Children’s television in the 80s was experimental in some ways.  While more established shows like “Sesame Street” had by a certain point long since found their purpose, the proliferation of channels offered the opportunity for a broader array of programming of all types to appear.  As such, a TV Ontario-produced show, “Today’s Special,” made its way onto U.S. airwaves by way of Nickelodeon and PBS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FN2oggATIY

The show features a store worker, a mannequin that comes to life, a security guard (that’s a puppet) and a mouse (that’s also a puppet). In the clip below, an anchor of the segment is just repeating the sentence “Trains travel to Toronto,” a particularly amusing segment for some friends of mine and I.

The show offered educational moments, but was entertaining as well, and had a decent run.  Thankfully, many of the episodes are alive and well on YouTube and viewable once again.