All language subtitles for Whats the Story Wishbone 2026 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DDP2 0 H 264-MADSKY

[somber music]

[clacking]

[tape whirring]

His name is Wishbone,
and he stars

in his own
public television series.

[music builds]

It's a show
about a remarkable dog

who will introduce
millions of kids to great books.

Wishbone and I believe
reading is to the mind what food is to the body.

A diminutive canine with a taste
for classic literature

is the star
of this next imaginative series.

- [announcer 1] And the Emmy
goes toWishbone. - [audience cheering]

- [announcer 2] Wishbone!
- [announcer 3] Wishbone!

- [announcer 4] Wishbone!
- [announcer 5] Wishbone!

[all cheering]

[camera flash popping]

[Rick]
I think the main idea I was trying to get to was

make a television show
that captured the lives of kids, real kids,

in an-- in any neighborhood.

After months of sort of trying
one idea after another,

it occurred to me,
uh, that you could...

...use a dog

to sort of expand it,

expand the imaginations
of this show.

I sat in my office, and I looked
on the credenza behind my desk,

and I had this copy
of Masterpieces of World Literature,

that was the title.

And I just stared at that book,
and I thought,

"Wh-- what if he imagined
himself in these stories?"

- And that was the beginning.
- [magical tinkling]

[Betty]
I really, really wanted

to be in children's television.
Like, I really did.

Rick Duffield heard about it
and called me up.

I heard
he had this television show,

and I was, like, "Oh, my God,
it's a children's TV show."

And I went in,
and he was going on and on about

this is the story,
and that's the story.

And I waited for him
to take a breath and say, "Well, what do you think?"

And I said, "Well, basically
I came here prepared to beg."

[laughs]

I wanted it so bad.

The way I came to Wishbone
was my mom.

Um, she had taught
Rick Duffield's son, Joe, in a theater program,

and Rick said,
"I wanna do a show for kids,

and I wanna assemble
a group of writers and talk about it.

Would you like to come?"

She said,
"Well, I happen to know one.

She lives in New York,
and she writes plays.

She's gonna be in town."
[chuckling] "Can I bring her?"

And he said,
"Sure. That'd be great."

And that was, uh,
how I met Rick.

I've always had fun
imagining what dogs

might be thinking
from time to time.

And I think
it's, it's great fun

to, just to consider the idea

that a dog could be the hero.

"What if the dog
were the real hero in the story?"

When a dog can do that,

I think it, it gives children

the sense
that they're free to do that,

that they can identify
with that feeling of wanting to be the hero.

Even though they're this
little character in real life,

they can be the, the hero
in the big story.

And from there,
we kind of developed this character of this dog

who had this big imagination,
was going through his life

picturing grand and epic things.

[light classical music]

I had the job
of finding the dog.

[whimsical music]

[Rick]
And so, Betty

contacted a trainer
out in Los Angeles,

and we went out there,

and there were
all kinds of dogs.

- [dogs barking]
- You know, every size, shape,

most of them mixed breeds,
you know, like--

And I just didn't feel
anything yet.

And the very last dog that came

was Soccer.

[light music]

He was so amazing and charming.
When he did his little flip,

and everybody was, like,
"Oh, my God."

That dog did that flip...

...and I said, "That's cool."

And then, his face,

there was something
about the face of that dog.

When it looked at you,

you felt like
it was thinking about you.

Like, a--
There was an intelligence

in the, in the face of that dog.

And so, that was it for me.

[music finale]

And so, now I needed
someone to talk

through the dog,
to be the voice.

Well, we had to find
the dog's voice,

and that was really fun.

[Larry]
My agent called and said,

"I'm sending you
on a voice audition."

And I said, "Great.
What is a voice audition?"

The only information
that I had at that time

was this-- The pilot
for a kids' television show,

and the star of the show
is a dog,

and you will be the voice
of the dog.

Having had dogs for a while,
I always observe dogs,

and I would imagine
what they're thinking. I really did. [chuckles]

"What is going on
inside that head?"

And I would actually--
In my head, like,

I'd do dialogue
for the dog just to--

As a playful way
of enjoying the animal.

I guess I had a feeling
it had to be playful, but I didn't know.

I was driving
to the studio, thinking,

"Okay, um, is it a real dog?
Is it an animated dog?"

And then, I had this thought
which almost caused me to turn the car around.

I thought, "If I get this job,

am I going to have to dress up
in a big dog suit

and dance around on a stage?"

And so, we just auditioned
a lot of people

that were very experienced
in voiceover work, theater work,

and everything came off
as so stiff.

They were all very serious.

And then, this guy walked in.

[Larry]
Betty Buckley and Rick Duffield came in

and introduced themselves
and said, um,

"This is who you're going
to be voicing today,

and this is Jackie Kaptan,
a head animal trainer, and this is Soccer."

And it was
a Jack Russell terrier, a real live dog.

And I thought,
"How is that gonna work?"

[light music]

And then, fate intervened.

Right at that moment,
right before we started,

Jackie said, "Hey, guys,
Soccer needs a break."

And I thought that meant
he needed to go outside.

But what happened was
she reached into a pouch on her hip

and she pulled out
a rubber soccer ball,

and she pitched it to him,
and he lost his mind.

I had never seen
anything like it.

He was bouncing around
the study,

playing a game of catch
with himself.

And quite without
thinking about it,

I just began to vocalize
what I thought

must be going through
the dog's head in that moment.

And this guy...

...started doing a voice
for the dog, like, instantaneously.

And that's kind of how
it felt for me,

when I would think
like a dog would think.

If, if I were that dog, this is
what it would sound like.

And you, and you instantly gave
that dog life.

And before I knew it,
he was down on the floor,

playing like a dog,
talking like the dog's voice,

and we were all
on the floor laughing.

And then, just that fast,
Jackie swooped in

and grabbed the ball
and put it back in her pouch,

and Soccer immediately sat down,
like he was ready to go.

And I stood up, and I turned
and I looked at everybody

and I said, "Are you guys
ready to do the audition now?"

And Betty Buckley said,
"Oh, we got the audition."

And it was a huge,
uh, a huge gift to the show. Absolutely.

That voice...

...was the only way
we were gonna make this playful,

and I am eternally
grateful for that.

[Rick] I'd like you
to meet the other half of this extraordinary character,

the voice of Wishbone,
Larry Brantley.

Larry.

- And, uh--
- [Larry] Ah!

[Rick]
What we'd like to do is just give you an idea

of how we auditioned Larry

and how we sort of create
this character on the fly.

Okay, Jackie, pay attention.

We only get a chance
to do this once. Okay.

Oh, uh, not so tight
on the leash, please. Thank you!

Okay. Now, how am I
gonna meet Rick Duffield for my big audition?

We can try
the straight approach.

Shall we-- Oh, oh. Excuse me.
Sorry. [sighs]

I thought I'd taken care
of that before I left.

Okay, um, let's see.

Let's just try the simple,
straightforward approach.

Mr. Duffield,
it's nice to meet you. Hi.

And, yeah,
we found the voice of the dog, Larry Brantley.

Action!

Snack time, Wishbone.

[Wishbone]
Oh, perfect timing.

Hey, Ellen, it's dinner time.

- Whoa! Whoa! Wha-- Door! Door!
- [door rattling]

- [Joe] Wishbone!
- [Wishbone] Yes! It's Joe!

He's back! Joe, how are ya?

- Oh, David! Good to see you!
- [David] Hey, boy.

[Rick]
The next thing that had to happen

was we had to

make somebody believe
this might work.

And so, we shot the trailer.

[narrator]
In an average neighborhood,

a new hero
is coming to television.

[Rick]
Everything was shot below the waist.

[narrator]
It's Wishbone,

the next generation
of Wonder Dog.

[Rick]
So, you didn't ever see any human faces.

You just saw the dog,
and it was all about the dog.

And we went to a, a quarry
and set up horses and flame bars...

- [Wishbone] Hero coming through.
- ...and the dog was in an amazing little,

um, Roman helmet,

- and we shot a battle scene.
- [Wishbone continues indistinctly]

And so, having that,
taking that and the script and the treatment,

uh, and, and pitching it
was the next big step.

And that was really hard to do.

They packaged it all up
literally in a box

that looks like a doghouse.

And in the doghouse
was the script, a VHS,

and they took it to Virginia.

