Square One Television: Difference between revisions

[[File:squareone.jpg|framefram[[Category:TV Series]]]

Educational program, from the creators of ''[[Sesame StreetStree[[Category:TV Series]]]'', which originally ran on [[PBS]] from 1987 to 1992. ''Square One'' was a half-hour sketch show which featured music videos, game shows, animations and parodies of other popular television programs designed to teach mathematics to children. Ironically, ''Square One'' was often criticized for being too entertaining. Some people just couldn't believe that it was really possible for something that children actually enjoyed watching to be educational. It is also notable for the large amounts of [[Parental BonusBonu[[Category:TV Series]]] (often coming in the form of [[Shout-Out|shout outsout[[Category:TV Series]]] to the University of Michigan, where many of the creators matriculated). A number of shorts were the earliest projects for [[Doug|Jumbo PicturesPicture[[Category:TV Series]]]

Recurring animated segments featured Mathman (an affectionate parody of [[Pac-ManMa[[Category:TV Series]]] in a Wolverines helmet, who existed to demonstrate common mathematical errors, and who would be eaten by his nemesis, Mr. Glitch, in a truly freaky [[Family-Unfriendly Death]] for getting answers wrong) and Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade (a [[Roger RamjetRamje[[Category:TV Series]]]-like character on the far shallow end of the [[Badass Normal]] scale, who uses his skills in math to help his friends and defeat scam artists). Every episode ended with part of a five-part "Mathnet" story (featuring a supposed "Mathnet" wing of the Los Angeles, and later New York, Police Department, whose members would use their skills in mathematics to solve crimes). "Mathnet" was particularly filled with Parental Bonuses (largely due to it being a parody of ''[[DragnetDragne[[Category:TV Series]]]'') to the extent that collections of each serial were run in prime time on various PBS stations.

* [[20% More AwesomeAwesom[[Category:TV Series]]]: There's a skit with a man singing about how he was giving "Eight Percent of my Love" to his girlfriend, with a breakdown for where the other 92% was going.

* [[Abnormal Ammo|Abnormal WeaponWeapo[[Category:TV Series]]]: The Mathnetters on ''Mathnet'' carry calculators as their primary weapons, instead of handguns.

* [[Affectionate ParodyParod[[Category:TV Series]]]{{context}}

* [[The Bermuda TriangleTriangl[[Category:TV Series]]]: In a "Mathnet" segment titled "The Case of the Bermuda Triangle," Pat and George debunk the Bermuda Triangle myth on television, leading to a case where a sunken boat could prove a man's innocence of treason.

* [[The Butler Did ItI[[Category:TV Series]]]: The outcome of one the ''Mathnet'' cases, with the twist that {{spoiler|the butler was actually the owner of the mansion in disguise.}}

* [[Butt MonkeyMonke[[Category:TV Series]]]: Mr. Beasley is often taken in by various math based scams, but luckily he has next door neighbor Dirk Niblick to expose the fraud and save the day. His other next door neighbor is George Frankly, who repeatedly borrowed and lost his things.

* [[Cliff HangerHange[[Category:TV Series]]]: Generally used at the end of every ''Mathnet'' segment except the final one in a set.

* [[Day of the Week NameNam[[Category:TV Series]]]: Kate Monday, Pat Tuesday.

* [[Droste ImageImag[[Category:TV Series]]]: Used in a sketch to demonstrate the concept of infinity.

* [[Evil GloatingGloatin[[Category:TV Series]]]: Inverted in a ''Mathman'' sequence where Mathman disputes the idea that math is only used in school. Unfortunately, he monologues so long that he neglects the seven-second timer, and gets eaten.

* [[Getting Crap Past the RadarRada[[Category:TV Series]]]: In the music video for "Graph of Love", the intro concerns a group of teenage girls noticing that a friend's relationship must've gotten serious, as there is a "diagram" in her purse.

