Cyberchase Father's Day with Guest Star Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick guest stars as Max, Cyber Dad of the Year, in a special "Father's Day" episode of Cyberchase, premiering June 19 on PBS KIDS GO!. Check local listings. (c) WNET 13.

For seven years, Cyberchase has helped kids integrate mathematics into their daily lives. It's a fantasy adventure with a team of super hero kids who travel cyberspace as they foil the evil plans of villainous Hacker from destroying the internet. To do so, they must use basic math to measure, estimate, and solve problems.

For Father's Day, Cyberchase will air a special episode featuring the voice of Matthew Broderick as Creech's father, Max. Hacker and Max went to high school together. Max managed to beat Hacker at everything he did, which has left the villain with a huge grudge.

Creech wrote a letter nominating her father, calling him the "quintessence of Daddiness." Max is named Cyber Dad of the Year and will star in the annual Tikiville Father's Day Parade, receiving a trophy at its conclusion. Hacker sees the perfect opportunity to get even. He'll replace the real-life Max with a robot likeness. Coded messages sent to the robot will make it do awful things...and the real Max will get the blame and humiliation. Ah, but the CyberSquad, Matt, Jackie, and Inez, with their trusting friend, Digit, know Hacker's up to no good. They must crack a mathematical code sent to the robot to control its actions. The kids must detect a numbers pattern to stop the robot and Hacker from ruining Father's Day for Creech, her Dad, and the residents of Tikiville.

"My son loves Cyberchase, so I was happy to lend my voice to the show,” said guest star Matthew Broderick. “The best part is that I haven't told him I did it; I'm waiting to surprise him when we watch the episode together. I'm sure he'll be more impressed by it than any other work I've done!"

“We're thrilled to have Matthew Broderick as a guest star in this special Cyberchase episode,” said Neal Shapiro, President and CEO of WNET.ORG. “Only on Cyberchase would Father's Day mix with math for a half hour of pure entertainment. As a dad, it's a series I'm proud to have in the WNET.ORG family of programs.”

WNET has also provided the tasty, simple Max's Banana Pancake Recipe as well as activities that incorporate math as a game.

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Father's Day - Ep. 705
Math Topic: Patterns in Codes
Premieres: Friday June 19, 2009

It’s the annual Father’s Day Parade in Tikiville, and Creech’s father, Max (guest star Matthew Broderick), is this year’s Cyberdad of the Year. Max was once a schoolmate of Hacker’s – and continually bested Hacker in all of their endeavors. Hacker has decided it’s time to get even and this time he’s got a really clever plan… Using secret codes and a band of bad guys, he rolls into action, cleverly changing the code each step of the way to keep those “earthbrats” from catching on. Will Hacker succeed in spoiling Father’s Day and embarrassing Max? Or will our heroes figure out the pattern to his codes in time to stop him?

Following the June 19 on-air premiere, the full “Father’s Day” episode with Matthew Broderick will be available for streaming at Cyberchase Online at pbskidsgo.org/cyberchase and on the PBS KIDS GO! video player at pbskidsgo.org/video. For more Cyberchase fun, kids will also be able to print their very own Cyberchase Father's Day cards and experience other activities at Cyberchase Online.

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Cyberchase is the only children's math show on American television. The cartoon series has won various well-deserved awards. It is produced by THIRTEEN in association with Title Entertainment Inc. and WNET.ORG. Executive producers are Sandra Sheppard, THIRTEEN’s Director of Children’s and Educational Programming, and Frances Nankin. Ellen Doherty is senior series producer. Nationally, it is seen on local PBS stations as part of the PBS KIDS GO! programming block. Check local listings for broadcast times where you live.

National Memorial Day Concert 20th Anniversary

PBS stations across the country will again broadcast the National Memorial Day Concert, live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Gary Sinise (CSI: NY) and Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) return to co-host the event for the third consecutive year. The concert airs Sunday, May 24 from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM ET, with a taped encore presentation in many cities from 9:30-11:00 PM ET. Check local listings for broadcast times on your PBS station.

"This year’s event will look back and reflect on some of the most powerful moments from the past two decades, in which these performers contributed their immense talents to help viewers remember and pay tribute to all those who served in America’s wars."

It may be the concert's 20th anniversary, but 2009 marks a more significant one: the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. During his presidency, Lincoln considered it a duty to "...to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan..." It was during the Civil War that the loved ones of the fallen soldiers and sailors of both sides began planting flowers as tributes to their lives and military service. So, it is fitting that excerpts from letters written by President Lincoln will be read during the concert. To this day, more American lives were lost during the Civil War than any other conflict since. More than 620,000 soldiers and sailors died defending their beliefs.

PBS also states that, "The concert will honor the sacrifices, suffering and love of the thousands of family members caring for our severely wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. These disabled warriors have become our living memorials, a visible reminder of those who sacrificed so much for the principles we stand for whose families take care of them and will continue to sacrifice for them for the rest of their lives."

"Joining co-hosts Sinise and Mantegna is an all-star line-up of dignitaries, actors and musical artists including distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell; renowned film, television and stage actress Katie Holmes; Emmy Award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne; double Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest; recording artist and actress Katharine McPhee; country music superstar Trace Adkins; Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell; celebrated Broadway star Colm Wilkinson (Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera); acclaimed opera star Denyce Graves; classical music superstar Lang Lang, named one of the 2009 TIME 100 (Time magazine); and Grammy-nominated violin virtuoso Robert McDuffie in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Erich Kunzel, recipient of the National Medal of Arts. The U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff also will participate in the event, along with the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, U.S. Army Chorus, U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, Soldiers Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, U.S. Navy Sea Chanters, and the Armed Forces Color Guard and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, DC."

PBS's has again launched the concert's companion website at www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert. You can explore the viewer's guide and a special page where veterans and family members can pay tribute to their friends and loved ones. These eulogies will be delivered to the appropriate national memorial in the nation's capitol.

Source: PBS Press materials.

Lovely Stories

Based on three novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford follows the lives of villagers in a remote Midlands market town as the modern age encroaches on it. The story is follows the lives of the early-Victorian backwater from June 1842 through May 1843, beginning with the nearly simultaneous arrivals of Mary Smith, whose mother was from Cranford, and Dr. Frank Harrison, a doctor fresh out of medical school who is joining his cousin's practice. Cranford is populated with a remarkable number of aging spinsters and widows. "All the householders above a certain rent are women." Men take a backseat to the influence the women wield through their control of the village's social life. Cranford is absolutely charming. The comedy of manners is now on DVD. Cranford Miniseries DVD Full Review >>