Noel McNeal Hosts the Good Night Show
Ignoring the calls of viewers to reinstate Melanie Martinez, PBS is still set on looking for a new host for the Good Night Show.
And while they are still looking, they have decided to let Noel McNeal join the show as Leo, the series' special guest host.
Noel McNeal is, according to PBS' site, "an Emmy-nominated, 20-year veteran of children's television".
Impressive portfolio, methinks. For Noel McNeal's sake, I hope that viewers take a look at his hosting abilities without prejudice.
But, I have yet to see The Good Night Show and its new host. So if YOU have seen it, do let me know your comments.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
He is not Melanie. He may have tons of expertise doing voice over work, i.e. Bear in the Big Blue House, OObi, Puzzle Place, but he is not all warm and fuzzy like Melanie was. My kids don’t care for him at all.
September 18th, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Who cares if he has an Emmy for doing puppets? He looks like someone they picked up on the side of the road, desperate to fill the position! No, we do not care for him, either.
PBS, you can crawl back to Melanie anytime now.
September 18th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
It freaked my kids out totally, because it is so obvious that he is the voice of Bear in the Big Blue House. We miss Melanie too!!!!
September 22nd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I agree with all of the other parents, bring back Melanie! It is too confusing for my duaghter who is a huge Bear fan, and yes he does look like a homeless or someone picked him up on the side of the road! Melanie is greatly missed!
September 23rd, 2006 at 7:09 pm
I like Noel much better than Melanie. She always irritated me with her whiny voice. Keep Noel, he’s awesome!
September 26th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
My daughter loves that they have Noel on the good night show. We were very tickled hearing “Bears” voice and a great opportunity to explain about puppets and that Noel was the man that gave Bear his voice.
She thinks he is very talented and great with kids and she enjoys watching Noel host the show.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
The Comments about Noel looking like a Homless person are cruel. Judging people by their appearance is narrow sighted and as parents you should be ashamed of yourselves. What are you teaching your children about life and people?
September 28th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I agree, my granddaughters loved Melanie.. they don’t seem to even watch the new guy and I don’t care for him at all. So we’ve begun watching alternate children’s shows. I totally agree with the inconsistencies in tolerance. Why would they consider Johnny Depp for Pirates and Willy Wonka with his past film choices like Ninth Gate and Cocaine? and then fire Melanie for making some obscure indy film 7 years ago. Sad state of affairs, typical, but sad.
October 2nd, 2006 at 3:44 pm
I don’t know. I think the fire-fly in Noel’s shirt pocker looks like he forgot to put out his crack-pipe.
October 5th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
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October 6th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
My son liked Melanie, but as far as appearances, her clothing was much worse than Noel’s. Noel is growing on us, but that yellow blob that is supposed to be a star is just scary.
October 7th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
Didn’t like Melanie but she’s getting a raw deal here.
Loved the bear, don’t care for Leo one bit though. He comes off as a cross between Richard Simmons and Lionel Richie, neither of which I’d consider as a role model for my kids.
Star has to go, it’s not cute and it’s voice is as irritating as nails on a chalkboard.
I can do without Lucy too, my kids don’t care what “light” is in spanish.It’s bad enough we have dragons speaking it.
BTW, let these folks change clothes now and then. I’m tired of seeing them in their jammies and it’s not very good personal hygiene. Trust me, it won’t confuse the kids.
October 10th, 2006 at 11:01 am
My grandson and I liked Melanie. There was no reason that she should have been fired!!
If you want my opinion, that star puppet is totally annoying!
October 18th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Hi. I think Leo is irritating. My daughter still asks for Melanie. This guy OVEr-acts. You can tell he used to be an onstage, with all of the exaggerated faces. He is not a good age for the show. They need either a grandma/grandpa type or a youthful host. He is neither. I also suspect he has a debviat past, moreso than Melanie. I had to watch the videos Melanie made and I was a bit shocked, but who cares, most acting and arts students do weird stuff in college.
