THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARCHIVE - All Things Mister Rogers

Episode 1734

Episode 1734
Topic	Little and Big
Air Date	August 27, 1998
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Mister Rogers arrives with a Hoberman sphere -- a toy that can become a big or small sphere. He explains that people change and grow in very different ways than a Hoberman sphere.

Moving into the kitchen, Mister Rogers plays with some plastic building blocks as he sings You Are Special. Mr. McFeely stops by with a videotape about a time he visited the home of Chuck Hoberman -- the inventor of the Hoberman sphere.

After Mr. McFeely leaves, Mister Rogers sets up the Make-Believe models but is called outside by Mrs. McFeely who is dog-sitting for the day. After they play with the dogs for a moment, Mr. McFeely returns to the house to help with the dogs.

In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Neighbor Aber and Lady Aberlin use large plastic building blocks to construct a landing space for Bob Dog and the helicopter. Handyman Negri passes through on his way home from teaching guitar lessons and is filled in on the trouble with Lady Elaine's helicopter, Yo-Yo. Betty Okonak Templeton gets in touch with Lady Elaine over the radio and finds that the helicopter only responds to guitar music. As Handyman Negri plays his guitar, the helicopter comes low enough for Bob Dog to reach the ground. When the helicopter finally touches down, Lady Elaine learns that King Friday has banned all yo-yos from the Neighborhood.

Back at the house, Mister Rogers shares a recording of Yo-Yo Ma playing the cello before remembering his visit with Yo-Yo and his son Nicholas. This leads Mister Rogers to think about a more recent performance by Yo-Yo Ma and his son.

Notes

The Trolley seems to disappear and reappear randomly throughout this episode. It is not on its track early in the episode but is there when Mister Rogers goes outside to meet Mrs. McFeely. It is still there when he comes back inside for Make-Believe, but gone again afterwards.

Just as in the previous episode, Bob Dog seems to be hanging on to the helicoptor with his teeth as his arms are both seen at his sides when he lands on the ground.

As Neighbor Aber and Lady Aberlin finish work on the landing pad, How Do You Help a Friend to Know plays in the background.
After landing, Lady Elaine Fairchilde emerges from the helicoptor and declares: "One big step for womankind!" This is clearly a reference to Neil Armstrong's words spoken on the moon in 1969: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The visit with Yo-Yo Ma remembered by Mister Rogers comes from Episode 1625.
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Appearing In This Episode

Songs

Screenshots

Episode Credits

With Fred Rogers
Neighbors: Chuck Aber, Betty Aberlin, Chuck Hoberman, Michael Horton, Nicholas Ma, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Negri, David Newell, Betsy Seamans, Bob Trow
Special Thanks To: Hoberman Designs, Lou Garber, Colette and Don Wilkins
Executive Producer: Fred Rogers
Producer: Margaret Whitmer
Director: Bob Walsh
Location Directors: Gary Hines, Susan Howard
Associate Producers: Casey Brown, Kathy Leichter
Location Production: Joe Abeln, Lani Droz, Mike Schmell
Music Directors: John Costa, Michael Moricz

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