Martha Speaks (TV series)

This article is about the television series. For the book, see Martha Speaks (book).

Martha Speaks is an animated children's preschool television series based on the 1992 children's book of the same name by Susan Meddaugh^[3] and debuted on September 1, 2008 on PBS Kids. The series was produced by WGBH Boston in collaboration with DHX Media Vancouver for the first four seasons and Oasis Animation for the final two seasons of the series.

Martha Speaks
Created by	Susan Meddaugh
Based on	Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
Developed by	Ken Scarborough
Written by	Ken Scarborough
Directed by	Dallas Parker Colleen Holub
Voices of	Tabitha St. Germain Madeleine Peters Brian Drummond Alex Ferris Valin Shinyei Cedric Payne Christina Crivici Michelle Creber Vanesa Tomasino Nicole Oliver Kathleen Barr French Tickner Maxine Miller Matt Hill Samuel Vincent Terry Klassen
Narrated by	J.T. Turner
Theme music composer	Daniel Ingram Hal Beckett
Opening theme	"Martha Speaks" (lyrics by Ken Scarborough) by Robert Wilson (a few spoken-word lines provided by Tabitha St. Germain)
Ending theme	"Martha Speaks" (instrumental)
Composer	Daniel Ingram
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6[1]
No. of episodes	96[1][2] (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Carol Greenwald Chris Bartlerman Blair Peters
Producer	Sarah Wall
Running time	28 minutes (approximately 13 minutes per episode)
Production companies	DHX Media Vancouver (seasons 1–4) Oasis Animation (seasons 5–6) WGBH Boston
Original release
Network	PBS Kids (United States) TVOKids (Canada)
Release	September 1, 2008 (2008-09-01) – November 18, 2014 (2014-11-18)

The series focuses mainly on synonyms, phonics, and vocabulary, with each episode featuring an underlying theme illustrated with a wide variety of keywords. The show also occasionally focuses on introducing children aged four to seven^[4] to different concepts of science, history, astronomy and other learning concepts (from the Spanish language to passing mentions of it).^{[lower-alpha 1]}

On July 6, 2009, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on September 14, 2009. On August 2, 2010, the series was renewed for another two seasons.^[5][6] The third season premiered on October 11, 2010 and the fourth season premiered on February 20, 2012.^[7] On April 29, 2013, the series was renewed for an additional two seasons. The fifth season premiered on June 24, 2013 and the sixth season premiered on March 31, 2014.^[8]

On October 10, 2014, it was announced that the sixth season would be its last. The series finale aired on November 18, 2014.

Premise

The series revolves around a talking dog named Martha (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain), who is owned by 10-year-old Helen Lorraine (known in the books as Helen Finney). When Helen fed Martha alphabet soup, the pasta letters somehow traveled to her brain rather than her stomach, giving her the ability to speak human words. The show takes place in the fictional town of Wagstaff City.^[9]

Episodes

Main article: List of Martha Speaks episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	40		September 1, 2008 (2008-09-01)	July 17, 2009 (2009-07-17)
2	15		September 14, 2009 (2009-09-14)	May 14, 2010 (2010-05-14)
3	15		October 11, 2010 (2010-10-11)	October 3, 2011 (2011-10-03)
4	10		February 20, 2012 (2012-02-20)	April 5, 2013 (2013-04-05)
5	8		June 24, 2013 (2013-06-24)	November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)
6	8		March 31, 2014 (2014-03-31)	November 18, 2014 (2014-11-18)

Season 1 of the series ended with a total of 40 episodes; it premiered in September 2008. 30 episodes were produced for season 2 and then split in half to be aired over two broadcast seasons with 15 episodes each.^[10]

In season 1, each episode was followed by Music Time with SteveSongs and later by Dot's Story Factory. Starting with season 2, both Music Time with SteveSongs and Dot's Story Factory are replaced by a segment called Who's That Dog? in which a clip of a dog with special training is shown.

In the series, words defined by characters were off-screen early in season 1 and throughout seasons 4–6. However, the words were made visible in only season 2 and season 3.

Characters

Main

Animals

• Martha Lorraine^[11] (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is the titular protagonist. Martha is a talking Labrador mix that was born an energetic stray and was put in the dog pound as a puppy. She gained the ability to talk after Helen gave her a bowl of alphabet soup; the letters in the soup went to her brain instead of her stomach. In order to retain this ability, Martha has to continue to eat the soup.^[12] She is also capable of speaking different languages if the soup she eats is from another country but can only speak one language at a time (e.g., if she were to eat a can of soup from Poland, she'd only be able to speak Polish until she was fed another can). Though, the phenomenon couldn't be repeated with another dog. She was based on a dog owned by Susan Meddaugh, which in turn could be named after the dog in subject of The Beatles song "Martha My Dear". Martha woke up in the morning singing in "Martha Sings".^[13] She can understand most animal languages except for a few exotic animals such as monkeys and giraffes. These languages are difficult, as slight elongation or slightly higher pitch will mean something entirely altered. In the episode "Itchy Martha", Martha teaches T.D.'s father to speak a word in dog, coaching him to say it exactly right. Almost all animals are able to understand some sort of human language, but are not able to speak it. In a newer episode, it is stated that Martha understands a wide range of animal languages, possibly because they have the same grammar system. She has had three superhero alter-egos.
• Skits Lorraine (voiced by Brian Drummond) is Helen's other dog, who tries the same alphabet soup but doesn't share the same talking ability. Though he is unable to speak, he is still a very smart dog. He was found by T.D. who couldn't keep Skits because his father is allergic to dogs.

