Between the Lions

Between the Lions title card

Between the Lions is a children's show that airs on PBS designed to promote reading skills. The basic philosophy of the program, using a family of lions running a public library, is to get kids "wild about reading." Although it is not affiliated with The Jim Henson Company or Sesame Street, it does share many similar characteristics, along with some similarities to The Electric Company. It also features many cast and crew commonly involved with Muppet productions.

Appearances

• Big Bird, Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street made a special guest appearance in a season two episode entitled "Tweet! Tweet!," which aired on May 1, 2001. Bert and Elmo also appeared, as celebrity guests, in "Dance with Smartypants" inserts from that season. Credited guest performers were Caroll Spinney, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Kevin Clash, and John Tartaglia.

• Principal characters from Between the Lions joined Sesame Street and The Muppet Show characters in the "We Are Family" music video.

• Two 2006 PBS interstitials for the Ready To Learn Service feature Between the Lions characters:

• "Star Finder" spoofs American Idol with Ernie demonstrating his rhyming skills. The judges are Theo Lion from Between the Lions, Emily Elizabeth from Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Oscar the Grouch.
• Another one stars Leona, the little girl lion, and her father Theo. The segment takes place outside the normal realm of the show, and instead is set in a family living room, spoofing the sitcom genre, complete with laugh track. A brief set of credits appear under a voice over making reference to other PBS shows including Sesame Street. The credits include: Camera Operator - Grover; Art Direction - Prairie Dawn; Leona's Body Double - Elmo Monster; Second, Third and Seventh Unit Director - The Count; and, Gaffer - Big Bird.

Connections

• Pam Arciero plays Leona (third season on)
• Anthony Asbury plays Lionel
• Heather Asch plays Click
• Carin Greenberg Baker was a regular writer for the series
• Jennifer Barnhart plays Cleo
• Paul Benedict played Fay's Father in "Hay Day"
• Lou Berger co-created and served as staff writer
• Bill Berner has served as director and director of photography
• Tyler Bunch played Walter Pigeon (in the first eason) and Dr. Nitwhite
• Christopher Cerf co-created, served as executive producer, and composed songs
• Emilio Delgado voiced the Ram in "The Ram in the Pepper Patch."
• Sarah Durkee co-wrote the theme song and songs
• 14 Karat Soul performed in inserts
• Michael K. Frith co-created the series, executive produced, and provided voices for the first two seasons
• Paul Jacobs co-wrote the theme song and songs
• Larry King appears regularly
• James Kroupa puppeteers various roles
• Tim Lagasse plays Barnaby B. Busterfield and Arty Asmartypants
• Peter Linz plays Theo and Heath the Thesaurus (second season on)
• Brian Muehl wrote episodes of the series
• Kathryn Mullen co-created, wrote, played Leona, and served as puppet captain for the first two seasons.
• Fred Newman wrote, voiced Chicken Jane and others, and appears in "Fred Says" segments
• Oliver Platt played himself in various segments
• Al Roker played himself in inserts
• Marilyn Sokol played The Strange Old Lady in "Sausage Nose"
• Jon Stewart played himself in inserts
• Norman Stiles co-created, executive produced, and served as head writer
• Matt Vogel puppeteers various roles
• Belinda Ward co-wrote some of the songs