Transformations & Newsletters

• Episode 1689 - Everybody's Special
• Episode 1690 - Everybody's Special
• Episode 1696 - Transformations
• Episode 1697 - Transformations
• Around the Neighborhood: Puppet Voices
• Around the Neighborhood (10 issues)
• PBS Broadcast Schedules
• Episode 1698 - Transformations
• Episode 1699 - Transformations
• Episode 1700 - Transformations
• Episode 1701 - Helping
• Episode 1702 - Helping

Transformations: Take 2

If you did not take a look at the details from Episode 1696, it's one that might be worth your while. While there are many times throughout the run of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood when the average individual would have cut the take and refilmed a segment, Fred Rogers often left minor imperfections alone. Episode 1696, however, is a different story.

The original version of this episode from the Transformations series included a segment where Mr. McFeely delivers a laser pointer on behalf of a friend. He and Mister Rogers show how the laser works and point it in different spots around the house. Apparently, parental opposition was soon to follow as concerns with the safety of using such laser pointers became somewhat of a national concern. In response, Fred Rogers refilmed the segments of this episode from inside the house to include the delivery of a toy ball. Take a look at the Episode 1696 description for screenshots and details about both versions.

Craigslist Jackpot

This past weekend, my wife and I were cleaning out some junk from around our house. Looking to pass these "treasures" on to others who may want them, we listed several things for sale on the Craigslist site for our area. As I was listing an item, a familiar name caught my eye in someone else's listing. This seller was looking to get rid of her 3rd edition copy of the Plan & Play Book for a mere four dollars. I already had a copy of this edition but it was the folder underneath the book in her picture that I was interested in. In addition to the book itself, the open folder showed a copy of an old issue of Around the Neighborhood -- a newsletter published by FCI and geared towards those working in child care fields.

I figured taking a look at the newsletter and whatever else was in there was worth four bucks so I went and picked this stuff up. Much to my surprise, the woman I bought this from had been a subscriber and the folder containted not one but ten issues of Around the Neighborhood! Additionally, there were several programming schedules from the early 1990's as a postcard and four issues of a different Mister Rogers-based publication called Neighbors in Child Care.

The issues of Around the Neighborhood have been scanned and posted on the Archive site as have the programming schedules. I'm working on scanning the issues of Neighbors in Child Care and will hopefully be sharing those soon as well. It's hard to believe that this is all twenty years old!

By the way, if anyone is interested in a copy of the Plan & Play Book (3rd Edition), let me know. I've got an extra copy I'd be glad to send you for a few bucks plus the cost of shipping.