''Science Court'' (retitled ''Squigglevision'' in 1998) is an educational entertainment,

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

/ non-traditional court show from Tom Snyder Productions, which was aired on ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning block from 1997 to 2000. The cartoon was "filmed" in Squigglevision.

Development

''Science Court'' utilized the limited-animation Squigglevision as its style of animation. In 1998, ''Science Court'' was renamed to ''Squigglevision'' in its second to third seasons. Tom Snyder Productions has released twelve of the episodes into a series of educational CD-ROMs with accompanying workbooks and experiment kits for schools. On December 2, 2004, Snyder, founder and former CEO of Tom Snyder Productions, was inducted into the Association of Educational Publishers Hall of Fame to honor his extraordinary contribution to educational publishing.

Plot and characters

The half-hour program mixed courtroom drama, science experiments, and humor to teach fundamental concepts in elementary and middle school science such as the water cycle, work, matter, gravity, flight, and energy. As each case unfolded, the characters in the trial used humor to highlight scientific misconceptions and model good scientific practice. In a typical episode, a lawsuit or criminal action would take place based around some scientific point. Humor and musical numbers were used to break down scientific concepts. The primary characters of ''Science Court'' were the trial lawyers Alison Krempel and Doug Savage. Alison Krempel, voiced by Paula Plum, was modest, intelligent and kind. Her logical and articulate arguments always lead to the explanations of the scientific points. Doug Savage, voiced by Bill Braudis, was ignorant, arrogant and unscrupulous. Both Doug and Allison called on a variety of expert witnesses to prove their case. Doug, often to his detriment, called upon child academics Dr. Julie Bean and Dr. Henry Fullerghast to testify. Their scientific testimony usually disproved Doug’s case. Professor Nick Parsons, voiced by

H. Jon Benjamin Harry Jon Benjamin (born May 23, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician. Benjamin is primarily known for his voice roles in adult animated series, such as Sterling Archer in ''Archer'', Bob Belcher in ''Bob's Burgers ...

served as an expert for Alison Krempel. He used science to successfully refute Doug Savage's ludicrous and ill-informed claims. Often Micaela and Tim, Miss Krempel's assistant, helped to break down scientific concepts. Comedians Paula Poundstone and

Fred Stoller Fred Stoller (born March 19, 1958) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and author. He is best known for portraying Gerard on ''Everybody Loves Raymond''. He is also the voice of Stanley in the ''Open Season'' series, Fred the Squirrel in ' ...

rounded out the cast playing Judge Stone and court stenographer Fred respectively. *Paula Plum as Alison Krempel * Bill Braudis as Doug Savage *

as Prof. Nick Parsons * Paula Poundstone as Judge Stone *

as Stenographer Fred

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1997–98)

Season 2 (1998–99)

Season 3 (1999–2000)

Critical reception

''Science Court'' earned top television awards for Tom Snyder. '' Variety'' thought that the TV series tried too hard to make science entertaining, and that it would come across as too complicated for its target audience.

References

External links

* {{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1990s 1997 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings 1990s American animated television series 2000s American animated television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American children's animated education television series Court shows English-language television shows Television series by Soup2Nuts Television series by Disney–ABC Domestic Television Science education television series Television series created by Tom Snyder ABC Kids (TV programming block) Squigglevision