Piggley Learns a Few Important Lessons in School Days in Tara

Three years ago, I discovered Jakers!, a computer-animated show on PBS that follows the adventures of Piggley Winks (Maile Flanagan), a young lad growing up in 1950s Ireland, as recollected by Piggley as a modern-day grandpa. Piggley is a pig, while his best friends Ferny and Dannan are a bull and a duck. All of the characters are types of animals that are commonly found in Ireland. Each episode is framed by a modern-day situation involving Grandpa Piggley (Peadar Lamb) and at least one of his three grandchildren, twins Seamus and Sean (Nika Futterman) and their older sister Maggie (Melissa Disney). In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I rented School Days in Tara, a collection of four Jakers! episodes. As the title indicates, all four episodes have something to do with Piggley's experiences at school, where he and his friends are under the tutelage of the strict but dedicated goat, Mr. Hornsby (Charles Adler).

In The Salmon of Knowledge, Piggley is bummed out when Mr. Hornsby warns his students that they'd better study up for Monday's big test over the weekend. He'd much rather spend his time blasting off in his Raloo Rocket with his buddies. When his mother jokingly mentions the Salmon of Knowledge, Piggley invents a history for this remarkable fish and determines to catch it. He does succeed in snagging a fish, but Dannan has serious doubts about how useful it will be, while Ferny ultimately decides he'd rather earn his good grade by studying. Will Piggley's salmon provide him with the answers he seeks or just one important lesson? In the modern day, the twins want to cut corners cleaning their room and wish they had a leprechaun who could do the whole thing for them. Their grandpa's story illustrates the importance of putting in the work needed to achieve a desired result.

Rock Around the Cluck was a new episode for me, and it surprised me in a couple of ways. First, I had no idea that Piggley could play the guitar, but he shows his grandkids that he's quite adept at it. I also suspected that a story about Piggley learning to play a musical instrument would involve him growing frustrated with the practice involved, but young Piggley is diligent with his lessons. His problem is a lack of confidence. Though he boasts that he is as talented as the band whose music introduced him to rock and roll, he's not nearly as sure of himself as he appears. When it's time for the Raloo Rockers, featuring Piggley on guitar, Dannan on makeshift bass and Ferny on drums, to debut, lip-synching suddenly starts to look like an attractive option. Music is a big part of this show, which has one of my all-time favorite theme songs, and it's always fun when an episode focuses on it. I also like that this episode allows buttoned-down shop-keeping goat Miss Nanny (Susan Silo) a chance to show her wilder side as a music teacher taken with Piggley's lively tunes.

I hadn't previously seen New Best Friends, either, and I liked it even better than the preceding episode. After Meggie complains about her best friend being out of town, Piggley suggests that she spend some time with a neighbor girl she doesn't know very well. He goes on to recall the time Mr. Hornsby sent his class off in pairs to observe nature one fine spring day, forcing the typical Piggley, Ferny and Dannan trio to split up. Ferny finds himself with impressionable young rabbit Fergal. Dannan winds up with Gosford, a goose just as concerned about grades as she is. Meanwhile, Piggley struggles to cooperate with Hector (Pamela Adlon), a bullying badger. Hector's antagonism and Piggley's hard-headedness cause them to spend most of the day arguing, but when they finally work together, the result is impressive. Dannan and Gosford settle upon teamwork more quickly, though there's still some bickering involved. While sweet-natured Ferny is nervous about taking the lead in a project, he quickly shows that he is a fine mentor to Fergal. Their storyline scarcely has any conflict at all, but I love it because the characters are just so sweet. It's also nice to see Hector show his softer side, which is revisited in the last episode.

In A Little Bit of Something Extra! Extra!, an essay by Dannan about a famous reporter and a dismissive remark by Hector inspire Mr. Hornsby to assign his students to find some news over the weekend and bring it back to the class. Naturally, Piggley wants to take things in a creative direction, figuring an exciting story with a nugget of truth is better than a bland just-the-facts narrative. Disapproving Dannan sets out to prove that facts can be just as fascinating as fantasy, and her search leads to a discovery about Hector that mirrors his gentle behavior toward the end of the third episode. Every installment of this show has a subplot involving Wiley the Sheep (Mel Brooks), a wise-cracking transplant from New York whose monologues whose words just sound like bleating to Piggley and his friends; this is the only episode on the disc in which Wiley's adventures intersect significantly with those of the main characters.

All four episodes are excellent, and the DVD also comes with a number of special features, including games, previews, and informational live action segments. I'm much more interested in just the episodes themselves, but children might have fun exploring these extras. I'd recommend any of the Jakers! collections for folks of all ages seeking a well-crafted show with an Irish flavor. The hour-and-a-half-long School Days in Tara puts particular emphasis on the value of hard work and cooperation with classmates, making it a great tool for encouraging reluctant students. I think we all could learn a thing or two from Mr. Hornsby!