The Big Comfy Couch
The Big Comfy Couch is a Canadian preschool television series about Loonette and her doll Molly who solve everyday problems on their Big Comfy Couch. It aired from March 2, 1992 until December 29, 2006. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and Robert Mills, directed by Wayne Moss, Robert Mills and Steve Wright. It premiered on March 2, 1992 in Canada and on January 9, 1995 in the United States on PBS stations across the country. The program was broadcast on Treehouse TV from 1997 to 2006, and rerun episodes from 2007 to 2011, as seen in its list of programs.
Synopsis
Each episode contains numerous standard elements that take place throughout the episode. Early in each show, Loonette performs an exercise routine she calls the Clock Rug Stretch, which occasionally has a different variation. Other oft-repeated elements include reading a story to Molly, who sometimes either chooses a story to hear, gives Loonette a book and oversized glasses, or turning on the lights for Loonette; encounters with the dust bunnies who live under the couch; visits to different places in Clowntown, songs that emphasize the episode's lessons or themes, and a trip to Granny Garbanzo's garden and house. Here she encounters Snicklefritz, Granny's cat; Major Bedhead, the local mail-delivery clown, who travels on a unicycle; and of course, Granny herself. The conversation with Granny is often used as the episode's teachable moment, where Granny offers Loonette advice or lessons, often with the help of Major Bedhead, who delivers gifts and messages from Auntie Macassar or Uncle Chester. Towards the end of each show, Loonette finds her belongings cluttered on the floor and loudly wonders, "HEY! WHO MADE THIS BIG MESS?!?", the camera would then zoom in on either Loonette or Molly in which she asks it was either her or Molly then the camera would quickly pan up and down as a way of saying yes, then Loonette explains it's only fair for them to clean it up, and she performs a fastest clean-up routine called the Ten Second Tidy. All episodes end with Loonette and Molly having a nap and sometimes reminding the viewers to remember the rules on today's episode. After Loonette and Molly go to sleep, a large cresent moon with a clown nose rises above the starry background behind the couch and the credits then roll over a lullaby version of the theme song, ending with Loonette doing a short role-play of Hey Diddle Diddle saying "And the clown jumped over the moon!" before the ending logos are shown ending the episode. In the episode, "Gesundheit", Loonette says, "AH, AH, AH-CHOO!" And in the episode, "Hiccups", Loonette says, "And the clown－hiccup!－over the moon!"In season 7, Loonette and Molly play the Dream Game and Molly gives out the letter that the dream starts with and provide what they will be dreaming about. In season 6, Loonette and Molly go to Doll School where Molly learns the alphabet as well as numbers. A similar element used in seasons 1–3 is the Alphabet Game, where a certain letter is shown on a giant alphabet block and Loonette uses certain words beginning with that letter and also makes the letter's shape with her body to get the viewers to guess the letter.
Along with the lessons and problem solving sequences, the show also emphasized imaginative play. These episodes often take place in the context of a visit to Clowntown, such as Granny Garbanzo's Cabbage Club Cooking School and Major Bedhead's Clown Chi Dojo and Dancing School. Additionally, Loonette is gifted in the art of classical dance and runs Miss Loonette's Dance Academy. From Seasons 1 to 6, Loonette was too young to visit Clowntown alone, but in Season 7, she makes frequent trips to Clowntown, and volunteers at the Clowndergarten, where she teaches young clowns games, songs and stories. This imaginative play was also demonstrated through dress-up games and through Loonette's dollhouse, in which she imagined the adventures of The Foley Family. Shown first as a doll-sized family, in Loonette's imagination they would become a family of regular-sized clowns, whose actions were shown in high speed and with a musical background in the style of old silent movies. The Foleys do not speak. Early in the first season, Molly had discovered the Dust Bunnies. However, Loonette didn't believe that there were dust bunnies under the couch.
The two lounge around the couch all day, with the exception of the Clock Rug Stretch and daily adventure, sometimes involving Granny or Major Bedhead, a postal service employee who also plays bit parts. Each day includes a few songs and a story ; and is ended with the Ten Second Tidy and a nice nap. The end credits roll as a clown moon rises into the starry background above the couch ending with Loonette and Molly jumping over it.
