Edutainment Show: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

As the trope's title implies, the '''Edutainment Show''' combines educational content with entertainment. As such, most shows in this genre are aimed at children; of course, some more mature fare may fit this definition, such as ''[[MythBusters]]''. [[Cooking Show]]s, [[Science Show]]s, [[Nature Show]]s, and other [[TV Documentary]] formats (especially [[Docu Drama]] programs) may also count, if they are entertaining enough. Additionally, the definition has become somewhat blurred - these days networks often pass children's programs in particular as "edutainment," when their only actual educational content is pro-social themes, such as "work together as a team", "[["Reading Is Cool" Aesop]]" or "be a good friend to others."

Many '''Edutainment Shows''' appear on PBS, the most famous example being ''[[Sesame Street]]''. Nickelodeon also has had quite a few in their "[[Nick Jr.]]" block, such as ''[[Blue's Clues|Blues Clues]]'' and ''[[Dora the Explorer]]'', as do specialized fact-oriented cable networks as The Learning Channel, Noggin, the many Discovery channels, the History Channel, and Animal Planet.

 

 

For the [[Video Game]] counterpart see [[Edutainment Game]].

 

{{examples}}

* [[3-2-1 Contact]]

* [[Adventures from the Book of Virtues]]

* [[Amazing Animals]]

* [[Angelina Ballerina]]

* Arguably, [[Animaniacs]], which featured many educational songs and skits as well as famous historical figures and cultural icons of past eras, all for the Warners to gleefully abuse.

* [[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]] - This program also [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshades]] this trope with an in-universe example. Buster claims that a program that he's making is going to be "edutainment." The characters respond to this with an "ew." The chapter-book adaptation of that episode goes even further, with Brain stating that edutainment is supposed to be a blend of education and entertainment, but often ends up being the worst of both.

* [[The Backyardigans]]

* [[Barney and Friends]]

* [[Bob the Builder]]

* [[Brain Games]]: HBO's take on the learning program, and it was even marketed on VHS tapes in a period when television programs on home video was an exception, not a rule.

* [[Brain POP]]

* [[Bubble Guppies]]

* [[Cosmic Quantum Ray]]

* [[Cyberchase]]

* [[Destinos]]: An Introduction To Spanish

* [[Didou]]: Step-by-step instructions on drawing various items.

* [[Food Detectives]]: An attempt to do for foodstuffs what [[MythBusters]] does for high explosives.

* [[Franklin]]

* ''[[The Fresh Beat Band]]''

* [[The Funny Company]]

* [[Good Eats]]: Half [[Cooking Show]], half straight-up Edutainment Show. Alton prefers to educate the viewer on food science and cooking theory, rather than simply giving out recipes as most TV chefs do.

* [[Gordon The Garden Gnome]]

* [[Histeria!]]

* ''[[Horrible Histories (TV series)|Horrible Histories]]''

* [[Humf]]

* [[Infinity Limited]]

* [[It's a Big Big World]]

* [[Jay Jay the Jet Plane]]

* [[Jelly Jamm]]

* [[Jurassic Fight Club]]: Because [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs]]

* [[Kratts' Creatures]]

* [[LeapFrog (animation)|Leap Frog]] Learning DVDs.

* [[The Letter People]]: A puppet show that teaches phonics with surprisingly developed characters.

* [[Liberty's Kids]]: A surprisingly sophisticated show that teaches about [[The American Revolution]].

* [[Madeline]] (on the moral side only, show contains lots of factual mistakes)

* [[The Magic School Bus]]

* [[Martha Speaks]]

* [[Maya and Miguel]]

* [[Mentors (TV series)|Mentors]]

* [[Mickey Mouse Clubhouse]]

* Mr. Wizard's World

* [[MythBusters]] spells out how the myths are tested, so you can learn quite a bit from that show, in the middle of [[Stuff Blowing Up]].

* [[New Zoo Revue]]: 1970s children's show.

* [[Newtons Apple]]

* [[Numb3rs]]

* [[Oz and James]]'s ''Big Wine Adventure'' and ''Drink to Britain'' aim to give the curious adult the basic tools for appreciating wine and other drink while following an [[Odd Couple]] of middle-aged blokes around on thinly-veiled drinking holidays.

* [[The Pajanimals]]

* [[Penn and Teller Tell a Lie]]

* [[Pororo the Little Penguin]]

* [[Postman Pat]]

* [[Reading Rainbow]]

* [[Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat]]

* [[Science Court]]

* The newly started [[Sci Show]], hosted by [[Vlog Brothers|Hank Green]].

* [[Storm Chasers]]

* [[Storylords]]

* [[Team Umizoomi]]

* [[Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales]] is an early example of this trope, being created in response to the "TV is a vast wasteland" speech.

* [[Unnatural History]] occasionally bases its episodes on history like Sputnik, the Pony Express, and the history of vikings in America. Unfortunately, the line between fact and fiction gets a bit murky (most likely to encourage kids and teens to do some research themselves).

* [[Veggie Tales]]

* [[Wilbur]]

* [[Wild Kratts]]

* [[Wishbone]]

* [[Word Girl]]

* [[Zoom (TV series)|Zoom]]

* [[Zula Patrol]]

 

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{{reflist}}

[[Category:Fiction]]

[[Category:Show Genres]]

[[Category:Index]]