A Closer Look at Children’s Television: Eureeka’s Castle

Target Audience: Preschool-Early Elementary School
Episode length: 30 mins
Schedule: Unfortunately no longer on air L

This one is for my roommates. As I was talking with them about this blog and what I would talk about next, they brought up a classic show from our childhood that unfortunately is no longer on TV anymore…Eureeka’s Castle. As I thought about the show I realized that it would be a great show to discuss because of the creativity and style behind it.

If you’re not familiar with or don’t remember Eureeka’s Castle, it was a children’s show that aired on Nickelodeon back in the 90’s. Created in 1989, Eureeka’s Castle told of the adventures of characters who lived inside a wind-up music box castle. The castle itself was owned by a giant who would open each episode with a theme song that introduced each of the characters. The characters included Eureeka, a young sorceress in training; Magellan, a dragon; the Moat Twins Bogge and Quagmire; and Batly, and very arrogant bat. The interesting thing about this show, and what makes it so cool is the fact that all of the characters are puppets. The show itself is a mix of puppet set and animation. For example, the Moat Twin’s lair has an animated moat, while the rest is a set.

Eureeka’s Castle is educational but maybe not quite in the same way as Sesame Street or Mister Rogers. It main purpose seems to be to entertain, but can also educate the audience through the stories each episode tells. For example, I was able to find on episode on google videos, titled “Nightmare on Magellan Street.” I’m actually not sure if it was actually one of the regular episodes or a special, but either way I think it gives a good idea of what the show was like. In the show Eureeka is telling Magellan and the Moat Twins a bedtime story when Batly comes crashing in telling a scary story about a monster. This gets Magellan all scared, then he sees a monster outside his window. At first nobody believes him. Eureeka and one of the other characters Mr. Knack tell him to stay calm and everything will be fine…then they see the monster too. It’s actually a very scary monster…it’s blue, green, purple and many other colors and looks a lot like a spider (which I hate). So naturally everyone in Eureeka’s Castle is scared of the monster until they find out why he is there…he just wants to hear the end of the story Eureeka had been telling about Fluffy…it turns out his name is Fluffy too!!

It’s a really cute story that tells kids it normal to be scared…even monsters get scared sometimes…but if you stay calm everything will be fine. The show also incorporates a lot of other great qualities to the show. The music for one thing is really cute and catchy. When Batly comes in at the beginning of the show he sings a song about a “Scary, Scary Monster.” Each character also has a different personality. Eureeka acts more as the adult of the group who keeps the twins in line and helps Magellan with problems. Magellan reminds me a lot of Big Bird, so you can guess what he’s like. Batly is a little mischievous and thinks very highly of himself. Each character gives way to different lessons children can learn from the show.

Eureeka’s Castle was such a creative, fun and imaginative show…I’m sad to find that probably not too many people remember it and kids today don’t get to experience its magic. They really don’t make shows like that anymore and it ashame because it could teach kids so much about the power of the imagination and what they can create if they just put their mind to it.

To find out more info about Eureeka’s Castle visit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0220895/