May i have a word game

May I Have a Word? is an animated game-show segment shown between and at the end of episodes on WordGirl. It features the host, Beau Handsome, asking three contestants, Phil, Tommy, and Emily, the definition of a particular word, such as crestfallen, fatigued, evade, or snare. The contestant who gives the correct definition wins a prize that often has something to do with the featured word, but sometimes is more random. WordGirl herself appears only once in the show in person, during the segment on the word Fumble, when she streaks in and returns Beau Handsome to his podium following the previous episode, when he was kidnapped by Seymour Orlando Smooth.

May I Have a Word? did not appear in the WordGirl movie The Rise of Miss Power. It was replaced with the Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour. However, if the movie is split into two parts (one half plays one day and the other half plays the next day), then May I Have a Word? is played in between the segments.

Audience

Here are some of the recognizable regulars seen in the audience (from left to right, front to back):

• Green-jacketed man
• Tessa from What’s Your Favorite Word?
• the Pointing lady from the opening cinematic
• Grey-shirted lady
• Stubble guy
• Toque guy
• Beehive lady
• Oak Street lady

Gameplay

There are three contestants, who are apparently always Tommy, Emily, and Phil. They are standing at three podiums. Beau Handsome is to the left, in another podium, there is also a screen somewhere in the headquarters, but its location is unknown. The game begins with Beau Handsome announcing the featured word, then showing several clips from the WordGirl show to give hints to the word’s meaning. Then a contestant must buzz in from their podium which lights the light above them, and define the word. If the player incorrectly defines the word, then another player has the opportunity to buzz in and respond. If all three contestants buzz in at the same time and correctly define the word, they all win the round. This has happened on multiple occasions.

The Bonus Round

The bonus round is the second round of the game. Only the contestant that correctly defined the word plays this round. Three pictures are shown on the screen and the player must say which one shows the correct definition of the word. If all three contestants won the first round, then the first contestant to buzz in and give the correct answer wins. If no one correctly defined the word in the first round, the first one to buzz in and give the correct answer wins.

Prizes

The winner(s) of each round receives a prize, usually an Official WordGirl product, an Official Beau Handsome product, or something else, e.g. a tub of chocolate pudding, a cream pie. Captain Huggyface presents the prize.

Statistics

Here is a tally of the number of individual wins in the main round:

• Emily — 17 wins
• Phil — 13 wins
• Tommy — 13 wins

(In Enormous, ALL contestants were declared winners.)

Other anomalies in the scoring:

• In Bewilder, Phil gave the correct definition, but in an indirect manner, and at first was disqualified and Emily overheard Beau and said what he said and when Tommy buzzed Beau said he already gave the definition and a bewildered Tommy asked if he did making Beau so upset making no one win. But at the start of the bonus round, Beau reversed his decision and declared Phil to have won the main round.
• In Scowl, no one won the main round, but all contestants won the bonus round.
• In Stroll, Emily won the main round, but did not choose the correct picture for the bonus round.
• In Dazed, Phil won the main round, but did not choose the correct picture for the bonus round.
• In Tiff, all contestants buzzed in the same time (just like Enormous), but this time Phil ended up giving the correct answer.
• In Shatter, Emily gave the correct definition after all the contestants’ podiums and buzzers were «shattered» by Huggy. Even though she couldn’t buzz in, Beau asked the judges if her answer would be accepted, which it was.
• Also in Bewilder, the contestants saw a clip in which Becky changed from her Pretty Princess costume into WordGirl.

The Paradox of the Show

The game show May I Have a Word? presents several interesting contradictions. First of all, the show uses episode scenes from the WordGirl series as examples for word definitions. The announcer and contestants are fully aware of the events that take place in the series, as any fan would be. Many of the sample clips and pictures focus on the Botsford family, and in fact, at least one clip shows Becky changing into WordGirl (during Bewilder).

On the other hand, the audience is filled with characters who actually inhabit the WordGirl series. They live their lives in Fair City, and they would therefore have no idea of who WordGirl really is. Huggy is a regular on the game show, although he is also in the series. Tommy is also shown as a character in several WordGirl episodes. And with the episode Tell Her What She’s Won!, Becky is shown watching May I Have a Word?, meaning that the show (which reveals her secret identity) is being broadcast to households (and villains) all over Fair City.

What does all of this mean? Nothing, really. It’s simply an interesting concept to ponder. The series and the game show are both fun ways of teaching kids how to use words properly, and that’s what’s really important.

Episodes

1. The 2007-2008 episodes were season 1.
2. The 2009 words were season 2.
3. The 2010-2011 words were season 3.
4. The 2012-2013 words were season 4.
5. The 2015 words were season 5.

