User reviews

Childhood memories back in my days. I loved watching this show. I used to join its website on PBS Kids all the time when I was a little kid. I played games as I did the Alphabet Soup, ABCD Watermelon Letter, and Word Play. My favorite storybook segment was where a cartoon Cliff Hanger starts hanging from a cliff as he says "Can't... hold... on... much... longer!". I enjoyed watching other storybook segments from the series like Chicken Jane and Gawain's Word. I also enjoying watching a cooking segment called What's Cooking with Theo and Cleo. That puppet show is so fun and educational just like others such as Sesame Street and Oobi.

Between the Lions began as an attempt by PBS Kids to spin-off its flagship program, kids show pioneer, Sesame Street (1969-). A bold move indeed. While not officially under the Jim Henson umbrella, the show was made by a group of Jim Henson and Sesame Workshop alumni, who broke away from their respective companies and released the show under WGBH (Arthur, Peep and the Big Wide World).

Considering how divorced it is from it's parent show, it feels cut from the same cloth as other shows in the Muppets cannon. It's not just a puppet show, but a multimedia program, using various animation styles, live-action and music to teach reading and phonics. What makes the show stand out, is that it was the first of its kind to focus solely on basic reading skills. As Street introduced toddlers and young children to the concept of learning, Lions focused on developing those learned skills. A "graduation" to the next grade if you will.

Street's format is very apparent. You have the main plot, featuring the titular Lion family working at their local library. Hungry for learning (and food), the family reads a different book each episode which takes them through a series of events, culminating with them learning the book's main lesson. Various "side-segments" feature throughout, using different visual mediums to enforce learning.

The show's predecessor Reading Rainbow (1983-2006), had an informational format like many adult PBS shows. LeVar Burton's (Star Trek: The Next Generation) teacher persona taught the subjects in a friendly, school-like manor. Lions' approach is not direct, but more story driven. The relationship that parents Theo and Cleo have with their cubs Lionel and Leona is generally charming, and their adventures are engaging as well as educational.

The segments themselves range from comical, to whimsical, to downright absurd. Favourites include the Monty Python-inspired "Gawain's World", a jousting match between two knights that taught the concept of syllables, "Fun with Chicken Jane" (a play on Dick & Jane) which taught episode subjects through rhyme, and a spelling segment where voice artist Fred Newman (Gremlins) would sound out specific words to the audience. And let's not forget the vocal stylings of "The Vowels", who put a funky spin on learning letters!

But the most effective and entertaining of them has to be the adventures, or rather, misadventures of "Cliff Hanger". The bit takes learning and gives it a classic WB cartoon edge. His word-related schemes almost get him off that cliff he's been hanging onto for god knows how long. But in the end, a la Wile E. Coyote, Cliff always ends up back at square one. The charm and humour of the segments made them highlights of the show, and inspired countless internet memes.

Of course, every kids show from this era did come with its fair share of creepiness. Just get one look at "Arty Smartypants", or take in a exploit of "The Tummy Lady" (DONT' ASK!!!). Well, they can't all be winners right?

Guest Stars return from Street. Rather than the biggest A-listers, Lions leaned more toward less obvious TV stars. These included newscaster Al Roker, Bruno Kirby (When Harry Met Sally), even Big Bird himself. Their enthusiasm is apparent, sometimes a little too much. You won't be able to unsee John Stewart donning Arty's Smarty-Pants and singing along with him on the Daily Show Set.

In terms of a show, this pseudo-sequel remains overshadowed by the massive success of Sesame Street. But the formula is still effective and rings true to this day. Between the Lions is an underrated gem that deserves to be remembered with the more famous educational shows of our childhoods.

I recently watched Between the Lions, and it was a delightful experience. The show is an excellent tool for young children to learn to read and improve their literacy skills. The characters were lovable, and the storylines were engaging. The show's use of animation and live-action was impressive, and it kept me entertained throughout.

Although there were some moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, the show made up for it with its educational value. The catchy songs and rhymes were an excellent addition and helped make learning fun. Overall, I give Between the Lions a solid 7 out of 10 stars, and I highly recommend it to parents looking for an educational and entertaining show for their children.

This is in response to the review that david-345 wrote: Don't take yourself too seriously! My wife and I homeschool our little boy, and he was having trouble learning to read. He was just not interested enough to put in the effort to really learn. My sister-in-law, a first-grade public school teacher, suggested that we begin watching "Between the Lions." She uses the show in her classroom sometimes.

After we began watching it, my little boy began to become much more interested in reading. He began to see the value in reading. He went from a beginning reading level to reading at 2nd grade level in less than 6 months. He especially related to the "boy" lion, Lionel. He even asked for a Lionel stuffed toy recently. This seems to be because he enjoyed the show! He was very entertained by the skits, and the repetition allowed him to learn more quickly.

