This article is about the television series. For the book, see Martha Speaks (book).
Martha Speaks is an American-Canadian animated children's television series aimed at children from ages 4 to 9, based on the 1992 children's book of the same name by Susan Meddaugh, about a talking dog named Martha (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain), who is owned by ten-year-old Helen Lorraine (known in the books as Helen Finney). When Helen feeds Martha some alphabet soup, the soup travels to her brain instead of her stomach, resulting in her ability to speak. The show focuses on synonyms and vocabulary, with each episode featuring an underlying theme illustrated with key words. The show takes place in the fictional town of Wagstaff City, a parody of Flagstaff, Arizona.
The show is produced by WGBH in Boston, along with Vancouver based animation studio DHX Media Vancouver (formerly Studio B Productions), and debuted on September 1, 2008 on PBS Kids stations across the United States. Some episodes of this TV series were available for limited theatrical release on January 3, 2009.
The second season began airing on September 14, 2009. The third season of Martha Speaks premiered on PBS Kids on October 11, 2010, and the fourth season began airing on February 20, 2012. The fifth season premiered on June 24, 2013. The sixth season premiered on March 31, 2014. The series resumed again on September 2017.
Production[]
The show's executive producer is Carol Greenwald, and it was developed for television by Emmy Award-winning writer Ken Scarborough, the show's head writer. Other writers include Joe Fallon, Peter Hirsch, Raye Lankford, Pippin Parker, Ron Holsey, and Dietrich Smith. Music for the series and the theme song is by Canadian composer Daniel Ingram. Lyrics for the theme song are by Ken Scarborough. The show is animated in Vancouver by Studio B Productions using Adobe Flash. Meddaugh, author of the book, is involved in the show and oversees the production. Despite some concerns over the way word definitions would be incorporated into a television show, she said she is now satisfied that they do not interrupt the flow of the story. Producer Carol Greenwald first contacted Meddaugh when she was involved in the TV series Arthur; the author has also been approached by HBO and Disney.
Characters[]
Main Article: List of Martha Speaks characters
Episodes[]
Main Article: List of Martha Speaks episodes
Season one of the series ended with a total of 40 episodes; it premiered in September 2008. Thirty episodes were produced for season two and then split in half to be aired over two broadcast seasons with 15 episodes each.
When first aired, the show was followed by Music Time with SteveSongs and later by Dot's Story Factory. Season two episodes were followed by a segment called Who's That Dog?, in which a clip of a dog with special training is shown. The show was available to view on Netflix, with three of the seasons from the show, until July 2015.
| Season | Episodes | First airdate | Last airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | September 1, 2008 | July 17, 2009 |
| 2 | 15 | September 14, 2009 | May 14, 2010 |
| 3 | 15 | October 11, 2010 | October 3, 2011 |
| 4 | 10 | February 20, 2012 | April 5, 2013 |
| 5 | 8 | June 24, 2013 | November 14, 2013 |
| 6 | 8 | March 31, 2014 | November 18, 2014 |
Merchandise[]
PBS KIDS! reported that episodes of the series would be available as downloads in fall 2008. Episodes are also available for purchase via downloading.
In January 2010, Martha Speaks launched its first list of official tie-in books, which include 24-page readers, chapter books, and a picture book.
On March 9, 2010, a DVD set of the series was released. It features eight episodes from season one.
Martha Speaks Live![]
VStar Entertainment Group, the company behind Sesame Street Live, is mounting Martha Speaks Live. It is a brand new national tour featuring song and dance and Martha Speaks herself. It is based on the animated series.
See also[]
- Martha Speaks (book)
- List of Martha Speaks characters
- List of Martha Speaks episodes
- Martha Speaks: The Movie