Miss Charity's Diner
Miss Charity's Diner was a Canadian children's television program and spin-off of the show Faithville. It originally ran from 2002 to 2006 and is currently airing in reruns on networks such as TBN. The show incorporates various themes of the Bible while doing so.
Episodes
- Friendship
- Forgiveness
- Sharing
- Obeying
- Fear
- Truth
- Prayer
- Patience
- Fairness
- Anger
- Love
- Respect
- Thankfulness
- Loyalty
- Doing a Good Job
- Christmas
- Thanksgiving
- Valentine's Day
- Easter
- Canada Day
- Helpfulness
- Bullies
- Don't Quit
- Thoughtfulness
- Optimistic/Pessismistic
- Paying Attention
- Faithfulness
- Trust
- Joy
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
- Neat & Tidy
- Tender Hearted
- Creativity
- Responsibility
- Contentment
- Polite
- Giving
- Gossip
- Jealousy
- Stubbornest
- Listening
- Merciful
- Father's-Mother's Day
- Honouring Parents
- Complaining
- Disappointment/Failure
- Goodness
- Laughter
- Loneliness
- Punctuality
Characters and Segments
Each episode followed the same basic formula, using all of the same segments in almost exactly the same order. The segments and their characters are as follows.
Introduction
In this segment, at the beginning of each episode, Miss Charity welcomes the audience to her diner and introduces the theme of the episode. This almost always takes place through a conversation with her employee, Carl, a hand-operated puppet. This segment always precedes the opening theme song.
Miss Charity Helps Kids
After the introduction, the main plot of the episode would be introduced. A group of children, usually three in number, enter the diner and present Miss Charity with a personal problem relevant to the episode's theme. Less frequently, Miss Charity would have a problem of her own and ask the children for advice. This segment usually came in two parts with advice being given in the first and the positive results of the advice being reported in the second.
Farmer Shalom and Dusty
In the barn on Farmer Shalom's farm, the aforementioned is seen teaching a lesson to his dog, Dusty (a hand-operated puppet), in keeping with the episode's theme.
Mother and Daughter
A segment that was always the same in each episode involve a puppet mother and daughter. The purpose of this segment was to encourage audience members to call or write the show for a "Miss Charity's Club Card."
Miss Geranium's Flower Shop
Miss Geranium, a local florist, tells a thematically relevant story, always about a pair of brothers named Chucky and Gordy. She is always joined by a puppet named Mr. Bookworm and, less frequently, flower puppets and Mr. Bee.
Sue Lynn, Josiah and Mr. Stan
Two puppet children, Sue Lynn and Josiah, were often seen bickering about a thematically relevant problem. This segment came in two parts, the first of which saw a diner employee named Mr. Stan giving advice to one or both of the children. In the second part of the segment, Sue Lynn or Josiah would return to the diner having learned their lesson.
Constable Howie
A friendly policeman, Constable Howie, was shown giving compassionate advice to a child in need. This segment never contained any puppets.
Mr. Marty's Band
In some episodes, but not all, Mr. Marty would he shown singing a catchy repetitive song about the goodness of God.
Epilogue
At the end of each episode, Miss Charity and Carl were seen once again. This time, they would bring to resolution the conversation with which they began the show, always ending on a positive note.
Puppets
- Some of Miss Charity's customers are puppets.
- The French fry, milkshake and hamburger characters are operated as hand puppets.