{{Short description|1995 children's television series}} {{other uses|Wishbone (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox television | image = Wishbone logo.png | caption = | genre = {{Plainlist| * Children's fantasy * Comedy * Education }} | runtime = 30 minutes | creator = Rick Duffield | starring = {{Plainlist| * Soccer the Dog * Jordan Wall * Adam Springfield * Christie Abbott * Mary Chris Wall * Angee Hughes * Julio Cedillo * Mikaila Enriquez * Paul English, Jr. }} | voices = Larry Brantley | location = {{Plainlist| * Plano, Texas * Allen, Texas<ref name="Frankenbone">{{Cite episode |title=Frankenbone |series=Wishbone |access-date=2016-01-24 |season=1 |number=17 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC0krPFPoE8 |time=26:40 |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022005336/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC0krPFPoE8&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref> }} | country = United States | language = English | network = PBS | company = Big Feats! Entertainment<ref name="Frankenbone" /> | first_aired = {{Start date|1995|10|8}} | last_aired = {{End date|1997|12|7}} | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = 50 | list_episodes = List of Wishbone episodes | executive_producer = Rick Duffield | related = ''Wishbone's Dog Days of the West'' | open_theme = "What's the Story, Wishbone?"<ref name="Frankenbone" /> | end_theme = "What's the Story, Wishbone?" (instrumental) | theme_music_composer = {{ubl|Tim Cissell (music and lyrics)|Lynn Adler (lyrics)<ref name="Frankenbone" />}} | composer = Tom Merriman }} '''''Wishbone''''' is an American live-action children's television series that aired from 1995 to 1997 and originally broadcast on PBS. It is about a Jack Russell Terrier dog named Wishbone who daydreams about being the lead character of stories from classic literature.
The show was produced by Big Feats! Entertainment, a division of Lyrick Studios, which also produced ''Barney & Friends'' for PBS. Unlike ''Barney'', ''Wishbone'' was targeted towards an older demographic ages 6 to 11.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1995-12-08 |title='Wishbone' Introduces Kids to the Classics |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/08/wishbone-introduces-kids-to-the-classics/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Chicago Tribune |agency=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref> The adapted stories were notable for staying faithful to the source material, and not toning down their subject matter like murder, execution, suicide, and the effects of slavery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rubino |first=Stef |date=2022-07-16 |title=There Will Never Be Another Wishbone |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/there-will-never-be-another-wishbone/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123155318/https://www.autostraddle.com/there-will-never-be-another-wishbone/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
Though the series was meant for children, thousands of letters were received from college students and parents saying how much they enjoyed the show.<ref name="topdog">{{Cite web |title=Top Dog: An Oral History of 'Wishbone' |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/wishbone-oral-history/ |website=Texas Monthly |first1=Christian |last1=Wallace |first2=Cat |last2=Cardenas |date=October 2020 |access-date=October 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920020923/https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/wishbone-oral-history/ |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Premise== A standard episode of ''Wishbone'' consists of an opening scene, introducing a contemporary plot in Wishbone's hometown of Oakdale. Something about the situation reminds Wishbone of a famous work of literature, which he introduces to the viewer. The episode then cuts between an adaptation of that work, usually with Wishbone portraying the main character, and the contemporary plot. Occasionally, Wishbone will play a secondary character if the lead role is female (in ''Joan of Arc'', he plays Louis de Conte) or difficult to relate to (he plays Sancho Panza in ''Don Quixote''). The development of the contemporary plot parallels that of the literary work, particularly in their dénouements.
The last two minutes of nearly every episode are a behind-the-scenes featurette titled "Tail Ends", narrated by Wishbone and focusing on a production department whose work was particularly prominent in the episode, such as lighting for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" or make-up for ''Frankenstein''.