2007 words:

2008 words:

2009 words:

2010 words:

2011 words:

2012 words:

2013 words:

2015 words:

See Wikipedia:List of WordGirl episodes#May I Have a Word episodes for more info.

Gallery

Behind the Scenes

Trivia

• 2014 was the only year to not feature any new words due to a repeat of the same feature words.
• Some countries outside of the U.S. that aired WordGirl did not include this segment in order to air commercial breaks.

Ben Sears

Ben Sears is a writer and restaurant guy in Birmingham, Alabama. He lives quite happily across from a creek with his wife, two sons, and an obligatory dog. You can follow him on Twitter and read his blog, The Columbo Game.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WordGirl
Title card
Also known as	The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl
Created by	Dorothea Gillim
Developed by	Dorothea Gillim Jack D. Ferraiolo
Directed by	David SanAngelo Steve Young
Voices of	Dannah Phirman Feinglass Tom Kenny Maria Bamford Cree Summer Patton Oswalt Fred Stoller H. Jon Benjamin Larry Murphy James Adomian Grey DeLisle Jeffrey Tambor John C. McGinley
Narrated by	Chris Parnell Rodger Parsons (interstitials)
Theme music composer	Steve D’Angelo Terry Tompkins
Opening theme	«Word Up, It’s WordGirl!»
Ending theme	«Word Up, It’s WordGirl!» (instrumental)
Composer	Eggplant Productions Inc.
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	130 (250 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Dorothea Gillim (2007–09/Seasons 1–2) Deborah Forte (2009–15/Seasons 2–8)
Producers	Will Shepard (2007–09/season 1) Danielle Gillis (2009–15/seasons 2–8)
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Soup2Nuts Scholastic Entertainment
Release
Original network	PBS Kids Go! (2007–13) PBS Kids (2013–15) (PBS)
Picture format	NTSC (season 1) HDTV 1080i (seasons 2–8)
Original release	Shorts: November 10, 2006 – early 2007 Full series: September 3, 2007 – August 7, 2015
Related
Maya & Miguel Time Warp Trio

WordGirl (stylized as W✪RD GIRL) is an American preschool children’s Flash animated superhero television series produced by the Soup2Nuts animation unit of Scholastic Entertainment for PBS Kids.^[1] The series began as a series of shorts entitled The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl that premiered on PBS Kids Go! on November 10, 2006, usually shown at the end of Maya & Miguel; the segment was then spun off into a new thirty-minute episodic series that premiered on September 3, 2007 on most PBS member stations. The series of shorts consisted of thirty episodes, with 130 episodes in the full half-hour series.

WordGirl creator Dorothea Gillim felt that most children’s animation «underestimated [children’s] sense of humor» and hoped to create a more intellectual show for young audiences.^[2]

By June 2014, many PBS stations had stopped airing WordGirl, opting to air more popular series throughout the summer.^[3][4] However, new episodes continued to air on select stations, with streaming options on the PBS Kids website and video app. The series ended^[5] with the two-part episode «Rhyme and Reason», which was released on August 7, 2015.^[6][7]

The show was created for children ages 4–9.^[8] By 2022, the show had gained a cult following through social media.^[2]

Background[edit]

WordGirl began in 2006 as a series of shorts airing immediately after Maya & Miguel, becoming an independent show in September 2007.^[8]

The show’s creator, Dorothea Gillim, believes that children’s shows often underestimate children’s intelligence:

Part of my mission is to make kids’ television smart and funny. I feel as though we’ve lost some ground there, in an effort to make it more accessible. WordGirl’s focus is on great stories, characters, and animation. If all those elements are working, then you can hook a child who may come looking for laughs but leave a little smarter.^[9][10]

Gillim says she created the show, in part, with the idea that parents would watch the show with their children to support their learning.^[8]

Each eleven-minute segment in each episode (except for the first three episodes) begins with verbal instructions to listen for two words that will be used throughout the plot of that episode. The words (examples include “diversion,” “cumbersome,” and “idolize”) are chosen according to academic guidelines. The reasoning is that children can understand words like “cumbersome” when told that it means “big and heavy and awkward.”^[9]

PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer agreed to do a mock interview with WordGirl. Jack D. Ferraiolo, who developed the series with Gillim and served as the series’ head writer in Season One, received an Emmy for his work on WordGirl.^[11]

Rather than hiring writers experienced with children’s television, the show’s original writers’ previous credits included The Onion and Family Guy. Narrator Chris Parnell had previously worked on Saturday Night Live.^[8]

Synopsis[edit]

