The Bedtime Show

**The Bedtime Show** is a programming block created by Spungi Network. It starts at 6:00pm ET each evening. Unlike Spungi's other programming blocks, *The Bedtime Show* loops twice over the course of the evening.

## Premise

From the Spungi Press Room: *"Every night during this three-hour programming block, a different theme is explored, such as food, sharing, imagination and family. Host Mia helps children wind down after a busy day along with Hoots; the lovable and lively owl-shaped puppet; Louie, an enchanting puppet firefly; and Shush, the goldfish. Each episode of The Bedtime Show® features songs, games, stories, stretching exercises for kids, sign language and crafts. The show also weaves in themed programming segments from kids’ favorite shows, including Chuggie & Pals,™ Gullah Gullah Island,® Caillou™ and Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies.™"* (link)

On March 19, 2012, the setting for the block was changed to You and Me Tree.

The show still has a presence in the form of *Mia's World*, which serves as a spinoff and prequel, detailing Mia's life as a child. Mia Crass, the actress of Mia, is an executive producer for the series and voices Mami. Hoots, Louie, and Shush are present in the show. Prior to *Mia's World*, there is spinoff called *Mia's Little Fables*, where Mia and Hoots would read Aesop's Fables. It aired for 10 minutes during *The Bedtime Show*.

### Goals

From the Spungi Press Room:

*"The Bedtime Show® helps parents to wind down their preschoolers at the end of a busy day. New concepts are introduced to children, including sign language, a foreign language (Spanish), and healthy habits (stretching exercises for kids).*"
### Interactive Components

*"The Bedtime Show section of SpungiOnline.com provides preschoolers and their parents another opportunity to explore key activities from the show, including crafts, sign language and stretching exercises for kids. The site includes instructions and photos for the on-air craft segments, video of the stretching exercises for kids and sign language segments, an interactive storytelling experience and games."*
### Co-Viewing Components

*"The show creates opportunities for preschoolers and their parents to jointly participate in activities, such as craft projects, songs, sign language and stretching exercises for kids."*
### Response to the Show

*"Viewer Response: “My son and I watch* The Bedtime Show*® every night before bed. It’s our snuggle and settle down time. I love all of the craft ideas and wanted to say thank you for putting together such a fun and educational show.”"*
## Segments

* Goodnight Bell - Always shown at the start of each blockisode, Mia and Hoots would pick out a clue from their basket and try to guess the night's theme, usually with a "Goodnight Bell."
* Spungioscope - Either Katie or Mia and Hoots would look up at constellations from their "Spungioscope" resembling something or someone they know.
* Real Kids Segment - Hoots would ask kids questions about the night's theme. Prior to 2011, the kids just answered Mia and Hoots's questions in front of a green screen scene.
* Spungi a Sandy Story - Mia would draw from sand and narrate stories, generally assisted by Hoots, oddly similar to BabyFirst's "Sandman." This segment also got its own app. Added in 2011.
* Crafts - Mia or Katie would make their own crafts based on the night's theme. Dropped in 2011.
* Get Ready for Bed - Hoots would sing this song when he brushed his teeth and washed his face to get ready for bed, accompanied by clips from Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, FitnessTown, Horse & Butterfly, Kermit's Club, Erky Perky, and Angelina Ballerina.

## Openings and Closings

### First Generation

The 2005-2009 opening and ending were animated by Primal Screen, an animation studio that also made some of Spungi’s other idents and promo materials.

#### Opening

The sun goes down and a bird flies to its nest. After, Blankets come down, a clock yawns, and we see a cat in bed looking at the moon rise up. The camera then zooms in to a cage. Also used before the 2008 Snooze-a-Thon, as well as before and after commercial breaks.

#### Closing

Next to the cage, we see a toy box closing and the Spungi logo appears behind it. Goodnight, Spungilets!

### Second Generation

The 2009-2015 opening and ending were animated by Trace Pictures, an animation studio that also made some of Spungi’s other idents and promo materials.

