Do you remember the Seventies children's show ZOOM?

Move over, Gen Z — these are the original "ZOOMers".

The Everett Collection

Dubo yuboubu ubunduberstuband thubis?

If you grew up watching PBS in the Seventies, you just might. That's Ubbi Dubbi, a language from the hit 1972 kids' show ZOOM. You add an "ub" before vowel sounds in words, instantly making a secret code that's easy to grasp, but difficult to master.

While the show only ran for six seasons, it had an earnest appeal that earned it better Neilsen numbers than even that titan of children's television, Sesame Street. ZOOM was one of those rare educational shows for children that didn't make them feel preached at or talked down to, and the cast felt like genuine friends you may know from the neighborhood.

Part of that was because the producers of ZOOM took great care to make sure that these kids didn't turn into overnight celebrities — that wasn't what ZOOM was about. Seven to ten pre-teen cast members, only going by their first names, rotated out every six months or so. Sometimes they would keep a few cast members from the previous season around to guide the new cast, but nobody stuck around more than a few seasons, so kids could still go to school and have a normal childhood.

In fact, cast members on ZOOM had to sign a contract saying that they wouldn't appear in commercials for a few years after their time on ZOOM in an effort to keep kids — well, kids, and not celebrities.

The cast, referred to as ZOOMers, would play games, read plays, present recipes, do science experiments, riff on modern culture and more, all suggested by some of the roughly 10,000 letters sent in weekly from children watching at home. One notable story was sent in and read, written by a young writer in New York City about a dragon with multicolored eyes... and that writer would grow up to become New York Times bestseller and MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Jonathan Lethem. 

The series was cancelled for lack of funding in 1978. A 1999 revival on PBS Kids ran for seven seasons, but didn't quite capture the magic that could only come from the Seventies golden era of children's TV.

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

44 Comments

Gatorrat1963 10 days ago
Loved Zoom! I remember my friend Debbie wrote in for a pretzel recipe they demonstrated on the show.
MDCSWildcats1986 16 days ago
Nell from later in the original series was my first serious "TV crush" when I was 8/9.

Trivia: her full first name is Mignella (pronounced--mee-NELL-uh). Last I heard of her, she was a performance artist living in/around Austin TX.


Also, years later, Lori (spring/fall 1973 cast member) and her husband appeared as contestants on THE NEWLYWED GAME and her husband mentioned her being on the show.
BradBeall 17 days ago
ZOOM was a great show, and "back in the day", everyone I knew was quite well-versed in speaking the language of "Ubbi-Dubbi. I had a major crush on one of the girls on the show, although now it seems I can't even remember her name. Of all the cool things they did, the one that stands out for me was the "water walkers"... 2 hunks of Styrofoam with "one way" flippers taped to the bottom. They were strapped on your feet like sandals, and if you could keep you balance, you could literally "walk" across water! But - the chances of travelling more than a few yards was small, as you would likely fall into the water. Perhaps with LOTS of practice...
What was her hair color? Maybe I could clue you in.
I guess you could call it "dishwater blonde". Not a true blonde, like Jan Brady, but certainly not brunette, either. Now that I've had time to think about it, I believe her name was "Ann", although that's not for certain.
There was an Ann from late 1972-early 1973. Her full name is Ann Messer, and last I heard of her, she was living in the Austin TX area.
Kramden62 19 days ago
My younger sister got me hooked on "Zoom" around 1973 when I was 11 (when I first heard the title, and considering the show was on PBS, I thought it was about photography and cameras!).

The funniest segment I remember was from the "Zoom Barrel" in which Zoomer Donna placed a pencil between her upper lip and her nose and was saying "Run, rabbit, rabbit, run!" I think the object of the game was to say that sentence about ten times without letting the pencil fall off your lip. *So* funny!

