Loading AI tools
American children's television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eureeka's Castle is an American children's puppet television series created by Debby Beece and Judy Katschke. R. L. Stine developed the characters and was the head writer of the show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block from September 4, 1989, to November 10, 1991. The program featured various puppet characters who live in a giant's wind-up music box. The show was a joint development by Nickelodeon, animators Kit Laybourne and Eli Noyes of Noyes & Laybourne Enterprises, and the puppeteers at 3/Design Studio.[2]
Eureeka's Castle | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Created by |
|
Written by | R. L. Stine (credited as Jovial Bob Stine) |
Creative director | Eli Noyes |
Starring |
|
Composer | Peter Lurye |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 152 (+ 3 specials) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Kit Laybourne |
Producers |
|
Production location | Nickelodeon Studios (1990–1991) |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 51 minutes |
Production company | Noyes & Laybourne Enterprises |
Original release | |
Network | Nickelodeon |
Release | August 27, 1989[1] – November 10, 1991 |
The show follows various puppet characters including Eureeka, a sorceress-in-training. Eureeka and her friends live in a wind-up castle music box owned by a friendly giant. Other characters include Magellan the dragon, twin moat dwellers Bogge and Quagmire, Batly the bat, and Mr. Knack the handyman. There are also various appearing creatures such as mice, singing fish statues called the Fishtones, Magellan's pets Cooey and the Slurms, and Batly's pet spider Webster.
Halfway through the episode, an animated short based on a children's book was shown. Also featured were shorter animated and live-action short films and European imports such as Animal Fair, Roobarb, The Shoe People, Towser, James the Cat, Le Piaf, Plonsters, Philipp, Bojan the Bear, Lilliput Put, Zeno shorts, and Gran. Musical guests also appeared on the show, performing either in one of Mr. Knack's postcards,[3] or at the castle in person.[4]
Eureeka's Castle's ending credits state the show comes from an original concept by Debby Beece and Judy Katschke. In 1988, development of the show began by staff members at Nickelodeon and animator Eli Noyes and his partner Kit Laybourne, whose wife Geraldine Laybourne was the Head of Programming for Nickelodeon.[2] "Jovial Bob Stine", best known for his children's horror novels written under the pen name R. L. Stine, was hired as the head writer to develop the concept, characters and episode scripts.[5] The puppet design and construction for the characters were done at 3/Design Studio where the puppets were built by Jim Kroupa, John Orberg, Kip Rathke and Matt Stoddart.[6]
Nickelodeon ordered 65 episodes of Eureeka's Castle, and Beece called it "the most ambitious program for preschoolers since the premiere of Sesame Street 20 years ago".[7] The first episode of Eureeka's Castle premiered during Nickelodeon's Special Delivery block on August 27, 1989,[1] before debuting on Nick Jr. on September 4. In May 1990, Eureeka's Castle was renewed for a 35-episode second season.[8]
From 1990 to 1991, Nickelodeon created 52 half-hour episodes of Eureeka's Castle, compiling clips from the first two seasons, for international distribution and their participation in the Cable in the Classroom service. Nick Jr. continued to air the original hour-long episodes, which were shortened to half-hour episodes in 1994. Production on Eureeka's Castle ended in 1991; some of the show's crew later worked on Gullah Gullah Island.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | TBA | August 27, 1989 | |
TBA | TBA | TBA | September 1989 | |
Story: Tikki Tikki Tembo[9] | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1989 | |
Magellan wants to get out of practicing a dance with Batly for the castle talent show. The mice tell jokes. The main characters sing "Dem Bones". Magellan and Batly question how they sleep during a sleepover. Batly sings about his habit of crashing. Stories: The Island of the Skog, Martha Ann and the Mother Store from The Wrong Way Kid | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1989 | |
TBA | TBA | "Animals" | 1989 | |
Red Grammer teaches the gang how to say "Hello" in different languages. A wizard helps Towser fly. The Moat Twins argue over who's better in song. Magellan presents a couple short films about animals. | ||||
TBA | TBA | "Sunny Day" | 1989 | |
Jaye Davidson sings about a sunny day. Batly participates in a swap-off with Mr. Knack so he can receive a bug trap. The Fishtones sing about hot weather. | ||||
TBA | TBA | "Bedtime" | 1989 | |