* [[Early Installment WeirdnessWeirdnes[[Category:TV Series]]]: The original pilot for ''Mathnet'', the shows' most popular segment, was titled "The Problem of the Missing Baseball". It had a different opening title sequence, a different actress playing the head of their computer division, and, among other differences, was exactly like ''Dragnet'', from the setting, to the rapid-changing close-ups during a conversation. It was filmed in one week in August 1985.<ref>Each episode ended with a bumper that said "Mathnet Founded 1985: To Cogitate and to Solve." 1985 represented the year the pilot episode was filmed.</ref> It was also the shortest ''Mathnet'' episode ever, at just under 33 minutes in length. The longest one was "Despair in Monterey Bay", at just under 87 minutes in length.

* [[Educational SongSon[[Category:TV Series]]]{{context}}

* [[Episode Code NumberNumbe[[Category:TV Series]]]: Like most, if not all of CTW's productions, this show displayed its production code at the start of each episode. Each episode had a three-digit code; the first digit represented the season number, and the next two digits represented the episode number.

* [[Every Episode EndingEndin[[Category:TV Series]]]: Each episode of ''Mathnet'' usually ended with George Frankly and Kate Monday (later Pat Tuesday) giving each other a high-five, followed by a picture of the recently-arrested criminal, and a narrator explaining what became of said criminal.

* [[Freeze-Frame BonusBonu[[Category:TV Series]]]: Originally, the end of an episode of ''Mathnet'' showed a freeze-frame of the recently arrested criminal. This was later replaced with the criminal following around a little for the camera as the narrator was explaining what became of said criminal.

* [[Goofy Print UnderwearUnderwea[[Category:TV Series]]]: ''The Trial of George Frankly''.

* [[Hanging JudgeJudg[[Category:TV Series]]]{{context}}

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: In the original Los Angeles-based episodes of ''Mathnet'', the chief, Thad Green, was played by [[James Earl JonesJone[[Category:TV Series]]]. Despite a change in chiefs with the move to New York City, Jones made one appearance via phone in a season 4 episode.

** The ''Mathnet'' segments in particular featured a number of notable cameos from people in the world of music, television and theater. [[Yeardley Smith]], [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], [[Marcia WallaceWallac[[Category:TV Series]]] and [[Dick SargentSargen[[Category:TV Series]]], just to name a few, all appeared.

* [[The Jimmy Hart VersionVersio[[Category:TV Series]]]: An episode of ''Mathnet'' dealt with popular music. Rocker [[Bruce Springsteen|Steve StringbeanStringbea[[Category:TV Series]]] was slated to perform at a parade, but then he was kidnapped by two failed Michigan State Marching Band musicians named Floyd Tyrone and [[John Philip Sousa|John Phillips LousaLous[[Category:TV Series]]]. Stringbean's song, which was also the kidnapper's telephone number was "Please do what these people say", which sounds very similar to Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."

* [[Kaizo Trap]]: Mr. Glitch once ate Mathman ''[[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|during the introductionintroductio[[Category:TV Series]]].''

{{quote|'''Announcer:''' ...and beware the humorless Mr. Glitch... he will... ''[[[BeatBea[[Category:TV Series]]]]'' ...eat you.}}

* [[Laser-Guided KarmaKarm[[Category:TV Series]]]: Mr. Glitch cheated a couple of times, eating Mathman too soon. When Mr. Glitch himself ran the maze, he screwed up quickly, once getting eaten by Mathman's dog.

* [[Latex PerfectionPerfectio[[Category:TV Series]]]: The fake George Frankly in one episode of ''Mathnet'' was revealed to be wearing a latex mask.

* [[Meaningful NameNam[[Category:TV Series]]]: If you can puzzle out what Mrs. I.O. Privacy's first and middle names were, {{spoiler|you'd know that she dood it}}.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: When Pat and George are investigating disappearances from a staged [[Agatha ChristieChristi[[Category:TV Series]]]-like mystery weekend, they check the victims' rooms. George keeps complaining that everyone else has a bigger closet than he. {{spoiler|That's actually a clue.}}

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: In the ''Mathnet'' episode, "The Problem of the Missing Monkey", George makes a reference to the fictional movie star, [[Sylvester Stallone|Sly BalboaBalbo[[Category:TV Series]]].