And it's really unheard of

for buyers to buy something
in the room,

but they bought that
in the room. They loved it.

We sat in the room,
we showed 'em the trailer, and they just said, "Yes."

So, they come back,
and Rick's, like, "Okay, we got five episodes."

And I was, like,
"Okay. Holy shit." You know? [laughs]

[upbeat music]

We weren't just building sets,
we built a little town.

To pull that off,
we'd have to create

our own little Hollywood
in North Texas.

I remember
going out... [chuckles] into this big piece of land

where there was nothing.
I mean, nothing but trees.

It was just a completely
undeveloped, wild piece of land.

[Rick]
We converted 50,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space

into a pair of sound stages
to accommodate our interior sets.

And Chris Henry,
our production designer, adapted ten acres of property

into a working backlot
for all of our exteriors.

You know, I think, in terms
of a show like Wishbone

that dealt with
two concurrent storylines,

we had a contemporary story
of the kids...

...and then
we had the literary stories.

You know, the backlot was, like,

like, "Who does
something like that?" You know?

An entire neighborhood,
the cul-de-sac of the, you know, the Barnes' house...

[enchanting music]

...Wanda Gilmore's house...

...and our house.

It was unbelievable.

[Betty]
So, we built a town...

...into the trees.

It was just charming,

beautiful...

...neighborhood.

Yoo-hoo! Joe!

Joe!

Get-- Jo-- Yoo-hoo!

Joe, just one minute.

It's about your dog.

- Hello, Samantha.
- Hi.

We didn't know how
we could pull off five shows,

with five different book worlds,

to bring to life...

...and find all the people

to, to inhabit those roles.

I'd worked on the Dallasseries
for ten years already before this,

and so I knew we could do it.
And we had the best talent pool.

The talent pool in Dallas
was fantastic,

so I, I wasn't worried,
I was excited.

I was visiting a friend
in Los Angeles, and I get on the plane,

and by that time
I had, I had really done

a fair amount of work
in Dallas, you know, like--

And I thought, "Maybe it's time
to move to Los Angeles."

And so, I was sitting
on the plane, and I said,

"Dear God, if I am supposed
to stay in Dallas,

I need a lightning bolt
with my name on it."

There's a date, 1864,
and that should give us a clue.

- Well, how?
- [Ellen] Well... [clicks tongue] let's think about it.

What was going on back then?

I always loved
her acting anyway,

and I just thought she--
'Cause she was just

very real and authentic,
and I just thought

she'd be a great mom, so,

yeah, I just thought
she was perfect.

I was living in Houston,

and I get a call
from Rody and casting

and she says, uh,
"Angee, can you be in Dallas late tomorrow morning

to audition for a series regular
in a new PBS kids' show

that's shooting in Dallas?"

Angee, uh, was just fun.

She just had a sparkle to her.

I just thought
she just added a lot.

[reporter]
Hundreds of kids braved the heat

and the competition
last summer,

hoping to be cute
and clever enough to play

in a new children's
educational show

now in production
in North Texas.

We had a big open call
for the kids,

and then the, the line was huge.

I mean, there were
hundreds of kids trying out.

[host]
Meet the three who succeeded.

Jordan Wall, Adam Springfield,
and Christie Abbott.

[Rody] Jordan Wall,
he just was so down to earth, very grounded,

just ready to do anything
you wanted to asked of him.

He just really took
direction well and listened really well.

Did you hear that, Wishbone?

Another birthday present.
[laughs]

Hey, come on, let's go.

Christie was a-- is darling.

She was just very authentic.

'Cause we'd auditioned
lots of girls for that part.

And there were
a lot of cute ones,

but she just really was,
again, just very real.

Oh, that's your
science fair project?

[Rody]
Adam was, I thought, introspective, and curious,

and I think, for the part
they wanted him for was just perfect.

[light music]

[music crescendos]

[audience applauding]

[Betty]
The idea for a company cast came from Rody Kent,

and it was truly brilliant.

[Rody]
I decided it was gonna be

really beneficial
to have a repertory company.

[Betty]
We wanted to have the efficiency

of classically trained actors.

When we cast,
we turned over the picture

and we didn't look
at any of the television, we looked at the theater.

[Rody]
And the reason we wanted the classically trained actors

in this group
was for the fantasy parts,

because they could do-- speak
the Shakespearean language,

they could do accents.

You know, maybe English accents
or German accents.

And we needed them
to be authentic.

At that time, I had just played
the title role in Othello

for Classic Theater Company,

and, uh, Rody needed
a classical monologue.

So I went into the pre-read,

belted out this monologue,
and Rody was, like,

"Okay. Yeah,
I think I can read you in front of the producers."

I came and I auditioned
for Rody Kent, our casting director...

[smacks lips]
and she already kind of knew me from being a kid, growing up,

doing stuff in Dallas,
and I did monologues for her.

And one of the monologues I did
was Ophelia from, um, Hamlet,

and she started tearing up,
and she was, like... [mimics crying]

So, it was, it was so sweet,
and I was so excited

to get to use
my classical training.

Romeo, Romeo.

Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

Deny thy father
and refuse thy name.

'Tis but thy name
that is my enemy.

This is a dream come true.
You're gonna do, you know,

Romeo and Juliet,
you're gonna do Joan of Arc,

and, you know, this is,

this is an,
an incredible opportunity.

When I got the call
that I was going to be part of the company,

you know, you have those moments
in your life where you go... [gasps]

"That's what it means
to catch the brass ring."

And that's what it felt like.
It w-- it was amazing

because the, the most
exciting thing about it was

it, it felt very natural
because we weren't going

from theater
to a daytime soap opera.

We were doing exactly
what I've been doing on stage,

just doing it
at a very, very different level.

An enormous good fortune
that Wishboneenjoyed

in that they had,
rather than making the decision

to bring people in from New York
or bring people in from LA

to cull the Wishboneplayers

from the local community and put
all those fireflies in one jar.

Uh, I thought
that was a, a stroke of genius.

It really was, because
there was this renaissance

of amazing theater going on.

[Jeanne]
And so, that was sort of

a genius idea, to do that,

and it had never
really been done.

I don't think it's been done
since, which is so cool.

And then, as an actor,
it was really great

because you get
to develop chemistry

with different people.
It was just so great.

And you get to play
all these different characters.

And that's really
where the company came from.

And it was, it was the only way
we were gonna get it,

get it done because we didn't
have the, the resources

to, to do it...

...Hollywood style.

[upbeat classical music]

- [rustles]
- [Betty] I will tell you

that I felt like
the hardest day

was the first day.

It was kids and dogs.

And everybody knows
that that's a wild card

that most productions avoid.

They try to keep
the number of dog days on their schedule

down to absolute minimum.

Uh, and we were setting out
to, uh, sp--

spend each day of shooting,
you know, with lo... [chuckles]

...lots of animal behavior...

...and kids, on top of that.

And so, we got all bogged down,

and we were not getting
our shots,

and we weren't getting our shots

before lunch.

And I was, I was just,
"Oh, my God."

And I went to Rick and Bert
at lunch and said,

"You guys,
if we can't get through lunch,

if we can't get through
the first day...

...do you know what that means?

But if we can get through lunch,

and if we can get through
the first day,

we can get through
the second day and the third.

We can get through a week.

We can do the whole thing."

- Hello, David.
- Hi, Mrs. Gilmore.

- Joe, this dog belongs
on a leash! - [Wishbone] Huh?

He's running wild
all over my property.

The beginning of the week,
we would get a new script.

I would read through
and I would figure out what parts we already had.

We had the repertory parts
that we needed to cast, uh, for the fantasy roles.

Then we had contemporary,
any of the other actors in the contemporary life

that would be working
with the series regulars.

It was a fast pace.

It was moving from one thing

to the next really fast.

There was a lot of things
that we did on Wishbone

that I'd--
I had never done before.

So, we were constantly prepping

for the next episode,
getting props.

You know, teaching the dog
different behaviors,

um, different wardrobe.

So, every, every week was,
was a new adventure on the show.

We created a school.

There would be art department,
you know, two sets.

One of them shooting,
one of them prepping.

"Are we going
location scouting?"

Uh, "What are we doing
in the studio?"

[Kelli]
It was kinda like jumpin' into the fire,

but, oh, my God,
there was so much to do.

I-- I had--
I knew it would be a lot,

but it was even more
than I could have imagined.

