A (VHS) screener was a promotional VHS shipped to rental shops that used to plug an upcoming or new movie, television show, or similar to the public or press before its premiere or release.
Screeners would mostly be found in a fullscreen (1.33:1) format, although some are also in (letterboxed) widescreen. A screener mostly will have a "ticker" (message, copyright, and anti-copy telephone number) scrolling past the bottom of the screen, while some feature markings that lead to the source of the video. Many of these types of videos will block these markings, while on others, the markings remain on the screen throughout the entire video. A screener can be filmed in two ways: subpar if done on a VHS recorder through poor capture equipment on a copied tape, or a superior print done from a master quality video.
As of 2016, two Boohbah screener tapes have been discovered:
First Screener Tape
This tape, produced in late 2003 and distributed in early 2004, was meant to promote Boohbah's debut on PBS Kids.
Episodes
- Skipping Rope
- Big Windows
Differences between the screener tape and retail videos
As said above, the first screener tape is different from both the British and American Boohbah videos in many ways, as its use was to give viewers a clue on what the PBS format for Boohbah would consist of. Below is a list of differences and similarities between the screener tape and the mass-market home video releases.
- The original British version has the Boohball flying to two countries in the intro. Both American versions (television and home video) would have the ball going to an additional third country.
- When the children's Storyworld "present" is revealed, the unseen children saying the Storypeople's names are different. This audio piece would also be carried over to the Big Windows VHS and DVD.
- After the end dance, the Boohbahs tuck themselves to sleep and the Boohball flies out into the sunset, which on the British and American home media versions, marks the end of an episode. However, the screener tape has this sequence followed by a Look What I Can Do! segment, which is featured on the retail videos as a bonus feature.
- When both episodes are close to an end, they close with the Boohbahs coming back and doing two smaller dances (clips from the end dances from the former and next episodes). No such sequence happens on the retail videos, and this makes the screener tape the only piece of home media, VHS or DVD, to have this intact.
Second Screener Tape
This tape was distributed around 2004. It is almost a down-to-earth duplicate of the Comfy Armchair video, as it shares the same episodes from that video (sans Record Player).
Episodes
- Armchair
- Skipping Rope
Although it is a legitimate screener tape, it is currently unknown if this tape carries the PBS Kids format or the home video format for Boohbah.