Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 July 28

= July 28 =

rail gun - backyard monsters?
in backyard monsters, do railguns fire through other buildings or only through clear paths? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.68.72.124 (talk) 13:29, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

PBS/ETV program
I am looking for info on a television program that aired on U.S. PBS/ETV in the Eighties. It was about fundamental writing. The premise is a little fuzzy in my mind, but it was about a man who was learning to write. I remember that it was mainly set in his house, and would show him writing on an old electronic word processor. He would often get help on his writing assignments from friends that stopped by to visit him. The lead was a white male, with darkish hair, roughly on the young side of middle-aged. There was also a black woman who I believe was a co-worker. Also another white woman who was either a co-worker or neighbor, and was an implied love interest. What sticks out in my mind is how slowly he typed. The camera would often focus close up on the computer screen as he typed in a sentence, and he would make corrections suggested by his friends. The purpose of the show was to teach basic grammar and punctuation. It was basically an "adult education" show, loosely set around a fictional plot and characters. Also, pretty cheesy writing and acting. Any ideas on this would be helpful. I went through the list of PBS programs, but none of the titles jumped out at me. Quinn &#10048; BEAUTIFUL DAY 14:37, 28 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Was it a show called Learn To Read? I found some clips of the opening and closing credits, and those look incredibly familiar. I don't know if it's the same show, but I do remember what you're talking about. Foofish (talk) 01:14, 29 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Foofish, we actually have an article about Learn To Read. I worked at WXYZ-TV, the television station where this series was shot and edited many of the segments myself.  I don't think this is what Quinn is looking for, though, since there is no story about neighbors or love interest involved in the series.  The whole point was teaching English literacy to illiterates, including rules and spelling, not typing or interpersonal skills.  --Thomprod (talk) 17:33, 29 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Yeah, sorry just now looking back here. That's definitely not it.  It was based kind of on the sit-com format (except not funny) that was popular at the time.  You know, where there was one main set (his house) and everything kind of happened there.  For instance, a friend would stop by his house, and the main character would be all like, "I'm having trouble with my writing assignment."  And there friend would say, "Well let's take a look."  Then close up on the computer screen as the lead typed a sentence.  You'd then hear the friend say something like, "Oh, well, see there...that's an independent clause.  You need to put in a comma."  Also, there was really cheesy theme music. Anyway, I thought for sure someone would remember this, but, come to think of it, it may have been regionally or locally produced. Quinn &#10048; BEAUTIFUL DAY  21:26, 29 July 2011 (UTC)