Monday, March 18, 2013

Case Study No. 0854: Valerie the Librarian

The Electric Company - Julie reads out loud in the library
2:01
All you guys who have seen the late-season opening credits sequence where June is seen looking sheepish in a library and Hattie as the librarian approaches her, looking pissed: THIS is that segment. Julie selects three books with punctuation marks as titles, and mayhem ensues...!
Tags: electric company classic original ctw angela winston retro pbs raposofan june hattie library book reading out loud punctuation exclamation point mark punctuations marks should
Added: 5 years ago
From: raposofan
Views: 12,067

[scene opens inside of a public library, as a young girl brings a stack of books to the African American female librarian at the front desk]
JULIE: Here you go, Valerie.
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: Okay ... You finished all these already?
JULIE: Well, I lost interest in this one.
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: Mm hmm.
JULIE: But I read all the others.
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: Oh, and now you want something else, right?
JULIE: Right!
[the librarian laughs]
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: Well, why don't you look over there at those on display? They're all brand new, I haven't even looked at them yet!
JULIE: Okay. Thanks Valerie!
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: You're welcome ...
[she walks over to the bookcart and picks up a book with a period on the cover, then turns and speaks directly to the camera]
JULIE: This looks dull.
[her words appear on screen, then a sound effect plays as the punctuation is highlighted (causing nearby patrons to look up at the unwanted noise), while she briefly flips through the book]
JULIE: I'll skip it.
[the sound effect again punctuates her sentence (as the patrons again look up in annoyance/surprise) as she puts the book down, then picks up another one (with a question mark on the cover) and speaks directly to the camera]
JULIE: A question mark?
[a louder sound effect plays once the question mark is highlighted on the screen (making the patrons even more annoyed), but Julie continues to ignore them and instead speaks directly to the camera]
JULIE: Should I?
[the sound effect again plays (with the expected result), then she shakes her head and puts the book back]
JULIE: Mm-mmm. Let's see what else ...
[she reaches down to the lower shelf and pulls out a big book with an exclamation point on the cover]
JULIE: Wow ...
[she turns and speaks directly to the camera]
JULIE: This looks exciting!
[a really loud sound effect plays once the exclamation point is highlighted on the screen (as the patrons are now totally exasperated), then she turns and speaks directly to the camera]
JULIE: I'll read it!
[the sound effect plays again, and the patrons are now audibly muttering to themselves in the background ... meanwhile, Julie opens the book and begins reading (as a bunch of sound effects are "projected" out of the book), so the librarian is forced to walk over and confront her]
VALERIE THE LIBRARIAN: Julie, I am surprised at you! You know you are not supposed to read out loud in the library!

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From wikipedia.org:

Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3, 1945) is an African American actress best known for her role as Margaret on Becker and as a prominent cast member of the children's PBS series The Electric Company.

Winston rose to prominence during the mid-1970s as a member of the cast of the children's PBS series "The Electric Company", produced by the Children's Television Workshop. Her most notable character was Valerie the Librarian, who was best friends with Easy Reader (portrayed by Morgan Freeman).

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