New Zoo Revue

It's the New Zoo Revue… coming right at you!

New Zoo Revue was a children's television program that ran in syndication between 1972 and 1977, airing 196 episodes in all. It was a live-action show hosted by "Doug and Emmy Jo" (Doug Momary and Emily Peden) and starring life-sized puppets Henrietta Hippo, Freddie the Frog, and Charlie the Owl. New Zoo Revue was aimed at preschoolers and taught lessons about friendship and cooperation. Episodes were devoted to specific topics like bad manners and sharing. The show dealt with the emotional issues small children feel, and omitted educational topics like reading and arithmetic.

Tropes used in New Zoo Revue include:

• Action Figure Speech
• An Aesop
• Cold Open
• The Ditz: Poor Freddie. Even the theme tune says he's "not so bright."
• Expository Theme Tune
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: "Mr. Dingle"? Really?
• Hilarious Outtakes: Freddie the Frog to Charlie the Owl: "Go fuck yourself." This is so wrong (link NSFW).
• Jerkass: OK, Freddie's not smart, but Charlie still shouldn't be so mean to him.
• Ladies and Germs: Henrietta Hippo says this word for word as part of her pathetic comedy act in one episode.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Charlie.
• The Owl-Knowing One: Charlie wears a mortarboard.
• Parent Service: Kids learned lessons about friendship; their fathers might have noticed the short skirts that Emily Peden wore.
• The Seventies: Check out Doug's glasses!
• Southern Belle: Henrietta Hippo.
• Technicolor Science: Charlie's laboratory has the typical flasks of colored water giving off smoke.
• Theme Tune Roll Call