November 1st, 2006 at 5:29 am
I honestly don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Melanie is gone it sucks get over it. Leo is just a temporary host until they air the new season. We like the new songs. We LOVE the firefly- LUZ. Noel is different and interesting. Any host that is hired to talk to toddlers is going to be a bit annoying. Most of you freakin’ people didn’t even like Melanie when she started–and you had no problem complaining then either! As far as the Star pillow thing –he’s kinda cute his voice is adorable-he was even on with Mel- they introduced him for the second season and he defiantely adds a lot to the show! Instead of the host talking alone he/she can turn to the star. Get over it people. It is what it is–if you aren’t happy then turn it off. I would be hard-pressed to find anyone at Sprout reading this and changing thier descision- making.
November 1st, 2006 at 4:23 pm
We just started watching the show about a month ago and my daughter just loves Noel. Whenever he appears on the tv she gets the biggest smile on her face!
November 2nd, 2006 at 1:55 am
I think a lot of the parents here are letting their children watch to much tv. My daughter is three and she hasn’t even noticed Melanie is gone and could care less. I don’t let her watch so much tv that she gets devastated when a character leaves for whatever reason.
November 4th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
I have to admit that we did not like Melanie. She always seemed to have a certain quality of “adult” film and was a running joke between my husband, friends and I. PBS was probably looking for a way to get rid of her anyway. What a perfect opportunity: have her leave when she admits to doing these “very funny” films – which are right up her alley.
As parents, we thought that Noel’s voice was familiar and were pleased to see his extensive resume with children’s television. (I didn’t know he was a director of the show. Interesting!) It just means that HE GETS IT – how to interact with children and what they need for good development. We also loved that his voice is so calming. (We were more upset thinking that there will be no more Bear in the Big Blue House shows!) Everyone seems to relax and enjoy the show. (Not whiny like the last host!) There are many reasons why children stop watching a show but they usually do not stop watching because the host has changed – that is why parents stop watching. Admit it, you were in love with Melanie, not your children. I do miss Hush – I thought it was a nice connection to many preschools that have a class pet – usually a fish. My son’s preschool named their fish Hush for that exact reason. We are glad that they reduced the number of times Pingu, James the Cat, and the Big Sister/Little Brother cartoons are on. Those were more confusing to my children. What type of language development was it promoting anyway?
Regarding the use of commercials on SPROUT – when the government continues to take money away from public television (PBS) and you are not paying extra for this television like Baby TV you will need to expect someway for them to get money. If you don’t like what is going on stop watching. Pay your extra money for Baby TV – they have no host, annoying shows and you will pay $10 or more a month for your hour of TV watching at night.
Contact your government officials and tell them to continue to support stations like PBS!
Good luck to you all!
Love your children!
November 6th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Question for Kristi, Where do you view Sprout? You mention no commercials. I wish that was still true. I remember when Ted first started watching Sprout there were only the cute Huggies commercials and the occasional Gerber Life commercial. In fact I commented to Sprout in an email when the commercials, in my opinion, started to get out of hand. They stated the commercials were family orientated and would never interrupt a show. Well I don’t know about you but some of the commercials are getting crazy, Honda, Dytec come on. I thought it was a PBS channel. Aren’t those normally commercial free??
November 11th, 2006 at 2:35 am
I am disappointed that they have found a new host to replace Leo. My son really likes Star. I must admit that Star’s songs have really grown on me. For those of you that are concerned about Leo’s looks, I don’t think that we should be teaching our kids to judge people based on their looks. The setting is more subdued, but isn’t the goal of this show to get the kids to go to sleep, not perk them up.
November 11th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
My son and I enjoyed Melanie a lot. We barely watch the goodnight show and use On Demand for his 30 minutes of tv. The host that was hired to replace Noel McNeal is an actress names Michelle Lepe she will begin appearing in December. According to IMBD.com one of her roles in a movie was a prostitute. Which in my opinion “may undermine her credibility as a preschool host”. That seems a little hypcritical.
