| Polka Dot Door | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Peggy Liptrott |
| Based on | BBC's Play School |
| Developed by | Dr. Vera Good Peggy Liptrott L. Ted Coneybeare Marnie Patrick Roberts Dr. Ada Schermann Dick Derhodge Pat Patterson Dodi Robb |
| Written by | Pat Patterson Dodi Robb Jed MacKay Emily Hearn Fran Handman Ian Ritchie Susan Murgatroyd Nancy Crystal Lori Hauser Anne McCourt Clive Endersby Mary MacKay-Smith Carmel Suttor L. Ted Coneybeare |
| Directed by | Peggy Liptrott (1971) Ian Morris Susan Murgatroyd (1979–1984) David Moore (1983; 1985–1993) Douglas Williams (1987) |
| Presented by | Various |
| Theme music composer | Herbie Helbig |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 22 |
| No. of episodes | 383 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Dr. Vera Good (1971–1972) |
| Producers | Peggy Liptrott (1971) L. Ted Coneybeare (1972–1984) Jed MacKay (1985–1993) |
| Production locations | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | TVOntario |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVOntario |
| Release | March 30, 1971 – July 27, 1993 |
| Related | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Polka Dot Door is a Canadian children's television series which was produced by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (later known as TVOntario) from 1971 to 1993. The series features two hosts who speak directly to the home viewing audience.
The content of the shows was generally geared towards education and creativity. Each week of episodes focused on a single theme with each weekday assigned a different "motif" in which the theme was explored in different ways (For example, Tuesdays were "Dress-Up Day" in which the hosts would use costumes to explore the theme).
One of the most well-known elements of the series was the "Polkaroo", a mythical character whose name combines the words "polka dot" and "kangaroo". Normally played by the male host in costume, the Polkaroo would appear to the female host to perform a mime; upon the second host's return, he would typically express disappointment when informed that he had once again missed the Polkaroo. In earlier years, the Polkaroo appeared just once per week on "Imagination Day", but due to the character's popularity, additional appearances were added later in the show's run.
Another feature of the show was "looking through the polka-dot-door", usually on "Finding-Out Day," when the camera would zoom in to a special dot on the door, which would open up to reveal a short educational film.