I think it is arrogance to view a child's television program with the same type of standards as that of an adult. Often children like things that are "obnoxious" to adults. And in this case, I personally find many of the characters entertaining. The "Chicken Jane" clips are a great parody of the old "Dick and Jane" series. And, although annoying to me, my little boy loves the Cliffhanger character.

It's also great how they introduce other cultural aspects from around the world to children, and they usually stray away from the trap of many shows that preach political correctness to indoctrinate children.

In short, the show is effective, and entertaining to children. Therefore, it is a great show.

They are entitled to their opinions, but I just cannot agree with david_345 and heavenseeker. They simply have no idea what they are talking about. "Between the Lions" is one of the best shows PBS has cooked up in years and years. The humor is fast-paced, there's just enough intelligent silliness for the adults watching with their kids. The puns are great in the fact that, the worse a pun is, the better it is. It teaches intelligent wordplay, irony, and dry humor as well as good old fashioned goofiness. I mentioned Shakespeare; well, he was famous for using really bad groaner puns to develop characters and push along the story lines. I bet he would have loved this show! I would give this show a 10 except for Arty Smartypants; he's just creepy.

my favorite line so far: "Is mustard supposed to be crunchy?"

A great educational show for the tots. It has cool puppets, songs and the theme song is one of the all-time best. I enjoyed wasting my time on this show.

Verdict: Lion King of reading.

My son, who had learning troubles, still remembers this show. He loved it then and still does. I watched with my granddaughter but he watched with us in the summer or any other time he was home. She also learned a lot. Very smart young lady.

I watched Between the Lions when I was little and I loved it, as did my older sister. It was a lot like Sesame Street, but just about reading and language. My favorite segment was always Cliff Hanger, I loved that it was a pun and that they had a cartoon portion on a show that was mostly puppets. I was a pretty good reader as far as I can remember, but I learned new words and phrases from watching this show. It is very educational and entertaining for kids up to age 8. It teaches kids about the essence of stories, not just how to read. It teaches about plot devices (like Cliff Hanger!) and reading comprehension. Now it's been a long time since I watched this show, but my mom allowed me to watch it and therefore it cannot be as obnoxious as some people say it is (I was not allowed to watch Spongebob for the sole reason that my mother thought it was annoying). I think it's a good quality show and it's nice that it focuses entirely on reading, instead of trying to cram a million lessons into one half-hour episode. Kids should watch this before starting kindergarten to get a nice head start.

i have to give wgbh props for making this show. this show is great for kindergarteners and early elementary children! the whole cast of puppet characters are so cute and the fast-paced and creative segments are sure to entertain kids while parents will be amused by the witty puns: for instance, gawain's word (wayne's world)and even the title between the lions (between the lines) are just a sample. the show really brings books to life for kids, especially when characters pop out of the pages of the novels. additionally, during the story readings, the narrator's words are highlighted so that children can follow along... this is especially important since one of the most important steps of literacy is to recognize words with their sound. there are also segments and songs about vowel sounds and sounding out words. this show is very innovative in the way it presents reading... i'm sure you'll agree once you watch the show.

perhaps those people who don't understand the purpose of this show might find it a little cheesy, but one must remember that who the targeted audience of this show is: young children, and while adults might find the humor banal, little kids who, who have a simpler sense of humor, find it hilarious. not only that, i totally trust the folks at wgbh... because this organization is dedicated in providing educational and entertaining programming for children. you can't overlook the fact that this company has a whole development, research, and content department that puts a lot of time and effort, as well as research and testing to make sure that the programs you see are developmentally appropriate and entertaining. they just don't take ideas and pull them out of their butts, there's a process that scrutinizes every program and episode so that the end result is quality programming.

the kids love it, and isn't that what really matters?

I was 8 when this came out. But I'm obsessed with Muppets and anything puppet (legit wearing a gonzo shirt atm). I didn't get much out of it as a kid because I was advanced but I LOVED it and bits of it randomly run through my brain as an adult.

I'm in education and am privately tutoring two kids. One isn't verbally as developed as he needs to be for almost 3. And the other is a very smart but lagging little 4 year old. I can say with full certainty that this has helped both. We watch it during lunch time. Both kids have a short attention span, so the broken up skits keep the knowledge moving with concepts while holding their attention.

I try to cram as much education in as I can. I can safely say that I've noticed significant growth in the kids between my lessons and watching this.

Great show. Happy to continue this show to another generation!

People saying it's annoying: clearly you don't understand the humor isn't meant for adults. It's a kids literature show.

