7-Year-Old Hosts Public Access Show

When 6-year-old Emily Pulino approached her father with an idea for an hour-long comic book hero-themed television show, dad treated her like any other prospective guest host — “I told her she would have to write some material and prepare sketches and practice,” Jon Pulino said.

He’s hosted the political satire variety show, which, since 1998, has seen the likes of Congressman Rob Simmons, former city councilman David Bauer, George Takei, former Gov. John Rowland, JoAnne Nesti, Jerry Brooks and even Aiden Quinn in the interview chair.

Pulino, a high school teacher in New Britain and Middletown resident, who in 2011 , has been hosting the quirky show on Comcast Channel 15 for 14 years.

Emily pulled off this seemingly impossible task — recently hosting an episode of "The Edge" July 24 live at the studio in Cromwell.

“She interviewed a few people and showed four videos of herself and others dancing,” Pulino said.

The pert little glossy-haired brunette hosted the show with Billy Wilson and her Alexandra Brown, 7, a close friend and fellow student at
“Emily [who turns 7 on July 31] asked me three months ago if she could host "The Edge,” said. “She practiced in the living room on various nights. She also wanted to sing and dance with four classmates, but due to [the children’s] schedule availability, this couldn't be worked out.”

She has made frequent cameos on Wilson's "The Variety Hour" and “The Edge," Pulino said, “but hosting an hour show is a lot for a 6-year-old in my opinion. She then proposed doing four sketches that would break up the time, which I thought was a good idea and cut down on live air time.”

Pulino contacted Michelle Kobbe at Comcast to set up time for her and 4-year-old brother Jack to book times to film their four sketches — “which revolve around Broadway musicals, “Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark,” “Rock of Ages” and “Footloose.”

Even little Jack got in on the action.

Jack did a solo number dressed as Spiderman called "Bouncing off the Wall,” in homage to the Broadway show, had the Spiderman character jump around and climb walls while off-screen.

Even dad didn’t know how serious this young duo was about the project.

“Unbeknownst to me, my children use Macintosh Photo Booth nearly every morning prior to going to school. They use it so much that 3.5 hours of my hard drive was used up with their antics. I viewed the footage and put together a 10-minute video of the two doing God knows what with the program,” Pulino says.

During the airing, you’ll see four videos of the siblings at their theatrical best:

• "Freak Like Me" Emily as Green Goblin/Jack as Spiderman
• "Footloose" Emily and Jack 1980s-style dance PSA —
• "Anyway you Want it," Rock of Ages (Jack and Emily)
• "Bouncing off the Wall” Spiderman (Jack)

Pulino says there was a live audience of 10 for the taping and a very special guest called in — none other than The Green Goblin himself.

The show will re-air Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Comcast Channel 15 in Middletown, Middlefield, Cobalt, East Hampton and Portland.

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