We want to educate the world — and we're crazy enough to try it!
Standard Deviants TV comprised material from the Standard Deviants home videos, edited into 25-minute episodes that aired on PBS. All of the original 13 episodes were released on home video (at half the price of the full-length videos), as were many subsequent episodes. The series also included three episodes with new material on geography.
Shakespeare (Episode 1)
Writer: Paul Crapol
Air date: 2000-09-08
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Discover the origins and influences of one of the greatest writers the world has ever known. The Standard Deviants get up-close and personal with Shakespeare and examine Elizabethan & modern drama.
Astronomy (Episode 2)
Writer: Igor Torgeson
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Explore the mysteries of the universe! Launch into an illuminating history of astronomy from the ancient Greeks to Newton as the Standard Deviants explain the science behind the stars.
American Government (Episode 3)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: The first step in fighting City Hall is to learn how it works! From Aristotle to John Locke, unearth the origins of democracy and the Constitution in this fun-filled romp through history.
Spanish (Episode 4)
Writer: Kristie Wingenbach
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Spanish is one of the most popular languages on the planet! Pack your bags as the Standard Deviants take a tour of the Spanish alphabet, pronunciation, numbers, time, basic greetings and more.
English Grammar (Episode 5)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Suffering from bad grammar? The Standard Deviants have the cure—Standard Edited American English, the form of English used in formal papers and reports! Learn the proper use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions and everything in between.
Public Speaking (Episode 6)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Learn how to overcome the primary public speaking issue—FEAR! Learn how to organize ideas, deliver an effective speech and relax!
French (Episode 7)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Parlez vous Francais? Learn French the right way! Using humor and skits, the Standard Deviants emphasize learning common phrases & basic sentences over isolated words and concepts.
Geology (Episode 8)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Ever want to be a "rock" star? The Standard Deviants look at the principles used by scientists to study the geologic history of the earth. Along the way, visit the Grand Canyon and stumble across a few dinosaurs...
Internet (Episode 9)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Jump onto the information superhighway with the Standard Deviants! Learn how to log on, surf the web and find everything you need in a matter of minutes!
Marketing (Episode 10)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: What makes some products so popular? Marketing! Beginning with a definition of marketing, the Standard Deviants look at the marketing process and the creation of the all-important marketing plan.
Business Law (Episode 11)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Take the law into your own hands! The Standard Deviants examine contracts and take a "brief" look at two sources of contract law: the Uniform Commercial Code and Common Law.
HTML (Episode 12)
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Everyone and their pet has a website—and now you can too! Using hypertext markup language (HTML), the Standard Deviants walk viewers through the design process with a slew of basic tags and creative advice.
Hamlet (Episode 13)
Writer: Paul Crapol
Runtime: 25 min
Overview: Hamlet is arguably Shakespeare's most famous and most complicated tragedy. After a quick and humorous summary, the Standard Deviants cross-examine the characters and themes of this convoluted play.
Romeo and Juliet (Episode 14)
Overview: O Deviants, Deviants! Wherefore art thou Standard Deviants? After a quick summary and history of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, examine the poetry of the play and see how Romeo and Juliet stack up as tragic figures.
Meet the Planets! (Episode 15)
Writer: Igor Torgeson
Overview: Come aboard for a mission to Mars – and beyond! From Mercury to Pluto, learn the facts about each planet as the Standard Deviants examine our solar system. You might even see some aliens!
Fractions 411 (Episode 16)
Overview: Fractions have you flustered? The Standard Deviants make math easy and fun as they explore the mysteries of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions.
Pointers on Punctuation (Episode 17)
Overview: Even if you don’t know your colon from your semicolon, the Standard Deviants explain the importance of proper punctuation and explain the rules behind the most common punctuation marks – including the tricky comma.
Italian (Episode 18)
Overview: Interested in learning Italian? After an introduction to the Italian alphabet and pronunciation, learn the calendar, numbers and easy conversation skills. You won’t become a native speaker overnight, but you will master the top 10 most useful Italian phrases!
Anatomy (Episode 19)
Overview: The leg bone’s connected to the… well, if you’re not sure, the Standard Deviants can help! After an overview of general anatomical terms, discover how the human skeleton not only protects the brain, spinal cord and vital organs, but also helps us move around.
Physics (Episode 20)
Overview: You don’t have to be hit in the head with an apple to understand the basics of physics! Starting off with a definition of the science of physics, learn how physicists calculate motion using scalars, vectors, velocity and acceleration.
The Write Stuff (Episode 21)
Overview: Suffering from writer’s block? After an explanation of the Five General Characteristics of Academic Writing, The Standard Deviants reveal everything needed to write a literary masterpiece – from understanding the assignment to identifying the purpose and audience for the paper.
Money Basics (Episode 22)
Overview: Learn how to set goals to attain your dreams – and with a little coaching, develop a financial plan designed to make it happen! As you’ll discover, a good financial plan hinges on two simple principles: budgeting and saving.
Geometry (Episode 23)
Overview: Geometry isn’t just for squares anymore! The Standard Deviants will also explain the mystery behind points, lines, planes and space. Once the basics have been covered, you’ll learn about geometric shapes and how to calculate the perimeter and area of circles and polygons.
Statistics (Episode 24)
Overview: Here’s your “chance” to learn the basics of statistics – quick and easy! After a definition of statistics and a few key terms, dissect the components of a statistical problem and learn three methods to represent the data graphically.
All About the Presidency (Episode 25)
Overview: See what the president really has to do – it’s not all press conferences and pitching baseballs! After an examination of what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they created the Executive Branch, see if you meet the qualifications to run for president!
Grammar Pitfalls (Episode 26)
Writer: Paul Crapol
Overview: How do you make disagreeable tenses agree? How do you bolster a dangling participle? The rules of grammar can be convoluted and confusing. The Standard Deviants clear away the confusion and identify the most common grammatical errors.