Gullah Gullah Island (2024)

Gullah Gullah Island is an American musicalchildren's television seriesthat was produced by and aired on theNick Jr.programming block on theNickelodeonnetwork from 1994 to 2000. The show starred Ron and Natalie Daise, who also served as the cultural advisors, and was inspired by theGullahculture of Ron Daise's home ofSt. Helena Island, South Carolina, part of theSea Islands.

Cast[]

• Vanessa Baden- Vanessa Alston
• James Edward Coleman II - James Alston
• Ron Daise - Ron Alston
• Corey Murphy - Rick
• Natalie Daise - Natalie Alston
• Manolo Villaverde- Abuelo
• Iris Chacón- Juana
• Pixee Wales - Grandma Pixee
• Amy Brandis - Susana
• Mike Walker - Ranger Mike
• Anita Endsley - Miss Audra (1995-1997)
• Corey Hayes - Corey
• Siti Opeal - Miss Siti
• Simeon Othello Daise - Simeon Alston
• Shaina M. Freeman - Shaina Alston (1994–1997)
• Tristin Mays- Shaina Alston (1997–1998)
• Cristian Sola - Miguel (1997)
• Sara Makeba Daise - Sara (1994–1997)
• Mia Barrington - Mia
• Lisa Campbell - Susie
• Greg Davis, Jr. - Greg
• Armando Guerra - Armando (1994–1997)
• Justin Campbell - Binyah Binyah
• Ana Christina Randolph - Marisol
• Bryan Nguyen - Bryan
• Zachary Chartier - Zachary
• Jessica Gorski - Jessica
• Kelly Holden - Greta
• Willa Nathan - Willa
• Jaymen-Angel Clark - Peter
• James J. Kroupa - Chansome the Pelican

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Gullah Gullah Island episodes

Production[]

Origin and development[]

Ron Daise's bookReminiscences of Sea Island Heritagewas published in 1987. He and hisNew York-born wife, Natalie Daise (née Eldridge), followed by creating and touring with a multimedia show,Sea Island Montage, based on the book as well as stories from oral histories of elderly St. Helena Island residents.^[6][7]After one of their performances, the Daises met with an executive producer from Nickelodeon.^[8]Creator Maria Perez-Brown had planned on building a multicultural program featuring a "magical island" and was inspired by the Daises to use the Sea Islands and elements of Gullah culture.^[9][10][11]Part of Nickelodeon's initiative to broaden its preschool programming,Gullah Gullah Islandwas the first show of its kind to star an African-American family set in an indigenously black community.^[8][12]The show's originality caused some upfront concerns. "We were apprehensive about naming it 'Gullah Gullah Island'. We wanted to make sure the portrayal was positive and didn't in any way poke fun at the culture or the community," Ron Daise said of creating a show based on an existing culture.^[13]

Format[]

Gullah Gullah Islandis a sing-along half-hour live-action show.^[5]The format was part of a flexible thinking initiative that taught children to make good choices rather than using rote memorization.^[10][14]

Ron and Natalie Daise play the Alstons, who live on the fictional "Gullah Gullah Island". Additional cast featured the Daise's actual children Simeon and Sara among others, including a full-body puppetfrog, Binyah Binyah ("binyah" is the Gullah word for "island native").^[15]The show was taped and recorded atNickelodeon Studiosin Orlando atUniversal Studios Florida, with the showClarissa Explains It Allshot on the same set interior and exterior.^[8][16][17]Modifications were made, like adding different shades of red to the home as shown on Gullah Gullah. Outdoor shots featuredBeaufort^[13]andFripp Island, South Carolina.^[18]Charleston, South Carolina, was featured in one episode when the family took a trip to theCity Market.^[19]

Episodes are presented with a unified plot and not separate segments, featuring singing, dancing, learning and encouraging children to think about things like taking care of yourself, animals, telling the truth, social skills, and problem solving.^[14][20]The show also highlights the culture and language ofGullah, descendants of former slaves who live on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia.^[21]

Broadcast, syndication and marketing[]

The show ran for four seasons from 1994 to 2000, with a total of 72 episodes. Following the series' end, reruns aired through July 2000. Reruns also aired onNogginfrom February 2, 1999, to April 2004, and again from 2008 to 2009. When Noggin was relaunched as a streaming app in 2015, the first 37 episodes of Gullah Gullah Island were added. Reruns also aired on the Nick Jr. Channel from 2009 until December 5, 2014.

Several special home video releases accompanied the original broadcast, includingGullah Gullah Island: Binyah's Surprise(1994),^[22]Gullah Gullah Island: Play Along With Binyah and Friends(1994),^[23]Gullah Gullah Island: Dance Along with the Daise Family(1997),^[24]andGullah Gullah Island: Christmas(1998).^[25]

Home videos of the show were released on VHS format bySony Wonderfrom 1995–1996 and later byParamountfrom 1997–1998. As of February 7, 2012, every season of the series is being released to DVD through Amazon.com's MOD (Manufacture On Demand) program.^[26]Nickelodeon licensed a series of children's books, musical cassettes and "Binyah Binyah Polliwog" plush animals.^[16]

The first 37 episodes are available to watch on the Noggin subscription service as of October 14, 2015.

Home media[]

NickelodeonandAmazon.comteamed up to releaseGullah Gullah Islandand other Nick Jr. shows onmanufacture on demand(MOD) on DVD-R discs available exclusively through Amazon.com'sCreateSpacearm.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Critical reception of the show was consistently positive, both as a children's show and as groundbreaker for African American programming, it was praised for "vividly colored sets, infectious sing-alongs, unique character accents and quirky humor that defined the show and introduced millions of children to an overlooked but centuries-old branch of African American culture."^[31]It was described as "a combination summer camp, cheerleading session and music video."^[32]The issues, especially with the first season, had to do with show's depiction being unrealistic. "The songs were lively and catchy, the kids were cute and the general theme was unlike other kids' programming," Jenifer Managan of theChicago Tribunewrote. However:

In 1996,TV Guidenamed the show one of "10 best children's shows".^[7]During its original broadcast run it was Nickelodeon's highest-rated preschool show, averaging more 750,000 viewers per episode.^[12][16][20]

Awards[]

Binyah Binyah![]

In 1997, five episodes of a "Gullah Gullah Island" miniseries titled "Binyah Binyah!" were produced at the now-defunctNickelodeon Studiosin Orlando, Florida, and aired from February 2 to February 6, 1998.^[37]A separate theme song written bySean Altman^[38]was given to these episodes. The miniseries also featured several new puppet characters in addition to the original cast and focused on polliwog Binyah Binyah journeying to locations outside of Gullah Gullah, similar to the three Kratt Brothers TV shows Kratts' Creatures, Zoboomafoo and Be the Creature. Ron and Natalie Daise were part of the cast as well.^[39]It was never broadcast again after its initial airing of episodes, nor was it released to home video. A promo advertising the series' debut is the only known footage; all five episodes were believed to be lost until 2017 when snippets of episode 5 and all of episode 4 surfaced online, evidently coming from a homemade VHS tape of old Nickelodeon shows.^[40]As of 2019, the fourth episode can be seen on YouTube.