Groundling Marsh is a Canadian children's television puppet series, produced by Portfolio Film & Television Inc., and J.A. Delmage Productions. It included songs and animated segments, and enjoyed a certain amount of success and popularity during its time. The only merchandise produced for the show were videos and they are now exceptionally rare and no longer produced. In the United States, it aired on PBS and the Disney Channel. It received funding from the International Production Fund, formerly the Maclean Hunter Television Fund. This series premiered on June 27, 1994, on YTV before premiering in the U.S. on the Disney Channel and PBS on October 1, 1995. Groundling Marsh was nominated at the 12th Annual Gemini Awards for Best Preschool Program or Series. John Pattison was also nominated for a Gemini (Best Performance in a Preschool Program or Series) for the episode "Bah Hegdish". The show had its series finale on November 7, 1997. The show is still seen on Bell Media-owned educational station CTV Two Alberta.

Premise

Groundling Marsh takes place in a magical swamp. Most of the mutant-like characters are "Groundlings" but look very different from each other. They can be described as any combination of animal, human, elf, and plant. One of the characters is a robot named Stacks. Generally, humans never appear in the series except as an alien presence represented by a boot or a voice. Most often, humans come to the marsh to dump trash and disrupt the ecosystem. The show was designed to be educational and so the story of each episode includes morals such as friendship, honesty, caring, and protection of the environment.

Characters

Episodes

Season 1 (1994)

Season 2 (1995)

Season 3 (1996–1997)

Season 4 (1997–1998)

Broadcast

After its 1994 debut in Canada, the show began airing in the United States on the Disney Channel in 1995, and continued airing on that channel until 1997. The series was also broadcast on TV Tokyo in Japan and TV Cultura in Brazil. The series was also broadcast on Canal Once in Mexico. The series was also broadcast in the United Kingdom and Australia. The series was eventually broadcast in 94 territories worldwide. A big-screen "mini-feature" was also created and seen in "interactive theatres in a chain of U.S. family entertainment centres." The show also appeared on an interactive CD-ROM of Canadian Children's television intended for industry and the government.

Reception

In a review of the Courageous Adventures VHS release, Publishers Weekly, who also deemed the show "popular", wrote, "Kids will be intrigued by this bizarre-looking world and will likely absorb overtly stated messages about cooperation, kindness and respect."

VHS releases

Three hour-long VHS tapes were released by Lyrick Studios in 1998: