The Good Night Show

"What do you get when you put together songs, crafts, adventures, stretches, and sprinkle in a few sparkly stars?"

―Nina

The Good Night Show
Launched	September 26, 2005 (the same day as the official launch of PBS KIDS Sprout)
Closed	April 2016
Cast	Michele Lepe, Stacia Newcomb, Melanie Martinez, Noel MacNeal
Airdate	6PM - 9PM ET

Nina and Star (original appearance)

Melanie and Star

Nina and Star

Nina and Star in Sprout Around the Clock.

Nina and Star in Sprout is Always Here for You

Nina and Star as seen in a promo from 2008.

Leo, Lucy, and Star

Nina and Star's updated, yellow-ish appearance

Sprout Please promo picture.

Nina and Star in a Sprout Please promo.

Nina and Star on a TV in A Lot Happens When You Sprout.

In "Everyday Moments."

Nina and Star in the Bright House Networks "Hi" promo

The Good Night Show was a programming block created by Sprout. It started at 6PM ET each evening. Unlike Sprout’s other programming blocks, The Good Night Show was looped twice over the course of the evening, and ran for seven seasons with 3,876 episodes.

Premise

From SproutOnline.com:

"Every night on PBS KIDS Sprout, The Good Night Show helps parents wind down their preschoolers after a busy day. Join Nina as she plays games, sings songs, makes crafts, reads stories, and teaches words in Spanish and sign language along with her Sprout friends: Star, the lovable and lively star-shaped puppet; Lucy, an enchanting puppet firefly; and Hush, the goldfish. Nina and her friends also introduce episodes of Sprout favorites such as Thomas & Friends™, Caillou™ and Angelina Ballerina™. Watch The Good Night Show on Sprout every night at 6 p.m. ET and again at 9 p.m. ET. Click the "TV Schedule" link at the bottom of the screen to see all the shows that can be seen during The Good Night Show."

From the Sprout Press Room:

"Every night during this three-hour programming block, a different theme is explored, such as food, sharing, imagination and family. Host Nina helps children wind down after a busy day along with Star; the lovable and lively star-shaped puppet; Lucy, an enchanting puppet firefly; and Hush, the goldfish. Each episode of The Good Night Show® features songs, games, stories, stretching exercises for kids, sign language and crafts. The show also weaves in themed programming segments from kids’ favorite shows, including Thomas & Friends,™ The Berenstain Bears,® Caillou™ and Angelina Ballerina.™" (link)

Goals

From the Sprout Press Room:

"The Good Night Show® helps parents to wind down their preschoolers at the end of a busy day. New concepts are introduced to children, including sign language, a foreign language (Spanish), and healthy habits (stretching exercises for kids)."

Interactive Components

"The Good Night Show section of SproutOnline.com provides preschoolers and their parents another opportunity to explore key activities from the show, including crafts, sign language and stretching exercises for kids. The site includes instructions and photos for the on-air craft segments, video of the stretching exercises for kids and sign language segments, an interactive storytelling experience and games."

Co-Viewing Components

"The show creates opportunities for preschoolers and their parents to jointly participate in activities, such as craft projects, songs, sign language and stretching exercises for kids."

Response to the Show

"Viewer Response: “My son and I watch The Good Night Show® every night before bed. It’s our snuggle and settle down time. I love all of the craft ideas and wanted to say thank you for putting together such a fun and educational show.”"

What Kids Learn About

"Songs, Spanish, Sign Language, Sharing, Bedtime Routines"