And I guess everybody forgot about "Fannee Doolee" ("F, A, double N, double E, D-double-O-L-double E [clap clap]"? It took me a long time to figure out she liked things that have *double letters!*

"Zoom" was great fun. Unfortunately, my Dad couldn't stand the show, and I remember he took a royal tantrum whenever it was on and roared at me and my sister to change the channel right away. (Well, that's okay - there were many shows my Dad liked that *I* couldn't stand, such as any Country music show on regular commercial television or sleep-
inducing war documentary on PBS. I had to get out of the house whenever he subjected us to those.)

I did see the 90's reboot of "Zoom." It wasn't bad, but somehow it didn't quite measure up to the fun and imagination of the original. I remember my nephew liked the new "Zoom," though. He had asked me to record a few episodes for him (VCR's were still common in the 90's) and he even got the wallpaper of the shows logo which he put on the home page of my sister and brother-in-law's computer.
MijiMo 19 days ago
ZOOM was must see TV for me, although the first years I had to watch it on the "upstairs TV", A.K.A the B&W in my parents' room! It was what we talked about on the playground and the bus. I wish it was available to watch and share with my (gulp!) grandkids!
MDCSWildcats1986 MijiMo 16 days ago
There are many original episodes on YouTube and the American LIbrary of Public Television.
Amalthea 20 days ago


I loved this show so much. I even wrote a letter to them (yes, I still remember the address; no, I'm not typing it) and got a card on how to do Ubbi-Dubbi back. They released an album and I got it. It was so much fun. Not only do I still have the album (complete with booklet) but I burned the album onto CD and put my favorite - "Always Friends" - onto MP3 and it's in my player.
epickett Amalthea 20 days ago
Singing:Box 350 - Boston, Mass: 0-2-1-3-4... :-)
KJExpress epickett 17 days ago
"Send it to Zoom!"
Gevon1 20 days ago
The science segments were great I would watch this show now
scp 20 days ago
I think I might have written into the show a few times.

The programming for kids on PBS in the seventies and eighties was orders of magnitude better than the stuff on now.
Walterine 21 days ago
Write Zoom! Z double O M ! Boston Mass 02134444444445
DocForbin 21 days ago
If I remember right one of the creators of Zoom would later go on to create the Degrassi franchise.
bre003 21 days ago
Loved ZOOM, came on after The Electric Company. Never saw the reboot though.
shaggy44 21 days ago
I remember the music opening, but didn't watch it that often, I was more of an Electric Company, Bugaloo's, HR puff and stuff, Sigmond the sea monster kid!
Katzi 21 days ago
A lot of the original episodes are on You Tube.
MeFanFromSavan 21 days ago
I remember the show, watched the intro, but did not watch the whole program.
Jon 21 days ago
If Noggin's still around it could show reruns. I remember the 2nd cast that included Jay, Nina, and Bernadette, as well as the 10-person cast that included Harvey, Tishy, and Norman.
MDCSWildcats1986 Jon 16 days ago
Nina was only ever on the first cast with Joe, Kenny, Tracey #1, Tommy #1, Nancy and Jon.

Jay joined in fall 1972, with Bernadette joining in early 1973 (overlapping with Jay early on).
TJinAK 21 days ago
Is this show on MeTV? It was so great! So was The Electric Company! American Culture and Entertainment Media were so much better prior to Social Media and Smart Phones.
Kramden62 TJinAK 19 days ago
PBS Home Entertainment did release a few DVD box sets of the original "Zoom" in the mid-90's (most likely as a "tie-in" to the new version). You might want to check Ebay.
retro6 22 days ago
I was indeed with this show growing up! Nancy was my favorite. I sent off for the zoom cards and everything. O-2-1-3-4!
KawiVulc 22 days ago
Probably would have watched more if I'd have been just a little younger when Zoom started.

Hard to imagine the adults around kids on TV or in movies taking "great care to make sure that these kids didn't turn into overnight celebrities" these days, too much $$$$$ to be made. Sad.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?