Conception[edit]
The new version has similar short animations, sketches, and music videos to those seen in the original show, but each episode also features a story line designed to teach four to five vocabulary words with a mix of hip-hop- or contemporary R&B-style music.
Each story revolves around the Electric Company, a group of teenage literacy heroes who battle a group of neighborhood vandals dubbed the Pranksters. The heroes' headquarters is the Electric Diner, where their friend Shock, a beat-boxing short-order cook, works, and also appears in short-form segments.
In the show's nod to the original series, each episode's opening has a Company member call to the others to assemble by yelling "Hey, you guys!!"—a line that (as yelled by Rita Moreno and then Priscilla Diaz) led off the opening sequence of seasons two, five, and six.[1][2][3] Other nods to the original series include appearances by Paul the Gorilla and updated versions of the soft-shoe silhouette segments in which words are sounded out.
The revival includes interactive Web elements and is promoted and extended via community-outreach projects. The first season consisted of 28 weekly episodes. An additional season of twelve more episodes began airing January 2010. A third season debuted February 7, 2011, and ended on March 28, 2011, with new Company member Marcus and new Prankster Gilda.
Characters[edit]
The Electric Company[edit]
The Electric Company consists of a group of two friends and two siblings, a brother and a sister, who protect the neighborhood from the Pranksters. They all have the power to throw word balls, blue magical balls that create words on any surface. In season 3, a new character, Marcus Barnes, joined the company. In addition, each member has a special skill.
Hector Ruiz (played by Josh Segarra) is the oldest and tallest member and leader of the Electric Company, who has the power to replay any image that he sees, much like avideo camera. Hector is very athletic, showing particular skill at basketball. He once had a fear of beetles. In Season 3, he becomes the owner of The Electric Diner (it was about to go out of business before Mr. Watson put him in charge). Hector is always the one to go to if there is trouble, and he also has a strong rivalry with Manny because of a limerick contest many years ago, going back to when they were kids. He's friendly with Danny, even though they share a similar rivalry. He is portrayed by Josh Segarra.
Jessica Ruiz (played by P-Star) is Hector's little sister who has a power similar to her brother's — she can replay any word or phrase that she hears, much like a tape recorder. Jessica is confident, yet occasionally brash, especially when it comes to dealing with the Pranksters, particularly Manny. She loves to rhyme and rap. She also looks after Marcus, as he is the youngest and newest member of the Electric Company. Jessica became the hostess of the vocabulary segment at the beginning of each episode starting in Season 2. Jessica is por trayed by P-Star.
Lisa Heffenbacher (played by Jenni Barber) is a well-liked girl who has the power to unscramble any anagram that she finds. Lisa is very smart and excels at science. She has a strong and constant rivalry with Annie, since the latter caused numerous headaches for her. In the season-three premiere, it is revealed in a hovering TV screen that she is traveling with a science program. However, Hector keeps her posted with what's happening in the neighborhood. She then was seemingly written off the show, although Jenni Barber did do a few educational commercials for The Electric Company during that season. Lisa is portrayed by Jenni Barber.
Keith Watson (played by Ricky Smith) is the second-oldest member of the Electric Company who can generate images in mid-air, which especially comes in handy when explaining difficult words, and can also magnify images as well. Keith is logical and level-headed and frequently creates solutions for dealing with the Pranksters' tricks. He is taller than Jessica and Marcus and even has an iPhone. Keith appears in most episodes and is good at basketball, like Hector. Keith first discovered his power while playing Horse with Hector when saying he wanted an E and threw a wordball at the word. His father was the owner of the Electric Diner. Keith is portrayed by Ricky Smith.