Deborah Dunleavy sings about talking on the telephone. The wind freezes Towser's funny face. Magellan and Batly have trouble going to sleep. Eureeka tells the Moat Twins a story, but the twins keep questioning her story. | ||||
TBA | TBA | "Body Language" | 1989 | |
One of Mr. Knack's postcards shows The Jive Five performing their song "Hully Gully Callin' Time". Magellan trades his hiccups for Mr. Knack's basketball. The Nosey Parker causes trouble for Towser and his friends. The Moat Twins go for a swim. Eureeka introduces a couple short films about body language. | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1989 | |
Batly shames Magellan for trying to hatch birds from birdseed, then the gang performs a rap version of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm". Eureeka and Batly sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" with Magellan blowing his horn. Towser tries to help a conjuror regain his confidence. Magellan acts as Mr. Knack's supervisor while he's hammering.[10] Story: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1990 | |
After the Moat Twins fool Magellan and Batly with scary noises, they try to scare the twins back. The Moat Twins sing about causing mischief. Bogge's attempt to take Magellan's peanut butter sandwich results in him getting none. Batly finds his caterpillar missing, but Eureeka and Magellan show him the caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Story: Just for You | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1991 | |
Magellan learns how to play detectives with Bogge. Magellan sings "The Dragon Sleeps Tonight". In the middle of the night, Magellan invites friends over to keep him company, which turns into a party. Magellan shows Quagmire what makes him unique. | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1991 | |
Mr. Knack wants to borrow the Moat Twins' "turnie turnie twisty twisty all the way down thing", but he needs Magellan's help. Eureeka teaches Magellan about animals found in an aquarium. Magellan wants to know from Batly what a friend is. The Moat Twins try not to trick Magellan out of eating his peanut butter sandwich. Story: Brave Irene | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1991 | |
Magellan and Batly compare Cooey and Webster. The Moat Twins attempt to clean up their messy room. Story: Madeline and the Bad Hat | ||||
TBA | TBA | TBA | 1991 | |
Eureeka, Mr. Knack, and Batly show Magellan what they do then they get grumpy. Batly tells Eureeka and Magellan a sad joke. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 9 | "Show 109" | 1990 | |
Magellan and Batly try to play baseball. When the Moat Twins get their baseball, they're challenged to a rhyming duel. Batly introduces Webster to "La Cucaracha". The Moat Twins sing about collecting. Mr. Knack successfully trades Magellan's frown for a tickle and sings about trading. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Christmas at Eureeka's Castle" | November 27, 1990 | |
As Eureeka and her friends prepare for Christmas, Eureeka loses her magic, Batly loses his temper, and Magellan gets lost in the forest while looking for a christmas tree. Magellan needs to be found before holiday festivities can begin. | ||||
2 | 2 | "It Came From Beneath the Bed or Nightmare on Magellan Street" | October 19, 1991 | |
In a musical mystery, Magellan confronts Fluffy, a strange monster who visits the castle and proves that scary-looking things can often be quite harmless. | ||||
3 | 3 | "Don't Touch That Box" | November 10, 1991 | |
Magellan, Batly and the Moat Twins find a magic box in the woods while playing catch. Eureeka calls the Grand Wizard (Luther Vandross), who tells them that the broken box is his and they shouldn't touch it. Eureeka warns the others about the box, but they become curious about the box and get more than what they bargained for from it. The gang tries to solve their problems with the box, but things get worse until the Grand Wizard arrives and fixes everything. |
The series premiered on September 4, 1989 on Nick Jr. Reruns of the show continued airing on Nick Jr. until July 12, 1996,[11] and again from November 16, 1998, to January 29, 1999, and on Noggin from February 2, 1999, to September 6, 2000.
Two Eureeka's Castle direct-to-video specials ("Sing Along with Eureeka" and "Wide Awake at Eureeka's Castle", both produced in 1990) and the "Christmas at Eureeka's Castle" special were released on VHS by Sony Wonder in 1995, and Paramount Home Video in 1997. The series has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray.
On April 21, 2021, 26 half-hour episodes of the show were added to Paramount+.[12] This marks the first time the series had been legally available to watch in 20 years. As of 2023, Nickelodeon's master tapes of the hour-long episodes and "Don't Touch That Box" are thought to no longer exist.
In 1990, Eureeka's Castle won an Ace Award for best children's program.[13][14][15]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.