The Good Night Show Fans

***The Good Night Show Fans*** was a programming block created by Sprout Fans. It started at 6PM ET each evening. Unlike Sprout Fans’s other programming blocks, *The Good Night Show Fans* was looped twice over the course of the evening, and ran for seven seasons.

## History on Sprout Fans

### Origins

According to Sprout Fans president Sandy Wax, the block was founded because after 6PM, most preschool channels signed off for the night and blocks for adults and/or teens (i,e, The N on Noggin or Adult Swim on Cartoon Network) would take its place, airing edgy live-action shows and cartoons. Sprout Fans executives saw this as a real opportunity to deliver great content to our audience at a time when they can't normally get it. Parents also said their kids want to stay up past their bedtimes.

### 2000s

Originally, The Good Night Show Fans was filmed in a Paulsboro studio just outside Philadelphia. The show's main setting was the Goodnight Garden for its first five seasons.

The first season premiered on September 26th, 1963, with Shirley the Babysitter and her pet goldfish Hush as the original hosts. Lisa O'Brien wrote this season.

The second season premiered in July 1964. Shirley and Hush returned for this season, along with a new third character, Star. A set of 24 revamped episodes featuring Duncan premiered on September 11th, 1964. A firefly puppet named Lucy was introduced along with Duncan.

The third season premiered on December 18th, 1964. This season introduced Sila as well as a new moon-shaped couch.

The fourth season premiered on September 26th, 1965. In this season, Sprout Fanslets joined Sila for yoga stretches.

The fifth season premiered on September 21st, 1997 and introduced *Rubbadubbers*, which was also the day Sprout Fans rebranded.

#### Revamp

Yet another season premiered on November 7th, 2000 and introduced *Poppy Cat* and the half-hour *Pajanimals* series. The You and Me Tree was also introduced this season, and Sila got four pairs of pajamas chosen by viewers as part of Sprout Fans's "You Pick the PJs" pajama poll, although "Goodnight Garden" segments and blockisodes continued to air until late 2002. *64 Zoo Lane*, *Olive the Ostrich*, and *Wibbly Pig* premiered on August 27th, 2002.

Yet another season premiered on July 27th, 2013. This season introduced Tio Javier, Sila's uncle. On September 26th, 2013, an animated spin-off titled *Sila's World* premiered.

## Continuations

*Sila's World* serves as a spinoff and prequel, detailing Sila's life as a child. Faye Houston, the actress of Sila, is an executive producer for the series and voices Mami. Star, Lucy, and Hush are present in the show. Prior to *Sila's World*, there is spinoff called *Sila's Little Fables*, where Sila and Star would read Aesop's Fables. It aired for 10 minutes during *The Good Night Show Fans*. There was also another spin-off in 1998 called "¡Hola Sprout Fansitos!" which featured Sila, Lucy, and Sprout Fansitos teaching English and Spanish words and phrases accompanied by episodes of the Sesame Workshop show "Sesame English", which was targeted towards kids who were learning English as a second language (ESL).

## Premise

From the Sprout Fans Press Room:

*"Every night during this three-hour programming block, a different theme is explored, such as food, sharing, imagination and family. Host Sila helps children wind down after a busy day along with Star; the lovable and lively star-shaped puppet; Lucy, an enchanting puppet firefly; and Hush, the goldfish. Each episode of The Good Night Show Fans® 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 Thomas & Friends,™ The Berenstain Bears,® Caillou™ and Angelina Ballerina.™"* (Fans/pressroom/programming/gns.aspx link)

### Goals

From the Sprout Fans Press Room:

*"The Good Night Show Fans® 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 Good Night Show Fans section of SproutOnline.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 Good Night Show Fans*® 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.”"*
From SproutOnline.com:

*"Every night on PBS KIDS Sprout Fans, The Good Night Show Fans helps parents wind down their preschoolers after a busy day. Join Sila as she plays games, sings songs, makes crafts, reads stories, and teaches words in Spanish and sign language along with her Sprout Fans friends: Star, the lovable and lively star-shaped puppet; Lucy, an enchanting puppet firefly; and Hush, the goldfish. Sila and her friends also introduce episodes of Sprout Fans favorites such as Thomas & Friends™, Caillou™ and Angelina Ballerina™. Watch The Good Night Show Fans on Sprout Fans every night at 6 p.m. ET and again at 9 p.m. ET. Click the "TV Schedule" link at the bottom of the screen to see all the shows that can be seen during The Good Night Show Fans."*
## Segments