Actor schedules,
kids' schedules.

Kids only had a certain
amount of time they could,

they could work each day,
and then we had to figure out

something else to shoot
for the rest of the day.

It was a tight schedule.
And a lot of scenes,

we had five or six people
to cover,

and, and the dog.

Wishbone

had a specialness to us

because we were all working

as fast as we could
to create this thing,

and things would
just fall together.

[Chris]
Sometimes I wouldn't get scripts until Friday afternoon,

and then Monday morning,
I'd have to say,

"Okay, and this is what
we're gonna do."

We had a specific amount
of days to edit a show.

Getting all the departments
to speak the same language

was a factor
of having everybody

to go to the Tower of Babel

and find each other
and figure it out.

We must have set
some kind of a world record,

because to go
from getting a script

to shooting it...

...in one week,

it, it sounds impossible.

There was no,
"Oh, we can edit three or four more days,"

because the next one was coming.

The pace,

the pace was,

um, daunting.

[Michael]
There was no time.

It was, "Get it done.

Get it done
to the best of our ability

and then move on."

You have to bear in mind
that in the beginning,

I was contracted
for five episodes.

So I thought
that was the length and breadth

of my responsibility, right?

We're gonna do this
for five shows, and then I'll move on,

and I'll have a great experience
behind me.

And then,
we were on the fifth episode,

and I think
it was lunch on a Friday,

and that was when Rick Duffield
and Betty Buckley stood up

at lunch on a Friday
and announced

that PBS had ordered
35 more shows

for a total of 40 episodes
in a calendar year.

The looks of-- on the faces...

[stutters] was everything
from total shock

and terror to excitement.

[Larry]
The first thing that happened was this sort of wave of relief

ran over all these
young filmmakers

in the lunchroom,
which was, like,

"Oh, my gosh, we, we, we've got
a full-time job for a year now. We're covered."

That was followed exactly

by the clenching
of every set of teeth.

Not knowing what a stupid thing
it would be to say yes,

I said, "Yes. Of course. Sure."

What was I thinking?

This show was made on the fly.

We made it up
as we went along, so...

"Okay, we're gonna do
40 of these.

When do they want 'em?"

Well, they want
all of them at once

because they're gonna strip it.

So, we couldn't make five

and send them five
and do the next five and make--

They, they needed
all 40 at once.

[light music]

We all had the same question,
which was,

"How are we gonna do this?

How are we gonna pull this off?"

And we were all young,
and we really didn't know what we were doing. [laughs]

But we were all passionate
about not knowing.

So, I had never written
for television or film before.

I had written a couple of plays,
and I had been in plays.

Not knowing what you don't know
can sometimes be

a little bit of a blessing
and a little bit of a help.

So, you're, like,
"Why can't we do that? Sure."

I don't think we knew
that this was a kind of a big task

as far as approaching,
first of all,

a children's television show,

and then being shot on film.

Everybody has a piece
of the job.

It was my first film set.
I didn't know

what all these people
were doing. Found out.

This is like a bunch of people
that really don't know what they're doing.

And in,
in a lot of respects, it was.

It was a whole group of people
that came together

to work on something
that they had never really done.

We all realized we had all been
thrown into the deep end,

and most of us were young
and just at the start of our careers.

Basically, I'd come up
doing commercials and short form style things.

Although, my first job was a PA
on JFKwith Oliver Stone,

I wasn't sure if I knew
what I was doing.

So, when I got the chance
to step on set

and actually run the set myself
for the first time,

it was
the most nerve-racking thing

I've ever done
in my career. [laughs]

When I came
and worked on Wishbone,

Betty had to teach me
a whole new process of series television

that was shot on film,

shot interior, out exterior

with a whole repertoire
of, uh, casting

new actors... [chuckles]
for every show,

new sets for every show.

Every-- You know,
everything was different.

I had worked on movies
as a production office coordinator,

so I had a really
good perspective

of all these different
department heads,

'cause as a coordinator,
you, you touch everything.

And I know many of us
suffered from,

you know, uh...
What do they call it, "impostor syndrome"?

"Are they're gonna find me out?"
[chuckles] "I'm not really that good."

I actually didn't even know
what the screenplay format

was supposed to be.

So I went and I bought,
um, a collection of screenplays

by William Goldman,

and I opened it up and I saw,

"Oh, okay.
So, setting, scene heading,

uh, dialogue.

Okay, you put that that way.

Action is described
in this way." [laughs]

And I basically spent a weekend

reading through
these screenplays,

getting a sense
of what the format was.

I never really got
the impression

that, uh, we were
being held back

by, uh, inexperience
of anybody, uh, on the crew.

You know, I think that,
uh, all the heads of department

were good about,
uh, making sure that, uh,

yeah, everybody knew
what was, uh, was required

and how the process
was gonna work, and...

The fun part
was meeting with everybody.

And I wanted to meet with
every single department head,

and I wanted to get everybody
in that crew,

who would care about this.

And I knew
it was gonna be so different

that you had to
kind of have somebody

that could problem-solve
and think differently

about the way
you do a television show,

because this was
unlike anything...

...anybody had done.

I would give, uh, everybody

that was on the show
very, very high marks

for just being smart,
paying attention

and, and, uh, doing
what was asked of them

even though
they might have been scared,

you know, and, and nervous,

you know, about, uh, yeah,
being on something

that had to move
that big and that fast. [laughs]

I sure didn't know
how to do it yet.

Like, we had
to find our way through it.

And I-- That's why I needed
every single person

to be a collaborative person

that would wanna
work together on this

and figure it out.

And maybe
that's one of the things

that caused us all to coalesce.

We all coalesced
around the question,

"Are we gonna be able
to get this done this week?"

It was tough, though,
for the writers.

That was
one of the biggest strains,

is that when they announced
35 more shows...

"Okay."

I didn't know

because I had not been around

a television series before

or written for one.

I didn't really know
how it worked.

I honestly thought, "Okay, well,
now I need to write 40 scripts."

I didn't really understand
that TV shows had staff writers.

I didn't know anything.

[laughs] I was so naive.

So I panicked,
needless to say, thinking,

- "I don't know
if I can do this." - [files plopping]

Then, thanks to, you know,
other people, I was--

it was explained to me
that you don't have to write

all 40 scripts. [chuckles]

"We can have other writers
help you."

And that was a revelation.

Stephanie Simpson
had a phenomenal challenge,

to come up
with, um, staff writers and freelance writers

to faithfully adapt
a classic book

with this educational content
in a hurry.

In terms of finding
other writers, they were my friends.

They were people that I knew
were crazy enough to try this.

None of them had written
for television before either,

but neither had
a television show ever been written in this way.

So, in some ways,
experience was less important than willingness

and love of the material.

Mo, I had known
in New York City.

He had gone to school
with my sister.

We had been neighbors
in New York,

and we had
always told each other,

"If I can help you, I will.
And if you can help me, I will."

That was kind of a bargain
that, that we had.

And so, when I got Wishbone,
I was able to call Mo.

It's kind of a dream come true.

He said,
"Wh-- where is this happening?"

And I said,
"Well, it's happening in Dallas, Texas."

[chuckling] And Mo said, "Okay.
So, am I coming to Texas?"

And I said, "Yes, Mo,
you're coming to Texas."

So he came
from New York to Texas,

uh, and just
kind of set up shop to write this television series.

And the same for Vincent.
We had also been friends in college,

and I knew
that Vincent loved writing.

I knew he loved classics.

That was our little core group.

Where did you start
in the media?

What was your first...

How do I come to know Mo Rocca?

I think probably
being on The Daily Show.

- But before--
- How did they find you?

They found me because I had--

I'd been writing for a kids'
TV show called Wishbone,

which was really
an extraordinary--

a learning experience for me.

It's where I-- Whatever
storytelling skills I have,

I kind of learned there.

- Kids' show?
- Yeah.

What age?

For six to 11-year olds.

Really good show.

And, um-- If I do say so myself.

But I was just a writer.

And, uh, and, um,

it took classic novels

and it boiled them down
for kids...

...starring a dog.

And I know it sounds wacky.

It was with
a Jack Russell terrier.

But taking some of
the greatest stories ever told,

and adapting them,
not dumbing them down,

but adapting them for kids

really made me think and learn
about how to tell a good story.

[upbeat classical music]

[host]
Also in family TV, there's usually a dog star

like Rin Tin Tin or Lassie.

