Encyclopedia is a television series created by HBO and the for-profit branch of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) (now known as Sesame Workshop), Distinguished Productions, Inc. (DPI) (which has since been folded into Sesame Workshop). The series premiered on HBO in 1988.
Each episode covered a letter or series of letters in the alphabet, with short skits of sketch comedy devoted to up to twelve corresponding encyclopedia topics. Several topics were related through song. Three of the six writers of the show had also been writers for NBC's Saturday Night Live: Patricia Marx, Brian McConnachie, and Mitchell Kriegman.
The series featured the band BETTY, who performed both the opening and closing themes as well as individual songs for selected topics.
Topics The series covered the following topics:
A air alchemy alligator ambidexterity amoeba antler ant archaeology armor atom (song) Attila the Hun (song) avalanche
B Bach, Johann Sebastian bagpipes ballet bat bee Beethoven, Ludwig van blood bones (song) boomerang Brahms, Johannes brain brontosaurus
C camel carnivore caveman (song) census chain reaction (song) chlorophyll Cleopatra cockroach comet
D Darwin, Charles democracy desert diet (song) dragonfly dream duck dust
E earthquake echo (song) egg Einstein, Albert emotion equator Ericson, Leif (song) etiquette evaporationF feet fingerprint fire firefly fish (song) food chain freezing Freud, Sigmund (song)
G gene (song) geography germ geyser gland gladiator glass glockenspiel
H hair Hammurabi (song) heart heat (song) hermit hiccup hieroglyphics hummingbird
I ichthyology identical twins income tax infinity (song) insect insomnia instinct insurance intestine invertebrate
J Jefferson, Thomas jellyfish jester judo jugular vein July 4th jumping beans (song) jungle Jupiter
K kaleidoscope kangaroo key kilt knee knight knot (song) knucklesL ladybug (song) larynx latitude and longitude lava Leaning Tower of Pisa leap year leech Lincoln, Abraham Louis XIV (song) lyre
M magic mammal memory metrics migration moon mosquito moth (song) muscle mutt
N Napoleon Bonaparte navigation neanderthal necktie nerve (song) Niagara Falls nomad North Pole and South Pole
O ocean octave (song) octopus optical illusion optimist organ ozone oyster
P paleontology parachute Pasteur, Louis pendulum percussion phobia (song) piranha platypus pterodactyl pyramid
Q quarantine quark quarry quartet quartz quasar (song) quicksand quilt quintuplets quorumR radar rainbow rat reflex REM reptile robot rocket (song) roller skate rubber
S senses skeleton skin skunk snoring snow Statue of Liberty sugar (song)
T tears teeth telephone termite test pilot thumb trampoline tropical (song) turtle Tutankhamen
U UFO ultraviolet rays umbrella unicycle
V valedictorian Venus flytrap vertigo (song) veterinarian vocabulary vulture
W walrus wart hog Washington, George water weather whale whistle (song) White House windmill Wright brothers
X X-ray
Y yak yawn yodeling yoga yo-yo
Z Zapata, Emiliano (song) ZIP code (song) zipper zoology
Awards Daytime Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design: Calista Hendrickson Outstanding Achievement in Makeup: Paul Gebbia
Merchandising
Video All episodes were released on VHS in the late 1990s. They are no longer available commercially, but often appear on eBay.
External links The New York Times: CTW Romps Onto Cable With 'Encyclopedia' by Alison Leigh Cowan