Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

Throwing in a little bit of everything, Vegetable Soup mixed equal parts culture, cartoons, live-action drama, and life lessons, cooking up a diverse, entertaining dish. Produced by the New York State Department of Education, the show ran simultaneously on both commercial and public television stations, a TV first.

The show’s format consisted of several segments, including the memorable Woody the Spoon cartoon. Bette Midler provided the voice of Woody, who taught kids recipes from around the globe. James Earl Jones voiced another cartoon character on the show, Long John Spoilsport, who taught kids how not to behave in the Adventures in Saniland segments. Long John’s polar opposite was Luther, who gave kids a friendlier role model.

Also on the show were short films, skits, “man on the street” interviews, the show-opening Outerscope spaceship segements, brief biographies of minority professionals, and Real People, a running drama with an ethnically diverse cast.

Vegetable Soup aired for only one year on most commercial networks, but new episodes were produced for syndication in 1978. It may never have gained the success of Sesame Street, but while it lasted, Vegetable Soup showed kids the world was more than white bread, apple pie, and meat and potatoes.

Release History

11/2/75 - 8/1/76 NBC
1975 syndicated

TV Sub Categories

live-action
animated
educational

TV Studio

New York State Department of Education

Television Cast

Woody the Spoon Bette Midler
Long John Spoilsport James Earl Jones

Other Saturday Morning Links