But on PBS,
a dog named Wishbone

represents the new breed
of TV dog.

He only works
if he gets the perk.

[finale music]

- [rustles]
- I don't know if anyone else has attempted to do this much

for a children's show before.
[chuckles]

- A dog sailing a raft...
- [splashing]

...a dog firing a musket...

[gunshot]

...a dog firing
a bow and arrow...

[people shouting indistinctly]

[whooshes]

...a dog riding horseback...

[Wishbone]
What about it?

Think he's on his way back

with that money?

...a dog flying through the air,
just to name a few.

The reason we could do
what we did

was because
that dog could perform.

I actually came to look on him
as a fellow actor

and not a dog
that I wanted to pet

because he was very serious
about work.

And I remember Brian
telling me once about

something called
"behavior chaining."

And basically,
it's taking several behaviors

and linking them together.

So, for example, when,

when Soccer would
come on to a set

and he maybe walks in
and hits a mark,

but then he jumps up on a bench
and then he sits down,

and then he maybe
gives someone his paw,

that all looks
completely seamless.

It's actually several behaviors
chained together

so that it looked like
he was just acting

like every other actor on set.

- [clacks]
- [man] Ready. And Wishbone, action!

[Jackie]
Soccer, come!

Come on, buddy. Come on, jump!

Hup, hup, hup!

- Come on! Hup!
- [Wishbone grunting]

[Wishbone]
Huck! I know where the treasure is!

[man]
Okay, action, Reagan. Come on in.

- What?
- [Wishbone] Huck, it's in the cave!

- Are you sure?
- [Wishbone] I know it.

Come and help me get it.
I know a secret entrance.

Well, let's go.

[man]
Okay, turn and go...

- [speaking indistinctly]
- [Jackie] Soccer, down.

[man]
And cut.

In, uh, filmmaking,

uh, when you're laying out
complicated blocking,

all the actors,
uh, uh, are given uh, specific marks to go to.

[chuckles] So, Soccer was
all part of that, right?

Soccer could hit
more than one mark.

He hit three marks easily.

We were able
to finish all those shows

because Jackie Kaptan
was an extraordinary trainer.

Uh, open-minded, but clear,

you know, about, uh, uh,
what she was able to do

with, uh, uh, with this cast
of dogs that we had.

Soccer, come on!
Come on, buddy! Hup!

Come on, buddy! Attaboy!

He basically works
for praise from the trainers

and his off time playing ball.

He'll do anything to play ball.

It is a difficult profession
to get into.

My dad was a dog trainer,
um, as a hobby,

and so I was exposed
to a lot of dog training,

um, very young.

Um, but I started
out of high school,

workin' as a keeper
for wild animals.

And I did wild animals
for the first ten years,

um, for a wild animal company,
Steve Martin's Working Wildlife.

I got him at eight weeks old.
He's a Jack Russell terrier.

I've been workin' him
seriously for about seven years.

Um, it's kind of
a nonstop process.

- Scratch. Scratch.
- [Wishbone] I'm on my platform, so I normally--

- Okay. [chuckles]
- Oh, oh, oh, oh.

- [man] Good.
- [Jackie] Stay.

- [Wishbone] Hm? [barks]
- Good.

- [Jackie] Hide your eyes.
- [Wishbone] That's the one good line I know.

- Larry has to do the rest.
- Hide your eyes.

Hide your eyes.

All right. Attaboy.

Well, they're very active,
energetic dog.

Um, I think, what makes them
a great movie dog

is they have a lot of enthusiasm

and a lot of character,
and they enjoy work.

[Larry]
He wasn't just a trained dog. I mean, he was a trained actor.

[Wishbone]
You mean me?

Thank you, MonsieurMorrel.
I'm honored.

I know you would rather...

[Larry]
He had this amazing range,

emotionally, and, and all
of his expressions.

And physically,
he could do anything,

whether he would shade his eyes

or fly around
from one place to the next,

or cock his head
and look at you

like, "Did you just say
the right line?"

He was Charlie Chaplin

in a little
white and brown dog's body.

And I have to say,
there were lots of times,

whatever character
I was playing

over the course
of those seasons,

where you, you bought into it
enough that I was really reading

whether real or imagined
expressions on Soccer's face.

Don't worry, Robin,
we'll figure something out.

[Wishbone]
If only I'd taken her with us.

I should have.

If only I knew
that she was all right.

- If I had some kind of sign!
- [whooshes, thuds]

[Matt] And, you know,
he was processing what I was saying,

and, and whatever he was--
whatever expressions

Jackie was creating for him
with a treat, just off camera,

to me, he was absolutely
your mind through his face,

interacting with me.
So it was a--

Once I suspended
my own disbelief, it was a joy.

The dog was an actor.

It's-- You're working
with another actor.

One thing I loved about Wishbone
is that all the actors

treated the dog like,
like he was Laurence Olivier.

And then, Larry did
such and amazing job of voicing the dog

that you felt like
the dog was talking to you and was present in that moment.

[Larry]
Watching Soccer work on camera,

and watching Jackie and Brian

and the rest of the team
work with him,

taught all of us
a lot about set discipline.

Everybody knew that Soccer
needed attention,

and he needed to work,
and he needed focus.

And so, I found it
really interesting

that none of us, cast or crew,

in between takes,
would want to do anything

that would break
Soccer's focus.

[Brian]
The dog will lose focus if he's, you know,

interested in somebody else,
or if, you know,

they just had
a burger and fries and he smells it all over them.

You know, it just depends.

Um, so, yeah,

we tried to keep Soccer
focused on us.

[Larry]
He was the most expressive dog I've ever seen on a camera.

He had great personality.

During a scene,
he was very aware that he was working.

And it wasn't long,
during the first season,

before people just, on set,

other actors
just began treating him like another actor.

- How are you feeling, dear boy?
- [Wishbone sneezes] Horrible.

[people laughing]

[Larry]
And if you just did your job

and let that little dog
do his job,

he was pretty amazing.

Typical day started usually
between 6:00 and 6:30 in the morning.

The five days
of principal photography,

I had to go
wherever the shoot was,

whether it was on the backlot

or whether
it was the soundstages,

or whether we were shooting out

somewhere like a rock quarry.

So, I would arrive,
and the first person I would look for

would be, um, either
the second AD or the first AD,

to let them know I was alive
and breathing and on the set.

The second person
I would seek out would be Michael Haines,

because I was always
going to be by sound.

[lively music]

When they told you,
"Hey, the guy who's gonna be the voice,

- we actually wanna
have him on set." - Yeah.

And so, he's got--
"There's gotta be a way for him to act,

- but not be on set."
- Right.

"There's gotta be a way
for him to vocally act

with the on-camera actors."

So, how did you,
how did you solve that issue?

Well, we decided
to have you outside of the room.

[Larry]
During the first season,

Johnny Knight built for me
a, a booth, a sound booth

that stood in our studios,
between Studios A and B

and he called it "The Doghouse."

And that was where I was
when I was in the studio.

But when we were on,
when we were on location,

I was right by Michael,
who would fashion me a, um,

a sound booth
out of furniture pads and C-stands.

When we were outside, though,
it was a little different, right?

Because you had
to run a speaker out to, like,

- where the camera lived?
- Correct. Yes.

I had to run a speaker out
by where the camera was

- so the talent could react
to your voice. - Yeah.

Having Larry Brantley on set,
uh, at the time,

literally 15 or 20 feet away,

voicing whatever character
it was,

in this case with Little John,
Robin Hood,

the character I grew up loving,
that was invaluable

because now we're actually
acting with an actor.

We were on set,
but Dog Boy was in his dog box off stage, and--

You know, all by himself
in his little sound booth,

and, uh, so the only time
we got to see him

was we'd go knock on the door
and say, "Hi."

Or I'd say, "Knock, knock.
Would you like a snack?"

[both laughing]

[upbeat classical music]

I tried to bring
into the contemporary sets

as much of my own
life experience as I could.

And I was always a aficionado

of the craftsman style
of bungalow,

and designed the Talbot home,
uh, accordingly.

[somber music]

And then, next door
was our wonderful character, Wanda.

[doorknob clicks]

[Chris]
We went with the Queen Anne style.

- [light piano music]
- [birds chirping]

I just try to bring
as much character into my sets

as I possibly can so that
there is something spoken

before a word
of dialogue is said.

