The Big Blue Marble
Season 1
Big Blue Marble featured real children doing real things. Each weekly episode showcased a girl and a boy in separate segments; the shows paired a domestic story with an international one. Crews traveled to Africa, China, Europe, and Russia, as well as all over the United States to tell the everyday stories of adolescence. The most popular segments with the audience were stories about animals and sports.
Where to Watch The Big Blue Marble • Season 1
8 Episodes
- Sardinia and HawaiiE2
Sardinia and HawaiiIn Hawaii, Keith learns about surfing, and how to make a surfboard. He meets a champion surfer who teaches him how to be better. In Italy, Maura travels to the island of Sardinia to visit a her uncle and learn about the traditional, culture and history of the island. Her cousin Carlo is participating in the traditional festival called "La Sartiglia" - a jousting event. - China & IllinoisE3
China & IllinoisIn China, the show tells the story of a young girl who is a member of the Chinese Opera. Viewers experience the student's extensive voice lessons and physical training in calisthenics, acrobatics, tumbling. In Illinois, James Edwards (age 15) convicted of robbery has been confined to "Little City" in Palatine, Illinois, as part of a work-school therapy program, to train him to deal with problems of life outside. We see him attending scholastic classes, budgeting money, participating in sports and social activities and receiving group therapy for skills that he will need when he gets out. - Uruguay, Belgium & PennsylvaniaE4
Uruguay, Belgium & PennsylvaniaThree Segments in this show: (1) In Uruguay the father of a 10-year old boy on a ranch learns from a leading gaucho rodeo presenter who trains him. In Redding, Pennsylvania, Mary Ellen Ronco (an equestrian champion) trains her horse at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden. In Belgium, Yvan Janssen (age 12) works with the blind, creating games and translating books into Braille. Yvan was brought up by deaf and dumb parents who work with blind people. He invented a special cane for the blind in addition to designing a game that blind people can play with sighted people. - Morocco and Cayman IslandsE5
Morocco and Cayman IslandsIn Morocco a thirteen-year-old boy (Ali) wants a LUTAR (or Lotar) like his friend Brahim. Ali finds ways to earn enough money to buy himself a LUTAR. The Lutar is a string instrument in the lute family. A second segment in the Cayman Islands follows a fifteen-year-old girl (Barbara Card) as she catalogs fish, learns scuba diving techniques and visits ship wrecks at the bottom of the ocean. - Switzerland, Japan and New YorkE6
Switzerland, Japan and New YorkThree segments in this episode. (1) In Switzerland a ten-year-old boy (Andreus) and his father train St. Bernard Dogs for rescue operations in the Alps. The cameras follow them during a dramatic simulated rescue mission. (2) In Japan, a boy maintains ties with tradition by learning the ancient martial art, KENDO, the Japanese sport of sword fighting. (3) In New York and New Jersey eight-year-old Tisha Campbell trains her voice and her body to be in show business. She works with her mother (who is a voice coach) and we see her performing live at a jazz concert in Greenwich Village. - France, South Dakota and the HimalayasE7
France, South Dakota and the HimalayasIn South Dakota, Cindy's assignment for her school newspaper is to do a story on the mysterious creature, Bigfoot, who has been sighted in rural areas. In France, fifteen year old Hugo Perrier is a member of a team that plays basketball on skates. They entertain disabled youngsters. We meet his family and friends at home. The team practices skating at school and stages a charity game beneath the Eiffel Tower. His exhibition games entertain disabled children. In the mountains of Bhutan the everyday life of apprentice monks' lives are followed, in a country nestled in the eastern Himalayas. - Witch's SisterE38
Witch's SisterLynn Morley, a ten year old girl with quite an imagination, believes that her older sister, Judith, is being trained as a witch by their odd neighbor, Mrs. Tuggle. No one else seems to notice Judith's strange new behaviors and habits, like reading tarot cards and spending time with a mysterious young man whom she raised from the lake near their house. Convinced that she alone can stop her sister from falling completely under Mrs. Tuggle's influence, she and her best friend Mouse attempt to gather evidence. But before they can find a way to vanquish their foe, Lynn's mother is called away unexpectedly, and Lynn and her siblings are left in Mrs. Tuggle's care...on a dark and stormy night. Will Lynn be able to break the spell before Lynn's little brother becomes Judith's victim?