Kids TV shows

[ejp626]

I've been thinking about posting this for a month or so after I walked in on my son watching Sesame Street. I'm definitely one of the Elmo-haters and think the show has gone downhill for a long time, so I am quite biased. Anyway, the episode was one with Elmo and Amy Sedaris! and a bunch of muppets who were all yakking away on cell phones. There was a lot I didn't like about the episode but mostly it was absolutely hyper-kinetic, almost MTV speed and just full of noise. I turned it off immediately. Now maybe this was atypical, but my sense is that Sesame Street is just overwhelming and not at all good for kids anymore. Which would be tragic. I think there are a lot of alternatives that show you don't have to be busy all the time to get kids to pay attention, though a number of other shows still go down this route.

I should preface this by saying we do let him watch more TV than is really healthy but he does a lot of other things during the day, particularly play ball and draw. This is drawn from observations of various shows over several months.

One show my son loves is Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas is a strange show, with a very British undertone. Virtually every episode involves one of the engines getting a big head about something or getting upset at something, not paying attention and crashing (even Thomas does this). Probably it is an accurate representation of British rail from what I remember. They learn the lesson, but seem to immediately forget it by the next episode. So I don't care for it and will try to wean him off it. But of course most young boys love trains. I'm also not a fan of Fifi and the Flowertots because of the way they introduce a lot of man-against-man conflict into the shows targeted for a young audience. Again, this seems to be a British sensibility, and we stopped watching this when we moved back from the UK.

The shows I like are generally more gentle and most important allow a little space and sometimes even silence. Some are sort of educational.

The best in terms of calm tv is probably Little Bear. Maurice Sendak is involved in the show at some level, or at least he originated the characters. The downside is that some of the episodes are so slow that my son may wander off (not in itself a bad thing of course).

For the quasi-educational shows, there are Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny (a Mexican repairman who goes around with a box of talking tools). These seem ok. Blues Clues and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse seem to have the most organized interactive aspects -- asking the children questions and pausing while they respond. Hardly a substitute for parental involvement but fairly innocuous.

I would say my favorite is the Backyardigans, which my son also likes a lot. This is a series based on 5 animals who have all kinds of imaginary adventures -- they are pirates or searching for gold or are cowboys. Each episode features a different kind of music -- swing, polka, reggae, etc. It's a little busier than the other shows but the songs are not bad and they "teach" about friendship and creativity and manners and so on. It's one of the few things I would watch all the way through.

Not exactly children's tv, but I would recommend many of the Scholastic DVDs where they have animated many classic children's books. I think there are about 30 titles in the series now, and we've rented most of them. There are a lot of good ones in this series, and I particularly like Goodnight Gorilla (and other stories) as a prelude to bedtime.

Finally, I suppose the most guilty pleasure is Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, which I find compelling but is too busy and hyper for my son right now.

So I would welcome any thoughts on children's tv that you like or can't stand.

[JSngry]

I suppose the most guilty pleasure is Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, which I find compelling but is too busy and hyper for my son right now.

And hopefully will be for quite some time...

[Alexander]

I suppose the most guilty pleasure is Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, which I find compelling but is too busy and hyper for my son right now.

And hopefully will be for quite some time...

"Foster's" is an AWESOME show. I watch it with my daughter all the time. My students love the fact that I can do Eduardo and Cheese from that show. "I LIKE CHOCOLATE MILK!!!"

I also love "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy." Some REALLY sick stuff on that show. Sammie is probably TECHNICALLY too young for it, but we watch it anyway. My favorite episode was "The Prank Call of Cthulu." "Chicks DIG cuttle-fish!"

[(BB)]

I'm with you on the high-energy shows being to much stimulation.

Kipper is one we have picked up at the library, it is mellow, but not too slow.

And since it is British, it has the added bonus of the kid not seeing/wanting all the toys and crap.

[ejp626]

Discussed on another thread, I find Invader Zim really interesting, but my son is nowhere near old enough for that.

I am thinking about renting Fraggle Rock in another year or so. I thought that was a pretty inventive show that meets most of my specifications. Anyone else remember this? I did watch it when it came out the first time, even though I was a bit old for it then.

[mikelz777]

The ones that come to mind are Arthur and Cyberchase as shows I enjoy(ed) watching with my daughters. For a gentle show, Clifford The Big Red Dog was pretty good.