Giving characters
a place to live.

That's where
I would like to live, because it's warm,

and it's fuzzy,
and it's friendly.

And that's where
a dog like Wishbone

would like to live.

Chris had
a lot of design skills,

a great understanding
of construction,

but first and foremost,
he was great for this job

because he, he had
a extremely good

liberal arts background
and theater background,

and he knew this material.

I had enough feel for the time

and the place
and the architecture.

After we got a hint of an idea
about what the next show was,

I'd often, on the way home,

stop at the library
or at any bookstore

and I would buy a paperback copy
of that book

and just read the whole book
so that when Chris,

who had already done
his research,

came to me and said,
"We're gonna need this, this and this,"

I would know
what he was talking about.

...with the time machine.
Well, what is it?

What does it look like?
What should it look like?

We found this wonderful book
ofVictorian Inventions

that were quite
silly-looking to us.

Uh, I saw a little cart
that would look like

it was meant to travel
on, uh, railroad tracks,

and the man was seated
in a little metal,

uh, curved metal chair.

[classical music]

I was looking for styles

more than
a particular architectural

or a particular ground plan,

'cause I knew
we could always build,

configure to suit
our, our needs.

I had Kathryn Yingling.

Kathryn was my wo-- wonderful
sketch and concept artist.

Initially, I was there
to draw concept drawings

for art department.

[Chris]
I called her and I said,

"Look, we're-- I'm trying to

do some renderings
of this little neighborhood."

[Kathryn]
I would piece together images in Chris's head,

and he would frequently
do a little sketch.

[Chris] I said, "Let's try
to see if we can come up with an aerial view

of what these,
uh, facades and areas are, are going to look like."

Now, I knew
we were going to be doing Victorian street scene

and with some facades
that go back to the Elizabethan era,

and then,
maybe as you turn a corner,

we'll see a, uh,
medieval facade, you know,

with the half-timbered framing.

It's interesting.
I mean, we just looked at all different types of rock,

how rock had been used
in building castles

- and other medieval buildings.
- [machinery beeping]

What our forefathers,
many, many centuries ago

did with their hands,
and mortar and stone,

we have done with foam.

[light music]

We weren't trying to make
the sets look fantastical.

We were trying to make them
look as natural as possible,

as, as normal,
uh, true to life as possible.

More than anything,
we built architectural pieces.

I said,
"We'll always use a courtyard."

And the courtyard can be,

you know, a courtyard
in Romeo and Juliet,

it can be a courtyard
in Three Musketeers,

or it can be
a cathedral of Notre Dame

in Hunchback of Notre Dame.

But these were
often historical images

that we needed to produce
in a very short amount of time.

The, the pace
was, was pretty brutal.

Uh, we had to get the drawings
to the carpenters,

sometimes,
like, in an hour and a half,

and they would
amazingly fast-build them.

I mean, by the end of the day.
And then,

they would be sent over
to the, uh, scenic department

where they would be painted,
wallpaper acquired,

draperies acquired
by the art department.

They'd be
dragged out to the sets, put up with jacks, lit.

[Barry]
Then you shoot it, and then you say bye-bye.

And it's really sad
because you pampered it

and babied it for so long.

Then now it's, uh, done. Next.

[Stephanie]
You could walk onto a set for the classic literature,

and it was like
going into a museum

because they were,
in and of themselves, works of art.

[classical music]

I don't remember
Chris Henry ever saying, "We can't do this."

The conversations
were more about how we were gonna do this.

[Chris]
We're gonna be exceptional on everything we do.

We're going to be unique
in every way we tell a story.

[Rick]
I want it to be immersive, to feel like you are

in 15th-Century England
or Spain.

[Michael Benson]
The art department had dozens and dozens

of people coming and going.
The, the scenic department

had dozens
and dozens of painters over the course of it,

and sometimes we'd have
two crews working back-to-back.

We'd have one crew working
on this one

and another crew working
on the next one.

It is the look of a show,

the sets,

the colors...

...designing things
that need to be designed that don't exist.

Without detail,
you have no interest.

Because detail

is what tells the story.

I did things that I thought

people identified with
universally.

[Kathryn]
So you were walking into the world of this book,

and it was so different
every week,

and they, they did it.

[Chris]
And so much of what we did, we learned as we went along.

I remember
the first day we shot.

Rick gathered
everybody together,

and, and he said,
"Look around you.

I think you can tell
this is gonna be something exceptional."

It was. It was.

To create the overall
visual style of the show,

as far as makeup and hair goes,

I would find out what the period
of the novel was.

My job, I felt,
was to create the visual

of how the books had described
the various characters.

I had a makeup studio and room.

We had over
200 wigs and hairpieces, all lined up on the walls,

and we'd constantly
be picking one or the other.

The makeup would be designed
according to what activities

- they were doing in the scene.
- [swords clanging]

So, if I knew
that they're gonna be fighting

and doing all this stuff
and sweating,

I wasn't gonna be having
a long beard,

I'd create a shorter beard
or a different wig.

One of the things
that I absolutely love doing

is sideburns, mustaches,
beards, goatees.

They're very easy things
to change a look with.

[Joe]
There was a period of back-to-back-to-back episodes

where I did Israel Hands
in Treasure Island.

- [indistinct chatter]
- The next episode was Robin Hood.

Your Highness.

I had just captured the villain
and was about to hang him.

Were you? Had you done so,

I would have hung you myself.

And then,
the next episode after that

was The Three Musketeers.

You need a lesson in manners,
you insolent pup,

and I'll be the one
to give it to you.

So I went from a full beard

to whatever you call it,
a goatee or Van Dyke,

to this little, like,
French triangle thing.

So, they just kept
shaving my beard

week after week after week,

and it was like
an ongoing transformation.

[laughs] It was pretty cool.

Wishbonehas everything

from any other film
or production that I've done.

Wishbonewas the culmination
of it all.

We did periods from 4000 BC
up to, what, the 1920s?

So you had everything.

[Mr. Hyde laughing]

While they were putting
the makeup on for Mr. Hyde,

and I was sitting in front
of the mirror, watching,

it was, um,

it was like
I was becoming somebody else.

And especially,
when they put the stuff on my teeth

to make my teeth look rotten,

and I smiled for the first time

while I was looking
in the mirror,

I suddenly knew

that I was Mr. Hyde.

What's everybody
staring at, then?

Anyone who fixes me
with an unkind eye

- walks away with a bloody lip!
- [thwack]

[dramatic music]

[thunder cracking]

[electricity buzzing]

In Frankenstein,
there were some challenges.

There were also some things
that I chose to do.

We were thinking, do we do

a space-age kind
of a robotic type of monster?

But then, we decided
we wanted to keep

the Frankenstein monster
very human

to create a sense of pity
for this character,

but still
with the horror involved

in piecing together
this creation.

We were taking him
from this baby monster

and transitioning him
as he grew.

So the difference of the scars,

making the scars
look new to a little older,

uh, changing the length
of the hair and creating.

And for me,
that was also a challenge.

Number one,
Matt's a very good-looking guy,

and I had to make him
look like a monster.

But second of all
was that I felt, with Wishbone,

that we wanted
to make a lovable monster.

You must wonder... [laughs]

...what I, your creation,
have been doing

since you brought me to life.

[Wishbone]
I know what you've been doing!

You've left nothing but death

and destruction in your wake!

And the next thing I would do

is coordinate
with the wardrobe department.

So, "Were the clothes
gonna go over?"

"Were they gonna go around?"
"Does it zip up the back?"

"Does it have a corset?"

The wardrobe on Wishbone

was like another character,

basically, in the story.
It was so--

It was such a great part of, um,

bringing the story to life.

[Shauni]
Well, Stephen Chudej was our boss, costume designer.

[somber music]

Then we also had
three stitchers,

Tom, Traci, and Robin.

After Stephen would go to
production meetings and stuff,

he'd come
and guide us all in our--

what we were gonna do
for the week.

And for the most part,

he left us to do our jobs.

Clothing, uh, helps
to convey a sense of time,

uh, helps to convey
a sense of who these people are,

and where they are in life.

I got to wear
these amazing dresses,

huge, I mean outfits.

They were designed
so beautifully,

and so authentically.

These were hand-made
period costumes.

