Beakman

Beakman's World is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip You Can with Beakman and Jax created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, September 16, 1992, on TLC, and three days later on September 19, began a concurrent run in weekly syndication on 220 television stations across the United States through an agreement with Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (whose indirect successor, Sony Pictures Television, currently maintains domestic and international distribution rights to the series).

On September 18, 1993, it moved from national syndication to CBS's Saturday morning children's lineup. At the peak of its popularity, it was seen in nearly ninety countries around the world. The series was canceled in 1997. Reruns returned to national syndication in September 2006, after which it was transferred to local stations such as KICU. The program's host, Paul Zaloom, still performs as Beakman in live appearances around the globe.

The program starred Paul Zaloom as Beakman, an eccentric scientist who performed comical experiments and demonstrations in response to viewer mail to illustrate various scientific concepts from density to electricity to flatulence. When his experiments were successful, he would often exclaim "Zaloom!" in a nod to his last name.

Over the years, Beakman was aided in his experiments by a female assistant/co-host just as in the comic strip on which it was based. The assistant changed throughout the show's run; for season 1, it was Josie (played by Alanna Ubach); for seasons 2 and 3, it was Liza (played by Eliza Schneider); and for season 4, it was Phoebe (played by Senta Moses). Beakman was also assisted by his fake lab rat Lester. In the pilot episode, Lester was a puppet, but in every subsequent episode he was simply a clueless, crude man (Mark Ritts) in a tattered rat suit. In a running joke, it was sometimes implied that his character was actually supposed to be a rat, particularly in moments where he would appear to be in pain because someone was standing on his tail, because he was being tickled, something was on his prosthetic nose, etc. Just as frequently, however, he was specifically identified by himself and others as a guy in a rat suit, or as a serious actor with a bad agent. Frequently unwilling to help with challenges or other segments, Lester was often persuaded by Beakman with the promise of food.