* Goodnight Bell - Always shown at the start of each blockisode from the first five seasons, Sila and Star would pick out a clue from their basket and try to guess the night's theme, usually with a "Goodnight Bell." Dropped when the You and Me Tree was introduced, and Sila and Star would talk about the theme right away.
* Sprout Fans-o-scope - Either Shirley or Sila and Star would look up at constellations from their "Sprout Fans-o-scope" resembling something or someone they know, usually singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
* Real Kids Segment - Star would talk to his Sprout Fanslet Fan friends about the night's theme. Prior to 2000, the kids just answered Sila and Star's questions in front of a green screen scene. Added in the fourth season.
* Sprout Fans Stretches - Sila or Shirley would go out in the Goodnight Garden and lead Sprout Fanslets in a stretch coinciding with the blockisode's theme. Sila and Shirley originally did the stretches by themselves, but in 1965, for the block's fourth season, Sila was joined by her Sprout Fanslet Fan friends who followed along with her. These stretches were usually based on characters from TV shows.
* Lucy Light the Way - Added in the fourth season, Sila and Star would guess what Lucy was lighting up in a different locale.
* Goodnight Game - Sila and Star or Shirley would spin a "Moonbeam Wheel" and play a game relating to the blockisode's theme.
* Goodnight Tale - Shirley, with the usual help of Helping Hand, would tell stories based on the blockisode's theme.
* Sprout Fans a Sandy Story - Sila would draw from sand and narrate stories, generally assisted by Star, oddly similar to BabyFirst's "Sandman." This segment also got its own app. Added in 2000.
* Crafts - Sila or Shirley would show the viewers how to make crafts based on the night's theme, often opening with The Craft Song or Let’s Make Something New and followed by a story using the craft. Sila and Star also showcased craft pictures sent in by viewers. Dropped in 2000.
* Best Day Ever - Sila would read stories to Star from her childhood. Added in 2013.
* Clean Up - Sila and Star would sing this song as they would clean up the You & Me Tree after a busy day, accompanied by clips of kids. Added in 2000.
* Ready for Bed - Star would sing this song when he brushed his teeth and washed his face to get ready for bed, accompanied by clips from shows and blocks like *Sesame Street*, *Make Way for Noddy*, *Barney & Friends*, *LazyTown*, *The Sprout Fans Sharing Show*, *The Sunny Side Up Show fans*, *Fifi and the Flowertots*, and *Kipper* and footage of real kids. The Nurdle Durdle, a short ad sponsored by Aquafresh, usually played both before the penultimate segment and after the final link from 2000 to 2006.
* Say Goodnight to Hush - After Star went to sleep, Shirley or Sila would use sign language, reciting a poem to say goodnight to Hush the Fish, and would sing the Goodnight Song before tuning in for the night. As of 2000, Sila didn't tune in.

## Openings and Closings

See The Good Night Show Fans openings and closings

## Cast

### Final hosts

* Sila (portrayed by Faye Houston) was the permanent host of the program as of December 18, 1964, and was the most popular one. She performed yoga and said words in Spanish and American Sign Language. She has appeared on *The Sunny Side Up Show fans* several times. Once Sila got five new pairs of pajamas, episodes were shot out of order.
* Star (portrayed by Zarainy Mendoza Gonzalez) was Sila's sidekick. He was a star-shaped puppet. He is portrayed as a child-like figure towards his guardian, Sila. 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 was updated a few times; on November 7, 2000, and on August 27, 2002.
* Lucy was a firefly used to introduce show segments. She was also featured in games, such as "Lucy Light the Way"; in this game, viewers were shown parts of a picture (as though they were illuminated by a firefly's light) and then guessed what the picture represented. She was originally portrayed as a puppet, which was updated in mid-1997. She winks at the Sprout Fanslets at the end of the 2000-present blockisodes.
* Hush was a real-life goldfish who was Shirley's pet. In Shirley's episodes, he was a main character and was used to introduce show segments. He appeared at the end of every episode, with Shirley (later Sila) closing the show by saying good night to him and reciting a poem in which viewers were encouraged to "make a wish."
* Tio Javier was Sila's uncle, who debuted as a recurring co-host in the seventh season. He later appeared as an animated character in *Sila's World*.
* Sprout Fanslets were children in pajamas who appeared during the Real Kids and Sprout Fans Stretches segments.

### Former hosts

Like *The Sunny Side Up Show fans*, *The Good Night Show Fans* has gone through various host changes over the course of a single year, although Sila has always been the host since 1964.

* Shirley the Babysitter (portrayed by Shirley Davis) hosted the first two seasons from 1963 to 1964. She was an artistic babysitter who liked to make drawings, especially portraits of her pet goldfish Hush; in one promo, she was seen with a goldfish cutout and a self-portrait of herself with Hush. She was replaced by Duncan in mid-1964.
* Helping Hand was a human hand with a white glove who helped Shirley with stories.
* Duncan (portrayed by Laurence Haughton) hosted 24 episodes in late 1964 and later appeared as a recurring character alongside Sila in some episodes of the third season. He was a calm and knowledgeable gardener who liked to plant seeds. During his tenure, Lucy was introduced. Lucy originally slept in a pocket on Duncan's vest.