I mean,
we're talking real velvet, we're talking silk,

we're talking, you know,
the heavy weight

that the clothes would have
at that time.

Everything,
from the, the facial hair to the wigs, to the hats,

to the, to, to the bracelets
you wore, were authentic.

I'd like to introduce
the costume designer, Stephen Chudej...

...and we'd like to show you
how we transform, uh, Soccer

- and Wishbone
into a classic character. - [Larry] Look how cute I am.

[Rick]
Turning this character into a classic character, um,

uh, is quite a challenge
every week.

It's a challenge
for the writers,

it's a challenge
for the art department,

but it's a challenge, uh,
to try to give this character

what every great actor
for a great part needs, which is a great wardrobe.

[Larry]
Thank you. Jackie. Jackie.

I can't-- Jackie, work with me.

- [grunts] Thank you.
- [audience laughing]

[Larry]
Ah, that's much better.

[Rick]
The great Sherlock Holmes.

[Stephen]
The, the challenge is sizing down

human clothes and...

...making them actually fit.

We have to make things
that he will wear.

There are
plenty of period clothes that we can make,

but it's just not possible.

Wishbone's wardrobe was amazing.

They created these outfits
for the dog that were

so imaginative, hilarious,
and perfect for the character.

I think the hardest thing,
probably, for the wardrobe

were keeping his hat, hats on.

As far as Wishbone's hats,
we make each and every one of 'em simply because

period hats don't, don't exist
that, that small.

Soccer, at the beginning,
wearing the hats, you know,

to get him not to shake his head
in the middle of the scene, you know, it, it took a while.

He would shake his head
and they'd fall off, or--

We were always
trying to find a better way

to, to make it stay on to where
you don't see it as well.

So, that was,
that was a challenge.

[Wishbone]
And I suppose I'd best be about my business.

Good day, lads.

Now may be my best chance
to look around.

And the fact
that they could design

and sew things
that the dog would wear joyfully

was also incredible.

We had to measure him

and make a dog mannequin...

...and then I would
make a pattern

that I would base
all the other patterns off of.

[somber music]

Hundred-and-twenty-four costumes
for 40 episodes.

So, to get costumes
for Soccer...

...Stephen would come in

with a pile of books
and show me pictures and go,

"I want this,
this, this, and this. Put them all together."

That's where the magic happened.

[Rick]
The wardrobes, I thought, were flawless.

The way it was designed,
I thought was brilliant.

[Betty]
The costumes, like his shirt,

and tie, pants, coat, vest,

they all had to be one piece.

[somber music]

Not only was Soccer
asked to do unique things,

by wearing clothes
and performing,

but his costumes
had to move freely enough

for him to do his tricks.

[Rick]
After a while, when Soccer walked on the set in costume,

he just wasn't Soccer anymore.

He was a character,
and he seemed fully committed to take on the role.

[classical music]

Stay! Stay!

I worked for a short time
for George Lucas at ILM

in the camera department,

and that's where I learned
how to do visual effects.

Visual effects supervisor
is about coordinating the team to create a visual effect,

and people don't understand
what a visual effect really is.

A visual effect is simply
a shot, a finished shot

that has two or more pieces
put together to make one piece.

It can be a combination
of a matte painting,

it could be a-- an green screen
and live action,

and specific,
what we call elements,

little pieces, parts,
that go into it.

But you have to be able to take
two or more pieces--

And some of these shots
that we did for Wishbone

had as many as 40 elements.
And put them into one picture

that doesn't show
any of the seams.

I'd compare visual effects
to a puzzle

because it's a number of pieces

that have to go
together perfectly

so you can't tell
where one piece stops

and the other piece begins.

Typically, our visual effects
combine live action

with other pieces
like photographs

and sometimes other pieces
of live action,

like water or moving clouds
for a sky background.

Caris was such a creative spirit
and such a storyteller.

Her ability to kind of create

something that was always
gonna serve the story,

but that was
also technically difficult, um, was amazing.

I think every episode
had something new in it

that we learned how to do
over time.

Nobody really knew how to talk
about visual effects,

so they'd come to me
with an idea

and we would figure out

what all those pieces, parts
needed to be.

And the art department
was critical in this because

they were the ones
who were determining, "Okay,

we need a wide view into a field
with a little house over here,

and Wishbone walks
down the road over here.

How do we put that together?"

Every episode
was its own challenge.

Some episodes had 20 shots,
some had three.

[classical music]

Working with Soccer was such,
uh, an interesting process

because Jackie
was such an astonishing trainer.

The purpose
of the visual effects department

is to take Wishbone
all over the world,

to place him
in France or England,

or places that exist
only in our imaginations

or in the imaginations
of the authors of the book.

I had to do my homework
on exactly what was needed for the shots.

The advantage I had,
and the only advantage I had

was the fact that I had already
spent years in California

shooting for ILM,
or shooting on other features

that I was hired
to do effects for.

It wasn't that I wanted
to be the best visual effects supervisor in the world,

it's I wanted to contribute
to the story.

Everything that I looked for
to put on film,

I wanted to have
an emotional context.

I wanted something to come
and fill my head with rhythm

and with beauty and with uplift.

Whether it was time-lapse clouds

or how a dirt road
runs off into the horizon

and dips down into a canyon...

..."How can I put this on film
in such a way

that other people
will see it too?"

This whole thing
was this amazing collaboration.

There was a, a sense of magic,
and a sense of play,

and a sense of heart.

The heart was
the most important part.

[moving classical music]

The time in the '90s, mid-'90s,

we had a choice.
We could have produced

the, the show
on, uh, on videotape

if we had chosen to, uh, shoot
multi-camera proscenium style,

where, you know, you've got
the crew on one side... [laughs]

...and the set on the other,
and everything happens,

you know, on that,
uh, on that set, sitcom style.

Yeah, if you did it
on a-- in a stage

where it's just
silly props and--

It-- it wouldn't feel the same.

You know,
film has its own vocabulary,

its own visual vocabulary.

[classical music]

We all agreed we wanted
a, a single-camera film look,

which, you know, puts it
in the same visual style

as the, uh, popular
television shows of the time.

But Wishbonewas a big bet.

- [clapperboard clacks]
- Okay, dolly. And action.

That's what I wanted it to be.
I wanted it to feel cinematic.

[Bert]
We shot 16 millimeter rather than, uh, 35 millimeter.

There is a, a level
of production that is produced by film images.

It interprets light differently
than, uh, videotape did at the time.

We wanted to do
as much as possible to get that cinematic feel,

to feel like when kids
are watching this show on PBS,

they get to watch a movie
every time.

So we chose to make
a, a cinematic-style show,

uh, which was a big decision.

[upbeat classical music]

Well, I was given
the instruction

that in addition to doing
the art direction work,

that I'd be doing
the book covers.

And I would take

the-- what I knew of a novel

and sort of resolve it down

to one look, one thought.

I tried to interject

as much of the book as I could
in the cover.

And you do that by fonts,
typefaces that are period.

You immediately go to the past

when you see
an old font and typeface

that you associate
with, you know,

uh, the 1800s, for example.

In Frankenstein...

...we all know
the Hollywood version...

...but I wanted to put
on the cover

the etching of a young woman
writing by candlelight,

'cause I wanted young readers
to know that a woman,

Mary Shelley,
had written Frankenstein.

We animated over
the Frankensteinbook.

It was in this Gothic type,
you know, typeface.

And we put electrical shocks
in, you know... [poof]

...bursts going--
coming from it.

And, oh, they just gave it
that snap that it needed.

We had to originate
every book cover

so there was no copyright
infringement of that book.

I would put them up on the wall
behind my desk,

and I just started
watching them add up,

week to week, month to month.

And I would look at them

as I designed
the next book cover

so that I didn't repeat
a design.

[light classical music]

I always tried to make
as much of a statement,

even through the book cover
as I possibly can,

just to lend
a little more information

about the episode.

The process
for choosing what stories Wishbone would tell

was a complex one.

We would just sit down together,

just go through
lists and lists and lists,

and then I would go off and read
a summary of the story

just to get a sense
of the basic idea,

if I hadn't read
the book myself.

Every week,
I was reading a new book.

But to determine
what would work,

- we had to think, a...
- [laughter]

..."Is there a level
within this story

that will work for children?"
Some books are too dark.

There had to be something
within the story,

some light, some hope,

um, an opportunity for comedy.

And there had to be
a good role for Wishbone.

