Cro

A brilliant educational/informative show about mechanical engineering and technology. It was based on an excellent children's technology book called "The Way Things Work" by David Macaulay. The show run from September, 1993 to October, 1994. A total of 20 episodes.

The premise: A mammoth from the ice age is frozen in a glacier, and thawed out by a scientist and her kid Sidekick. The mammoth, named Phil, can speak perfect English and comes from a surprisingly sophisticated tribe of mammoth scientist/engineers. Each episode, Dr C. and Mike would, in a cold open, encounter a tricky engineering problem with some device, and Phil would tell a story about solving the same problem years ago. Cue titles, then a Flash Back.

The titular Cro was a young human boy (presumably a Cro-Magnon man), whose adopted Neanderthal family was assimilated into the mammoth community. Although the humans were, for the most part, pretty stupid, the mammoths found their opposable thumbs useful.

Each Flash Back would have the mammoths coach Cro and his Neanderthal familiy through the solving of a problem with some type of simple machine. It differed from the typical Bamboo Technology in that all the devices were built on a foundation of good solid science.

All in all, an entertaining and educational show that taught valuable lessons about mechanics and physics in an easy-to-understand way.

This program provides examples of: "Ogg: That not funny! Not politically correct either!"
 * Animated Series
 * Downer Opening Sequence:
 * Expository Theme Tune
 * Flash Back
 * Framing Device
 * Hot Scientist: I swear it was this show, but among the cast is a rather attractive scientist. At the start of one episode she's in a bikini much to a blushing Phil's embarrassment.
 * Hulk Speak: most of the neanderthal characters would talk like this. Complete with the Mongo Pawn In Game Of Life moments:
 * Hot Scientist: I swear it was this show, but among the cast is a rather attractive scientist. At the start of one episode she's in a bikini much to a blushing Phil's embarrassment.
 * Hulk Speak: most of the neanderthal characters would talk like this. Complete with the Mongo Pawn In Game Of Life moments:


 * Intellectual Animal: Turns out mammoths were all trained science teachers who spoke perfect late 20th century American English. Who knew?
 * Mammoth Popsicle
 * No Fourth Wall
 * One We Prepared Earlier
 * Sesame Workshop: Produced this show.
 * Sidekick
 * Smug Snake: Earl and his companion.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: One episode was dedicated to gunpowder.
 * The Teaser
 * The Smurfette Principle: Mandy.
 * The Unintelligible: Bob
 * Welcome Episode
 * Whole-Episode Flashback