Children

• Helen Lorraine (voiced by Madeleine Peters) is Martha's and Skits' tomboyish owner who is usually the voice of reason of the group. Helen is closest to Martha and thinks of Martha as her best friend. Out of the six main kids, Helen is sensible. Despite this, she can be a bit overbearing and even show her rough side (as in "Martha Runs Away", where she scolded Martha for things she didn't do). She always hangs around her friends, but T.D. is said to be her best friend. She is 10 years old and biracial, coming from a Caucasian father and a Latin-American mother. In "Verb Dog", it's revealed that she has her own superhero alter ego, "When Action Calls!", is very huge and can brainwash dogs simply by calling their names.
• T.D. Kennelly (voiced by Alex Ferris in the first 4 seasons and Valin Shinyei starting with season 5) is Helen's best friend. His father, O.G., is an inventor, while his mother is the vice-principal at his school. He has a grandfather named C.K., who works as a farmhand, and also a younger cousin named C.D. T.D. also mentioned having an unnamed older sister, who has never made an appearance in the series due to her studies. He lives a Bohemian lifestyle that revolves around the surreal. His robot alter-ego from "Verb Dog, When Action Calls!" uses robotic tentacles that grow from his back.
• Alice Boxwood (voiced by Christina Crivici in the first 3 seasons, Michelle Creber in season 4 and Ashlyn Drummond starting with season 5) is another one of Helen's best friends. She has an older brother named Ronald who mocks her, and a pet cat named Nelson, with whom Martha is mortal enemies. Her superhero alter-ego possesses ice powers; her only weakness is anyone making her laugh, which causes her to lose control of her powers and freeze herself.
• James "Jake" Lorraine (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is Helen's toddler sibling whom Martha enjoys teaching on how to talk, with unsuccessful attempts. His birth is emphasized in the episode "The Jakey Express". In the Spanish dub, he is named "Pedrito".

Adults

• Danny Lorraine (also voiced by Brian Drummond) is Helen's father who works as a bus driver and an actor in the community theater. He is friendly but stern, though part-time, he has a somewhat immature and cringe personality, such as singing music at home.
• Mariella Lorraine (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is Helen's Latina florist mother, who works as an actor in the community theater. She often uses Spanish words and phrases, giving the translation shortly afterwards. Her parents and maiden surname are unknown, but her brother Jorge (Carolina's father) is seen in the series.
• Mrs. Clusky (voiced by Nicole Oliver) is Helen's teacher from Montreal. She was initially shocked when she found out that Martha can speak, though has since gotten used to it. She has three nieces, and a white poodle, François, who is very spoiled and demanding.

Recurring

Children

• Carolina (voiced by Vanesa Tomasino) is Helen's maternal cousin. She is very fashion-conscious of others, but in music, she sings off-key. She is described as a know-it-all with some signs of shallow. Like her aunt Mariella (Helen's mother), Carolina often uses Spanish words and phrases, giving the translation shortly afterwards. Her father is named Jorge (Mariella's sibling).
• Truman Oatley (voiced by Cedric Payne) is another one of Helen's best friends who enjoys reading historical works of literature and is prone to seasickness. He is African-American. He is often a pessimist who focuses on the negative without any confidence and is unwilling to try other things because he is frequently convinced that the activity is pointless; additionally he is afraid of insects. Truman is younger than Helen, T.D., and Alice. Oddly, the design on his vest closely resembles the logo of the Santiago Metro.
• Ronald Boxwood (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is Alice's older brother who can tend to act very arrogant, and he loves to scare, show-off, tease and annoy Alice and her friends, including Martha. He also loves Nelson (him and Alice's pet cat).

Adults

• Lucille and Bernard Lorraine are Helen's grandparents. They live simple and odd lifestyles (such as selling a chair to a bear) and are allergic to certain things, such as flowers and bacon.
• Mr. Pangborn is a neighbor who recently moved to Martha's neighborhood. He has an elderly cat named Lightning and previously has a serious mice issue. Once Martha figured out how to deal with them, Mr. Pangborn allowed the mice to live at his house.