[Wishbone]
I have words. [retches] Let me teach you

how to insult my nose, monsieur.

You could have said,
"Your nose is so big,

you should call a doctor
and have it amputated."

Then we had to think,
what are the themes of this book

and how could that theme
translate into a kid's life?

It should be fun and funny.

We should be able to hit
the heavy emotions, which we did.

We always played them
very straight.

When something was sad
on Wishbone,it was sad.

The actors played it straight
and so did the dog.

But there had to be
lots of opportunities for,

you know, for little
throwaway lines from Wishbone

and for him to be funny.

[Wishbone]
Ooh, sunshine and a bench.

Looks like I might
have my nap after all.

Oh! I'm assuming
that was an accident.

- [thwack]
- [neighing]

[Wishbone]
Ouch! That's a couple of cracked ribs, at least!

Comin' down!

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,

hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

[laughing] I love that!

Okay, guys,
let's do some spelling!

And to keep reminding the kids,
"This is for you.

We're in this together.
This is playful.

This is fun. This is joyful."

[somber music]

[host] Wishbone, the series
is the brainchild of Rick Duffield,

who serves
as executive producer,

and he joins us
this morning from Fort Worth.

And we should mention
that Wishbone the dog isn't with us this morning.

- No, he's not.
- We hear he's on hiatus in Hollywood. Is that true?

That is true.
Um, he's getting ready to go on tour, though.

- [chuckles] I bet he is.
- He...[chuckles]

Yeah, it's the, uh,
Live Unleashed tour.

Uh, he's, uh, visiting
a number of cities around the country.

Larry would be a great person
to put on the road

to capture the essence
of Wishbone

and, like, bring him out
into the public.

And he goes, "We want you to go
on tour with Jackie and Soccer."

It would feel, for kids,
like a peek,

having a piece of the show
right next to you.

We went out to, like,
every major market.

- [man chuckles]
- Later today, Wishbone will be appearing

at the Store of Knowledge
in Horton Plaza.

This morning,
Larry's with Wishbone, his trainer, Jackie Kaptan,

and the voice of Wishbone,
Larry Brantley.

All right, yeah, here he is,
ladies and gentlemen, the star of the show.

- And he looks fabulous,
doesn't he? - Yeah, he does look great.

- I'm telling you, he--
- He puts on makeup all day, all morning.

Just killing me.
Oh, that is au naturel.

We went to Los Angeles,
San Diego, Boston,

New York, Minneapolis.

I mean,
just all over the country.

The biggest rage now
on KPBS is Wishbone.

Everybody's in love
with Wishbone.

This is Larry Brantley.
He's the voice of Wishbone.

[host]
One of the things that people love about Wishbone,

grown-ups especially,
is that he teaches children lessons about history.

[host] Afraid
I'm signaling something to Wishbone right now.

- I shouldn't be
moving my hands. - I think Wishbone is--

He's looking at me,
he's getting a raise, which is really

- not the best thing to do.
This way-- - [all laughing]

Well, you know what? That's why
there's money right here.

- Oh, oh.
- [indistinct chatter]

"Oh, it tastes like a five spot.
I don't touch that."

Dog with a big imagination.

Wishbone, the star
of the new television series.

He was at
FAO Schwarz celebrating

the canine event
of the season himself.

Wishbone was entertaining fans
with his bag of tricks

to promote his TV show,
to meet the fans,

and to spread his love
of reading,

which is the premise
of the new program.

- It is a terrific show,
and, and... - Thanks.

...it's got to be a lot of fun
for both of you

to really bring to children

some of those
classics of literature.

- [host 1] Good morning.
- [host 2] Hello, Jackie.

- Good morning.
- Hi, Wishbone.

- Hello.
- [laughs]

We've had a very big response,
and we're very excited about it.

Um, the kids
really seem to enjoy it, along with the adults.

It's something
they can watch together.

Now, Wishbone will be
at the Mall of America

on Saturday. And on Sunday,

he'll be at Target stores
in Roseville,

and then in Eden Prairie Center.

So, kids, tell your parents.

Somebody from
the Mall of America

came in and said,

"You guys, this is,
this is more people

than we had for the opening
of Planet Hollywood."

"How many people
did you have at the opening of Planet Hollywood?"

And they said, "5000."

We said,
"Well, how many do you think there are out there now?"

"About 7000."

[host]
Kids love the action. Parents love the message.

[man]
Oh, you can tell I watch it too.

- Uh-oh.
- [woman laughing]

Yeah, I think I like it
because it lets the kids

see the classics,
and, uh, introduces them to some literature.

[host] Of course,
these kids dig this dog for less noble reasons,

but no less important.

He's smart,
and he's a cute little dog.

And it slowly began
to dawn on me

and everyone
who was part of that,

just how popular
the show was becoming.

Amazing. Amazing responses.
Kids loved it.

Well, I think it's cute
to have a dog play the role as a main character.

It's sort of funny
and the way, the way kids would like it to be.

I like it 'cause it's like
a cartoon, but it's... [stutters]

It's got real people
and, uh, a real dog.

[Charlotte]
Kids started wanting the books and reading the books

'cause they didn't know
the literature.

They loved Soccer or Wishbone.
They loved the little dog.

This show was not just
appealing to children.

This had a huge audience
all the way up--

You know, people
in their seventies and eighties.

We had a huge following
in college students.

We had a huge following
in high school students

who were, like, "Oh, snap.
What's this about, this book?

Oh, I'll watch Wishbone."

This little family comes up
and they say,

"Oh, you just don't know
what this show has meant.

The first word
that our baby ever spoke was 'Wishbone'."

[Gigi]
What was fascinating,

all the little kids knew it.

"Oh, I love Wishbone."

And then the people
50 and older.

There was, like, this

interesting dichotomy
of age range.

[Rick]
The kids got it right away.

Not everybody did,
but kids got it right away.

They knew.

[light music]

In '96 is when we did
most of the, uh, negotiation.

We had finished in '95.

In '96, we were just working
to get the next season going.

I went to meeting after meeting
at the PBS headquarters

to come up with different ways
to get the show back on the air.

They did come up with
a good portion of the cost

of that second season,
but not all of it.

It was an expensive show to do,
and at that time,

everything was heading
in the other direction.

We got to keep the expenses down

because the industry
was changing,

television was changing,
cable was changing.

Everything was changing.

And there was more
and more product on the air.

And the more the product,
the cheaper it needs to be.

So it was hard to get
that money together

to do that second season.

[pensive music]

Let's talk about playing cowboy.

We did Dog Days of the West
as a, uh, partnership with Showtime.

[music playing]

[narrator]
Wyatt Earp,

Doc Holliday,

Wishbone.

[all]
Howdy, Bill?

[Wishbone]
Howdy, everyone?

[narrator]
It takes a real hero

to tame the wild, Wild West.

[Wishbone]
I don't have a gun!

[narrator]
Wishbone's Dog Days of the West,

a Showtime original picture.

I had been reading
a lot of O. Henry at that time.

All of his characters
are so colorful.

I thought
that would be a great way to get into Western.

The Western genre for kids.

And so, to get to go
to New Mexico for a few weeks

and play cowboy
was just a dream come true.

[Wishbone]
Waa-hoo!

[Western music]

That was awesome. Super fun.

You know, location, project,
and in a beautiful place.

And it really felt
like being on a movie set.

We were out there
at J.W. Eaves Ranch for one location

and Silverado Ranch
for another location.

And there's just prairies,
and vistas, and buttes, and mesas.

It opened up the world
so we were able to have a movie schedule.

We can do big theatrical things,
like a stagecoach coming down...

[Wishbone]
Hyah, hyah!

- ...dog herding cattle...
- [Wishbone] Hyah, hyah, hyah!

- [cattle mooing]
- [Wishbone laughing] Yip, yip!

...a dog riding a horse...

...a train coming in...

[horn hooting]

...a food fight
of epic proportions.

- [splat]
- [men exclaiming]

I can't see!

[all hooting]

Our shots widened
because we were... [laughs]

...we were able to be out
in the, the great outdoors, you know,

and these,
these great Western sets

that they have out
in that part of the country.

And so, we were able to take
advantage of a much wider frame.

Somewhere deep in that shoot,
there was an action sequence

where there's a big gunfight.

Marshall Buck is running
across a great expanse.

