Encyclopedia (TV series)

Encyclopedia
Directed by	Joshua White
Starring	Ethyl Eichelberger Jim Fyfe Faith Prince Carol Schindler David Sterry
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	23
Production
Producer	Patti Kaplan
Running time	approx. 30 min
Production company	Children's Television Workshop
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	September 19, 1988 (1988-09-19) – February 20, 1989 (1989-02-20)

Encyclopedia is a television series created by the HBO Network and the for-profit branch of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) (now known as Sesame Workshop), Distinguished Productions, Inc. (DPI) (which has since been folded into Sesame Workshop). The series premiered on the HBO network in 1988.

Each episode covered a letter or series of letters in the alphabet, with short skits of sketch comedy devoted to up to twelve corresponding encyclopedia topics. Several topics were related through song. Three of the six writers of the show had also been writers for NBC's Saturday Night Live: Patricia Marx, Brian McConnachie, and Mitchell Kriegman.

The series featured the band BETTY, who performed both the opening and closing themes as well as individual songs for selected topics.

The series covered the following topics:

Daytime Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design: Calista Hendrickson
• Outstanding Achievement in Makeup: Paul Gebbia

All episodes were released on VHS in the late 1990s. They are no longer available commercially, but often appear on eBay.

• The New York Times: CTW Romps Onto Cable With 'Encyclopedia' by Alison Leigh Cowan [1]
• Encyclopedia at IMDb
• Encyclopedia at TV Guide [2]