Segments

• Goodnight Bell - Always shown at the start of each blockisode from the first five seasons, Nina and Star would pick out a clue from their basket and try to guess the night's theme, usually with a "Goodnight Bell." Dropped when the You and Me Tree was introduced, and Nina and Star would talk about the theme right away.
• Sprout-o-scope - Either Melanie or Nina and Star would look up at constellations from their "Sprout-o-scope" resembling something or someone they know, usually singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
• Star Talks - Star would talk to his Sproutlet friends about the night's theme. Added in the sixth season, replacing the real kids segments.
• Real Kids - just answered Nina and Star's questions in front of a green screen scene. Added in the second season, though wasn't officially a part of the show until the fourth.
• Sprout Stretches - Nina or Melanie would go out in the Goodnight Garden and lead Sproutlets in a stretch coinciding with the blockisode's theme. Nina and Melanie originally did the stretches by themselves, but in 2007, for the block's fourth season, Nina was joined by her Sproutlet friends who followed along with her. These stretches were usually based on characters from TV shows.
• Lucy Light the Way - Added in the fourth season, Nina and Star would guess what Lucy was lighting up in a different locale.
• Goodnight Game - Nina and Star or Melanie would spin a "Moonbeam Wheel" and play a game relating to the blockisode's theme.
• Goodnight Tale - Melanie, with the usual help of Helping Hand, would tell stories based on the blockisode's theme.
• Sprout a Sandy Story - Nina would draw from sand and narrate stories, generally assisted by Star, oddly similar to BabyFirst's "Sandman." This segment also got its own app. Added in the sixth season, replacing the crafts.
• Crafts - Nina or Melanie would show the viewers how to make crafts based on the night's theme, often opening with either "Let's Make a Craft" or "Craft Song" and followed by a story using the craft. Nina and Star also showcased craft pictures sent in by viewers. Dropped in 2011.
• Best Day Ever - Nina would read stories to Star from her childhood. Added in 2015.
• Clean Up - Nina and Star would sing this song as they would clean up the You & Me Tree after a busy day, accompanied by clips of kids. Added in 2011.
• Ready for Bed - Star would sing this song when he brushed his teeth and washed his face to get ready for bed, accompanied by clips from shows and blocks like Sesame Street, Make Way for Noddy, Barney & Friends, LazyTown, The Sprout Sharing Show, The Sunny Side Up Show, Fifi and the Flowertots, and Kipper and footage of real kids. The Nurdle Durdle, a short ad sponsored by Aquafresh, usually played both before the penultimate segment and after the final link from 2011 to 2013.
• Say Goodnight to Hush - After Star went to sleep, Melanie or Nina would use sign language, reciting a poem to say goodnight to Hush the Fish, and would sing the Goodnight Song before tuning in for the night. As of 2011, Nina didn't tune in.

Cast

Final hosts

• Nina (portrayed by Michele Lepe) was the permanent host of the program as of December 18, 2006, and was the most popular one. She performed yoga and said words in Spanish and American Sign Language. She has appeared on The Sunny Side Up Show several times. Once Nina got five new pairs of pajamas, episodes were shot out of order.
• Star (portrayed by Stacia Newcomb) was Nina's sidekick. He was a star-shaped puppet. He is portrayed as a child-like figure towards his guardian, Nina. He often asked questions about the show's theme. He encouraged viewers to follow him in his routines such as brushing his teeth. His puppet has been updated a few times (see Star Through the Years). 
• Lucy was a firefly puppet used to introduce show segments. She was also featured in games, such as "Lucy Light the Way"; in this game, viewers were shown parts of a picture (as though they were illuminated by a firefly's light) and then guessed what the picture represented. Her puppet was updated in mid-2009. She winks at the Sproutlets at the end of the 2011-2016 blockisodes.
• Hush was a real-life goldfish who was originally used to introduce show segments. He appeared at the end of every show, with Nina closing the show by saying good night to him and reciting a poem in which viewers were encouraged to "make a wish." When The Good Night Show was on hiatus, Hush was used to showcase viewers' crafts and artwork on TV.

Former hosts

Like The Sunny Side Up Show, The Good Night Show has gone through various host changes over the course of a single year, although Nina has always been the host since 2006.

• Melanie the Babysitter (portrayed by Melanie Martinez) was the original host when the show premiered in 2005. She was later fired due to some controversy and was temporarily replaced by Leo (see below). In the first season, children's voices were often heard interacting with Melanie in activities (ala Blue's Clues).
• Helping Hand was a human hand with a glove who helped Martinez with stories.
• Leo (portrayed by Noel MacNeal) was the temporary host after Melanie was kicked off the show. During his tenure, Lucy was introduced.

Recurring characters

• Tio Javier (portrayed by Esai Morales) was Nina's uncle who made occasional appearances in the seventh and final season and was also a recurring character on Nina's World.
• Sproutlets were real-live children who would appear in real kid segments and participate in sign language or Sprout Stretches.