* [[No Pronunciation GuideGuid[[Category:TV Series]]]: In "The Trial of George Frankly" episode of ''Mathnet'', there's a running gag about the pronunciation of the last name of the two criminals (two brothers) that might be trying to have George framed for a bank robbery.

* [[RatingsRating[[Category:TV Series]]]: Primarily the subject in an episode of ''Mathnet'' called "The Case of the Deceptive Data". Beloved children's programming host, Mike Pliers, lost his show due to poor ratings, which were more in favor of ''The Viscious Vinnie Vermin Show''. But it was later revealed that {{spoiler|the ratings were all a lie, that the people who allegedly watched Vinnie Vermin, were actually fans of Mike Pliers. To make matters worse, the ratings were tampered with by none other than Vinnie Vermin himself, who also was a representative for the Hoover Ratings System named Wellworth Watching.}}

* [[Rear Window WitnessWitnes[[Category:TV Series]]]: ''Mathnet'' used this plot: Kate is housebound with a broken leg and suspects that her neighbor is a mad bomber. Luckily, George believes her (and is significantly more mobile).

* [[Road Sign Reversal]]: This is an important plot point in an episode of ''Mathnet''. George Frankly had two invitations to a mystery weekend at The Qualms, a quaint inn in the woods, where he would essentially be roleplaying as [[Sherlock HolmesHolme[[Category:TV Series]]]. While making their way there, he and partner Pat Tuesday fail to notice that the wind blew the sign in a different direction until later. {{spoiler|The butler informs them that they're not at the inn they thought they were, meaning that the kidnappings they thought were part of the roleplay are in fact real.}}

* [[Scooby-Dooby DoorsDoor[[Category:TV Series]]]: "Ghost of a Chance".

* [[She Who Must Not Be SeenSee[[Category:TV Series]]] - George Frankly's wife Martha, whose favorite recipe is apparently meatloaf.

* [[Shout-OutOu[[Category:TV Series]]]: Many to other shows, as well as to the University of Michigan, the latter not surprising since executive producer David D. Connell and senior producer and head writer Jim Thurman were both UMich graduates.

* [[Show Within a Show]]: Many of the game shows depicted were essentially [[The Jimmy Hart VersionVersio[[Category:TV Series]]] of other popular game shows, given a mathematical twist, such as ''[[Family Feud]]'' ("Piece of the Pie"), ''[[The Hollywood SquaresSquare[[Category:TV Series]]]'' ("Square One Squares"), ''[[The Price Is RightRigh[[Category:TV Series]]]'' ("Close Call"), ''[[Pac-ManMa[[Category:TV Series]]]'' ("Mathman") and others. Ironically, while some of the parodied game shows remained mock parodies, many of them were actual mini-game shows in their own right, using actual child contestants and even awarding small prizes with the show's branding.

* [[Spiritual SuccessorSuccesso[[Category:TV Series]]]: ''Numb3rs'', much like ''Mathnet'', has detectives using mathematics to solve crimes.

* [[Steal the SurroundingsSurrounding[[Category:TV Series]]]: In the first story arc of '''''Mathnet''''' a woman's house is stolen in order to find some gold bricks which had been hidden in the house. {{spoiler|The house was stolen by XY-313, one of the few helicopters that could steal one. The chopper was piloted by a man named Clarance Sampson ([[I Have Many Names|alias Charles Sampson, alias Carl Sampson, alias William Howard Taft Sampson)]], because the house belonged to an accompliance of his, and he needed the gold that was in there.}}

* [[Suspiciously Similar SubstituteSubstitut[[Category:TV Series]]]: When Kate Monday left, Pat Tuesday replaced her.

* [[Written in InfirmityInfirmit[[Category:TV Series]]]: The likely reason Kate Monday is holed up in the "Mathnet" episode "The View from the Rear Terrace".

''100 percent of this page was a production of [[TV TropesTrope[[Category:TV Series]]].''

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