Out There

***Out There*** is an original series created by Sesame Workshop and Noggin LLC. It was aired during Noggin's nighttime programming block, The N, which was aimed at teens. The show is a comedy-drama about a high school boy named Reilly, who moves from Connecticut, USA to Australia.

*Out There* was one of four shows made by both Noggin LLC and Sesame Workshop, along with *Sponk!*, *Play with Me Sesame*, and *The Upside Down Show*. It was also the last original show to start production while Sesame Workshop still co-owned the Noggin channel. It started filming in March 2002 and premiered on May 23, 2003.

## History

The show started out as a completely American concept set in New York, where both Noggin LLC and Sesame Workshop were located. When the show was pitched to foreign broadcasters, it was suggested that the show feature characters from a variety of different countries, so Noggin and Sesame reworked the concept. They announced the show under the working title *Two Down Under* in March 2002.

Between the announcement and the completion of season one, the Noggin channel went through a major change: it divided itself into a daytime block for preschoolers and a nighttime block for teens. When it started production, *Out There* was planned to air as part of the regular daytime block. When it premiered in 2003, it was instead shown as part of the nighttime block The N, since the daytime block had switched to preschool shows.

The show premiered on The N block with four back-to-back episodes on May 23, 2003, from 8-10 PM. New episodes aired on Fridays at 9 PM for the rest of summer 2003.

## Summary

Unlike most teen shows, *Out There* had an educational curriculum because Sesame Workshop was one of the companies behind it. The show had four educational goals: to demonstrate the importance of respecting others; to underscore how one's own decisions can impact other people; to emphasize effective communication; and to demonstrate the importance of building on one's individual strengths. The show never assumed that a problem has a quick and easy resolution – and it allowed for the fact that some problems resolve negatively. *Out There* demonstrated that while life is not always happy and predictable, young people can learn to make informed choices and employ constructive coping strategies.

*Out There* revolved around life at Ellen Archer's Wildspring Animal Clinic, a veterinary hospital in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It starred four adolescents, each with their own distinct personality and challenges, whose lives converge through their work at the clinic. Fourteen-year-old Reilly Evans struggles to adapt to life in Australia after his recent move from the United States to live with his veterinarian aunt.

## Characters

* **Reilly Evans** - The main character of season one. He moves from Connecticut to Australia. The others initially see him as a spoiled, rich American, but he is actually deeply troubled by his dad's incarceration and his mom's recent mental breakdown.
* **Aggie Thackery** - A strait-laced animal lover who traveled from London to work in the clinic.
* **Miller McKee** - A snarky, idiosyncratic employee at the clinic who is part scientist and part dreamer.
* **Fiona McDaniel** - A shy, introverted employee who doesn't mind being a loner.

## Episodes

The show had 52 episodes in total (two seasons of 26 episodes).

### Season 1

* Episode #1: "Two Down Under"
* Episode #2: "Summer in December"
* Episode #3: "The Hard Way"
* Episode #4: "Homesick Blues"
* Episode #5: "One Hot Dog to Go"
* Episode #6: "Connections: Missed and Made"
* Episode #7: "Don't Look Back"
* Episode #8: "Peggy"
* Episode #9: "Some Wombats Have all the Luck"
* Episode #10: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
* Episode #11: "Fairy Floss"
* Episode #12: "Reilly Had a Little Goat"
* Episode #13: "Tadpole"