The idea that Soccer
is gonna be running right along beside us--

We're both gonna get up,
you know, beautifully and simultaneously

and synchronize up
on this little plank,

and we're gonna
lean against the wall. Cut.

So, they set it all up.
They call, "Action."

We take off at a dead sprint.

And about five yards
before that plank,

that dog decides
to cut underneath my feet.

Within a tenth of a second,
the option is

I accidentally trip over
this dog and face plant

and, and everything goes
every which way and possibly hurt the dog,

and, and just all heck
is gonna break loose.

Or, in my lizard brain,

it just launched me in the air
over the dog

as it went underneath my feet,
dive rolled in the air,

came up, slammed my back
against the side of the building

and brought the gun out.

Rick called, "Cut."
There was a moment of silence

and then everybody exploded.

And I remember thinking,

"They'll never use that
in the film."

And then we, we showed up
for the premiere at the theater,

and they kept that in the film.

- [gunshot]
- [crow cawing]

- [clicking]
- [gunshots]

- [gunshot]
- [thuds]

- [clicks]
- [gunshot]

[bullet ricochets]

That was so much fun,

and everybody had a great time.

And I think, because we were
having so much fun,

you can see it
in the finished product.

You can see it
in the performances,

you can see it
in the art direction,

and the way the thing is shot.

It just looked like
we were having a good time.

Never ever anger a film crew.

[uplifting music]

[music ends]

- [rustles]
- In the span of my career,

Wishbone'sright there
at the very tippy top.

I can say without fear
of contradiction.

I mean, I'm, I'm 57 years old.

I'm more than
twice the age I was

when I started working
on this show.

It's still the best thing
I ever did.

Hands down, without question.

In the scope of my career,
it sits absolutely at the top,

or the heart or, or the, the,
the best project of my career.

Nothing compares.

So I'm retired now,

and I've got lots of stuff

to look back on.

And it was a highlight.

Uh, it was working
with people I love.

[poignant music]

And that's enough.

[muted]

I'll never have an experience
like that again in my life.

It was fully magical.
I got so close

to all of the people
working on the show.

I just thought it was
such a fantastic experience,

and, um, my favorite one.

My favorite moment
in my career, really.

I'm enormously proud
of obviously

what we accomplished,
uh, and always will be.

It'll be one of the things
in this life and the next

that, uh, I am the most proud
to have my name associated with.

I still feel this way today

that we gelled together so well,
it was like a family.

It didn't feel like a job.

It wasn't a job.

The show was great for me
because, you know,

I learned so much
about training dogs

and animals for movies.

I think it really helped
propel me

as a trainer for what I did.

Um, I, I came out of this show
with a lot more confidence

knowing that I could do
so much more.

The moment we had,

and the moments we've had
with Wishbone,

it haven't been duplicated
in my career.

The show is really special.

There won't be
anything else like this.

[Mary]
If it's an arc, it's like right there at the, the top.

I mean, I won't say
that, like, everything was downhill after that...

[chuckles] because I did go on
and do a couple of other series

as a mom.
Uh, but this was definitely--

this, you know, the high point.
This was Mount Fuji.

I was just so grateful
that I got to have this experience.

It was everything
that if you wanna be in the film industry,

it was everything
that you thought it would be.

In my career,

Wishboneis just

so important to my heart.

Such a tremendous challenge,
such...

...an accomplishment
that I did not by myself,

but with this group
of wonderful people

who became friends forever.

And it sits right there
at the top of my career.

It was the best group of humans.

It was the best circumstances.

It-- In many cases,
the hardest circumstances,

because there was so much youth
and inexperience on that set. [chuckles]

But it created
this bond among all of us,

which is why I'm still
very close to almost everybody

that worked on that show,
to this day.

Because we had this ability
to put together

something that was
really magical.

I do remember periodically
getting out of my car and going,

"Wow, I'm going
to work here," you know?

And I do remember feeling
it was really special at the time.

It was so big
in its little dog way

that, that was never matched
for me in my career.

Oh, it's everything.

[voice choking] I couldn't ask
for anything more.

[poignant music]

We wanted it
to be a weekly show.

You know, we thought
that's the best way to feature it.

You know,
every show is a whole universe.

We approached it that way.

And the, the head
of children's programming, Alice Cahn, at PBS,

was pursuing that

'cause she wanted
to make that change

in the broadcasting schedule,

and try to get
that more weekly viewing.

When it came down to it,

their programming model was...

...strip shows... [chuckles]
'Cause all these stations

had different agendas
around the country.

But that children's block,

everybody just
latched on to that,

and they had their half day,

Monday through Friday
filled with programming.

The intention with
the programming at the time is to strip,

what they call strip, um,
a children's show.

And it's just like
a cartoon script. It's every day.

Forty shows...

...in eight weeks.

That meant that every day,
a new Wishboneshow was gonna air.

And when I heard that,
I knew our show was doomed.

The people that were in charge
of the marketing and the broadcasting

failed to see, is--
there was gonna be

a staying power
with this audience

that could be
appointment viewing.

There was not financial payback

that they were looking for

between our financiers,
our studio and PBS.

They just didn't wanna invest
in giving it more time.

I think, if they'd
given it more time,

it would have been
phenomenally successful.

[somber music]

The day we had to talk
about shutting down the show

was definitely the hardest day.

We came back from shooting
Dog Days of the West,

and that was when
Rick had to stand up

and tell us all
that there would be no more Wishbone.

[Rick]
I felt, um, an obligation to everybody on that show...

...to keep it alive...

...and I just couldn't.

I cried.

I cried that day.

Fortunately, I was off camera,

so, like,
nobody could see me crying.

But I think a lot of people did.

And Rick did too.

But he said something at the end
that's always stuck with me.

He said,
"I want you to remember, when you walk away from here,

that you weren't just
a part of something great,

you were part
of something important."

Everything happens for a reason,
as, as sappy as that sounds.

And, and so, what remains is,

uh, something that,
that won't ever be done again like that.

There's some kind of magic
that happens with television

and the audience,
and you don't know

what kind of lifespan
you're gonna get.

You know,
there's a time and place for every show on television.

They flame out,
and they're amazing, and they're gone.

Victor Hugo said,

"There's nothing more powerful

than an idea
whose time has come."

And I just think

that it was a magic time

when we were able
to put together a show

of that magnitude,
and it was an idea whose time had come.

I think the enduring legacy
of a show like Wishbone

is to remind the audience that

an original, crazy idea...

...will always...

...stick with you and stand out.

I think the show's legacy
is giving children an excitement

for reading, and making it fun.

I think the Wishbone
shows you that, um,

if you put th-- that kind
of material in the world,

that people will not
just receive it,

but it will change them
and help them

in ways that are immeasurable.

And in this case, the idea was,

we wanna introduce kids

to classic literature,

and we want them

to have it in a way
that is approachable.

Because it didn't
play down to kids,

it didn't condescend,

it didn't shy away
from dark subject matter.

[Michael Benson]
I, I can't think of any other show that,

it's main, uh, raison d'être

was to, uh, to get children
interested in books.

[Rick]
The kids saw these shows when they were little,

and as they get older,
they remember it.

It never goes away,

the experience
of watching the show.

It's gone. It's long gone,
but they always remember it.

And I think the longer the time,
the more fond the memories are.

The idea of a dog
as the hero of the story,

and it resonated,
but it didn't just resonate with the kids.

It resonated with everyone
who's still young at heart.

[muted]

There's a universality
to the concept

contained within the heart
of the show

about how classic literature
relates to modern life

that will never be lost.

Will never be lost because...

...people are people.

We made a difference.

Period. Exclamation point.

We made a difference.

I also think the enduring legacy
is just to tell people

these books
are not intimidating.

These books are for you.

These are human stories
about human experiences,

and they have something
to offer you.

And you don't have to have
any special talents

to engage with them,
to learn from them and to love them.

- [birds chirping]
- Different stories brought us all to the same place.

That's what stories do.

And this neighborhood is...

Well, it's our place.

It's just an ordinary
neighborhood, but...

...it's the home
of our stories.

[muted]

Beneath the dullest exterior,

there is a drama,

a comedy, a tragedy.

[Wishbone]
"What's the story, Wishbone?"

The story is us.
It's all of us...

Whatcha!

...and it always was.

Whoo-hoo!

[light classical music]

[music builds]

[music continues]

[music ends]