Channel Umptee-3

Lore & Background

The series follows Ogden Ostrich, Holey Moley (a mole), and Sheldon S. Cargo (a snail) as they drive around the world in a van with their own underground pirate television station. Channel Umptee-3, which exists between other channels and is broadcast from a mobile station, tries to focus on a specific topic in each episode, but is normally diverted from it and shifted onto another topic; for example, one episode started out discussing cats, but quickly segued into the subject of ownership. Meanwhile, 'The Frumps'—Stickley Ricketts and his henchmen—would try to shut the station down or increase their own power, but whatever plan they came up with would fail. The show made great use of stock footage, as did the earlier WB show Freakazoid! It sometimes made references to well-known films and TV shows; for instance, the episode 'Yours, Mine, and Ours' included references to Cats, Harvey, Star Wars, Dragnet, and The People's Court, and the title was that of a classic film. The main characters include the excitable yellow ostrich Ogden O. Ostrich (voiced by Rob Paulsen), the pantomime mole Holey Moley, the serious pink snail Sheldon S. Cargo (David Paymer), the resident expert Professor Edwin I. Relevant (Greg Burson), and newscasters Ted and Polly (Neil Ross and Susan Silo). The antagonists include Stickley Ricketts (Jonathan Harris), his wife Pandora Ricketts (Alice Ghostley), and henchmen Ed and Bud (Neil Ross and Gregg Berger).

Reader's Guide

Due to its short run and general obscurity, only four episodes and the intro music were initially preserved after its initial airing. Originally, the second, third, tenth and twelfth episodes were posted to YouTube, but they were blocked worldwide by Sony Pictures, leading them to be posted elsewhere, ultimately on the Internet Archive. Currently, Sony Pictures Television has the full rights to Channel Umptee-3, and has the option to provide the series for streaming content providers. As of 2026, the full series is now available to watch on-demand for free via the streaming platform Roku Channel, marking the first time Channel Umptee-3 has been available to watch after its initial network run. The series is notable as the last television series Norman Lear was involved in as an executive producer (and the last to feature an original story) until the 2017 revival of One Day at a Time.

Did You Know?

• The title is derived from the fictional number 'umpteen'.
• The show was designed to teach children to appreciate the wonders of everyday things, such as sleep and water.
• As of 2026, the full series is available to watch on-demand for free via the Roku Channel.

Premise & The Pirate Broadcast

Channel Umptee-3 was conceived as a Saturday morning animated series with a simple educational mission: to help young viewers recognize the wonder hiding in ordinary things like sleep and water. The show's premise centers on three animal friends who travel the globe in a van equipped with a mobile pirate television station. This station, called Channel Umptee-3, exists in the gaps between regular channels and attempts to spotlight a single topic each episode. In practice, the broadcast almost always wanders off course; one installment began with cats before drifting into a broader discussion of ownership, which was the true subject all along. The show leaned heavily on stock footage, a technique shared with the earlier WB cartoon Freakazoid!, and wove in nods to well-known films and television programs. The episode "Yours, Mine, and Ours" borrowed its title from a classic movie while packing in references to Cats, Harvey, Star Wars, Dragnet, and The People's Court. Opposing the trio was a recurring group called the Frumps, whose schemes to silence the station invariably collapsed.

The Umptees and the Frumps

The core trio consists of Ogden O. Ostrich, voiced by Rob Paulsen, an excitable yellow ostrich who conceived the entire program after pulling his head from the ground and marveling at the world. He opens every episode by sprinting toward the camera, shouting "Hey!" repeatedly. Holey Moley is a pantomime mole who carries a collection of portable holes that let the group travel to any location. Sheldon S. Cargo, voiced by David Paymer, is a large pink snail with a unicycle-style wheel attached to his shell; his name nods to the French word escargot. He serves as the grounded, professional anchor of the team, constantly trying to keep the broadcast on track despite Ogden's boundless energy. Professor Edwin I. Relevant, voiced by Greg Burson, functions as the station's all-purpose expert, while Ted and Polly handle the newscast segments. On the antagonistic side, Stickley Ricketts, voiced by Jonathan Harris, is an elderly box-corporation president who views the Umptees as a threat to his business and endlessly plots to put them in a box. His wife Pandora, voiced by Alice Ghostley, secretly enjoys watching the shows. Ed and Bud, two black-suited henchmen, carry out Stickley's failed schemes.

Production, Run & Norman Lear's Final Original Series

Channel Umptee-3 was created by Jim George and produced by the legendary Norman Lear. It found its home on The WB network within the Kids' WB programming block, where it ran from October 25, 1997, through February 20, 1998, completing a single season. The show's title is a playful nod to the informal number "umpteen," reinforcing its lighthearted, child-friendly tone. The series was designed with a clear pedagogical goal: to encourage children to appreciate the small, often overlooked wonders of daily life, from the act of sleeping to the simple presence of water. Mark Evanier served as voice director for the production. For Lear, Channel Umptee-3 carried particular significance. It was the last television series he was involved with as an executive producer and, more notably, the last to feature an original story. That distinction would stand for nearly two decades until the 2017 revival of One Day at a Time, making Umptee-3 a quiet but meaningful endpoint in Lear's long career of producing original content for television.

Preservation & the Long Road to Streaming

Because of its brief single-season run and the general obscurity that followed, Channel Umptee-3 suffered significant losses in the years after its 1998 broadcast. Only four episodes and the intro music were initially preserved. Those surviving installments—episodes two, three, ten, and twelve—were uploaded to YouTube, but Sony Pictures blocked them worldwide, forcing fans to seek alternative hosting. The episodes eventually found a home on the Internet Archive, where they remained accessible to curious viewers. Sony Pictures Television holds the full rights to the series and retains the option to license it to streaming platforms. As of 2026, that option has been realized: the complete series is now available to watch on-demand and free of charge through the Roku Channel. This marks the first time since its original network run that the full show has been accessible to a broad audience, giving a new generation the chance to encounter the whimsical pirate broadcast and its cast of animal hosts for the first time.