TheaterFire

Pinwheel, Pinwheel Spinning Around

Posted by bh4th@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 60 comments

Apparently I didn’t just imagine that I’d watched this show as a kid. It really happened.

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60 Comments

Damaged_Tomato@reddit

I remember watching parts of this show but never watched whole episodes and the name pinwheel never stuck and neither did the theme music There was a memory of the 2 boy puppets then a scene in the basement with some contraption as the end view pulled back out the basement window and then further so you could see the whole house. I thought maybe every episode ended with the contraption so I could never figure out this memory I had until recently but even though I cant find that specific episode I'm absolutely sure it was this show. 1 vague memory of a few minutes of my life caused me to remember it and question what it was for over 35 years.
View on Reddit #85798491

threebeansalads@reddit

The fuck?! My parents gave my kids pinwheels for Easter and I was singing this song all day Sunday and everyone looked at me like I was insane. I pulled this exact video up to show them all. I haven’t thought about it in YEARS and then this post today?! Freaky! Lmao!!!!!
View on Reddit #83042830

bh4th@reddit (OP)

Pleased to have made your day a little more surreal, fellow ‘81er.
View on Reddit #83141751

shed1@reddit

I was more into "Today's Special."
View on Reddit #83046002

Just_Me_79@reddit

YES!!!!! I swear I’ve only met ONE other person IRL who remembers Today’s Special, which is SO sad, Pinwheel & Today’s Special are probably the earliest shows I remember after Fraggle Rock!
View on Reddit #83047311

bh4th@reddit (OP)

“Today’s Special” is another song I can sing without trying. My wife (1979) wasn’t allowed to watch any TV as a kid that wasn’t live action humans (don’t ask), so I introduced her to Fraggle Rock as an adult. Turns out it wasn’t just good because we were kids at the time — it’s actually an awesome show.
View on Reddit #83141551

No9No9No9No9@reddit

The store dummy that came to life with the hat, this is a core early media memory
View on Reddit #83047476

EatsCrackers@reddit

Jeff!
View on Reddit #83075514

WadeTurtle@reddit

Shout it loud and clear!
View on Reddit #83067974

SteakJones@reddit

I couldn’t remember what the name of that show was as a kid and would just ask if “Jeff & Jodi” were on.
View on Reddit #83049734

Curious_Ninja5952@reddit

Instantly thought of this one next
View on Reddit #83046263

Worth_Specific3764@reddit

Wow core memory unlocked!
View on Reddit #83093401

GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

I hated this show with a freaking passion. And it was on all damn day! Back when Nickelodeon had like 5 shows so they just ran Pinwheel back to back till like 2 in the afternoon.
View on Reddit #83093268

emmer@reddit

The first television show I can remember
View on Reddit #83043039

ralph_deadbeet@reddit

Me too. Born in '83.
View on Reddit #83044009

Juztaan@reddit

Same! And same!
View on Reddit #83049146

ilovefood755@reddit

Same and same too!
View on Reddit #83090359

WeenyDancer@reddit

Me too
View on Reddit #83052068

Just_Me_79@reddit

Me too! The Bunny with the ears he used to fly!
View on Reddit #83047228

KnownNormie@reddit

I wonder where stuff like this hides in my brain. I haven’t thought about this show in literal decades, but the song started playing in my head as soon as I saw the title.
View on Reddit #83078798

ralph_deadbeet@reddit

Pretty sure it was a formative part of the entire Nickelodeon network somehow. I remember watching it as a show too, however. The details are in the 90s Nick doc (which apparently I should rewatch). Also, firmly believe kids these days aren't built for this kinda content. It'd likely terrify them!
View on Reddit #83041963

big_ringer@reddit

This was when most of Nickelodeon's output were either cartoon reruns or imports from Canada, England, and Japan.
View on Reddit #83042555

threebeansalads@reddit

This show, however, was American. I, as a Canadian, was shocked to learn it was not Canadian, because it’s just weird enough that it ought to be. Lol!
View on Reddit #83042969

mr_Papini@reddit

WTF. I've always thought of it as Canadian Sesame Street. I can't fucking believe it.
View on Reddit #83046541

threebeansalads@reddit

I was as shocked as you to learn the same! Lol!!
View on Reddit #83070418

Kellzy1212@reddit

Yep. I loved Danger Mouse, which was on sometime around Pinwheel and Today’s Special. You Can’t do that on Television was Canadian too.
View on Reddit #83050094

DeSota@reddit

I remember it being on at 6am or something with Pinwheel being on afterwards, followed by Today's Special. You Can't Do That on Television was on around 4pm. Yeah...I was raised by Nickelodeon.
View on Reddit #83050955

Puzzleheaded_Race_90@reddit

It terrified me as a kid. I hate that show. It looks dusty. I was trying to describe it to someone i used to work with who was late 20's and she was mad that I was showing her nightmare fuel. The puppets on today's special were pretty bad and weird, but pinwheel.... hate, let me tell you how much I've come to hate the show....
View on Reddit #83042316

odin_the_wiggler@reddit

* Pinwheel * The butterfly episode of Today's Special * Land of Confusion music video by Genesis Where all childhood TV trauma began
View on Reddit #83045641

ralph_deadbeet@reddit

Although I'm sure I saw it as a child, I don't remember the butterfly ep of Today's Special. I will, however, be seeking it out!
View on Reddit #83052679

