Over the years, in the least likely settings, he hears again and again how influential it was.
He’s amazed at the effect that ZOOM has had on people. “But the kids who had been casually listening picked up on the tune right away and they were right - kids rule.” “I thought we could do better,” he recalls. Sarson recalls that when he heard the first cut of the tune at one of the early rehearsals, it didn’t grab him. ZOOM’s energy, captured in its buoyant song “C’mon and Zoom!” caught on instantly, thanks to the cast. “Everything in their affect said, ‘we'd like to be your friend, we'd like to get to know you - it was that feeling that I wanted to bring to other children.” GBH’s successive children’s programs, such as Arthur and Molly of Denali, built on that legacy of empathy and kindness. “The look on their faces, when they entered this crowded room where they didn’t know everyone, really spoke to me,” he recalls. The spark for ZOOM (which he originally pitched as Zoom In/Zoom Out) came one day as he brought his own two children to a birthday party. At one point, he recalls, MASTERPIECE was number one in all-adult programming on PBS and ZOOM was number one in off-peak programming. A native Brit, he had also just secured GBH’s rights to air MASTERPIECE. Sarson worked at GBH during the heady 70s, when Julia Child was strolling the hallways and NOVA and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE were garnering growing critical acclaim. “We were looking for intelligence and imagination. We weren't looking for good looks,” he says. While ZOOM is lauded for being ahead of its time, with its racial and gender diversity and kid empowerment, Sarson says he was looking for something else. I deeply believe that if you are clear and say what you want from children, nine times out of ten, you can get it.” His affinity for children, he adds, is part of his nature. “I didn't have the heart to say no, so I made sure the auditions were fun and exciting.” “Out of those 1,000 kids, 993 were not going to be accepted,” Sarson recalls.
Both ZOOM series are fondly remembered today by former “ZOOMers” and former viewers alike.ZOOM ran from 1972-78, and each year, about 1,000 kids tried out for the coveted seven roles - and GBH auditioned every single one. ZOOM won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming – Entertainment/Fictional in 1973. Another of the series’ goals was to focus on kid-centric activities, with many of the show’s segments developed from popular activities that kids enjoy the name ZOOM originated from the desire to zoom in on subjects that are interesting to 7-12 year olds. One of the series’ goals was to show a diverse view of childhood, with “ZOOMers” intentionally cast from an array of races and ethnicities the series also avoided keeping any child on for too long by capping out all “ZOOMers’” tenures on the show at thirteen weeks. ZOOM was created by WGBH producer Christopher Sarson, who wanted to give children a means of relating to others like them. ZOOM was part of a tradition of early pioneers in children’s educational television, inspired in part by earlier series like Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Mr. The series was hosted by a rotating cast of child hosts known as “ZOOMers” who led viewers through a variety of segments with inventive names like “ZOOMovie”, “ZOOMchat”, “ZOOMphenomenon”, and “ZOOMguest”. ZOOM is a kid-centric, mostly-unscripted show focused on giving kids, especially the cohort aged 7-12, a platform to relate to one another through games, plays, recipes, songs, and chats.
This special collection contains materials from both series, although only Series I is currently available to view on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB)’s Online Reading Room Series II can be viewed On Location at WGBH or the Library of Congress, or through Limited Research Access. The second series is referred to as ZOOM, Series II. After the creation of the second series, the original series became known internally at WGBH as ZOOM, Series I.
ZOOM aired in two series, its original run from 1972-1978, and a second run from 1999-2005.
ZOOM is a children’s half-hour educational program produced by WGBH in Boston and aired on PBS.