November 13th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
From what they’ve advertised, it looks like they’ve found a new host and suprise suprise they didn’t reinstate Melanie. My son loved watching Goodnight Show with Melanie and he doesn’t seem to watch it as much anymore, we don’t even really put it on for him. When my husband and I had heard that Melanie was fired for the spoof PSA’s we went and found them on the internet expecting to find something completely inappropriate only to look at eachother and say “That was it?”. We thought she had been fired for something that was a lot worse than what it was. And I agree that it is a bit hypocritical that they’d put in an actress that portrayed a prostitute but would fire Melanie for two 30 second spoof PSA’s that were made over 7 years ago. Idk, I just think it’s all really messed up!
November 15th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Perhaps if M didn’t have a stick up his/her, well, you know…he/she could see some humor in the PSA. I actually feel sorry for kids whose parents have no sense of humor. Lack of humor serves no one well in life. Presumably, Jesus himself couldn’t be a host on the Goodnight Show, he hung with prostitutes.
November 16th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Leo creeps us out. His exaggerated facial expressions make him look a touch insane. Our kids don’t seem to care but my husband and I can’t wait for his replacement.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:03 am
Noel is great. Soft, kind voice. We need to find GOOD role models for our children… and he seems to be one of them!
November 18th, 2006 at 3:04 am
Wow, what a bunch of racist, overly TV-addicts there are here. Bad enough that the dragons speak Spanish? Wow. What about Sagwa? Or is that okay because it’s not Spanish?
I couldn’t stand Melanie, and I think they put way too much rouge on Leo, and his teeth creep me out. Star is annoying.
November 21st, 2006 at 11:01 pm
I think Leo gives off a creepy Lester the Molester vibe. My husband can’t stand him and my kids run from the room. The star is annoying, but at least just a puppet. My kids don’t like the constant interruptions from “luz” to find out what the next show is, they just want to watch Kipper or whatever is next. Why do people think that all kids need to be spoken to in such a sugary sweet voice? I don’t care who they get next, has to be better than Leo.
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:19 pm
My husband, sister, brother-in-law and I are totally creeped out by the new host. I was very happy to hear he is being replaced. I just found out about why Melanie was fired and think it’s so silly. But it is what it is. I think the new host has little talent or charisma and has the characteristics of a pediphile. We thought maybe he had tested well w/ the kids, so asked our son if he liked him. His response was “No. I don’t like his hair” which we thought was hysterical. The star looks like someone picked him up at Salvation Army and decided to turn him into a puppet. I think the quality of the show could be much better. Hopefully with the new host they’ll revamp things.
November 24th, 2006 at 1:10 am
My 2 1/2 yo daughter is with me right now and she says “I like that!”. What else needs to be said. Keep Noel!
November 28th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
My daughter is 8 months old and always has a smile for “Leo”, but she REALLY likes Star. I hope Star is here to stay. Why so much repitition? Will that stop when the permanent host arrives?
December 4th, 2006 at 2:38 am
I wonder if some of you shouldn’t back away from the set for a few minutes when your kids are watching. My son loves the new songs, doesn’t miss Melanie at all. The reason for her firing was bogus, however it isn’t like she was a superstar. I find all the comments making sly associations with “Leo’s” appearance a tad racist. I noticed some time ago that most of the uproar over Melanie’s leaving was from the men. LOL. Anyway, you should be happy, they’re bringing in a woman. I wonder if she’ll be blonde enough for ya?
December 5th, 2006 at 3:08 am
No offense, but I don’t have to back away from the set. My kid is very vocal about missing Melanie and does not like Noel. Maybe I am missing something but the comments about his appearance reference Pedophile, and so I don’t know how you associate that with racism.
December 5th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
I think you-all who are slamming Noel are being very childish. And as for you kids and their ability to not get over the change, well, that’s a little unrealistic, too. Life is full of changes. Take Blues Clues. They had a host change that went very smoothly and you don’t hear all this gab about them. Life is full of changes and our kids, even though we would like to protect them, have to learn about it sometimes, too. This is one of those times. And PBS Sprout is the only 24-hour kids television network available in my area, so we tune in every evening before bedtime. I think these comments about Leo are shamefull and disrespectfull when all he did was step in to fill someone’s place during this transition. And then we wonder why the world is in the shape it’s in as far as world peace and such.
