Pinwheel was a children's television show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable network from 1977 to 1990. The show was the original program featured on the Nickelodeon network (the channel itself was known as "Pinwheel" until 1979). There were a total of 260 one-hour Pinwheel episodes recorded, however, Pinwheel was typically broadcast in 3 to 5 hour long blocks with multiple one-hour episodes shown back-to-back. At 260 episodes, it remains the longest running Nickelodeon show in terms of episodes, and was the longest running in years until You Can't Do That On Television broke the record.
It was notable for featuring a variety of animation from around the world (mostly Europe), in addition to live action segments where humans acted along with puppets. Live action characters included Sal and Smitty (an elderly couple who ran a newspaper called "The Daily Noodle"), Jake (a black guy who had small boxes which emitted various sound effects), and Kim (played by Arlene Miyazaki). Puppet characters included Plus and Minus (similar-looking characters whose favorite game was "Gotcha Last!"), Aurelia (a gypsy who lived in the house and used a special phone to dial the "Opposite City Operator"), Silas the Snail (had an elderly-looking face, and took an entire episode to go from one end of the garden to the other), Ebeneezer (green-faced equivalent to Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street), Luigi (ethnic-looking guy who ran a fruit & veggie stand), and a mole (Molly Mole) who lived in a tree in the backyard.
Program content
- Alphy Apkins
- Bagpuss
- Bod
- Bolek and Lolek
- Chapi Chapo
- Charlie
- The Clangers
- Emily
- Hattytown Tales
- King Rollo
- LiLLiPuTPuT
- Madeline
- Mole
- The Magic Roundabout
- Mixometric
- Musti
- Paddington Bear
- Picture Pages (with Bill Cosby)
- The Pilis
- Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
- Tip and Tap
- The Clockman