Production

The series was executive-produced by WGBH employee Carol Greenwald (who first contacted Meddaugh during production of the PBS series Arthur)^[1] and developed for television by Emmy Award-winning writer Kenneth "Ken" Scarborough (the head writer for shows such as Arthur and Doug). Among other writers and screenwriters were Joe Fallon, Peter Hirsch, Kathy Waugh, Raye Lankford, Pippin Parker, Ron Holsey, Jessica Carleton, Matt Steinglass and Dietrich Smith. Canadian composers Daniel Ingram and Harold Foxton Beckett composed the music for both the series and the theme song, while Ken Scarborough wrote the lyrics for and Robert Wilson performed the latter.^[14]

The series was produced in Vancouver by DHX Media Vancouver (formerly Studio B Productions) using Flash.^[15] Meddaugh, the author of the book, was involved in the series and oversaw the production: despite some concerns over what would the way word definitions be incorporated into a television series, she was satisfied they didn't interrupt the plot's flowing concept.^[16][17]

Actor Jon Hamm along with then-girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt and their German Shepherd mix, Cora were animated into cartoon versions of themselves for an episode as guest stars. ^[18][19]

Format

In each episode, short animated segments related to the main parts are presented in three occasions: one between the opening theme and the first part; another one between two parts; and the other between the second part and the closing credits. However, those short segments are excluded from versions outside the United States and Canada.

Broadcast

Martha Speaks debuted on PBS Kids on September 1, 2008 and ended on November 18, 2014, with reruns continuing until October 2, 2022,^[20] though local stations may still choose to air it independently, as do KLCS-DT2 and PBS Hawaii, as of 2023.

The series also aired on TVOKids in Canada, on Discovery Kids in Latin America, on Disney Junior in the Netherlands, on CBBC in the United Kingdom and on Nick Jr. in Australia and New Zealand.^[21]

Home media

On January 3, 2009, some episodes of this television series were available for limited theatrical release.^[22] Also, a DVD set of the series featuring 8 episodes from the first season was released on March 9, 2010; since then, several DVDs were also released.

Streaming

Until July 2015, seasons 1-3 were available to stream on Netflix. Since then, the series is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video (albeit all episodes are now available).

Merchandise

Before the series premiered, PBS Kids reported that episodes of the series were available as downloads, as they are also available for purchase via downloading, to date. In January 2010, Martha Speaks launched its first list of official tie-in books with: 24-page readers and several chapter books; and also a picture book.

Notes

1. Carolina and Mariella Lorraine are fluent Spanish speakers. Additionally, Truman Oatley references the works of William Shakespeare in a few episodes, such as "Oh, nooo!" where he mentions Hamlet, while season 2 episodes "Dogs in Space" and "Dogs from Space" focus on vocabulary such as "Solar System", "orbit", "planet", "star", the "moons of Jupiter" and "constellation".

References

1. Weiss, Joanna (August 17, 2008). "PBS set to unleash a new tutor". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
2. "Publishers Weekly". Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
3. "Martha Speaks . Games . Marthur Sticker Mashup | PBS KIDS". pbskids.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
4. "About Martha Speaks". PBS KIDS. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
5. "Oregon Public Broadcasting". Opb.org. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
6. "PBS Kids Greenlights Martha Speaks For Fourth Season". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
7. "WGBH BOSTON'S AND DHX MEDIA'S MARTHA SPEAKS GREENLIT FOR A FOURTH SEASON ON PBS KIDS". WildBrain. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
8. "Martha Speaks #501". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
9. Answers.com. "Martha Speaks TV Show". Answers.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
10. "Martha Speaks Episode Descriptions". Pbs Kids!. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
11. "Martha Goes to School". Martha Speaks. 2 minutes in.
    Mrs. Clusky: "Is this Martha Lorraine?"
    Martha: "That's right."
12. "Martha Speaks . FAQ". PBS KIDS!. WGBH. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
13. "Martha Speaks | Martha Sings/Td Makes The Band | WTTW". Chicago Public Television. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
14. "Martha Speaks TV Credits". PBS Parents. Archived from the original on 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
15. "2008: The year that was". Top Draw Animation. Archived from the original on 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
16. Nesi, Ted (2009-05-12). "Good dog". Wheaton Quarterly. Wheaton College. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
17. "Martha Speaks. FAQ". PBS Kids. WGBH. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
18. Chaney, Jen (2023-06-30). "Jon Hamm becomes a cartoon in PBS kids show". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
19. "First Look: Jon Hamm And His Dog Get Animated for Martha Speaks". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-18. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
20. "PBS KIDS Schedule Update October 2022". WKAR. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
21. "DHX MEDIA'S RASTAMOUSE AND MARTHA SPEAKS LICENSED TO BBC KIDS IN CANADA". WildBrain. Archived from the original on 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
22. Kidtoon Films. "Kidtoon Films". Kidtoon Films. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-08-16.

External links

• PBS Kids web page on Martha Speaks
• Martha Speaks at IMDb