Production
The show was originally produced by Radical Sheep Productions with Owl Television, then Canadian children's television network YTV and WITF-TV Harrisburg, with a run of 65 episodes. In 2000, the previous episodes were produced with Benny Smart, an US children's television production company, Tadpole Kids and Treehouse TV, a sister channel of YTV, and Nashville Public Television. At the end of this show, a companion guide appears for the viewers to learn about it.From 1992 to 2002, the show was filmed at Wallace Avenue Studios in Toronto, and in 2006, it was filmed at Toronto's Studio City.
Radical Sheep Productions and Amity Entertainment, in association with Treehouse TV and Nashville Public Television, produced 22 additional episodes, which debuted on American Public Television in 2006.
Characters
Loonette
Loonette is the freckled-faced female lead of the series, portrayed by Alyson Court from 1992 to 2002 and Ramona Gilmour-Darling in 2006. She is a young clown living with her doll, Molly, in their house, on the eponymous Big Comfy Couch, an oversized green floral couch. She wears a red jumper and a white shirt with suns and moons with purple sleeves. She also wears a purple hat on her head with her pigtails coming out and wears black and white striped tights with black shoes adorned with suns on each side.She frequently reads stories to Molly, always performs a Clock Rug Stretch, and likes to visit Granny Garbanzo. Auntie Macassar or Uncle Chester frequently send Loonette postcards which Major Bedhead delivers on his unicycle. Her parents are never seen or mentioned although it was implied in “Where Do Clowns Come From?” that she was adopted by Granny, Auntie Macassar, and Uncle Chester after the event of the “Secret Circus” and Fool Moon. Loonette is gifted in the art of classical dance and runs Miss Loonette's Dance Academy. Another gift she possesses is the unusual skill to clean just about any mess up in ten seconds, which she calls the Ten Second Tidy. She frequently used the word "pickle juice" when she is upset about situations in a few episodes.
Initially, Loonette was bossy and stubborn, even when Molly disliked it, and she was too young to visit Clowntown, but starting from 2006, Loonette makes frequent trips to Clowntown to visit Granny's Cabbage Club Cooking School and Major Bedhead's Clown Chi Dojo and Dancing School. The trips to the first location help teach Loonette how to cook. The trips to this second location indicate that she practices martial arts. Loonette also takes Molly to Clowndergarten and helps out with the other young clowns. This third location is similar to kindergarten.
Molly
Molly, the sidekick of the series, is Loonette's living doll. Loonette found her in a barrel with a sign marked "Free to a good home", and adopted her. She is puppeteered by Bob Stutt.Molly wears a blue dress. She believes that dust bunnies really exist, despite Loonette's disbelief. Her favorite food is donuts. She only speaks by cartoon bubbles, and usually answers Loonette's yes or no questions by either nodding or shaking her head.
Additional characters
- Fuzzy and Wuzzy : they are the twin dust bunnies who live under the Big Comfy Couch. Only Molly is aware of their existence, and she always does her best to protect them so she can play with them.
- The Foley Family Andy, Jim, and Eileen, Suzanne Merriam : A very silly family who live inside of Loonette's dollhouse. They appeared from Seasons 1-5.
- Granny Garbanzo Loonette's adoptive grandmother and next-door neighbor who loves her and Molly. She comes from the "old country" and has a foreign Russian accent. Granny also likes growing in her garden and she lives inside a wagon with Snicklefritz, her cat. Her name is derived from the garbanzo bean.
- Snicklefritz : Granny's cat, who was introduced in Season 2. Likes to play pranks on the others and sometimes tries to get out of getting flea-baths. The name ' comes from .
- Major Bedhead : The local clown courier who makes deliveries to Loonette from Auntie Macassar or Uncle Chester. He can be quite goofy at times and a bit clumsy. He also hates lying and being dishonest.
- Auntie Macassar : Loonette’s travelling aunt who likes to make an entrance whenever she visits. She appears in Seasons 1–5. Her name is a pun on antimacassar.
- Wobbly : A close friend who lives in Clowntown. Appears in two episodes in Season 2.
