“The world is a magical place.”  Or at least so believed three animals out to show kids everywhere all the interesting things that were all around them.  With their underground TV station / van, Ogden O. Ostrich, the hyperactive, yellow ostrich, Sheldon S. Cargo, the serious snail, and Holey Moley, a silent mole with lots of secret, portable holes, went around the world, capturing the magic in everyday life for their station, Channel Umptee-3.

Their pirate television station didn’t sit well with the corporate world, so the trio was constantly on the run from Stanley Ricketts and his Frumps.  Though the corporate big wigs presented a hefty challenge to the fledgling television station found ‘between the channels,’ Ogden, Sheldon and Holey Moley had a few friends out there, including Professor Edwin I. Relevant, Channel Umptee-3’s resident expert on anything and everything, and Polly, one of the two newscasters for the station. 

Produced by Norman Lear, legendary producer of All in the Family, the show was introduced as a part of the WB Saturday morning line-up in 1997.  Each show would start out talking about one thing, using that topic to bring up the actual subject of the show.  With episodes on everything from music, to the sun, laughter and humor, weather, and ownership, Channel Umptee-3 proved that there really was much to learn from the everyday, all around us.  After a short while, the show was moved to Friday mornings, where its popularity would fall apart with much of its primary audience getting ready for or being in school.  Within a year, the show left the network, likely due to the work of some mean corporate big wigs.  Fear not, children, for it is likely that they’re still driving around in their van, broadcasting between the channels, trying to show us all what a magical place we live in.