==Episodes== {{Main|List of Wishbone episodes}}
==Cast== * Soccer the Dog as Wishbone (Larry Brantley as the voice of Wishbone) * Jordan Wall as Joseph "Joe" Talbot, Wishbone's young owner * Christie Abbott as Samantha "Sam" Kepler, one of Joe's best friends * Adam Springfield as David Barnes, one of Joe's best friends * Mary Chris Wall as Ellen Talbot, Joe's widowed mother * Angee Hughes as Wanda Gilmore, the Talbots' eccentric neighbor * Joe Duffield as Damont Jones, a school bully * Jarrad Kritzstein as Jimmy Kidd (season 2), Damont's obnoxious younger cousin * Julio Cedillo as Travis del Río (season 2), the owner of the local sporting goods store * Mikaila Enriquez as Melina Finch (season 2), Travis' niece * Paul English, Jr. as Marcus Finch (season 2), Travis' nephew
===Recurring cast=== * Bob Reed as Walter Kepler, Sam's father and the owner of the local pizza parlor * Alex Morris as Nathaniel "Nathan" Barnes, David's father * Maria Arita as Ruth Vincent Barnes, David's mother * Jazmine McGill as Emily Barnes (season 1), David's rambunctious younger sister * Brittany Holmes as Emily Barnes (season 2) * Rick Perkins as Bob Pruitt (season 1), the kids' English teacher and later Wanda's boyfriend * Justin Reese as Nathanael Bobolesky (season 1), a nerdy classmate * Elena Hurst as Amanda Hollings (season 1), Sam's nemesis * Taylor Pope as Curtis (season 1), Damont's sidekick * Codie Elaine Oliver as Robin, another friend of Joe's * John S. Davies as Mr. King, an obnoxious businessman * Adan Sanchez as Dan Bloodgood (season 2), the mail carrier
===The Wishbone Players=== {{columns-list| * Amy Acker (season 2) * Brent Anderson * Jonathan Brent * Sharon Bunn * Christopher Carlos * Chamblee Ferguson * Shea Fowler * Sonny Franks (season 1) * Lisa-Gabrielle Greene (season 1) * Dee Hennigan * Sean Hennigan * Billy Eugene Jones * Lynn Mathis * Randy Moore (season 1) * Joe Nemmers * Kevin Page * Jenny Pichanick * Jeanne Simpson (season 1) * Cliff Stephens * Matt Tompkins * Jenni Tooley (season 2) * Sally Nystuen Vahle }}
===Notable guest cast=== * Jensen Ackles as Michael Dunn, Ellen's protégé ("¡Viva Wishbone!") * Melissa Archer as Sarah Johnson, a classmate on whom David has a crush ("A Bone of Contention") * Shelley Duvall as Renee Lassiter, a sculptor ("Groomed for Greatness") * Irma P. Hall as Dr. Thelma Brown, a former Oakdale resident ("Digging Up the Past") * Jerry Haynes as Hubert Lassiter, a kind man who rescues a lost Wishbone ("Golden Retrieved") * Daryl Johnston as himself, a former football player ("Moonbone") * Cody Linley as Andrew, one of Ichabod Crane's students in Wishbone's telling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" ("Halloween Hound, Part 1") * Marco Perella as Seymour LaVista, a TV commercial producer ("Rushin' to the Bone")
==Production==
===Development=== ''Wishbone'' was conceived by Rick Duffield after brainstorming with his staff about "making a show for kids that was told from a dog's point of view".<ref name="new-yorker">{{cite magazine |author=Eskin, Blake |date=2009-10-21 |title=The Exchange: Rick Duffield |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-exchange-rick-duffield |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=2018-08-08}}</ref> Following several iterations of this idea, including one in which the dog loved music and another in which he brought good luck (hence the name Wishbone), Duffield hit on the idea of Wishbone imagining himself as heroic figures from literature.<ref name="topdog" /> His eventual goal was "an entertaining way for kids to get their first taste of great books".<ref name="on set with wishbone">{{cite news |url=http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php/2013_02024 |title=On Set with Wishbone – Interview with "Wishbone" Executive Producer Rick Duffield |work=Entertainment Tonight (archived on The Texas Archive of the Moving Image) |date=1995 |access-date=2018-08-09}}</ref>
Humorist Mo Rocca was a writer on the series in 1995. In his 2016 commencement speech at Sarah Lawrence College, Rocca described the experience as "storytelling boot camp," noting that the job required adapting classic literature into half-hour episodes with a dog in the lead role.<ref name="mentalfloss">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/83425/10-classic-facts-about-wishbone |title=11 Classic Facts About Wishbone |website=Mental Floss |date=July 16, 2020 |access-date=2025-12-15}}</ref>
===Casting=== In the summer of 1993, Duffield spent three days casting for the dog star at a motel courtyard in Valencia, California, looking at between 100 and 150 dogs.<ref name="on set with wishbone" /> After filming a seven-minute pilot which captured Wishbone's character and suggested the show's format, he presented it to PBS.