- Uncle Chester''' : Loonette's travelling uncle who appears in the show's last two seasons.
Reruns and other original channels
Merchandise
Throughout the years, several merchandise has been sold under the show's banner such as videotapes, DVDs, books, dolls, toys and puzzles.Series
Season 1 (1992)
Season 2 (1993)
A large painting of someone is now hanging on Loonette's wall to the upper right next to the couch and a fence and garden wall to Granny's garden is added. All Dance Academy shows are announced by Fred Stinson. Snicklefritz also debuts in this season.Season 3 (1994)
The intro changes starting this season, and now features Snicklefritz and Auntie Macassar. Auntie Macassar now speaks in the postcards sent to Loonette. The Clock Rug gets a new redesign with darker colors, a new font for the numbers. The cuckoo theme for the Clock Rug is no longer used. Instead of this, a new clock rug stretch theme is added. Also, Granny's garden is redesigned with brighter green grass.Season 4 (1995)
Season 5 (1996)
This was the final season of The Foley Family Gags, Dust Bunny Comedy, Miss Loonette's Dance Academy, The Alphabet Game, Auntie Macassar and the ending music theme. This was also the final season that the stories Loonette read were illustrated. The 3rd Clock Rug theme is no longer used.Season 6 (2002)
The intro changes again with children's vocals re-recorded. This was the final season of Alyson Court role of Loonette. The couch is redesigned and Uncle Chester now sends the postcards to Loonette. The dustbunny music and the ending music have been changed in this season as well. Each episode features Molly attending Doll School with Loonette accompanying her. The stories that Loonette reads are now in live action which introduces a city for clowns called Clowntown. Even though the Foley Family segments were discontinued in this season, the dollhouse was still seen on the set next to the couch.Season 7 (2006)
Ramona Gilmour-Darling replaces Alyson Court in the role of Loonette. The Clock Rug is now smaller with darker colors. Also in this season, Loonette and Molly visit places in Clowntown. Additionally, while Molly and Loonette are sleeping at the end of each episode prior to the credits, they play the dream game, dreaming about letters of the alphabet and what starts with that letter. The dollhouse was removed. In addition, this season featured the fewest episodes with Loonette reading Molly a story.Note: This list needs to be updated.
- 701 – Apple Of My Eye - In the season 7 premiere, Loonette and Major Bedhead learn that healthy foods are important. At the Cabbage Club Cooking School, Loonette, Molly and Granny make Apple Schmapple Fruit Blaster Muffins.
- 702 – Dat's Da Law! - Loonette learns about the rules and laws. At the Dojo, Major Bedhead and Granny do the tango, but Loonette wants to do it too.
- 703 – Fibberish Gibberish - Loonette tells a tall tale to Molly which angers her. Snicklefritz thinks he's a dog. At the Cabbage Club Cooking School, Loonette and Granny really blend things up by reminding themselves, you are what you eat.
- 704 – Slow Down, Clown! - Loonette is in a super hyper mood and is doing things quickly. At the Dojo, Major Bedhead teaches Loonette how to juggle and that it's important to take things slowly at first.
- 705 – Floppy! - Loonette and Molly learn that too much junkies, such as donuts, is not good for you. At Granny's Cooking School, Granny shows Major Bedhead and Loonette how to make a healthy snack and that healthy food is good for you.
- 706 – Clown With A Frown - Loonette is in a bad mood. It's a rainy day in Clowntown then it clears up which makes Loonette feel better. She also learns that eating too many sweets, can lead to a mood swing.
- 707 – Rub-A-Dub - Loonette has trouble doing two things at the same time. Granny cleans up her garden. At the Dojo, Major Bedhead and Loonette do exercises.
- 708 – Upside Down Clown - Molly plays with an upside down doll. At the Cabbage Club Cooking School, Loonette and Granny make an Upside Down Cake.
- 709 – The Clown Promise - Loonette promises to wiggle and giggle and make mirth on Earth. At the Dojo, Loonette, Major Bedhead and Molly dance.
- 710 – Lost And Found Clowns - Molly tries to find her doll Bloomette. At the Cabbage Club Cooking School, Loonette and Granny make an Upside Down Clown Surprise.