Raekin17@reddit

The butterfly epsidoe? The one that haunts me was when they ended up in some spooky castle somehow and the paintings eyes followed them.
View on Reddit #83050147

iaperson2015@reddit

Not the butterfly episode! 
View on Reddit #83049919

Puzzleheaded_Race_90@reddit

Nothing hurt me the way pinwheel did.
View on Reddit #83045900

ethnicvegetable@reddit

I'm terrified right now.
View on Reddit #83045043

Puzzleheaded_Race_90@reddit

It's awful, right? As a side note, are you familiar with the i feel fantastic video on YouTube? To me, it's the same kind of vibe. Just strangely horrifying
View on Reddit #83045360

bascule@reddit

Nickelodeon was originally called “Pinwheel” after the show
View on Reddit #83049496

Roobix9@reddit

Wow. I haven't heard this song in ages and yet remembered every word
View on Reddit #83062659

Goth-Sloth@reddit

Oh wow! Haven’t thought about this in ages
View on Reddit #83062331

Additional_Egg7024@reddit

Omg core memories unlocked
View on Reddit #83055655

dixiebandit69@reddit

When that show came on, it was my cue to go play outside.
View on Reddit #83054907

rosewalker42@reddit

This is freaky. Before I saw this post, I had no memories of this show. I can't remember ever thinking about it or recalling it or anything reminding me of it. But I instantly remembered all of it when I watched this and sung along flawlessly. So I guess there are still memories tucked away in my brain that can be accessed.
View on Reddit #83054722

LasagnahogXRP@reddit

I just mentioned this show in an old school Nick post. It was like poor man’s Canadian (I know it was American) Sesame Street. I actually loved it
View on Reddit #83043490

MetalLinkachu@reddit

Yep, I love this show more than Sesame Street as a little kid. Pinwheels, Tofay’s Special, and The Littles!
View on Reddit #83049614

LasagnahogXRP@reddit

Today’s special was so wholesome I didn’t want people to know I liked it. I tried to balance it out with dukes of hazard and fall guy
View on Reddit #83050773

Raekin17@reddit

Core memory is a scene with Ebenezer in the basement talking/singing to his plants.
View on Reddit #83050194

supergooduser@reddit

Early Nickelodeon is wild where it predated Disney and started as a premium kids channel. Pinwheel was one of it's first original shows. Eventually they dropped the premium and became a pretty common default cable channel. I do enjoy the shared experience of Xennials where Nickelodeon was the default "24/7" kids channel (with Nick at Nite being kind of a strange kids outlier)... it wasn't until 1992 we got cartoon network and Disney was a bougie $50 in 2026 bucks until it dropped the premium everywhere by 1997. Nickelodeon is fun as well, to build up it's content basically had an Avengers assemble moment and pulled content from around the world... Danger Mouse from the UK, You can't Do that on television and Today's special from Canada, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Belle and Sebastian from Japan and David the Gnome from Spain. Then went buck wild with Double Dare in 1986. We all have these fun as hell memories of Nickelodeon.
View on Reddit #83050111

spiral_larips@reddit

The Sub makes me sad. I scroll through it and remembering all the things and I wish I could just go back to the simplicity of it. 
View on Reddit #83050104

SteakJones@reddit

Plus and Minus, Minus and Plus 🥰
View on Reddit #83049688

catplumtree@reddit

I remember the song, but not the images. That shit is nightmare fuel.
View on Reddit #83049512

KuzYaGotSkillz@reddit

I remember this show vividly - and how bored I was by it as a kid. It always felt kind of off (like the worst parts of a craft store coming to life) and was mostly something to get through before the better shows aired (today’s special, you can’t do that on television, etc). There was one segment of pinwheel that for whatever reason I still remember - it was a kid making a plane propeller sound and running around with a toy plane - no dialogue - just that sound and odd visuals of the kid running. Bizarre then. Moreso now.
View on Reddit #83049101

_TenDropChris@reddit

Now this is a core memory for me. I think I actually liked this show more then Sesame Street back in the day. Makes me wonder how much of it is lost media.
View on Reddit #83048356

spsanderson@reddit

Core memory unlocked
View on Reddit #83048171

bony-tony@reddit

This definitely feels sped up.
View on Reddit #83047767

meswifty1@reddit

I only got to see this at gramas. And no one my age that I've mentioned it to knows what I'm talking about
View on Reddit #83047418

Gullible_Rich_7156@reddit

I actually loved it when I was kid but I now remember it as the show with Temu Bert and Ernie…LOL
View on Reddit #83042837

goat_penis_souffle@reddit

Minus and plus
View on Reddit #83045906

UptownJunk802@reddit

Gotcha last!
View on Reddit #83043045

FlatRooster4561@reddit

I remember liking this show, but my mom not liking it for some reason
View on Reddit #83045628

Atillion@reddit

That shit have me nightmares lol
View on Reddit #83044345

SerpentBride@reddit

I still sing the theme song sometimes.
View on Reddit #83043522