Larry Brantley, the voice of Wishbone, was cast following "a five-minute impromptu audition" in which he imagined Wishbone's thoughts as Soccer "was obsessing, like, over this tennis ball".<ref name="larry-brantley">{{cite news |url=http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php?title=2013_02025 |title= On set with Wishbone – Interview with Larry Brantley, the Voice of Wishbone |work=Entertainment Tonight (archived on The Texas Archive of the Moving Image) |date=1995 |access-date=2018-08-09}}</ref>
For the literary scenes, the producers created a repertory company of local stage actors, dubbed The Wishbone Players.<ref name="topdog"/>
===Filming=== ''Wishbone''{{'}}s exterior shots were filmed on the backlot of Lyrick Studios' division Big Feats! Entertainment<ref name="Frankenbone" /> in Allen, Texas, and its interior shots were filmed on a sound stage in a {{convert|50000|ft2|adj=on}} warehouse in Plano, Texas. Additional scenes were filmed in Grapevine, Texas.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Duffield told ''Entertainment Tonight'', <blockquote>Keeping up with the variety in the series is the biggest challenge. Because Wishbone is the central figure of each show and plays an integral role in the contemporary story and the literary story, he's in almost every scene. So he has a lot to do and designing scenes that can work with a dog, with period actors and period sets, as well as kids in a contemporary world is a big challenge.<ref name="on set with wishbone" /></blockquote>Each episode of Wishbone cost around $500,000 to produce.<ref name="cost per episode">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-24 |title=Dog Days: An Interview with Mo Rocca |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/dog-days-an-interview-with-mo-rocca/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224154832/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/dog-days-an-interview-with-mo-rocca/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Almost all of the budget (excluding $1 million provided by PBS via a license fee) was provided out of pocket by Richard Leach and was subsided by the success and popularity of Lyrick's flagship show, ''Barney & Friends''.<ref name="topdog" /><ref name="cost per episode"/>
Despite acclaim from critics and educators, only 50 episodes were produced. The first 40 episodes were shown as a single-season run in 1995, while the remaining ten episodes became the second season in 1997–1998. Duffield told author Michael Brody that PBS halted production because the show did not have "merchandising potential".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brody |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j74wBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |title=Seductive Screens: Children's Media—Past, Present, and Future |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |date=2013-01-16 |page=73 |access-date=2018-08-10 |isbn=9781443845823}}</ref>
Soccer the Dog made promotional appearances at shopping malls across the United States, greeting fans from a red armchair. According to ''Mental Floss'', the dog traveled first class, stayed in four-star hotels, and had his own security detail; handlers reportedly gave Soccer the codename "The President."<ref name="mentalfloss" />
==Release== The series aired on PBS and premiered in the United States on October 8, 1995. The final episode aired on December 7, 1997. After the series ended, reruns continued to air until August 31, 2001. The series returned in reruns on PBS Kids Go! on June 2, 2007. ''Wishbone'' clips came to the PBS Kids Go! website. The return to PBS lasted a short time, although some PBS stations continued to air ''Wishbone'' until October 7, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://idahoptv.org/kids/whatson.html |title=What's on: IdahoPTV Kids and Family (Idaho Public Television) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129010159/http://idahoptv.org/kids/whatson.html |archive-date=January 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref>
===International broadcasting=== The series was broadcast internationally in numerous countries. In addition to airings on Nickelodeon in the UK and Ireland and Nine Network in Australia, the show aired on YTV in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ytv.com/shows/wishbone/index.asp |title=Wishbone |website=YTV |date=1998 |access-date=2025-12-15 |archive-date=February 11, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980211163930/http://www.ytv.com/shows/wishbone/index.asp |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
===Home media=== Several episodes were released on VHS between 1995 and 1998.
In 2004, HIT Entertainment released four episodes on individual DVDs: "Hot Diggety Dawg", "The Impawssible Dream", "The Hunchdog of Notre Dame", and "Paw Prints of Thieves". These were then compiled into a single DVD released in 2011.
==Reception== This show garnered particular praise for refusing to bowdlerize many of the sadder or more unpleasant aspects of the source works, which usually enjoyed a fairly faithful retelling in the fantasy sequences. {{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
===Awards=== {{Cleanup MOS|section=section|date=August 2023}} * Academy of Television Arts & Sciences First Honor Roll of Children's Programming, 1999 * George Foster Peabody Award, 1998<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/ellen-wins-peabody-award.html|title='Ellen' Wins Peabody Award|agency=Associated Press|date=April 3, 1998|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 10, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010212218/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/ellen-wins-peabody-award.html|url-status=live}}</ref> * Emmy Award – Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design, 1997<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/news/pbs-early-daytime-emmy-leader-1117470640/|title=PBS early Daytime Emmy leader|author=Variety Staff|date=May 11, 1998|work=Variety|access-date=October 10, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=September 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927202408/http://variety.com/1998/tv/news/pbs-early-daytime-emmy-leader-1117470640/|url-status=live}}</ref> * Emmy Award – Costume Design/Styling, 1997<ref name=":0" /> * Emmy Award – Graphics and Title Design, 1997<ref name=":0" /> * Emmy Award – Costume Design/Styling, 1996 * Emmy Award Nominations, 1998, "Wishbone's Dog Days of the West" * Directing in a Children's Special * Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design * Main Title Design * Costume Design/Styling * Television Critics Association – Best Children's Show, 1996 and 1997
==''Wishbone'' in other media== The TV movie ''Wishbone's Dog Days of the West'' was aired on PBS stations on March 13, 1998, and released to video on June 9, 1998.