- 711 – Phony Baloney - Loonette learns that telling the truth is the noble thing to do. At the Dojo, Loonette and Major Bedhead do relaxing and calm exercises.
- 712 – Ready, Steady, Go! - Uncle Chester brings Bon Bons over to the garden, and eventually teaches everyone that while candy is tasty, it's important to have a good diet and include other foods like vegetables in your diet. At the Dojo, Loonette balances on a balance beam.
- 713 – Happy Mirthday, Granny! - Molly and Loonette try to keep a secret for Granny's mirthday.
- 714 – Popcorn-Y - Molly is in a popping mood and can't stop popping. Popcorn flies all over Granny's garden. At the Dojo, Loonette learns how to juggle.
- 715 – Peek-A-Boo! - It's Molly's first time at Clowndergarten and is shy of meeting all the other little clowns.
- 716 – Ouch! - Major Bedhead broke his foot by slipping on a banana peel and summarizes what happened at the Clowntown Hospital. He gets a wheelchair to sit in. At Clowndergarten, the little clowns play pin the tail on the bunny, play ball, have a snack, have Loonette read a story and play hot and cold as they depart.
- 717 – Big Blow Hard - Loonette and Molly are on their boat they made known as The Big Comfy Ship and they are pretending to look for treasure. At Clowndergarden, the clowns play with bubbles. A huge wind storm known as the Big Blow Hard hits Clowntown. Everyone goes into Granny's house for shelter from the storm.
- 718 – Shh, Shh, Shh, Quiet! - Loonette learns to use inside and outside voices. At Clowndergarden, the clowns play the opposite game, pretend to have a baby in their hands to use quiet and loud, play follow the leader, dance, color and have Loonette read a story.
- 719 – Freeze, Please! - Molly is in a wiggly mood and learns to stay put. At Clowndergarden, the clowns play the freeze game, listen nicely to Loonette reading a story and have a puppet show.
- 720 – Clown In The Round - At Clowndergarden, Loonette and the clowns play with the clock rug parachute, play the beehive game, play dress up, do the clock rug stretch and watch a puppet show.
- 721 – Molly's Bellybutton - Molly's bellybutton is dangling down. At Clowndergarden, the clowns play Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, play with the clock rug parachute, play with hula hoops and have a parade with costumes.
- 722 – Just Purrfect - In the series finale, Loonette pretends to be a cat. At Clowndergarden, the clowns play kitty cat.
Media
DVD releases
The Big Comfy Couch has five DVDs featuring Ramona Gilmour-Darling. The DVDs and VHS tapes that feature Alyson Court are now out of print, but can be found on certain websites such as Amazon.com.On July 30, 2013, TGG Direct released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Seasons 3-7 were released on August 6, 2013.
Album releases
Several albums of the original songs written by JP Houston and performed by the cast were released on August 9, 2005 by Time-Life, as well as Naxos Music.App Releases
In 2015 and 2016, Radical Sheep, in association with Sticky Brain Studios, released some apps based on the series.- Just Ask Molly- Released April 1, 2015, this app allows the player to ask Molly any question, and she can communicate to the player via her thought bubbles.
- Fuzzy Wuzzy Fun- Released April 1, 2015, this app features the dust bunnies Fuzzy and Wuzzy playing hide and seek. The objective for the player is to help them find each other by navigating through paths.
- Clock Rug Time- Released May 18, 2015, this app features Loonette and her clock rug stretch routine. Loonette can set the time for the player in both analog and digital. This app can also be used as an alarm clock. The app can also display the weather and temperature based on location.
- Molly's Big Day- Released May 17, 2016, this app focuses on Molly and her big first day in Clowndergarten with the use of activities for the player.
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Tours
The Big Comfy Couch has had a few live shows at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton, Alberta and sometimes in Calgary and rarely in Regina, Saskatchewan.Loonette and Molly Live Theatrical Tour
In 2007, a live theatrical production entitled Molly's Fool Moon Festival toured in Canada. The show included Loonette, Molly, Granny Garbanzo, Major Bedhead and others.The show was produced by Koba Entertainment and presented by Paquin Entertainment Group.