Figure 1.--Many of the "Yerlash" episodes were set at school. This episode, "Chemists" (number 12) was related to school, but the boys are not wearing their school uniforms so it must be at home. They are trying to work out the chemistry need to change grades in the teacher's grade book.

A Russian reader has provided us information on some of the various episodes. We have a little information on a few episodes.

Episode "A new boy in class" (number 4)

Many of the 'Yeralash' episodes were set at school. This is an early episode, 'A new boy in class' (Number 4). Being the new boy in girl in class is an experience most children have had at some point in school. And of course children have been in school when new children arrived. The tall boy is a young pioneer leader of the class. (That would mean an older boy that plays a leadership role, rather like the Boy Scout Psatrol Leaders that worked with Cub Scouts in America.) Here he is asking the children to accept a new boy in their class and not to tease him. I suppose is a way of addressing the question of difference. I am also guessing that Yeralash episodes never addressed differences related to religion such as Jews or ethnicity such as Central Asians, but hopefully our Russian readers will tell us about that. In fairness to the Soviets, American kids TV also steared away from directly addressing these issues. Rather the principal approach was to include black children as characters. The first was "Different strokes" (1978). (The moviews addressed the topic more directly, but TV was much more cautious.) Most of the scenes we have noted from "Yeralash" show children that look to be ethnic Russians or perhaps Ukranians.

Episode "Once..." (number 6)

A Russian reader tellus us, "This is one of the favorite episodes and the most famous that I know." Scene shows two boys sitting in a school corridor, one of them is a little tubby and slowly eats a tangerine, and the second (thin) watches at him with the envy. At last the sesond boy says "If I had a tangerine, I would share it with you, no doubt!". Then the first boy eats the tangerine segment, and says with a sigh, "Yes ... What a pity, that you have no tangerine!".

Episode "Bankin said 'mew!'" (number 11)

Episode "Mathematicians" (number 12)

Mathematicians": A small boy solves a problem - 28 divide by 7. He gets a result 13. Older boy asks him to check a result with multiplication. Small boy multiplies 13 by 7 and gets 28. Older boy checks a result by addition 13 seven times - and gets a result 28. Pure humor.

Episode "Chemists" (number 12)

Many of the "Yerlash" episodes were set at school. This episode, "Chemists" (number 12) was related to school, but the boys are not wearing their school uniforms so it must be at home (figure 1). They are trying to work out the chemistry need to change grades in the teacher's grade book. Changing report cards were a common them in U.S. kids shows as well.

Episode "There lived two friends" (number 20)

"There lived two friends". A boy teaches his dog to bark. When the dog barks, boy give to her a sweet as a reward. But he wishes his dog to bark more loudly and often. He begins to show to his dog how to bark and barks himself. Then the dog brings to him a bone as a reward.

Episode "From where is the firewood?" (number 20)

"From where is a firewood?". A boy was told that his new physics teacher is absolutely deaf. He goes to the blackboard but instead of physic lesson he begins to recitate poems by N.Nekrasov (name of the episode is a citation from a poem). Evidently he does this to make all the class laugh. Suddenly it is revealed, that the teacher isn't deaf absolutely ...

Episode "A musical moment" (number 39)

"A musical moment". A boy practice his cello lesson (eating ice-cream in the same time) and plays really awful. Suddenly boy's grandfather portrait (painted as a cello player) get to life and give a boy several spanks with a bow. After that boy begin to practice more hardly.

Episode "I raised my eyes and you were there..." (number 39)

"I raised my eyes and you were there..." (again a citation from a poem, now Pushkin's). One boy fell in love to a girl, and can't "get her off his mind". His friend tries to help him - but falls in love himself.

Episode "How many will be 2 plus 2?" (number 48)

"How many will be 2 plus 2". A small boy comes to young engineers club and ensures all that he invented a computer. But his computer is somewhy made of paper...

Episode "A pit" (number 83)

Episode "Help me!" (number 136). Two boys dig a pit to make laugh at a third boy, who loves to walk reading a book. A third boy falls in the pit - and discoveres there a treasure...By the way, here you can see Yulya Volkova, later - famous Russian singer (group T.A.T.U.).

Episode "Help me"

"Help me!". On the street a girl asks a boy to play a role of her boyfriend - to make her real boyfriend jealous. The goal is reached, but there is a problem - now the boy is afraid to go home, because jealosy boyfriend looks really tough. The girl disguise him as another girl to make his pass through the yard safe. But her boyfriend takes a disguised boy for the real girl and begins to kiss "her" - to make jealous his girlfriend.

Created: 1:09 AM 9/28/2009
Last updated: 1:09 AM 9/28/2009