Animated Hero Classics - Season 2 - Eps 1: Alexander Graham Bell
"You have a gem of a great idea, if you can perfect it," Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institute tells Alexander Graham Bell when he presents his theory for the invention of the telephone. When Thomas Watson and Bell begin their work for a multiple telegraph, Bell becomes convinced that he can send the complex sounds of human speech over a wire from its vibrations. Mr. Hubbard, the financier of the telegraph project, laughs when Bell first tells him about the idea for the project and says he will not finance it. Frustrated, Bell and Watson begin to work on the telephone while working on the telegraph without Hubbard knowing it. Bell is constantly inspired by his deaf students and longs to teach them to speak and communicate. His first dedication had always been to be a teacher of the deaf. But, as Bell becomes more and more engrossed in making the telephone invention work, he has little time to work with the students. As the inventors experience triumph in transmitting sound while playing with the telegraph, Bell is distressed to learn of a student, David, who is giving up and going home because he is frustrated with his inability to speak. He meets David at the train as he is leaving to convince him to stay and keep trying, but David refuses. Bell is greatly disappointed in his failure to help the boy and in the unsuccessful attempts to make the telephone work. Bell is frustrated and tired. As he rests on a park bench, his spirit is renewed when a mime communicates with him. He realizes he could never fail if he keeps trying. He and Watson continue working on the telephone with great enthusiasm. Finally, the telephone experimenting works as sound is transmitted through a tube. Watson clearly understands Bell when he says, "Watson, come here. I want you." As they share the joys of success, school begins again. Bell is rewarded by the return of David who has practiced all summer and knows he can succeed, too.
About Animated Hero Classics
Title: Animated Hero Classics
First Air Date: 1991-06-01
Last Air Date: 2005-01-01
Status: Ended
Rating: 7.25/10 (from 4 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 2
Total Episodes: 20
Network: HBO
Genres: Unknown
Production Companies: NEST Family Entertainment
Synopsis
Animated Hero Classics is an educational Animated television series of programs co-produced by Nest Family Entertainment and Warner Bros. The series, geared toward elementary school aged children, includes twenty biographies of both female and male scientists, inventors, explorers, and social champions from around Europe, North America and the Middle East, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc, Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller, Marco Polo, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur. The Children's Television Act of 1990 required terrestrial television networks to devote time to Educational and Informative programming for children. Even though Warner Bros' cable networks were not directly affected by these requirements, these programs were debuted on their HBO network's Saturday morning children's block as a show of good faith that the network was committed to quality educational programming for children. The dramatic biographies were meticulously researched by the producers and written to engage both children and adults, providing an entertaining and accessible way to learn about the positive impact that these women and men have had on our world.