===Books=== {{Main|List of Wishbone books}} The TV series inspired several book series including ''Wishbone Classics'', ''Wishbone Mysteries'', and ''The Adventures of Wishbone''. Altogether, more than fifty books have featured Wishbone, which continued to be published even after the TV series ended production.
===Video games=== {{Main|Wishbone and the Amazing Odyssey}}
There are multiple video games based on the series in 1996 and 1997, including ''Wishbone Activity Center'', ''Wishbone Print Tricks'', ''Wishbone and the Amazing Odyssey'', and ''Wishbone Activity Zone''.
''Wishbone Activity Zone'' (1997), developed by Riedel Software Productions and published by Palladium Interactive, was released alongside a companion website.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.palladium.net/Palladium/company/press/970409.htm |title=Palladium Launches Wishbone Activity Zone CD-ROM with Parent-Approved, Kid-Friendly Web Site |publisher=Palladium Interactive |date=September 4, 1997 |access-date=March 5, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000607172649/http://www.palladium.net/Palladium/company/press/970409.htm |archive-date=June 7, 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Film adaptation=== On July 15, 2020, it was announced that Universal Pictures and Mattel's film division are developing a film adaptation of the series. Peter Farrelly will produce the film while Roy Parker will write the screenplay and Robbie Brenner will executive produce. It will be the first theatrical collaboration between Universal and Mattel and the ninth Mattel Films project in development.<ref>{{cite news |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/universal-mattel-developing-wishbone-feature-based-on-pbs-jack-russell-terrier-tv-series-peter-farrelly-producing-1202986165/ |title=Universal & Mattel Developing 'Wishbone' Feature Based On PBS Jack Russell Terrier TV Series; Peter Farrelly Producing |publisher=Deadline Hollywood |date=2020-07-15 |access-date=2020-07-15 |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715154949/https://deadline.com/2020/07/universal-mattel-developing-wishbone-feature-based-on-pbs-jack-russell-terrier-tv-series-peter-farrelly-producing-1202986165/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bumbray |first1=Chris |url=https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/whats-the-story-wishbone-a-feature-film-is-in-the-works |title=What's the story Wishbone? A feature film is in the works. |publisher=JoBlo.com |date=2020-07-15 |access-date=2020-07-15 |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716130645/https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/whats-the-story-wishbone-a-feature-film-is-in-the-works |url-status=live}}</ref>
The original ''Wishbone'' creative team was not involved in the Mattel/Universal film's development. First assistant director Joey Stewart had initiated an effort to reboot the franchise in 2015, working with producer Betty Buckley to pitch a new project to Mattel. Creator Rick Duffield and head writer Stephanie Simpson were also involved in the pitch. Simpson told ''Paste'' in 2022, "It feels like Wishbone is locked in the basement of Mattel and we can't seem to get that dog out of the basement."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/wishbone/wishbone-tv-show-history |title=Wishbone's Original Creators on the TV Show's Legacy and Uncertain Future |website=Paste |date=July 26, 2022 |access-date=2025-12-15}}</ref>
===Merchandise=== Products included talking plush toys, character-themed plush featuring Wishbone in literary costumes, and storybook playsets. University Games released a ''Wishbone'' board game in 1997. According to ''Texas Monthly'', Lyrick Studios owner Dick Leach had hoped the show's merchandise would replicate the commercial success of ''Barney & Friends'', but ''Wishbone'' products did not achieve the same breakthrough.<ref name="topdog"/>
===Others=== In 2021, ''Wishbone'' was spoofed in the stop-motion parody TV series ''Robot Chicken'' episode (S11E11) "May Cause Episode Title to Cut Off Due to Word Lim", where Wishbone (voiced by Breckin Meyer) plays the role of Anastasia Steele from the erotic romance novel ''Fifty Shades of Grey''.
==See also== * ''Barney & Friends'' * ''Kidsongs'' * ''The Puzzle Place'' * ''Groundling Marsh''
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0112225|Wishbone}} * [https://texasarchive.org/taxonomy/term/116430 Interviews on the set of Wishbone] at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image
{{TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming}}
{{Former PBS Kids shows}}
Category:1990s American children's comedy television series Category:1995 American television series debuts Category:1997 American television series endings Category:American children's adventure television series Category:American children's education television series Category:American children's fantasy television series Category:American television shows based on children's books Category:Television series set in elementary and primary schools Category:English-language American television shows Category:English-language education television programming Category:PBS Kids original programming Category:PBS original programming Category:Peabody Award–winning television programs Category:Reading and literacy television series Category:Television series based on classical mythology Category:Television series by Mattel Television Category:Television shows about dogs Category:Television shows adapted into novels Category:Television shows filmed in Texas Category:Television shows set in Texas