVED this show when my brother and I were kids. We'd be watching whatever was on Nick Jr (Noggin back then, I'm a real OG), like Dora or Backyardagains, then I'd get to an episode I didn't like (I've always taken pride in my tastes) and change the channel. Or rather my dad would XD. He'd flip through the channels, I'd see "Between the Lions" on the list, I'd yell "MOMMY! BETWEEN THE LIONS IS ON!", and all movement and other activities stopped. Everyone would rush to the living room, occupy places on the couch and loveseat, sit there, and quote the characters, songs, and catchphrases as they were said. It's a wonderful show that brought my family together, and I'll always cherish it for that.
fresa cheesecake I used to watch this show almost obsessively as a child- by now, I had completely forgotten the opening theme & many lovable characters- mainly I remembered it for Fred Newman.
Same. I had completely forgotten about this show. I would watch it every single day after school. My favorites were the cliffhangers and Dr.ruth. I’m so glad this was here to remind us.
Hey Defunctland, I don't know if you'll see this, but I was wondering if you could be an episode on "*Fetch With Ruff Ruffman*"? While I was watching this episode, it brought back a flood of wonderful memories of me sitting in front of the TV and learning about the joys of reading and other PBS shows, FWRR being one of them. Words can't justify for how many hours I've watched both Between the Lions and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. Seeing how most of the comments demonstrate the vast amounts of people the show touched, I wanted to know how FWRR compared. Thanks! Another show that came to me was "Martha Speaks" which also provided learning opportunities for children of the same demographic, I still somehow remember some words that I picked up from that show and still use today, which I found pretty interesting. It focuses on more 'advanced' and higher level words that a child wouldn't usually learn in the classroom until at least 4 years down the road.
Me neither, either I forgot about it or it was from the later seasons. It feels like one of those early viral videos you'd see on 2006-2007 RU-vid or other primitive video sites.
IKR??? THEY TURNED A TYPICALLY CUTE BODY PART (in my opinion dont @ me) INTO SOME DAVID LYNCH HORROR CREATURE THAT SHOULD BE BURNED IN THE PITS OF HADES
gee, thanks for digging up memories i didn't need digged up mister defuncttv guy. i think she terrified me too though the actual nightmare i got from this was arty smartypants sobbing. nothing else just that. tiny me comin up with surreal horror i guess
Lol, I remember thinking that too every time something fell on her, or she got hurt. She should have just ditched them because it was too painful teaching them. And they always seemed to forget the lesson! Lol
It makes me so happy seeing a staple of children's entertainment coming from my hometown. I used to adore this show along with others like Sesame Street, Sagwa the Chinese Cat, and Cyberchase. Between the Lions deserved all the praise it got. I think along with early learning with my parents, this show helped me read before kindergarten.
I forgot all about it until I saw it again in this video. When I was a child I never realized it was a lady’s stomach and thought it was a weird deformed human. Creeped me put.
WHOAH same here! Maybe because I have issues with body weight so my brain completely blocked it out! I don't remember that character at all, and I loved this show and remember the Smarty pants song
I have absolutely no memory of that character, despite this show being probably my favourite when I was a kid. But when I saw that clip, I said aloud "I'm not high enough for this". I feel like I must have blocked that out entirely.
As a teenager, I watched this program on PBS, even though my reading level was MUCH higher than the curriculum of the show. Despite my advanced intelligence for the show, I still enjoyed it for what it was, something teaching younger children to not only read, but enjoy reading, because I'm a bookworm myself. Also, other than the teaching aspect of the show, it was also entertaining for me, even as a teenager. Because of my lower income household, PBS was my main option/source of entertainment growing up, and although the main target audience for the shows on PBS were for children under my age group, I still watched it, and still enjoyed the station growing up for the entertainment value predominantly, rather than the educational aspect of the programming.
I remember this show from my preteen years when it first came on air and even though I was an advanced reader, I remember still liking it, the family got along, it was in a pretty library, and no one was made fun of for reading, it was a little comfort show. If we’d kept our tv channels past 2001, I probably would’ve watched well into highschool. There just weren’t shows that encouraged reading and comprehension like that.
