its 11:30am timeslot in most markets. Cooper worked to try and make a show educational as well as appealing to children. "We approach each creature that we examine from his place in history, in mythology, in literature, in art, in music," Cooper recalled in a 1976 interview with the Los Angeles Times. Reception The series won Emmys for four consecutive years and the Peabody Award. It won the 1978 Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Informational Series. The show also won the Action for Children's Television ACT Prize for excellence in children's programming. In a negative review from The New York Times, Carol Rinzler wrote that she thought Hal Linden's demeanor was "depressed" while presenting the show and said that despite the songs and animation, the expositions that bookended those segments hurt the show. Rinzler concluded that the show was "boring, boring, boring", mocking the title of the show. Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith was a lot more positive about the show, calling Lynn Kellogg's songs "charming". Smith also, in a contrast from Rinzler, called Linden "the soul of the show, giving it an easy charm, a wry wit, and, at times, a naivete that matches his youngest viewer. He has a nice way of gathering in the elements of the show." References External links 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series American children's education television series Nature educational television series American Broadcasting Company original programming ABC News 1976 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings Television series about animals Peabody Award-winning television programs American television series with live action and animation