Oobi - "Parents"
I'm sure some of you have heard of or at least watched Oobi. For those who don't know, Oobi was a kids show aired on Nick Jr in the early to mid 2000's. It starred puppets, which were really just the hands of some adults with ping pong balls for eyes, and it revolved around the titular Oobi, a 4-year-old boy eager to know more about the world around him.
Oobi wasn't alone in the show; it also starred other characters like his sister Uma, his best friend Kako, and his grandfather Grampu. These four were the main stars of the show, each with different personalities. A big staple of the show is that the characters never spoke in full sentences; they spoke in the third person and barely used conjunctions and articles. Like, instead of saying, "It's Uma's first day of school," they'd say "Uma, school. First day."
I used to like this show when I was a kid, and (call me childish) I like to occasionally watch an episode or two sometimes nowadays. A strange thing I've always noticed in the show is that Oobi's parents are never shown in the series. His friend Kako's parents are shown, but never Oobi's. I've never found a real reason, but I might have uncovered something that might be why they were never shown.
I was just browsing YouTube one day, and happened upon a channel for Oobi, (appropriately titled "Oobi and Uma") and it seemed official, with HQ recordings of full episodes and some shorts. I'd just finished watching an episode when I clicked on another episode entitled "Parents". I just clicked on it out of pure nostalgia, but then I realized I didn't remember this episode. I shrugged it off thinking I must have forgotten it, after all, there's only so much information the brain can store, so I continued.
The episode started with the traditional hand-swipe, and Oobi's voice reading out the title. Oobi and Uma were in the living room, looking at a photo album. Occasionally, they'd interact with the viewer, as per normal. This lasted for a minute until they came across a picture of themselves when they were younger, with their parents. At first, they didn't recognize them, so they called for Grampu (with the help of the viewer). Grampu came into the room after a few shouts, and they pointed him to the picture.
Grampu then told them it was their parents. Oobi and Uma got excited when they realized that, and then they asked where they were. Grampu got nervous, and stumbled over his words a bit, until giving a short answer of, "They're away", before leaving the room. Oobi and Uma then came up with an idea of making cards for their parents.
They started to get supplies, when the screen transitioned to an interview segment. The interview segments involved either the characters talking with children, or the children answering a question posed by the characters beforehand. This interview segment involved Kako and a little boy named Scott. Kako asked questions about his parents, and Scott responded with stuff that they'd do together, with Kako making similar comments about his life.
After the segment ended, it returned back to the living room, with Uma and Oobi making their cards. They greeted the viewer, and went along saying how fun it was decorating the cards. Grampu came in and asked what they were doing, and who they were for.
After that explanation, Grampu was shocked, but tried to hide it. Oobi and Uma were oblivious, and asked when they were coming back, beginning to beg after 15 or so seconds. After being bombarded with this for a while, Grampu told them with a stern, yet calm tone to be quiet. Grampu then told them why. I've written down the dialogue as best as I can remember.
Grampu: "Oobi, Uma parents...no here. No alive...anymore."
Oobi: "But...Grampu, why? Why Oobi, Uma parents, no alive?"
Grampu: "(sighs). When Oobi, Uma, littler, Grampu babysit. One night, Oobi, Uma, parents...get in accident. No...no survive. Whole family sad. Oobi just toddler, and Uma just baby. Grampu couldn't find words...to explain. Grampu sorry."
Oobi: "Not Grampu's fault. (cries)"
Grampu: "Oobi, Uma, okay?"
Oobi and Uma then began to hug Grampu.
Uma: "Oobi, Uma, okay."
Oobi and Uma then proceed to cry for a few seconds. It was really sad to see these normally bright and happy characters in such a depressing state. Knowing these characters for so long, I almost felt like crying myself. After that, Grampu asks to read Oobi's card. Which reads as follows:
"Dear Mom, Dad,
Oobi and Uma misses you. Can't wait to see parents soon!
-Love, Oobi"
Grampu tears up and calls it lovely (his signature phrase). They all cry and hug again, and then another interview segment comes up, but this time, it was just the children. Two children (one boy and one girl) talked about how they lost a parent or two for a bit. The boy, Tyler, talked about how he lost his father while he was in the army and how he keeps his memories alive, and the girl, Shayna, talked about how she lost both her parents in a car accident, and how she lives with her grandparents and how she copes.
The last minutes of the episode consisted of the three looking over the photo album and reminiscing over memories. Grampu was telling the backstories to different photos to Uma and Oobi. At the end, the photo that was shown at the beginning was given a backstory. It was the first family photo of Oobi and Uma, and Grampu recalls how happy their parents were on that day. At the end, Oobi gives the audience a farewell (by saying, "Oobi, you, friends. Bye!") and the three waving goodbye.
It's a little confusing why a company would bury this special episode that could've taught or helped a lot of children about something like this. Sure, it might have been depressing, but other shows like Sesame Street have done very depressing episodes before and got away with it.
I watched the episode again, and then tried to send the video to one of my friends, but the video was gone by the next morning. I couldn't really believe that I lost it, but it's hard to believe, right? I mean, an episode of a very simple kids show talking about dead parents? I wouldn't believe it if I heard it myself. I'd love to see this episode again, but my attempts have proven futile.
Hopefully someone else out there knows about this episode, so I can find someone who actually believes me.
YouTube reading
Originally on Geoshea's Lost Episodes Wiki
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