Sugarzine: Television The Electric Company was like Sesame Street for the 6-10 age group - although I would have enjoyed it through my twenties if it were still available. Brought to you from the Children's Television Workshop (same folks as Sesame), the show was usually aired after Sesame Street on your local PBS channel from 1971-77. The series aimed to teach basic reading and grammar skills to its young viewers through a variety of skits, cartoons and games. The show taught us about the different sounds, punctuations and contractions. But it also gave us unforgettable characters such as; The Easy Reader (played by a suave Morgan Freeman), "Fargo North, Decoder" and Paul the Gorilla. Okay, maybe you don't remember that one... But do you remember "The Adventures of Letterman (with a Silent E on his sweater and voiced by Gene Wilder)? Or the live action "Adventures of Spiderman" (I never knew what a yette was before seeing Spidey catch this arctic big foot on one episode) Or how about Rita Moreno opening the show with..."Hey you guys!!!!!" Maybe I watched too much, huh? But honestly, The Company showcased a bunch of soon to be stars, including Bill Cosby, and Irene Cara, to go with Wilder, Moreno and Freeman. It was just an awesome show and it probably taught me just as much if not more then the ever-praised Sesame Street.