"Between the Lions" is a thoroughly engaging, well written, entertaining program that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. My 3-year-old and I like to get up early and watch it together. The only character I could really do without is Arty Smartypants; the others are entirely likeable, even the curmudgeon Busterfield. My wife and I feel that "Between the Lions" is like "The Electric Company" reborn, except that the writing is superior, especially with the incorporation of puns and other wordplay that are meant for grown-ups to enjoy ("Click" the computer mouse, a dinosaur called a thesaurus, Clay and Walter Pigeon, Chicken Jane, the sidekick Russell Upsomegrub, the author Livingston Dangerously, Monkey C. Monkeydew, etc.). "The Electric Company" was fast-paced, musical, and educational, but it can't match the humor and thus the total value of "Between the Lions."

This show is the about the best 30 minute reading lesson you can give your kids short of having a reading teacher give them a one-on-one lesson. It presents a sound or word in multiple ways to get children thinking about how our reading works.

It also uses contemporary children's books so if one show really works with your kids, you can take them to the library and see the same book they saw on the show. (Although they won't see talking lions)

The show focuses on teaching reading, not math or manners or anything else, which is where it differs from Sesame Street. It also doesn't try to make jokes for the parents who might be watching the show with their kids. So, if you're not a small child or the parent of one, you probably won't see much point in the show. There is a quite negative review of this show on this site and it's probably from someone for whom this show was not intended. Some kid's shows really are just for kids.

Let me start by saying that I have a child. I have read comments from several people either praising the show or hating it. And I fall in the category of liking it. The skits are childish but it's what helps keep child interested in the program. Since you may notice that children these days tend to have short attention spans or be more interested in video games instead of a book or informative programs. My only complaint these days is that there hasn't been very many shows like this out there. These days there are only repeats .Which sort of annoy my child.But it ends of giving us time to stop and read a book and bond. We only hope that PBS will have new programs that keep kids interested in reading.Not just the annoying bright colors and creatures and make odd noises...

1. I am a parent of a 6-year-old child with autism. 2. Said child has difficulty with language due to her disorder. 3. "Between the Lions" helps her with her reading and language skills. 4. I graduated from college with a degree in psychology.

Honestly, I can't imagine why anyone would dislike the show. I find it enjoyable to watch with my daughter, and find that a good deal of the humor is directed at grownups who may be watching with their kids. My little girl loves this show, and it really is helping her learn. Those who don't like it either aren't paying attention, or simply don't understand child psychology and the learning process. This is a clever and well-done series, and I am grateful to its creators for how much they have influenced my child's reading and language skills. Music and repetition are especially key to learning with special needs kids. This show has all that and more.

My kids are now 5 and 3 and they both just love this show. They stop whatever they are doing and pay attention to the show. They love Gawain's Word, Chicken Jane, and the musical skits. We always let our kids watch this entertaining and well-written program. Even my husband and I have found tips that we didn't realize before regarding English grammar.

This series wonderfully combines learning and entertainment and provides a half-hour where the children will be enthralled in the jokes, skits, and songs; and the parents will not mind watching along with their children. Each show centers around a vowel sound that is constantly repeated in different skits and songs for effective teaching value. Each show also contains a theme; one delightful episode focused on Shakespeare in a light manner for a quick introduction to the Bard for young children. They might not have understood the verse, but the fact that a chicken puppet played Juliet will have them giggling. This is a great show to rival other shows that teach reading, especially Reading Rainbow.

When I was a kid all I ever wanted to watch was Electric Company. Seeing past episodes of it now, I kind of laugh and think it is silly, but it served its purpose. The whole reason behind the show is to teach pre-reading skills. The best way for most children to learn initially when they are pre-school age is through repetition. The characters are lovable, children will attach easily to them, which will also help to increase pre-reading skills. In this day and age reading starts so much earlier in school systems it's nice to have a show that is trying to help specifically with this task. Sesame Street is up there too it just isn't focused solely on reading. Some of my favorite Muppet voices are in this show: Moakley from Fraggle Rock among them. I love this show and think that it is a must to have in the household and my children both love it. Including Cliffhanger. However, their favorite is Chicken Jane. It's a FUN show.

This is exactly how I learned how to read. My grandmother gave me what we call the "AT list" You know, words that end it "-at" like, bat, fat, sat, you know. This is exactly the kind of reading this show teaches. And it teaches family values too! I think we should incorporate it into school cirriculums. I know I would! (And I'm a teaching assistant!)