December 6th, 2006 at 3:00 am
What is shameful about voicing an opinion? And as for kids accepting change, I do agree that they need to be able to do that. Likewise, I want my kids to grow up knowing that if someone if fired for what seems like unjustifed reasons, they should speak up and voice dissent. Maybe you are okay with the change and that is okay too. however, don’t try to convince me that lay down and roll over is the way we should all raise our kids.
December 6th, 2006 at 4:56 am
I would hope that anyone making comments realizes the fact that Melanie Martinez was fired for having acted in a 30 second SPOOF video, made for the internet, with “dialogue that was innapropriate for a preschool host and would harm her credibility with her audience” In reality, it was a parody of the abstinence-only teaching in schools and it was always listed on her resume (NY Times article, femisting.com, NY Observer). After much protest of the decision (I called and faxed Sprout’s office several times) Sprout then decides to hire Noel Mac Neal (Leo) as the replacement host because “he has a resume long in childrens television.” He ALSO has worked on the raunchy “Knee High Park” episode of The Chappelle Show. It was a skit parodied Sesame Street and featured a penis puppet named “Dangle,” who has a venereal disease.
The new host Michele Lepe (Nina) a telenovela actress was recently in the film, Jamaica Motel (trailer on YouTube) in which she is a police woman who goes under cover as a PROSTITUTE!!This is why parents were upset and continue to be upset. It is all about money and how many commercials they can fit into the night’s programs, as Comcast not PBS is the biggest share of Sprout. It is not what their viewership cares about or how much they are “protecting our children.” Sure Sprout, fire my child’s favorite host for political satire, replace her with a penis puppeteer, then replace him with a prostitute. Higher standards, huh?
Even the PBS Ombudsman says this move of hiring the new hispanic Melanie clone smacks of hypocrisy in his columns. It stinks whether you liked Melanie or not!
December 7th, 2006 at 2:49 am
We LOVE “Leo.” We are disappointed that he is not the permanent host. Our son LOVES his soothing voice and adores Star. In fact, I stumbled upon your site doing internet searches trying to find a Star doll for sale – so weird that this might be the ONLY character not overly-marketed. I have to say that our son is very young so we only started watching the Good Night Show in the fall so we don’t know Melanie. Therefore, our love of Leo is not compared to anything else but we were still disappointed to learn that he was just a guest and Nina is to arrive soon to the Good Night Garden. I’ll check back to see whether the feedback is yay or nay and to report how our son, Max, deals with the change on his favorite wind-down program.
December 7th, 2006 at 8:54 am
My daughter is 2 and this is a show she request when she is allowed to watch t.v., she doesn’t really care about the host, she just enjoys the shows. I do find it so sad, mean, and childish for the adults to make fun of Leo’s looks.Go ahead and have a opinion, say you don’t like him but saying he looks homeless and such, why do you feel the need to say those things, what are YOU teaching your children.
December 7th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
I don’t find it mean or childish to voice an opinion. No one is commenting on the man next door. They are commenting on a person who chose to be in the public eye as an actor or entertainer. Personally, I find it childish to say you don’t like someone, leaving them to wonder why there is backlash against him. What I find sad is that so many people accept Comcast’s bogus reasons for getting rid of an actor, feeding the public a line of b.s. and that some people are content to accept it. Its okay to like Noel, but don’t you find it insulting that Comcast believes (perhaps rightly so) that the viewers are so stupid that they can tell us anything about why they fired Melanie and we will accept it as gospel? I find it sad that so many people don’t stand for something other than the notion that is best to not rock the boat.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I agree with some of the parents, Noel looks like a hobo all of the time. He is not warm and fuzzy and does overact. Sorry, I think the new host will be much better. She seems to be an adult that can relate to children. Melanie did get a raw deal but in this day and age, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Melanie will be alright.
