The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (1998)
The Charlie Horse Music Pizza is a children's television show that was shown on PBS in the United States from January to May 1998. Re-runs aired until late 1999, with infrequent airings throughout 2000. It is a spin-off of the series Lamb Chop's Play-Along and was hosted by Shari Lewis, whose strong belief in the benefits of music education for children led to the creation of the series. The show takes place around a pizzeria on the beach. Alongside the original cast of Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and Shari, Charlie Horse Music Pizza introduced four new characters – Take-Out, a big anthropomorphized orangutan who makes deliveries on roller skates; Fingers, a giant purple raccoon that lives in the dumpster behind the pizzeria; Cookie the soft-hearted, opera-loving cook; and Junior, who works at the pizzeria part-time, and plays musical instruments, such as the tuba for his high school marching band. The series was put on hiatus after the May 30 episode aired due to Lewis' treatment in a local hospital. It was then cancelled when she died on August 2.
Seasons & Episode
Charlie Horse, Lamb Chop, Shari, and Fingers clash stories on how The Music Pizza was founded. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Shari introduces musical notes and beats.
A dog has wandered off the beach to the Music Pizza, and both Lamb Chop and Hush Puppy coax Shari to keep him—at least until his owner shows up. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Shari discusses how to tune a ukulele or any other stringed instrument with the tune My Dog Has Fleas.
Lamb Chop is banging away on anything remotely like a drum. It's up to Junior to quell her by telling the story of the Bremen Town Musicians. MUSICAL TIT-INS: Anything cam be a drum; the families of musical instruments.
Charlie Horse is at first upset when his best friend attend to his grandfather. But the old hand shows Charlie the tricks of the harmonica. MUSICAL TIE-INS: Blowing and drawing notes on a harmonica; practice for success.
Charlie Horse and the others want to play in the Fourth of July parade, but none is on pace with anybody else. MUSICAL TIE-IN: The conductor.
With Cookie taking his birthday off work, everyone agrees to stage the perfect gift for him: an opera. Their inspiration comes from a Saturday thunderstorm and a few haunted cleaning items. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Voice and vocal chords.
Hush Puppy discovers what appears to be a treasure map, but does it make any sense? The only clues are the opening stanzas to Rock-a-Bye Baby and other songs. MUSICAL TIE-IN: The musical staff acts as a map.
Lamb Chop is ready to go to any length to land a role in the school production of Little Red Riding Hood. It comes to an extreme when she wants Shari to teach Charlie Horse ventriloquism.
Charlie Horse doesn't want to study for his American History test with his friend Chris. At the same time, Chris's mother is preparing for her citizenship test. In the process, she prepares her albondigas soup. MUSICAL TIE-IN: The waltz.
It's Lamb Chop's birthday, and Shari gets her a tape recorder as a present. At Lamb Chop's request, the tape recorder becomes a plot point in Shari's retelling of Rapunzel.
Junior comes down with the flu, putting a huge crimp on the toy exchange Charlie Horse is trying to stage. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Any sound can make music provided it creates a pattern.
Charlie Horse has been taking ice cream from just about everybody. He has to get a job to try and pay the ice cream man (and Shari) back.
Shari has to show Lamb Chop that a variety of music is better than one kind. She tells a story of a land that has to end a quarrel of musical tastes.
Why has Charlie Horse bailed out of the scouts? Perhaps it's the requirements for one of those badges. Sensing he needs encouragement, Shari teaches Charlie Horse the meaning of The Star-Spangled Banner. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Singing harmony.
Shari wants no part of Charlie Horse's ant farm, even though it is his school project. The ants must go before Cookie's father visits. MUSICAL TIE-IN: How a tuba works.
Shari is prepared to sell the Music Pizza, provided she can clean it up for the prospective buyer. The real problem is trying to evict a skunk. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Music that repeats rhythm; tempo.
Shari wants to help a friend get a dog for the deaf. It's the inspiration for the Music Pizza's concert. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Scat singing.
Charlie Horse makes up a story about a sea monster, moving Hush Puppy to an extreme. Cookie offers driving lessons to Junior. MUSICAL TIE-INS: Pianistic technique; names of the keys.
Junior books a birthday party at the Music Pizza, and then has to scramble to deliver the goods. Maybe Charlie Horse will help with a song he made up. MUSICAL TIE-IN: Public domain.
Shari is tired of everybody using the phone constantly using the phone. Maybe things will change when a Haida nation drummer visits the Music Pizza. MUSICAL TIE-INS: Various drums; the heartbeat is a natural human rhythm.