Editing Captain Kangaroo (section)

==Format==
[[Image:MisterMoose.jpg|thumb|right|Mr. Moose and the Captain's original navy blue jacket at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]]]
The show takes place in and around the Treasure House, later called the Captain's Place, where the Captain would interact with puppets, guests, and other members of the cast. Even the opening sequence changed.

Each episode began with the theme music playing, then the Captain makes his entrance to the studio by unlocking and opening the doors of the Treasure House from the inside, where viewers would catch their first glimpse of him. Then he puts the Treasure House keys on a nail, and the music ends. On rare occasions, the Captain could not get the keys to stay on the nail, and when they fell off, the theme song plays again. One never knew exactly what would happen from one episode to the next, although at certain times of the year, such as the Christmas season, paper cutout versions of such stories as ''The Littlest Snowman'' would be shown.

===Cartoons===
Several cartoon shorts were featured over the course of the series' run, including:

A [[cartoon]] starring a funnel-capped [[shapeshifting]] boy named ''[[Tom Terrific]]'' was part of the show in the 1950s and 1960s. Tom had a [[sidekick]] named Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an [[archenemy]], Crabby Appleton ("I'm rotten to the core!"). Other cartoons included ''Lariat Sam'', who (aided by his loyal horse ''Tippytoes''), confronted his nemesis ''Badlands Meanie'' and his sidekick ''Bushwhack''. ''[[The Adventures of Lariat Sam]]'' was developed by veteran [[game show]] [[announcer]] [[Gene Wood]], then a show staffer (who also sang the cartoon's theme song).<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0219425/
|title=''Lariat Sam'' on IMDB
|website=[[IMDb]]
|access-date=2024-04-17}}</ref>

The [[United Kingdom|British]] cartoon ''[[Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings]]'' appeared in the 1970s, featuring a child with magic chalk who could create all sorts of short-lived creations in short adventures. The original version featured a British narrator, [[Bernard Cribbins]], but Keeshan's voice was dubbed onto the cartoons for their U.S. airing.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WONkUpsOIPI
|title=Excerpt of 1976 episode on YouTube, containing ''Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings'' redubbed version
|website=[[YouTube]]
|date=June 2, 2011
|access-date=2024-04-17}}</ref>

Another British-produced cartoon, ''[[Ludwig (1977 TV series)|Ludwig]]'', about a magical egg-shaped robot, was also included around the same time as ''Simon''. The cartoon's musical score consisted of selections from the works of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]].

Also appearing in the 1970s was ''[[The Most Important Person]]'', a series of five-minute segments on the importance of life, and ''[[The Kingdom of Could Be You]]'', a series of five-minute segments on the importance of careers and the work world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series |date=1983 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1557-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/192/mode/2up |accessdate=14 March 2020 |pages=191–192}}</ref>

The cartoon series called ''[[The Toothbrush Family]]'' was based on an [[extended family]] of hygiene utensils, as the name suggests; they would embark on adventures based in the [[bathroom]], like [[water skiing]] in the tub, or rescuing friends caught in the drain. Episodes were generally a few minutes each and basically revolved around teaching children the importance of [[oral hygiene]].

A silent cartoon in the 1970s named ''[[Crystal Tipps and Alistair]]'' featured the adventures of a young girl and her dog. Later reruns were narrated by the voice of Mr. Moose. Another British favorite, ''[[The Wombles]]'', was also featured.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://americansongwriter.com/tales-from-the-uk-a-qa-with-the-wombles-mike-batt/
|title= Tales From The UK: A Q&A With The Wombles' Mike Batt
|last=Schlansky
|first=Evan
|date= July 8, 2011
|access-date=2024-04-17}}</ref>

''[[The Red and the Blue (TV series)|The Red and the Blue]]'' shorts from Italy, as well as ''[[The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo]]'', featuring a family of [[sea explorer]]s, were also shown.

==="Good morning, Captain!"===
Starting in 1974, the show opened with different people wishing the Captain "good morning". Many of the openings featured noncelebrities, but some featured stars from TV shows, most of which broadcast over CBS. The montage of "good mornings" always ended with the Captain himself returning the [[greeting]] before the opening sequence.

