Pinwheel - Nick Knacks Episode

This is where it all started. Pinwheel, QUBE's popular puppet show that became Nickelodeon first flagship program. Join Jake, Ebeneezer T. Squint, Plus and Minus and the rest of the gang as they sing some songs, sing some songs, sing some more songs... for a while there it was just songs.
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[@thunderlina3237]

I talked about Pinwheel a little bit during a school presentation on lost media and, it turns out, my teacher watched it as a kid. The minute she saw the picture of Jake, Aurelia, Ebenezer, Plus, and Minus, she lit up with nostalgia and even began humming the theme song. Made my day 😊

[@vgtrp]

I think Nickelodeon can put Pinwheel on DVD if they wanted to. The could just edit out the animated shorts and any part that introduced them. But I think the reason they won't is probably because that Nick wants to pretend that era of the channel never existed.

[@Ronnie06spartan]

Crazy how the show gets almost no love or references from Nick, especially considering that this is the original flagship show that started it all

[@Listersmate2]

Pinwheel was the foundation of Nickelodeon, You Can't Do That On Television & Double Dare was what Nickelodeon was built on.....it's slowly been crumbling since the 1990's.

[@jwilliams7554]

Back in the day, pinwheel was that show you kept on to keep you relaxed while you were at home sick.

[@nemalki]

I think this is the first time I've seen somebody look back at Pinwheel with respect and a bit of reverence, even though, like you said, there aren't many episodes out there in the ether. This oral history of Nickelodeon you've started is fast becoming something this TV historian is looking forward to watching. I knew

[@AccipiterSmith]

If Nick had the audacity to look back into the network's roots back then there will be a chance that Pinwheel would have a revival as a Sesame Street-like kids show for Nick Jr back in the late 90s or early 2000s.

[@beejay271]

I'm going to show my age... I grew up watching Pinwheel, Today's Special, Danger Mouse (I still watch Danger Mouse 😁) and You can't do that on television. I miss the good old days🥺

[@daelen.cclark]

As unfortunate as it is to paraphrase Doug Walker, he was the first I heard to describe Nickelodeon as like the mood swings of children as a network. Bouncing between calm and energetic with nostalgic fondness throughout.

[@impalaman9707]

Even as a child, Pinwheel was the first kids show I never understood. Having been weened on Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, I thought all shows with puppets had to have a purpose, Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be educational? Is it supposed to teach me a moral lesson? Pinwheel did none of that! It was like Seinfeld for kids! It was a "puppet show about nothing". Actually, it did have a purpose: It put me to sleep!

[@weirdotzero7065]

"I don't mind mines. Their like the ninjas of clowns"

[@kameronbiggs5495]

French Narrator: 24 songs later...

[@sliders1]

Wow, I never realized how raw Pinwheel started out as. Definitely had that public access vibe going on.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

If anything, Pinwheel was the victim of being obscured due to cable TV still being in its infancy and VCR's were still very new and an expensive commodity in the home. Had I knew better, I would've begged my mom to tape every episode that came on during those years I saw it. I just never knew.

[@qmighty54]

That was excellent. I feel nostalgic for a show I never even heard about before today.

[@Skinnymojo]

I watched the ever-loving shit out of this show, even well beyond the age it had been aiming for. Some of the foreign cartoons were surreal as hell, and fun to watch.

[@PositionLight]

When I was in daycare back in the early 80's (consisting of little more than a local women's house), just about the only thing I remember was watching Pinwheel. This sort of became one of the first myths of my childhood because at home and at my family's homes they didn't have cable so there was just the PBS kids shows. Because I couldn't readily watch Pinwheel it's perceived quality grew in my mind. Was only after I watched some on KZbin did I realize just how low budget it was. Strange what can affect one as a child.

[@youngstownassault2438]

As a kiddo I loved Pinwheel. I cannot forget the kinda-scary yet comforting production values of shows like this and The Letter People. It is something I will never be able to forget. Its amazing that people made all the sets and puppets w their hands. It had a charm to it. Modern computer generated stuff just does not have that kind of charm.

[@MissAshley42]

"Mesmerizing" is a perfect word to describe Pinwheel.

[@kelly3014]

My first memories of a TV show was Pinwheel. I was born in 82’, so maybe I remember it from syndication? I remember the pinwheel spinning and the house.