What we get to experience in Wayside School: Season One is the cast of characters that make up the 30th story of the school. For those not in-the-know, Wayside School was supposed to be built as 30 classrooms on one story, but ended up as a 30-story building with one classroom per story. As Sachar mentions in the book, the builder says he's very sorry. Contrary to what the episode, "The Elevator," might have you believe, there is no elevator in Wayside School so all the kids in Mrs. Jewls' classroom must tramp up 30 flights of stairs. Most of them don't mind, considering the teacher they had before Mrs. Jewls. Watch the episode, "Mrs. Gorf," and you'll understand. All the people in Wayside School: Season One are basically crazy, except for the kids. Some of the kids are verging on crazy, some are certifiable, and at least one of them is relatively normal.
The show is built around Todd, who was just one-of-many kids in the book. Viewers expecting the show to display the same kind of episodic randomness that was typical in the book may end up initially deflated. There are so many good and unique qualities to the show that it ends up providing as much entertainment as the Wayside School stories, but in a totally different fashion. The book feels a bit like the spiritual successor to Roald Dahl's work, offbeat and subtle. Offbeat works well on television, but subtle isn't all that great unless you're making a movie for IFC or a foreign audience. The route taken in Wayside School: Season One is to use the medium in a way that will connect with kids accustomed to fast-paced, zany cartoon shows like Camp Lazlo or Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. This doesn't match the material exactly, but the intentions are good and the show ends up being highly entertaining.
What the show gets right and what carries over directly from the book are the totally random associations that the kids and teachers at Wayside School manage to raise during each episode. Right away, in the first show that includes "Pull My Pigtail" and "Class Cow," we see a talking pigtail that dares you to pull it, and a substitute teacher that resembles a cow. Okay, she is a cow... and the kids don't seem to care. Watching things like this unfold on-screen hearkens back to shows that were almost completely made up of random association, like Ren & Stimpy. Wayside School: Season One isn't that side-splitting, but Louis Sachar's source material is every bit as random as something Stimpy might come up with in a spare moment. Parents may find the show somewhat mystifying, but kids will totally connect with their counterparts in Wayside School. For anyone that had weird daydreams of crazy stunts in school and had their name put on the board under the word "Discipline," Wayside School: Season One will be a pure pleasure to watch. Getting the book along with the DVD is a great bonus and will add lots of perspective to the show. Definitely recommended for the 5-10 crowd.
