[2][3] It is a reality competition hosted by Ruff Ruffman, an animated anthropomorphic dog who dispenses challenges to the show's real-life contestants.
Although a sixth season was planned, with auditions taking place in January 2010, WGBH announced on June 14, 2010, that the series would end due to lack of funding.
[citation needed] In June 2008, the series received its first Emmy for Best Original Song for its theme.
is a reality-based game show where young contestants (ages 10–14) face various challenges to gain points.
During these challenges, they must complete various tasks assigned to them ahead of time and on the fly by Ruff and surrogates, depending on the situation.
There is also an educational component, as contestants often must learn something, such as astronomy, puzzles, carpentry, engineering, food science, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, to complete the task.
The winner won the "Grand Prize" (which varied in each season) and got a poster on the Fetch Wall of Fame.
In season 4, episode 15, "Ruff Needs His Herring Checked", Sterling returned his prize to the mailbox.
In season 4, episode 14, when Talia finds a horseshoe crab while working on a shrimp boat, Ruff states that it "Looks like Darth Vader's face with a billion legs coming out of it!"
In season 1, episode 10, Anna and Noah earn quick cash by building a lemonade stand with the help of Norm Abram.
In season 2, episode 2, Ruff sends Madi and Willie to meet the Blue Man Group.
In season 2, episode 4, Bridget and Rosario met puppeteer John Kennedy posing as Bernie the Pig.
In season 4, episode 2, the host of Design Squad Nathan Ball, appeared in a pole vault challenge.
[5][6] In season 5, episode 4, Crush the sea turtle from the movie Finding Nemo appears via Ruff's Fetch 3000, with Andrew Stanton reprising his role.
(an acronym for "Fabulously Entertaining TV with a Canine Host")[13] was produced at WGBH Studios in Boston.
The challenges, which were out on the field, are cut documentary-style, very similar to network reality TV shows.
Jim Conroy traveled to Boston from New York for the two weeks they spent shooting in the studio.
One out of the four editors had an off-set four-week system in place where one of them was ready to send a cut of a new episode to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada every Friday.
A flamingo and trees as well as a "Studio G" sign and a "wall of fame" displaying past Fetch!
On June 27, 2010, Jim Conroy (the voice of Ruff) made the official announcement at the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony.
A few years later, the PBS Kids channel launched, and reruns returned to broadcast on January 16, 2017[16][17] through November 20, 2018.
[19] This spin-off debuted in Fall 2014 and features short animations of Ruff Ruffman and Blossom, focusing on internet safety.
Episodes:[20] A new season of Ruff Ruffman: Humble Media Genius centered on the utility of artificial intelligence was released by PBS Kids on March 1, 2024.
[21] Episodes: On July 30, 2017, PBS Kids and WGBH announced that Ruff Ruffman along with his two assistants Blossom and Chet will be making a comeback in a new digital series called The Ruff Ruffman Show, where they answer questions from real kids, take on challenges and learns the value of perseverance—all while modeling science inquiry skills.