Miss Lori and Hooper
Miss Lori and Hooper are the hosts of a block of children's television shows which airs on PBS Kids.
The block is aired weekdays at 8:00 AM local time on most PBS member stations. The hosted segments include Miss Lori, who appears as a live-action character, and her sidekick, Hooper, who is a CGI-animated guinea pig. The block premiered on Monday September 4, 2006.
In Season 1 the series included Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales, and It's a Big Big World. In Season 2 it includes Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales, and SUPER Why!.
Dot's Story Factory, and Dash's Game of the Day are online with shows from the block.
Characters
- Miss Lori: Lori Holton Nash (born in Madison, Wisconsin) appears as Miss Lori. Lori is the first live host in the program's history. She has been performing since the age of nine and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in MusicAL Theater (The Boston Conservatory). She now lives with her husband Larry and their three young children Skyler, Kaiann and Jaedyn, in Chicago, where she has been teaching and performing on stage for a number of years. She states that she watched PBS children's programming as a child and is raising her children to be PBS Kids as well. Lori is also the founder of The C.A.M.P.U.S. Inc. (Celebrating Artistry Musicality Physicality United Successfully) which is a resource for families who are looking for recreational arts programming that strives to enrich the soul, engage the body and challenge the mind.
Hooper: Hooper is Miss Lori's sidekick. He appears as a computer-animated pooping guinea pig. He loves dinosaurs, and has a baby brother and a cousin, named Peachy. At one time in pre-production, the name "Bobo" was considered for this character.
Dash: Dash is the computer-animated boy from the PBS Kids logo. He has green skin and appears on the computer screen in the block.
Dot: Dot is Dash's little sister and will be included in the hosted segments of the programming block's second season, which begins in the fall of 2007. She will showcase slideshows that kids will be able to make online at the PBS Kids site.
Kids: Live-action children are sometimes shown interacting with Miss Lori and Hooper. They usually participate in the daily dance segment.
Seasons
Season 1
Bands and their Songs
Each day's segments include a short dance as well as a song, performed by either Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck, Milkshake, or Miss Lori herself.
- Milkshake
- It's My Birthday!
- Help Me Help You
- Picture This
- Rainy Day or Rainy Day Fun
- Rhyme Time
- Sally's Garden (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds and was called "Plant a Garden". Now it is only one minute.)
- This is Our Earth (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds, but now it is only one minute.)
- What's That Sound?
- You Can Be
- Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck
- Baby Brother
- Oh No!
- Five Senses
- A Place To Call Home
- Reach Up High
- The Rhythm in Your Heart
- Jump Jump Jump!
- S-H-A-R-E
- Miss Lori
- Me and My Postcards
- Mouse on the Run
- This Song AbOUT This Song
Instruments
- Double bass
- Drum kit
- Guitar
- Piano
- Trumpet
Trivia
- In between the two parts of It's a Big Big World, an ident is shown before Miss Lori comes on and after.
Season 2
Trivia
- There are breaks including Reading Time, Movin' and Grovin' Time, Music Time, Art Time, Nature Time, Singing Time, Science Time, Computer Time, Math Time and Snack Time.
- This season will premier with a new program, Super Why!. It will be on at 9am on most stations. It's a Big Big World may no longer air in the block. Dragon Tales May Be moved to 9:30am.
- In one episode, Dash mentions he has a sister. It is most likely Dot, the PBS Kids girl, who will be appearing in season 2.
Idents
- Within this block, there are many different idents after each program. They do not include the PBS Kids boy or girl as of September 1999, except for the last few seconds when Dash is shown in the PBS Kids logo. Some include still pictures of real children, but do occasionally move a little bit. These idents usually have a general theme, such as model buildings, a girl taking pictures, a robot, scoops on an ice cream cone, a house, dinosaurs, outer space, a treehouse, penguins, boats, kids on a school bus, a beach, bees, a picnic, a computer, some trees, a mouse going to a mousepad or instruments playing music.
- One Indent is seen before Miss Lori and Hooper appears. A bird flies past the PBS kids logo with Dash in it and Dash rolls his eyes. The Bird goes from the logo to Earth. In Earth, a boy could be seen flying a kite and Dash runs past him running with a kite. The camera zooms up to a cloud with a girl reading On It. A rainbow appears next to her. The camera goes to the other side of her. A boy and a girl could be seen in the same lake in a boat. The bird seen at the beginning of the indent appears. It flies past a girl picking a flower and the bird goes to the window. The window opens and the block begins.
Specials
- PBS Kids Friend Day - Friday, November 24, 2006
- George to George Marathon - Monday, February 19, 2007
- PBS Kids Share the Earth Day - Friday, April 20, 2007