Episode 1242

Air Date: April 25, 1972
Previous Episode: 1241
Next Episode: 1243

Mister Rogers arrives with a variety of ice skates and explains the differences between hockey skates, figure skates, and beginner's skates with a double blade. In the kitchen, he takes out a tray of ice and moves a tiny model pair of skates around the "rink." After remembering a time he went ice skating with others from the Neighborhood, Mister Rogers sits at the piano to play some skating music for viewers to listen to as they pretend to skate. He emphasizes the importance of persistence when learning to do anything new and then shares a film of performance ice skaters.

In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Lady Aberlin shovels snow outside the castle as King Friday shares his desire to go ice skating. Lady Elaine Fairchilde arrives and uses her boomerang to make more snow fall. When Reardon passes by on his way to perform for the king and queen of Otherland, he is surprised to encounter the cold weather in Make-Believe. A phone call from Otherland informs him that he his visit there will be delayed and he will have the opportunity to spend some time in Make-Believe -- an opportunity to produce a winter opera!

Back at the house, Mister Rogers makes paper snowflakes and shares an animated film set to a You've Got To Do It.

Notes

Mister Rogers arrives with the various skates covered in a colorful piece of fabric. This fabric is the one Elsie Neal used to demonstrate pole dyeing in Episode 1240.

The film of Mister Rogers and his friends ice skating includes Mr. McFeely, Mrs. McFeely, Audrey Roth, Bob Trow, and Mister Rogers himself. During the film, Won't You Be My Neighbor and Children Can play in the background.

Sitting at the piano to share some "skating music," Mister Rogers plays The People You Like the Most.

As the Trolley passes through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, it is equipped with a snow plow to help maneuver down the snow-covered track. At the conclusion of make-believe, enough "snow" is on the track that the Trolley gets stuck until Lady Aberlin clears the way.

The animated film is also shown in Episode 1207 and Episode 1217.

Appearing In This Episode

Songs

Images

Episode Credits

With Fred Rogers
Neighbors: Betty Aberlin, Betsy Nadas (uncredited), David Newell (uncredited), John Reardon, Audrey Roth, Bob Trow (uncredited)
Film: Diana Dean, George Boyle
"You've Got To Do It" animation by Andrew N. Wyeth
Music Director: John Costa
Directed by Bob Walsh

Produced by Family Communications, Inc. in association with WQED, Pittsburgh
The people who gave the money to make this television visit are the people of The Sears Roebuck Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting