The show starred Beakman, played by puppeteer Paul Zaloom, as he answered questions from viewers with a zany tower wig and a green lab-coat. Helping him on his quest for science is guy-in-a-rat-suit (and resident skeptic who would be a Deadpan Snarker if he weren't wrong all the time) Lester (played by the late puppeteer Mark Ritts), and the lovely young female assistant, of which there would eventually number three (Alanna Ubach as Josie; Eliza Schneider as Liza; and Senta Moses as Phoebe). As it ran during the same stretch as Bill Nye the Science Guy, the two shows get compared often.