Večerníček

Večerníček (translated from Czech and Slovak as "Little Eveninger") is a television program for children in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It has been broadcast regularly for over 40 years. Before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, two versions - one in Czech and one in Slovak - were aired in the respective parts of Czechoslovakia. Similar shows in other European countries include Sandmännchen in Germany and Esti mese in Hungary.

Currently, Večerníček is aired in the Czech Republic at 18:45 every day, when children are expected to go to sleep. The show lasts for seven minutes. Every tale takes about five minutes. A full Večerníček series typically contains 10 - 20 episodes.

The format of the program has been unchanged for decades, making it part of the Czech and Slovak culture.

In the Czech Republic, the program's opening and final themes feature a little boy called Večerníček as he drives a car, which turns into a wooden horse, and then finally into a bike. At the beginning of the program, the boy says "Good Evening" (Dobrý večer in Czech) to the children watching; at the end, he says "Good Night" (Dobrou noc). This is the longest-running opening and closing theme ever broadcast in the country. The graphics were designed by Radek Pilař and the music was provided by Ladislav Simon.

In Slovakia, the program's opening and final themes feature an old man called "Grandpa Večerníček", who had his own Večerníček series in the 1980s. Thought to be a shepherd, Grandpa Večerníček lives in a house on a hill with his dog, who lives in a kennel. The old man, accompanied by the dog, "switches on" the stars in the sky, using a lamplighter's pole. During the closing theme, Grandpa Večerníček and the dog return to their house and kennel. Like the Czech Republic's, this is the longest-running opening and closing theme ever broadcast in Slovakia. Its original version has been revamped, with the addition of better colors, as well as a cat.

On January 2, 1965, a program named Večerníček appeared on Czechoslovakian television. The current opening and closing themes were introduced in summer of 1965.

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