Same man. I have two younger brothers one of which is 8yrs so and I would watch it with them along with some other PBS gems. We really grew up during the greatest time for public broadcasting imo.
I had the same experience. I don't remember quite how old I was, but I know I was past the point of needing to be instructed on how to read "book" or "look". Regardless, it was a fun show to watch and was easily one of my favorites to come on. Sadly, it was on at a time when I had to get ready for school and was essentially not something I could watch often. I never understood the times for shows or what days they aired, so I would often turn on the TV and wait for a show and it would never come on, while some obnoxious tripe would be on TV that even adults would fall asleep if they tried to watch, so I just didn't get to see it that much. Despite that, whenever I did see it, repeat or not, I loved it.
Same man. We couldnt afford a flatscreen TV, let alone cable. BTL was one of my favorites, the puppetry was great fun to watch, the gags still elicit a chuckle, and you can tell the creators REALLY liked making it. Shows like this need to make a comeback, instead of the noise filled animations of today. Puppetry just looks so much more genuine.
man I miss this show, I forgot how much I liked the segment with Theo and Cleo having a cooking show only to end up eating the meat after realizing how long it would take to cook it x3
I remember thinking that it was really cool that I was able to be interested in the "parent" characters in a TV show, and looking back on it, I also find it really charming that despite the characters being heavily anthropomorphized, they still got to be "animals" sometimes.
YES! I don't know that I ever really learned anything from Cyberchase though, if I remember correctly the math was a bit too advanced for me at the age I watched it
Every story of Cliff Hanger always ended on a cliffhanger. Know why? Because that's why he's called Cliff Hanger. 😂😂😂 Anyways can you please go over the History of FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman next?
I had that same feeling with that Casper The Friendly Ghost Christmas special that was a crossover with Hanna-Barbara characters they used to run on Boomerang during the holidays!
For some reason, I’ve never met someone outside my house that recalls this show. I still remember all these characters and songs, thank you for covering this awesome crazy show🙏💕
Cliiiiff Hanger, hanging from a cliff, and that's why he's called Cliff Hangerrrrr. No one ever gets why I sometimes sing that song. Even when I reference it online.
I have a memory of when I was a kid where my dad would dictate sentences and I would write them on the car ride to school. I recall specifically that I hated the silent e.
when you're little enough to be watching PBS shows, its just silly and weird, not so much terrifying. however, now that I'm an adult, I am deeply unsettled by the tummy people
Do a DefunctTV episode on Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat. Another PBS Kids show that both children and adults enjoyed during the early 2000's. Heck even do a DefunctTV episode on Lamb-Chop's Play-Along.
By the time Between the Lions aired, I was in high school and had a big love for reading already. But my brother watched it when he was little, and unlike trash like Teletubbies which were meant to entrance kids without providing any 'nutritional' value, BTL actually taught kids something and wasn't completely insufferable (it was actually kind of nice to sit with my little brother and watch it with him).
Teletubbies was created for babies too young to understand speech and the writer of all episodes had an degree in speech science. The intent was not mindless distraction, but focusing on child development techniques. Did that prove successful? Not really. A study shows that it was not as successful as dialogue-focused shows like Arthur and Dora The Explorer. ("Infants’ and Toddlers’ Television Viewing and Language Outcomes", Linebarger & Walker, 2005) However, that study also found that Sesame Street wasn't as effective either, and another study demonstrates that children most at risk of literacy difficulties learned very little from Between The Lions. ("Effects of Viewing the Television Program Between the Lions on the Emergent Literacy Skills of Young Children", Linebarger et al, 2004). What essentially every piece of research agrees on is that any piece of media - books, TV, games, music - is nowhere near the most important factor. No TV show, no matter how educational, is a babysitter or a teacher. Personally, I know I enjoyed Teletubbies a lot as a baby, and I was very precocious, always a more advanced reader, writer and arithmetist than my peers. My big brother had loved Sesame Street as a child but was highly reluctant to learn speech, and picked up reading later than average. The most important factor in our differing development is simply that we are different people!
