Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman

American live action/animated television series

Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman is a reality children's television program that is shown on PBS. It is hosted by an animated dog, Ruff Ruffman, who gives out challenges to the six kids competing on the program.[2] The series aired for five seasons and 100 episodes from May 29, 2006, to November 4, 2010 on PBS, with over 30 contestants by that time. Although a sixth season was planned for early 2011, with auditions taking place in January 2010, WGBH announced on June 14, 2010, that due to a lack of funding, the series would end.[3] It previously aired reruns on the 24 hour PBS Kids Channel from January 16, 2017[4][5] until November 20, 2018.[6] All 5 seasons are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and PlayStation Vue.[7] In June 2008, the series received it's first Emmy for Best Original Song for it's theme.

Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman
GenreChildren's game show
Reality television
Comedy
Created byKate Taylor
Developed byWGBH Boston
Written byGlen Berger (season 1 only)
Jim Conroy
Directed byClifford Saito
Adam Dalley
Joe Truesdell
Peter Lyons
Wayne Simpson
Dean Raymond
Robert V. Lange
Chris Whitbeck
Presented byJim Conroy
StarringList of contestants
Voices ofJim Conroy
Narrated byJim Conroy
Theme music composerTerry Tompkins
Rocco Gagliese
Steve D'Angelo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes100
Production
Executive producerKate Taylor
ProducersPaul Serafini
Marcy Gunther
Eric Handler
Alan Catello Grazioso[1]
Production locationsBoston, Massachusetts, and other parts of the USA
EditorLocked
Camera setupMark C. Helton
Dan Lang
Stephen McCarthy
Ken Willinger
Multi-camera (For Studio segments)
Production companyWGBH Boston
Original release
NetworkPBS Kids Go!
ReleaseMay 29, 2006 (2006-05-29) –
November 4, 2010 (2010-11-04)
Related
  • The Ruff Ruffman Show

Below is a list of Ruff Ruffman games.

Hamster Run

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Hamster Run is a game that was released on October 10, 2017, and is meant for hamster lovers.[8] There are millions of hamsters in this game.[9]

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Ruff's Cookie Creator is a game that was released on September 28, 2017 and is for anyone.[10] There are three customers in Ruff's Cookie Creator, those include Scruff Ruffman, Glen Ruffman, and Grandma Ruffman.[11] Ruff's Cookie Creator can be played on Android, IOS, Fire OS, and PC.[12]

Spinoffs

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There have been so many spinoffs of Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman.

Ruff Ruffman: Humble Media Genius

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Later, in May 2014, a brand new spin-off was announced, called Ruff Ruffman: Humble Media Genius.[13] This spin-off debuted in Fall 2014 and features short animations of Ruff Ruffman, focusing on how to be safe on the internet. Episodes:[14]

  1. "Texting and You!" (November 2014)
  2. "Photos and You!" (November 2014)
  3. "Searching and You!" (November 2014)
  4. "Technology and You!" (November 2014)
  5. "Technology and You! Bonus Video: Chicken Island" (January 2015)
  6. "Hang Up and Drive!" (July 2015)
  7. "Hang Up and Drive! Bonus Video: Just Drive!" (July 2015)
  8. "Privacy and You!" (January 2016)
  9. "Privacy and You!: Deleted Scene" (January 2016)
  10. "The Internet and Chet" (March 2016)
  11. "Say! Cheese?" (May 2016)
  12. "Getting the Most From the Internet" (June 2016)
  13. "An Orange Dog Goes Green" (January 2017)

The Ruff Ruffman Show

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On July 30, 2017, PBS Kids and WGBH announced that Ruff Ruffman along with his two assistants Blossom and Chet would be making a comeback in a brand new digital series called The Ruff Ruffman Show, where they answer questions from real kids, take on challenges and learns the value of perseverance—all while modeling science inquiry skills. The digital series premiered on September 28, 2017, and ran until October 20, 2017 on PBSKids.org and YouTube, with one season and 22 episodes.[15] It also teaches children certain science inquiry skills. The topics on the show that are featured include building new things, materials, sports, and kitchen science.[16]

Team Hamster!

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On December 28, 2020, a brand new web series called Team Hamster! premiered. It is a spin-off focusing on Ruff Ruffman's hamsters - Sadie, Mateo, and Tasha. The series also ties-in with games on the PBS Kids website.[17]

Cancelled spinoff: Spyhounds

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WGBH and Global Mechanic had originally announced plans to produce a spin-off of Fetch! based on the online game Spyhounds. It was going to feature Ruff, Blossom, and Chet having a brand new career as super-spies, and Ruff is in way over his head. Luckily, he has much help: five clever kids, a purple poodle named Trixie, and millions of kids online.[18] The spinoff plans were announced but were later canceled for unknown reasons.[19]

Fetchtok

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On July 21, 2022, WGBH and Jim Conroy released FetchTok, a TikTok-based challenge where Ruff (voiced again by Conroy) asks all the viewers to record themselves performing his challenges and posting them on the app.[20]

Production

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Production of Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman began in 2004. It started under the name of Hot Seat with the tile character named Hot Seat.[21] The name would later be changed to Hot Spot in 2005, until the name would later be changed to Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman.[22] It was announced that Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman DVDs would be released in the near future, however those plans were canceled.[23]

References

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  1. "Watch Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman Season 3 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
  2. Zahed, Ramin (24 May 2006). "A Flash-Animated Game Show Host Wags his Tail on PBS's FETCH!". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. "Petition · Renew FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman for a 6th Season". Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  4. "WTTW TO LAUNCH FREE 24/7 MULTIPLATFORM PBS KIDS SERVICE". WTTW. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. "PBS and Stations Launch 24/7 PBS KIDS Channel, Expanding Access to the #1 Children's Educational Media Brand on TV and Digital Platforms". PBS. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  6. "Changes Are Coming to PBS KIDS Schedule" (PDF). nine Magazine. November 2018. p. 11. Retrieved 27 May 2023. Beginning November 21, PBS KIDS will sunset Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, which has been out of production for many years.
  7. "Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman - Where to Watch and Stream". Retrieved 2021-12-25.
  8. "Team Hamster! and The Ruff Ruffman Show . Games ". PBS Kids. October 10, 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  9. "Hamster Run - Game". PBS LearningMedia. September 26, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  10. "Team Hamster! and The Ruff Ruffman Show . Games ". PBS Kids. September 28, 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  11. "Ruff's Cookie Creator". Iowa PBS. September 30, 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  12. "Cookie Creator Game - Family Friendly Games". igre za decu od 3 do 103 godline. July 4, 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  13. "Ruff Ruffman". 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  14. "FETCH! | PBS KIDS GO!". pbskids.org. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  15. "PBS KIDS Announces the Return of Fan Favorite with New Digital Series: THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW - PBS About". PBS. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  16. The Ruff Ruffman Show Science Collection. "ny.pbslearningmedia.org". Accessed November 20, 2017.
  17. "PBS KIDS Shows - PBS KIDS for Parents". PBS KIDS for Parents. 2021-01-20. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  18. "GLOBAL MECHANIC". www.globalmechanic.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
  19. "SPYHOUNDS: EVALUATION REPORT - Informal Science" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-24.[permanent dead link]
  20. "FetchTok Fly a kite challenge - GBH". Tiktok. 2021-01-20. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  21. "Petition · Renew FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman for a 6th Season". Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  22. "Fetch was called hot seat and then hot spot". Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  23. "For collectors of DVD box sets the future is Ruff". Archived from the original on 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2009-11-19.

Other websites

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