In this post I'll be talking about two things: the first being Zoom's cancellation and the second being Liam Dolan and how he was unfairly fired from CBeebies.
The year is 1999 and a young television producer named Kate Taylor is deciding to reboot Zoom due to not much live-action on children's television these days. Zoom features real-life kids doing science activities, much like the original.
A PBS Kids ident for Zoom in 2001 |
Fast Forward to 2004, when auditions are being announced for Season 8 and are being held in 2005. They even picked the Kids!
There is a WGBH auction, which means they are selling stuff. Things happen to be the Zoom Computer and the Map. The Computer is sold, while the Map stays alone. Fans think they are putting up the set for the new season but they're wrong.
It is Valentines Day 2005 and Someone asks WGBH for pictures of the Zoom Crew putting up the set for Season 8 put then WGBH announces that the show is cancelled due to low ratings. The Zoomers made the official announcement at an awards ceremony.
On Zoomer Noreen's official Yahoo! Group, she announces this, "It's such an impossible task going up against Sesame Street, Between The Lions, and Barney & Friends, so you've gotta consider the nomination as a win. Can't complain? PBS gave up 201 episodes and 8 Seasons!"
Zoom ends on May 6th, 2005. Zoom fans mourn the loss of their favorite show by creating petitions for a Season 8. There were 8 petitions by the end of 2005.
The year is 2002 and Chris Jarvis, a TV presenter, is entering University of Manchester, where he studies early childhood education with Sue, Sid, and Nicole. They meet Liam Dolan, who's currently presenting CBBC On Choice. Then they meet Pui "Po" Fan Lee, and have a plan to launch a new CBBC channel with a Pre-schoolers' channel. Then, CBeebies is born!
A few days after the launch, Jarvis scraps Dolan.
Dolan apologizes and wants to be a presenter again and write the continuity links. He appears in the CBeebies Morning Song upon Jarvis' request.
Dolan still wonders why he was fired from CBeebies. BBC Studios, obviously. He was only credited as a writer in CBeebies: Treasure Hunt LIVE! in Concert. He currently writes for Channel 5's pre-school digital channel, Milkshake.
Somehow, Yo Gabba Gabba's cancellation and World Animals' Forest Section could last a while like Liam Dolan's short-lived life on CBeebies and Zoom's rights. As long as we figure out the copy-write stuff!