Back in my old post about the
homemade Oobi DVD, I mentioned how the episode "Sign Language" was seemingly impossible to find. There were no pictures of it online and it never played in reruns on Nick Jr. ... until this week that is. This "long lost" episode has now been found!
Remember how, in the '80s and '90s, family sitcoms would have a "very special episode" where they dealt with an important topic? Well, this is kind of like the Oobi equivalent to that. It's a really sweet story.
In the episode, Oobi and Kako try to play a cup-ball game but can't get it right. A girl comes over to them and shows them how to relax, get in the zone, and play the game perfectly. The boys are amazed and develop little crushes on her. They go to tell Grampu about her, and he asks her name. They realize that she never told them-- heck, she never even talked! They go back to find her, and it turns out that she's deaf. Her mom teaches them some sign language so they can 'talk' back and forth. They learn how to tell her that she's their friend and they want to play with her. Not once does Oobi act like it's weird or abnormal that Amy is deaf. He and Kako see nothing wrong with it, and they think sign language is cool. I have
no idea why Nick Jr. decided to hold this episode off for so long. Kids need to see this kind of representation!!
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| Amy |
I know I talk about how much I love the show's 'distilled' language, but here, it was really beautiful what they were able to communicate with so few words. "Sign Language" is definitely one of my favorite kids' TV episodes ever.