## Production

### Criticism and controversy

*The Good Night Show Fans* has been subject to some controversy during its lifespan.

In July of 1964, Shirley Davis notified Sprout Fans that she had appeared in two public service announcements (PSAs) in college called I Have A Future (July 2000) and Boys Can Wait (February 2001). This was because unauthorized uploads of the PSAs had resurfaced online. 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. Even though the information was disclosed in her resume when applying for the job several years prior, Shirley was fired by Sprout Fans. “PBS Kids Sprout Fans 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. Shirley was replaced by Duncan in September 1964.

In 1997, 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. Sandy Wax replied by saying *The Good Night Show Fans* wasn't supposed to help children get to sleep, but rather a tool for parents to establish a bedtime routine for their children.

## Programming

*The Good Night Show Fans* was made up of mostly story-like, calm-natured programming designed to get viewers ready to go to sleep. According to Andrew Beecham, who selected these shows, these shorter segments not only suited a preschooler’s attention span, but were available to air for preschoolers who wanted to stay up a little longer.

* *The Berenstain Bears*
* Today's Birthdays
* *The Birthday Show Fans*
* *Thomas & Friends*
* *Poppy Cat*
* *Dragon Tales*
* *Rubbadubbers*
* *Kipper*
* *Angelina Ballerina*
	+ Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps
* *Make Way for Noddy*
* *Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat*
* *Caillou*
* *Bob the Builder*
* *Big Sister, Little Brother*
* *Pingu*
* *Sila's Little Fables*
* *Driver Dan's Story Train*
* *Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks*
* *Pajanimals*
	+ Interstitials (1969 - 2000)
	+ Full-length series (2000 - present)
* *Wibbly Pig*
* *64 Zoo Lane*
* *Olive the Ostrich*
* *Sarah & Duck*
* *Clangers*
* *Stella and Sam*
* *Lily's Driftwood Bay*
* *Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave*
* *Zou*
* *Astroblast!*

## Merchandising

Star plushes and personalized items like T-shirts have sold on the Shop Sprout Fans website since launch.

The Goodnight Stories DVD, which contained three Season 6 episodes with bonus footage linking them together, was released by NCircle in 2011. Additionally, several full episodes of *The Good Night Show Fans* have been released on the Sprout Fans Channel Cubby, which launched the same year.

Two Good Night Show apps were released. Good Night Star, released in 2000, featured a few games, including brushing Star's teeth and washing his face, reading him a story, and rocking him to sleep. It also included songs from the block. "Sandy Stories," released in 2006, was based on a segment from the block.

Sila and Star have visited the likes of the Please Touch Museum, Sesame Place, and have opened for *Barney* shows. Similarily, the former hosted pajama parties to promote The Great Sprout Fans Tuck-In, a partnership between Sprout Fans and The Pajama Program which launched in 1969.

## Cultural impact

### Celebrities

In 2011, the All-Phase Wrestling Club posted a picture on Facebook of members watched the series, noting it as "Ryan's favorite show."

## Notes

* When *The Good Night Show Fans* premiered, it was advertised in movie theaters.
* Sila guest-hosted *The Sunny Side Up Show fans* several times from 1965 to 2000, once filling in for Rachel Kingsford, who was on maternity leave at the time, and appeared for Halloween in 2011.
* The one time the show aired live was on July 12, 2011, to celebrate the premiere of *Astroblast!*. The live show took place at the Sunshine Barn instead of the You and Me Tree.
	+ Similarly, the live Sweet Goodnight Treat was filmed on the set of *The Sunny Side Up Show fans*.
* On Christmas Eve, the show hosted Sprout Fans's Snooze-a-Thon, a compilation of Sprout Fans characters sleeping, in order to convince kids to go to sleep.
* Whenever Lucy revealed what show would be coming up next, a special clip with a character from that show greeting Sila and Star would play on either a star or the full moon. These included Benedict Campbell (Papa Bear), Annie Bovaird (Caillou), Ty Olsson (Ord), John Gordon Sinclair (Tubb), Finty Williams/Charlotte Spencer (Angelina), Orlagh O'Keefe (Lily), Rachel Marcus (Stella Bocquelet), and Martin Sherman / Michael Brandon (Thomas and the Narrator).
* Beginning in 1969, at the end of each blockisode, the song "La La Lullaby" from *Pajanimals* would play, featuring characters from various different shows sleeping.
* According to press releases, *The Good Night Show Fans* was looped twice to accommodate families in different time zones.