Company Picnic

While viewing one of Shout! Factory’s Best of the Electric Company DVDs yesterday, a couple of clips stood out in a) unearthing tingly deja-vu feelings, and b) showcasing the often daring visual and musical cues the show took. These are both from episode #453, which first aired on January 15, 1975. The kinetic and colorful animated clip below, illustrating the word “house”, must have made a huge impression on my tiny mind. What strikes me most from an adult standpoint is the Mary Blairish look of the geometric shapes piling on top of each other — oh, and the soundtrack is quite groovy.

Our second clip visualizes the very ’70s concept of “right on”. I definitely remember singing along with this tune as a kid — and it does have a funky vibe and visual panache more in line with the Schoolhouse Rock shorts than The Electric Company. YouTube member NantoVision has assembled a lot of other excellent EC clips with informed commentary.