CYBERCHASE Saves Mother's Day in First of Four New Action-Packed Cartoons to Roll out Wednesdays in May

Business Wire, April 14, 2003

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2003

The Cybersquad has a busy month, with four outrageous new CYBERCHASE(SM) adventures, premiering Wednesdays in May 2003 (check local listings) on PBS KIDS. Jackie, Matt and Inez, and their pal Digit are ready to put their heads together to outwit the devious Hacker and foil his dastardly plots.

Renowned actors Christopher Lloyd (Hacker) and Gilbert Gottfried (Digit) are joined by returning guest stars Bebe Neuwirth (of Cheers), Al Roker (of The Today Show), and Geoffrey Holder (of Live and Let Die) in the daily cartoon series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Corus Entertainment's Nelvana.

On Wednesday, May 7, the Cybersquad is celebrating "Mother's Day," but Hacker has a fiendish plan to derail the holiday and ruin it for everyone, especially Motherboard. Can the kids and Digit get Mother's Day back on track? The squad must use their wits - and decimals - to save the day. Then, there's a special Web-only treat for viewers - at CYBERCHASE Online (pbskids.org/cyberchase) kids can make their own Mother's Day card with Motherboard and the Cybersquad and print it out for dearest Mom!

Then, on Wednesday, May 14 Binky the Cat (Bebe Neuwirth) calls the Cybersquad to the Ancient Egypt site to help when Hacker steals the "Eye of Rom." Next, Al Roker stars as the inquiring journalist Sam Vander Rom, who reports on the kids' efforts to reel-in a rampaging cyber-whale in "A Whale of A Tale" on Wednesday, May 21. And on Wednesday, May 28, Geoffrey Holder again lends his baritone voice to the character of the wise Master Pi in "Double Trouble."

Every day at the wildly-popular CYBERCHASE Online, kids play interactive games, send e-cards, download free stuff, check out the back story, watch a clip of CYBERCHASE for Real, meet the characters, and experience original adventures. There are also lesson plans and activities for parents and teachers.

CYBERCHASE is about motivating students to succeed by offering new inroads into math. In classrooms and after-school programs, a national outreach campaign extends the impact of CYBERCHASE with a special focus on underserved children. Partners in this effort include the American Library Association, the Association of Science and Technology Centers, EQUALS/Family Math, the National Urban League, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and many others. A CYBERCHASE magazine for kids, teacher guides, parent workshops, and much more are available through public television stations.

CYBERCHASE is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana Limited. Executive producers are Sandra Sheppard, director of children's and educational programming at Thirteen, and Kristin Laskas Martin, former executive producer of the award-winning Magic School Bus.

Major funding for CYBERCHASE is provided by the National Science Foundation, PBS, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by The Kettering Family Foundation and the Volckhausen Family.

Additional press materials and high-definition images are online for media use at www.thirteen.org/cyberpresskit