===Regular features===
Other regular features included ''The Magic Drawing Board'' and the Captain's "Reading Stories" sessions, which introduced kids to stories such as ''[[Curious George]]'', ''[[Make Way for Ducklings]]'', ''[[Stone soup|Stone Soup]]'', ''[[Caps for Sale]]'', and ''[[Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel]].''<ref>{{cite book |last=McMahon |first=Ed |title=When Television Was Young: The Inside Story with Memories by Legends of the Small Screen |location=Nashville |publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc. |date=September 11, 2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whentelevisionwa0000mcma/page/230 230] |isbn=978-1401603274 |url=https://archive.org/details/whentelevisionwa0000mcma/page/230 }}</ref> The [[Sweet Pickles]] books were also featured.
[[File:Cosmo allegretti captain kangaroo 1977.JPG|thumb|180px|Puppeteer Cosmo Allegretti (left) with actor Dick Shawn, 1977: Allegretti played many roles on the program.]]

Songs were a regular part of the show, from "Captain Kangaroo" to many traditional tunes to popular songs interpreted by puppets. [[Carmino Ravosa]] was a songwriter on the show from 1975 to 1977.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Charles |first1=Eleanor |title=WESTCHESTER GUIDE: Productions for Children |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/14/nyregion/westchester-guide-548723.html |access-date=August 18, 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=December 14, 1997}}</ref>

On the first show of every month, the Captain had a [[birthday cake]] for all of the children with birthdays that month.

Keeshan also had a recurring role as the Town Clown, a [[pantomime]] piece that took place in and around the exposed wagon home of a [[tramp]]-like [[circus clown]]. Like the character Clarabelle that he played on ''Howdy Doody'', the Town Clown never spoke.

Favorite characters on the show were Grandfather Clock (voiced by Cosmo Allegretti), Bunny Rabbit, Rollo the Hippo, and Dancing Bear. Dancing Bear was mute and only appeared in short subject features. He often danced [[waltzes]] to background music.

One of the show's long-[[running gags]] was the "Ping-Pong Ball Drop", instigated by the telling of a joke (usually a [[knock-knock joke]]) by Mr. Moose, in which the [[punchline]] included the words "ping-pong balls". At the mention of those three words, a shower of [[ping-pong ball]]s was released from above on the Captain.

The show often had simple [[black light theatre]] segments using paper or cardboard cutouts. A notable recording of a popular song, such as [[Judy Garland]]'s Decca recording of "[[Over the Rainbow]]" (from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''), [[Mary Martin]] singing "[[Never Never Land (song)|Never Never Land]]" (from the original cast recording of the musical ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]''), or [[Danny Kaye]] singing "[[Inchworm (song)|Inchworm]]" (from the Decca recording of the songs from ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'') were heard while the cutouts played on the screen, animated by a concealed [[puppeteer]]. On other occasions, full-fledged [[hand puppet]]s "performed" to the song being played (as in the case when a hand puppet dressed in Spanish clothing performed to a recording of tenor [[Allan Jones (actor)|Allan Jones]] singing "[[The Firefly (1937 film)|The Donkey Serenade]]").

Also, about two or three times in an episode, short film clips on certain topics played over a song about that particular topic.

Especially in later seasons, the show also featured a [[running gag]] in selected episodes during which the Captain would try to perform a particular activity three or four times, only to fail in a different way with each attempt.

Familiar props included a mockup of a talking cathedral-style radio that Keeshan simply called Radio. Keeshan would turn the large knobs on Radio to get a conversation going. Reminiscent of the old [[Atwater Kent]] cathedrals, Radio had a rather interesting conversation with a smaller [[transistor radio]] in one show. Also featured was a huge [[Colgate toothpaste]] box with a large windup or clockwork key on the side. Keeshan turned the key to play a [[jingle]] ("Colgate Fluoride M-F-P/Helps Prevent the Cavity/And it Tastes Great, Naturally!") for the show's sponsor, Colgate Toothpaste.

At the end of each episode, the Captain always encouraged parents watching the show to spend some [[quality time]] with their children every day, and he often demonstrated various creative ways in which to do so. In later seasons, that changed to him saying, "Well, what would you like to do today? You know it could be a good day for..." then a song would list many different activities while short film clips of each corresponding activity are presented, then the song ended with the singers saying, "There's so much to do. These things are just a few." Then it would cut back to the Captain, who would sign off with, "So whatever ''you'' do, have a great day!"