Programming

The Good Night Show was made up of mostly story-like, calm-natured programming designed to get viewers ready to go to sleep. According to Andrew Beecham, who selected these shows, these shorter segments not only suited a preschooler’s attention span, but were available to air for preschoolers who wanted to stay up a little longer.

• 64 Zoo Lane
• Angelina Ballerina
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps
• Astroblast!
• The Berenstain Bears
• Big Sister, Little Brother
• The Birthday Show
• Bob the Builder
• Caillou
• The Chica Show
• Clangers
• Dragon Tales
• Driver Dan's Story Train
• Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
• Kipper
• Lily's Driftwood Bay
• Make Way for Noddy
• Nina's Little Fables
• Olive the Ostrich
• Pajanimals
  • Interstitials (2008 - 2011)
  • Full-length series (2011 - 2016)
• Pingu
• Poppy Cat
• Rubbadubbers
• Ruff-Ruff, Tweet and Dave
• Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
• Sarah & Duck
• Stella and Sam
• Thomas & Friends
• Today's Birthdays
• Wibbly Pig
• Zou

Openings and Closings

See The Good Night Show openings and closings

History on Sprout

Origins

According to Sprout president Sandy Wax, the block was founded because after 6PM, most preschool channels signed off for the night and blocks for adults and/or teens (i,e, The N on Noggin or Adult Swim on Cartoon Network) would take its place, airing edgy live-action shows and cartoons. Sprout executives saw this as a real opportunity to deliver great content to our audience at a time when they can't normally get it. Parents also said their kids want to stay up past their bedtimes.

Premiere

When the show premiered, it was much faster-paced and segments were repeated twice throughout the episodes. The show was originally filmed at Hill Theatre Studio, as was The Birthday Show, and the first season was written by Lisa O'Brien, who and Andrew Beecham wrote the first script in a Philadelphia bar. Sprout's creative team chose the episode themes from the channel's current slate.

2000s

A new season premiered on September 26th, 2007, introducing a segment in which Nina and Star tell stories using their crafts, bringing Sproutlets into the stretch and sign language segments, and bringing back the real kids segments. Additionally, each Sprout stretch in this season was themed after a different Sprout character.

Another new season premiered on September 21st, 2009, which was also the day Sprout rebranded. This season dropped the craft stories, replacing them with a second Goodnight Gallery segment, and the Sproutlets from the sign language segments.

2010s

Revamp

Yet another season premiered on November 7th, 2011 and introduced Poppy Cat. The You and Me Tree was also introduced this season, a set made to better suit a family's bedtime routine, as were the Star Talks and Sprout a Sandy Story segments, and Nina got four pairs of pajamas chosen by viewers as part of Sprout's You Pick the PJs pajama poll, created after parents complained on Sprout's Facebook page about Nina wearing the same pair every night, although Goodnight Garden segments and blockisodes continued to air until late 2012. With the new setting, production was moved to Center City Film & Video's studios in Philadelphia, which was also where The Chica Show was filmed. 64 Zoo Lane, Olive the Ostrich, and Wibbly Pig premiered on August 27th, 2012 during a tweaked version of the sixth season.

Yet another season premiered on July 27th, 2015, introducing the Best Day Ever Book segments and a new character in Tio Javier.

Cancellation

The block dissolved in April 2016, moving online, as Sprout unveiled its new nighttime schedule. Less than a year later in March 2017, episodes were available on Sprout On Demand.

Continuations

Despite the show's removal, the show still has a presence on Universal Kids in the form of Nina's World, which serves as a spinoff and prequel, detailing Nina's life as a child. Michele Lepe, the actress of Nina, is an executive producer for the series and voices Mami. Star, Lucy, and Hush are present in the show.

Prior to Nina's World, there was a spinoff called Nina's Little Fables, where Nina and Star would read Aesop's Fables. It aired for 10 minutes during The Good Night Show each night from June 2010 to August 2012.

There was also another spin-off in 2009 called "¡Hola Sproutitos!" which featured Nina, Lucy, and Sproutitos teaching English and Spanish words and phrases accompanied by episodes of the Sesame Workshop show "Sesame English", which was targeted towards kids who were learning English as a second language (ESL).

Production

Sprout executives had pediatric sleep specialists help develop content for the series.

