Square One Television
Square One Television is a BBC schools TV series from the 1990s, covering Mathematics for primary school pupils.
A British version of a popular American educational TV series, a mathematical comedy sketch show. The US series featured recurring characters such as Dirk Niblick, an animated mathematical sleuth; Mathman, who moves around a maze like the video game character Pacman "eating" numbers which match given patterns; and the double act Cabot and Marshmallow, a spoof of Abbott and Costello.
The first series of ten, 15-minute programmes took some of this material from the American original and mixed it with lots of new UK-produced material introduced by Helen Lederer, including a game show challenge, comedians Trev and Simon attempting to bluff viewers, and athlete Kris Akabussi having trouble with data handling.
A second series of ten, 20-minute programmes followed, with more of the US material including two complete five-part serial adventures from Mathnet, a spoof of the American detective series Dragnet: The Case of the Willing Parrot and The Case of the Map with a Gap. This second series was shown every day across the week so that each adventure began on Monday and ended on Friday - the same way the series was scheduled to be broadcast in America. It was described on-screen as Square One Television with Mathnet.
Episodes
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Place Value | 13 Jan 1992 |
| 2. | Fractions | 20 Jan 1992 |
| 3. | Probability | 27 Jan 1992 |
| 4. | Data Handling | 3 Feb 1992 |
| 5. | Graphs | 10 Feb 1992 |
| 6. | Angle | 17 Feb 1992 |
| 7. | Movement | 2 Mar 1992 |
| 8. | Area | 9 Mar 1992 |
| 9. | Volume | 16 Mar 1992 |
| 10. | Algebra | 23 Mar 1992 |
| 11. | Ratio and Scale | 1 Jun 1992 |
| 12. | Measurement | 2 Jun 1992 |
| 13. | Number Patterns | 3 Jun 1992 |
| 14. | Whole Numbers | 4 Jun 1992 |
| 15. | Negative and Positive | 5 Jun 1992 |
| 16. | Decimals | 8 Jun 1992 |
| 17. | Percentages | 9 Jun 1992 |
| 18. | Angles | 10 Jun 1992 |
| 19. | Estimation | 11 Jun 1992 |
| 20. | Problem Solving | 12 Jun 1992 |
Credits
| Presented by | Helen Lederer |
| Voice over | Shelley Thompson |
| Title music | Nigel Squires |
| Graphic designer | Laurence Henry |
| Production | Nicci Crowther (episodes 1-10) Jacqui Doughty (episodes 11-20) |
Broadcasts
- Spring 1992: Mondays 10:00am, repeated Thursdays 10:00am
- Summer 1992: Weekdays around 10:40am
- Spring 1993: Mondays 10:00am, repeated Thursdays 10:00am
- Spring 1994: Tuesdays 10:45am, repeated Wednesdays 9:30am
- Summer 1994: Wednesdays & Thursdays 9:25am
- Autumn 1994: Wednesdays 9:45am
- Spring 1995: Thursdays 9:00am
- Autumn 1995: Mondays 9:45am, repeated Fridays 10:45am
- Spring 1996: Mondays 9:40am
- from 1996-97: shown overnight on BBC2 as part of Nightschool TV and the Learning Zone
Related programmes
- MathsworksAnother US maths series imported & adapted by the BBC in the early 1990s
- Ghostwriter (TV)Another Children's Television Workshop series shown by the BBC in the 1990s
Links
- British Film Institute Collections for Square One Television
- Square One Television on the Internet Movie Database
- Square One Television on Wikipedia
- Square One TV.org (archived 2012)Full guide to the original US series
Sources & References
- BBC (1992) BBC Education Annual Programme for Primary and Middle Schools 1992-93. London: BBC Education.
- BBC (1994) BBC Education Radio and Television for Primary and Middle Schools 1994-1995. London: BBC Education.
- BBC (1995) BBC Education Television, Radio and Resources for Primary and Middle Schools 1995-1996. London: BBC Education.
- BBC archive catalogue catalogue
- Times Educational Supplement TV listings, 1992-2000
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