Episode 1466
Topic: Superheroes
Air Date: February 4, 1980
Previous Episode: 1465 - Mister Rogers Goes to School
Next Episode: 1467 - Superheroes
Purchase/Stream: Amazon
Mister Rogers arrives with a bag of wooden blocks which he takes to the kitchen. He lines them up on the table and knocks them down like dominoes. After showing viewers that the blocks are different, even though they look very much the same, Mister Rogers sings You Are Special as he continues to play.
Visiting Bob Trow's workshop, Mister Rogers gets to see how the wooden blocks are made. Mr. Trow shares a "magic" contraption that he has made where blocks can be knocked down and then appear to magically stand themselves back up. Mister Rogers chooses to use a funnel to make the "magic" happen. Mr. McFeely stops by with a short film about the magic blocks which ends with an image of dinosaurs.
As Mr. McFeely returns to the house with Mister Rogers, he is invited in for some orange juice to help with his cough. With his video camera in hand, Mr. McFeely films the fish in the aquarium as well as Mister Rogers as he pours a glass of orange juice through a funnel.
In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Prince Tuesday has been having bad dreams about a dinosaur that wears a crown. To help him feel brave, the Prince carries a super funnel around with him. At the school, Prince Tuesday talks about his dreams and shares that his super funnel gives him special powers. Harriett Elizabeth Cow then sings Birds and Bats and Bugs with her class. Meanwhile, Lady Elaine is overheard talking to Purple Panda about a dinosaur costume. It seems as though she is jealous of the "powers" of Prince Tuesday's funnel and wants to make his bad dreams appear to come true. Lady Aberlin borrows some small dinosaur models from Lady Elaine in hopes of making him feel better about his fears.
Back at the house, Mister Rogers talks about how it is okay to pretend but important to remember that pretending things does not make them real. On his porch, Mister Rogers wraps his sweater around his neck like a cape and recalls a time when he was a boy pretending to fly. Sitting on the front step, Mister Rogers sings Birds and Bats and Bugs.
Just before wrapping up for the day, Mister Rogers receives a phone call from Bill Bixby -- the star of the television program The Incredible Hulk. Mr. Bixby invites Mister Rogers to visit the set of the program in a few days to see that the characters on the show are just pretend. In the kitchen, Mister Rogers shows pictures of Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, and Mr. Ferrigno in character as the Incredible Hulk.
Notes
In this episode, Mister Rogers makes his first visit to Bob Trow's workshop since 1975.
The Neighborhood of Make-Believe storyline is used (with a few changes) as the basis of the book When Monsters Seem Real.
Putting on safety goggles before Bob Trow cuts new blocks, Mister Rogers is unaware that the goggle straps find themselves positioned so as to look like two thick eyebrows. Bob Trow points this out and Mister Rogers adjusts the straps.
After cutting blocks from a larger piece of wood, Bob Trow carelessly leaves the saw running as he walks away. With safety in mind, Mister Rogers asks "How do you turn this off?"
Segments from this week's episodes are featured on the VHS release Dinosarus and Monsters.
This episode is included on the DVD Kindness Collection.
Appearing In This Episode
- Ana Platypus
- Bob Trow
- Daniel Striped Tiger
- Harriett Elizabeth Cow
- King Friday XIII
- Lady Aberlin
- Lady Elaine Fairchilde
- Mister Rogers
- Mr. McFeely
- Prince Tuesday
- Purple Panda
- Queen Sara Saturday
Songs
Images
Episode Credits
With Fred Rogers
Neighbors: Betty Aberlin, Fred Michael, Carole Muller, David Newell, David Nohling, Bob Trow
Executive Producer: Fred Rogers
Produced and Directed by Hugh Martin
Associate Producer: Cathy Cohen
Music Director: John Costa
Produced in association with WQED/Pittsburgh
The Incredible Hulk television is the property of Universal City Studios, Inc. Copyright © 1979. All rights reserved.
The Incredible Hulk character is the property of Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corp. Copyright © 1979. All rights reserved.
A production of Family Communications
© 1979 Family Communications, Inc.