I spent a lot of time last year teaching children how to read, but using the methods described in the teacher's book just got the kids more and more confused. So I brought a game of Scrabble to school with me, and followed what they do on the show, I based the entire lesson on one sound, or taught them how silent "e" can change vowel sounds, like pin and pine or plan and plane. And the kids started learning! it was fantastic!

Great for kids. 9 out of 10!

I just can not begin to understand the negative comments about this show. There is nothing negative about it. My 18 month old son and I watch it every morning and we both love it. It teaches the pronunciation of words, the long & short sounds of vowels, etc. I think this show is wonderful and it will remain a part of my son's daily activities. (I even find myself watching it when he's asleep)

PBS was once a bastion for children's TV, a refuge, free from 30 minute action figure commercials disguised as cartoons. No more. Mr. Rogers is dead, Sesame Street needed to be canned a long time back, Dragon Tales rehashes the same stories over and over again, please don't get me started on Sagwa, George Shrinks and the Bearenstein Bears. How has Arthur lasted as long it has, better yet, how has it maintained quality? Between the Lions has got to be the most obnoxious example of PBS Children's TV's fall from grace. No, I take that back, Boobah now has that dubious distinction. But Between the Lion is not off the hook by any means. This show is like chewing tin foil, or scraping fingernails on a blackboard. Sheer pain. It's a crime that this show can go on and on, but Levar Burton can't get funding for his series Reading Rainbow. Trust me, if it had a plethora of obnoxious, semi muppet characters that could be merchandised, PBS would give the man a blank check.

And why is a noted sex therapist appearing on a children's show anyway?

And to the reviewer who feels that Mr. 345 is in no way entitled to his opinion, I'm sorry sir, he is, and I agree with it. And about home schooling, there's an episode of South park you "really' need to see.

Oh for the good old days when PBS children's programming actually meant something.

Between the Lions is one of those shows where it appears that you are not allowed to have an opinion about it or it's content. The series has gotten almost universal acclaim and anyone attempting to voice a differing opinion gets shouted down as someone who is against literacy. I'm not against literacy, far from it, but I am against bad television and Between the Lions is about as bad as it gets. Have the critics who praise this series actually taken the time to watch it? How on Earth can this thing teach children how to read? It might have a noble goal, but that goal is buried under tons of obnoxious characters and bad skits that really, really grate on one's nerves almost from the get go. And people wanted to drive Barney the Dinosaur off the air and leave this thing on?

PBS would be better suited to keep repeating Reading Rainbow ad nauseum as it is far superior to Between the Lions, for that matter why don't they repeat the Electric Company, a show that was both educational and very funny? These lions should be put on the endangered species list.

After watching this show... I would think that the acting in this one was really great...

Let me take you guys into the wondrous features about this movie...

Great features:

1.Funny at times 2.Listening to the stories(Like king and the hawk, lion and the mouse,etc.) 3.The vowels(The mysterious hand will take some of the words from books,newspapers or etc. need i say more?) 4.Pronounciation from the sound word man... 5.And most of all... Great songs to dance and sing about...

I would like to recommend all of the parents to let their children watch this show... It would be fun for them to watch this one though...

But avoid worst show like teletubbies... It is trash...

I started watching this show last year during a school break, when I was teaching young kids with special needs. I was hooked, & started taping it for my class. Our class' favorite episode was "Huff & Puff" (I cawn't stop HUFFing und PUFFing!). The show has the gift of using known strategies to help kids read (including, yes, Dr. Ruth Wordheimer) that not only entertains them, but also adults - at least baby boomer adults! Favorite adult jokes are "Walter and Clay Pigeon," "Gawain's Word" (which my little guys LOVED to play in class!), the story parodies, especially the "sequels" to "The Three Little Pigs" & "Chicken Jane. No, Mr. Smarty Pants wasn't my favorite, but I couldn't get his little chant out of my head, either! The kids had no idea why I was howling with laughter at the jokes that whizzed by their head, but then, I couldn't understand why my dad laughed at Bugs Bunny & Underdog when I was their age! And yes, the show DID help reinforce what I was teaching my munchkins in class about reading and learning - and taught ME a few things as well. Now, I teach 5th graders & miss having the opportunity to watch it.

That being said, I am of the opinion that "BTL" is also functional. I live in a state where the public school system has abandoned phonics. Instead, the children are given lists of words to memorize. What I appreciate about this show is that it teaches children how to read. My 4-year old (who is now 8, in 2nd grade and reads on a 5th/6th grade level) learned that letters make sounds and that putting sounds together makes words. That turned out to be an invaluable lesson for him and, later, for my next child (who doesn't begin K-5 until the fall, but already reads 1st grade books). As inane as some of it is (the Cliff Hanger skit is incredibly stupid) if children can pick up the basic tools of phonics, I will support it.