December 11th, 2006 at 1:39 am
We don’t watch the show very often, but when we do it is often the GoodNight show. We don’t care who hosts the show, my daughter isn’t going to know the history of these people (unless of course we blab it across the internet), so frankly who cares? Just a few uptight people to ruin it for everyone. The star is annoying but I understand that it’s for the kids and I really don’t like the light. Leo is cool, and if he needs a side kick, the star is enough. I think that the change up was nice though, all the dirty PSAs aside.
December 11th, 2006 at 1:40 am
We don’t watch the tv very often, but when we do it is often the GoodNight show. We don’t care who hosts the show, my daughter isn’t going to know the history of these people (unless of course we blab it across the internet), so frankly who cares? Just a few uptight people to ruin it for everyone. The star is annoying but I understand that it’s for the kids and I really don’t like the light. Leo is cool, and if he needs a side kick, the star is enough. I think that the change up was nice though, all the dirty PSAs aside.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
We should all be trying to figure out how to get our kids to watch less TV instead of trying to figure out how to help them like it more. Any ideas?
December 19th, 2006 at 1:28 am
I just saw Nina on tv. UGH!!! Bring back Leo! My daughter really loved him!
January 30th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
So, I didn’t really know Melanie, but I didn’t realy like her. I absolutely love Noel McNeal. I also love Michele Lepe. I just think that every once in a while they should have Noel McNeal come on the show with her. Kind of like an Oprah and Phil kind of thing, I think that would awesome.
February 21st, 2007 at 4:01 am
A few points to make:
1) Star is weird, but cool. He looks like a little fleshy star instead of a star in the sky (I wish they’d fix that), but I LOVE his voice and the way they have him act.
2)I never saw the first two hosts (My little girl just turned 3 months), but I like “nina”. She seems sincere enough and into the job.
3) The outfits. Allow me to enlighten some of you, as I am a producer for an advertising agency. The reason they have them in the same outfit is that the shows are not shot in one session. They are shot over days, even weeks. And they can join different parts together to make different shows. Basically, the constant costumes are for the ease of the editors, not the children.
And, you all seem to be nitpicking. Do your kids still like the show? Look at it through THEIR eyes. The show seems fine and dandy to me. Again, I don’t have the comparison, but maybe that’s a better thing.
March 20th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
this is off the subject,but does anyone know where I can purchase a “Star” doll???
April 16th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I think Michelle does a GREAT job…my kids love her. And she is DEFINITELY not hard to look at, either! Very pretty!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Allow me to enlighten some of you, as I am a producer for an advertising agency. The reason they have them in the same outfit is that the shows are not shot in one session. They are shot over days, even weeks.
July 3rd, 2007 at 10:33 am
I had written sometime ago about Leo and we were sincerely sorry to see him go. Never having seen Melanie, he seemed fine and our son enjoyed him. However, my son LOVES Nina (and of course Star). He does not watch much TV but he knows that from 8:30 to 9:00 he gets to watch Nina and Star for a 1/2 hour winddown before bed. He is 21 months old and makes it widely known that this is how he wants to wind down. In fact, while on vacation recently (where there was no Sprout channel) we let him watch the songs on the internet before bedtime. It is part of his routine before we go to his room to read a story and go to sleep. I am still looking for a star doll if anyone has ever seen it… Thanks.
September 7th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I personally like nina the most. my kids like her more than any of the other hosts. They also like doing yoga with me in the mornings now too.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Melanie and Nina (Michelle) are heads above what the guy was. They were so much more cheery with better smiles and a heckuva lot more charismatic.
Nina (especially if she stays a while before being replaced), probably has has no idea the impact she has on children. My son is 2 1/2…and has been watching Nina since he knew what a TV was.
In fact, she’s the reason we haven’t switched from Directv to Dish…because dish doesn’t offer it!!
3 cheers for Michelle!
March 6th, 2011 at 1:57 am
I like Nina Better! Melanie was fired beacause she was in a Bad movie I guess and Leo Was pretty cool! Star Is my fav and Now a days Star is 150x cuter!!!