Cultural impact

Celebrities

In 2014, the All-Phase Wrestling Club posted a picture on Facebook of members watched the series, noting it as Ryan Anderson's favorite show.

Criticism and controversy

The Good Night Show has been subject to some controversy during its lifespan.

Warning: This section may not be suitable for younger readers. Younger readers, please go to #Merchandising. For those who wish to read this section, viewer discretion is advised.

In July of 2006, it had come to light that Melanie had starred in two public service announcements (PSAs) in college called I Have A Future (July 2000) and Boys Can Wait (February 2001). The subject matter for these two shorts wasn't very appropriate for a preschool audience, since the first one was about how not to get pregnant, and the second one involved a dildo. After Melanie landed the role as the host of The Good Night Show, the PSAs were removed from the website they were on, technicalvirgin.com. After the PSAs somehow found their way onto YouTube, Melanie confessed to her employers about the PSAs. She was fired six days later. “PBS KIDS Sprout has determined that the dialogue in this video is inappropriate for her role as a preschool program host and may undermine her character’s credibility with our audience,” said Sandy Wax, then-network president. Melanie was replaced by Leo for a short period of time.

In 2009, the show was criticized by the Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood, claiming that the show was detrimental to a child's sleep patterns by running for 3 hours and not helping to lull kids to sleep. Sandy Wax replied by saying The Good Night Show wasn't supposed to help children get to sleep, but rather a tool for parents to establish a bedtime routine for their children.

Merchandising

Melanie and Hush, Nina, Star, and Lucy have appeared on Sprout Memory Match cards.

Star plushes and personalized items like T-shirts have sold on the Shop Sprout website, co-founded by CafePress, since its launch in 2013.

The Goodnight Stories DVD, which contained three Season 6 episodes with bonus footage linking them together, was released by NCircle in 2014. Additionally, three more full episodes of The Good Night Show have been released on the Sprout Channel Cubby, which launched the same year.

Two Good Night Show apps were released. Good Night Star, released in 2011, featured a few games, including brushing Star's teeth and washing his face, reading him a story, and rocking him to sleep. It also included songs from the block. "Sandy Stories," released in 2013, was based on a segment from the block.

Nina and Star have visited the likes of the Please Touch Museum, Sesame Place, and have opened for Barney shows. Similarily, the former hosted pajama parties to promote The Great Sprout Tuck-In, a partnership between Sprout and The Pajama Program which launched in 2008.

Notes

• When The Good Night Show premiered, it was advertised in movie theaters.
• Nina guest-hosted The Sunny Side Up Show several times from 2007 to 2011, once filling in for Dennisha Pratt, who was on maternity leave at the time, and appeared for Halloween in 2014.
• The one time the show aired live was on July 12, 2014, to celebrate the premiere of Astroblast!. The live show took place at the Sunshine Barn instead of the You and Me Tree.
  •  Similarly, the live Sweet Goodnight Treat was filmed on the set of The Sunny Side Up Show, while the 2009 edition of Hooray for Mother's Day took place on a different set.
• On Christmas Eve, the show hosted Sprout's Snooze-a-Thon, a compilation of Sprout characters sleeping, in order to convince kids to go to sleep.
• Whenever Lucy revealed what show would be coming up next, a special clip with a character from that show greeting Nina and Star would play on either a star or the full moon. These included Benedict Campbell (Papa Bear), Annie Bovaird (Caillou), Ty Olsson (Ord), John Gordon Sinclar (Tubb), Finty Williams/Charlotte Spencer (Angelina), Orlagh O'Keefe (Lily), Rachel Marcus (Stella Bocquelet), Martin Sherman / Michael Brandon (Thomas and the Narrator), and Malie Flanagan (Piggley).
• At the end of each blockisode, the song "La La Lullaby" from Pajanimals would play, featuring characters from various different shows sleeping.
• The Good Night Show looped twice for families in different time zones, with the third airing being a repeat of the first.
• The Medyo Late Night Show with Jojo A., a Filipino talk show, was called The Good Night Show in 2008.

External links

• SproutOnline.com website (2006)
• SproutOnline.com website (2009)
• SproutOnline.com page (2011)
• SproutOnline.com page (2013)
• SproutOnline.com page (2015)
• Parents and Kids Share Together
• Note to Parents regarding The Good Night Show