The series follows WordGirl, a girl with superpowers whose secret identity is Becky Botsford, a student. WordGirl was born on the fictional planet Lexicon (also a term referring to the vocabulary of a language or to a dictionary) but was sent away after sneaking onto a spaceship and sleeping there. Captain Huggy Face, a chimpanzee who was a pilot in the Lexicon Air Force, piloted the ship, but lost control when WordGirl awoke, and crash-landed on Earth (more specifically in Fair City), a planet that affords WordGirl her superpowers, including flight and super strength. WordGirl utilizes these powers to save her adoptive home, using her downed spacecraft as a secret base of operations.^{[citation needed]}

WordGirl was adopted and provided an alter ego by Tim and Sally Botsford, who gave her the name Becky. While in her alter ego, she has a younger brother, TJ, obsessed with WordGirl, but still unknowingly a typical sibling rival to Becky. The Botsford family keeps Captain Huggy Face as a pet, naming him Bob. Becky attends Woodview Elementary School, where she is close friends with Violet Heaslip and the school newspaper reporter Todd “Scoops” Ming.^{[citation needed]}

WordGirl tries to balance her superhero activities with her «normal» life. She battles against an assortment of villains that include but are not limited to The Butcher, Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy, Dr. Two-Brains, Granny May, Mr. Big, Tobey McCalister III, Amazing Rope Guy and Whammer. The villains are all prone to malapropisms. At the same time, she must worry about maintaining her second life as Becky, keeping people from discovering the truth and living normal family situations.^{[citation needed]}

Format[edit]

Often, short animated segments are shown in between and at the end of episodes. «What’s Your Favorite Word?», ostensibly hosted by Todd «Scoops» Ming, is a short jingle and a series of vox populi interviews asking random children what their favorite words are and why. A short game show segment called «May I Have a Word?» (stylized as MAYIHAVEAWORD in the text bubble on Beau Handsome’s wall) airs following each eleven-minute segment. This segment features the game show host, Beau Handsome, asking three contestants the definition of a particular word. The segment was created by Kelly Miyahara, Barry Sonnenfeld, and Ryan Raddatz.

Yet another segment features the interstitials announcer (Rodger Parsons) asking Captain Huggy Face for a visual demonstration of a certain word (such as «strenuous» or «flummoxed»). When Captain Huggy Face correctly demonstrates the meaning of the word, a definition is given, followed by a victory dance by the chimpanzee sidekick.

During the four-part episode, «The Rise of Miss Power», a four-segment «Pretty Princess Power Hour» sketch is shown between acts, filling in for the average two-segment «May I Have a Word?» sketch, presumably to fill the double-length (52 minutes) time slot.

Companion website[edit]

The companion site to WordGirl lives on PBS Kids, and was built by interactive firm Big Bad Tomato. It contains vocabulary-building games, a section where children can submit their favorite word, a video page with clips from the show (only available in the US due to legal reasons), a «Heroes and Villains» section with character biographies and activities, and a PBS Parents section with episode guides, lessons, a site map, and more activities to play at home. As of April 2022, the website is still active.^[12]

Voice cast[edit]

Comics[edit]

A series of WordGirl comics were also released by Boom! Studios new KaBOOM! line. The names of the volumes and the stories within them are:

• Coalition of Malice^[13]
  1. Coalition of Malice —
  2. Super Fans —
• Incredible Shrinking Allowance^[14]
  1. The Incredible Shrinking Allowance —
  2. Fondue, Fondon’t —
• Word Up!^[15]
  1. The Ham Van Makes the Man —
  2. Think Big —
• Fashion Disaster^[16]
  1. Fashion Disaster —
  2. Fort Wham-Ground —

Series overview[edit]

Awards[edit]

The show has received seven Daytime Emmy nominations, winning four for «Outstanding Writing in Animation» in 2008, 2012–2013 and Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program in 2015.^[2]

2008:

• 2008 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming, awarded July 19^[17]
• 2008 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation

2009:

• Learning Magazine 2009 Teacher’s Choice Award for Families
• 2009 iParenting Media Award
• Featured at the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival 2009
• NY Festivals’ 2009 TV Programming and Promotions award

2012:

• 2012 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation

2013:

• 2013 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in Animation

2015:

• 2015: Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program

Reception and legacy[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2022)

The series was positively received. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media described the series as having a «brainy heroine [who] uses vocab to outwit bad guys.» She also called it an «entertaining animated series» with some cartoon violence and said that it is an «excellent…choice for young grade-schoolers.»^[18]

In 2022, Collider attested that the «non-white, little girl superhero» protagonist of WordGirl began a superhero trend. The article attests that the generation who grew up watching WordGirl later demanded new and diverse Marvel heroes, such as Captain Marvel.^[2]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• WordGirl at Super3
• WordGirl at IMDb