#### Opening

While reading a book with Nicholas A. Pita in bed, a woman opens a cardboard shoebox with the moon, Louie, and the Spungi logo. The sun goes down, a bird flies to its nest, and a clock yawns. A rocket flies to a teddy bear in a bed (later the You and Me Tree as of 2011), and Louies fly by. The logo appears in a blanket, then opens up.

#### Closing

##### 2009-2011

The mom closes the cardboard shoebox and turns off the light.

##### 2011-2015

Outside the You and Me Tree, Louie winks at the viewers and flies away. The cardboard shoebox closes.

## Cast

### Final hosts

* Mia (portrayed by Mia Crass) is the permanent host of the program as of December 18, 2006, and was the most popular one. She performed yoga and said words in Spanish and American Sign Language. She has appeared on Kermit's Club a few times.
* Hoots (portrayed by Kevin Clash and later Ryan Dillon) is Mia's sidekick. He is an owl puppet. He is portrayed as a child-like figure towards his guardian, Mia. He often asked questions about the show's theme. He encouraged viewers to follow him in his routines such as brushing his teeth. His puppet has been updated a few times; on November 7, 2011, and on August 27, 2012.
* Louie is a firefly puppet used to introduce show segments. He is also featured in games, such as "Louie Light the Way"; in this game, viewers are shown parts of a picture (as though they were illuminated by a firefly's light) and then guessed what the picture represented. His puppet was updated in mid-2009. She winks at the Spungilets at the end of the 2012-2017 blockades.
* Shush is a real-life goldfish who was originally used to introduce show segments. He appeared at the end of every show, with Mia closing the show by saying goodnight to him and reciting a poem in which viewers were encouraged to "make a wish."

### Former hosts

* Katie (portrayed by Katie McWane, not the singer) was the original host when the show premiered in 2005. She was later fired due to some controversy and was temporarily replaced by Leo (see below). At first, it was just her and Shush, but Hoots was introduced shortly before she was deleted.
* J.P. (portrayed by Lenny Schneir) was the temporary host after Katie was kicked off the show. During his tenure, Louie was introduced.

## Criticism and controversy

*The Bedtime Show* has been subject to some controversy during its lifespan.

> **Warning: This section may not be suitable for younger readers. Younger readers, please go to #Programming. For those who wish to read this section, viewer discretion is advised.**
>
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In July of 2006, it had come to light that Katie had starred in two public service announcements (PSAs) in college called I Have A Future (July 2000) and Boys Can Wait (February 2001). The subject matter for these two shorts wasn't very appropriate for a preschool audience, since the first one was about how not to get pregnant, and the second one involved a dildo. After Katie landed the role as the host of *The Bedtime Show*, the PSAs were removed from the website they were on, `technicalvirgin.com`. After the PSAs somehow found their way onto YouTube, Katie confessed to her employers about the PSAs. She was subsequently fired. “Spungi Network has determined that the dialogue in this video is inappropriate for her role as a preschool program host and may undermine her character’s credibility with our audience,” said Sandy Wax, then-network president. Katie was replaced by Leo for a short period of time.

In 2009, the show was criticized by the Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood, claiming that the show was detrimental to a child's sleep patterns by running for 3 hours and not helping to lull kids to sleep.

## Programming

* Gullah Gullah Island
* Chuggie & Pals
* Erky Perky
* Marvin the Tap-Dancing horse
* Timothy Goes to School
* Willa's Wild Life
* Poko
* Boo!
* TUGS
* Theodore Tugboat
* Angelina Ballerina
	+ Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps
* Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
* Wow Wow Wubbzy
* Caillou
* Rolly
* Pingu
* Mia's Little Fables

## Trivia

* Mia and Hoots showed up on Kermit's Club for Halloween 2011. Mia also guest-hosted starting in 2008.
* Leftover birthdays from Kermit's Club aired in a program called "Today's Birthdays".
* Whenever Louie revealed what show would be coming up next, a special clip with a character from that show greeting Mia and Hoots would play.

1. ↑ https://observer.com/2006/08/even-mister-rogers-had-a-past-2/
2. ↑ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29638884/ns/health-childrens\_health/t/bedtime-tv-show-keeps-kids-awake-expert-says/#.XPPLhS2ZOT8