Edited May 3, 2007 by mikelz777

[RDK]

Not sure if it exactly qualifies as a "kid show" - and I certainly consider it to to be too good to be "guilty pleasure" - but Justice League Unlimited was undoubtedly the best superhero cartoon show ever. My 6-year old girls love(d) it too - and I take endless pride in the fact that they knew who The Question was by the age of four. They've become huge JLA and Batman fans. Speaking of, the new Batman animated show is pretty damn good as well, with some superb animation.

[Guy Berger]

When I was a kid growing up in Israel, I really dug "Rehov Soomsoom". ("Sesame Street" in Hebrew.)

Guy

[RDK]

The Wiggles was very popular with my girls when they were younger - and I have to admit that the songs were catchier than I would have thought. Thankfully, the girls were never big Barney fans. They now like Dora, Blues Clues, and a few others - most of which aren't bad.

Personally, I really dig Fairly Oddparents, but the kids could care less about it. I find Fosters fun and interesting, but my wife (who works in the adoption field) has some strong (and valid imo) objections for how the idea of adoption is treated on the show - namely that the kid characters don't want to get adopted and risk leaving Fosters.

[rostasi]

I like Barbapapa, but I'm probably not old enuf for it.

[Guy Berger]

I like Barbapapa, but I'm probably not old enuf for it.

I remember loving this show when I was very young. Don't remember much except the large blob seems familiar. "Barba-aba" in Hebrew.

Guy

[sidewinder]

I like Barbapapa, but I'm probably not old enuf for it.

I'd forgotten about that one - vaguely remember seeing it too. What the hell was it about again?

[DTMX]

Not sure if it exactly qualifies as a "kid show" - and I certainly consider it to to be too good to be "guilty pleasure" - but Justice League Unlimited was undoubtedly the best superhero cartoon show ever.

I just finished the last of the 5 JL/JLU seasons on DVD. Great stuff - and so many good actors involved as well.

Best moment:

Dr. Polaris (seeing Lex Luthor leave the restroom): "Ahem, are you going to wash your hands?"

Lex Luthor: "No... 'cause I'm evil."

[paul secor]

Don't know if old kids' shows qualify, but when I was a kid, I used to love watching Andy's Gang with Smilin' Ed McConnell, and when he died, with Andy Devine. Froggie the Gremlin tormented both of them and was GREAT!

I remember resenting the fact that Andy Devine took over as host. I didn't know that Smilin' Ed had died - they didn't tell you that stuff back then. Can't remember if the show's name was changed to Andy's Gang when Andy Devine became the host, or if it was always called that.

& I remember that it was sponsored by Buster Brown shoes.

[GregK]

Spongebob! Patrick Star is great. And you gotta love Squidward playing free jazz on his clarinet!

[mikelz777]

How could I forget SpongeBob and crew? I get a kick out of this show!

[Alexander]

Sammie enjoys SpongeBob and Fairly Oddparents too, as do I. My fav SpongeBob episode is the Krusty Krab training video. That one should speak to everyone who ever had to endure a job in such a place.

Not technically a kid's show, and not on TV, but my daughter and I both love Homestar Runner.

[Big Al]

My son and I are Spongebob maniacs, now that we have all four seasons on DVD!

And despite the fact that he's eleven now, he still digs out his Thomas tapes and DVDs every now and then. I always enjoyed watching that with him when he was little, and I still enjoy watching them with him!

[tonym]

There's some pretty good shows on TV for kids, possibly more than the grown up alternatives.

My son is now a big Spongebob fan, and why wouldn't he be? The show is hilarious and at times quite free-form which I like.

At ages 2-4 he loved Kipper, the stories were just so lovely and the characters really endearing.

As he's now 6, he's getting into things like Raven, a BBC production in which children take part in mystical challenges against demons and physical obstacles.

As mentioned above, Arthur is a great show too.

Of course, there's always the old favourites like Scooby Doo, Top Cat,Tom & Jerry and The Pink Panther --- the stuff I was raised on!

[mikelz777]

I loved this show as a kid and tried to get may daughters interested in it via the DVD set. One has little to no interest and the other enjoys it once we get over the hump of protests over choosing Jonny Quest over something else. Maybe it's more of a boy thing.

Another favorite I forgot is Rocky and Bullwinkle!! I bought the first two seasons on DVD and my girls as well as my nephews loved it immediately! What a great show with incredible voice talent! Also Fractured Fairy Tales, Dudley Do-Right, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Aesop and Son...

Edited May 4, 2007 by mikelz777

[Man with the Golden Arm]

I'd always enjoyed Angry Beavers back when I had cable for a spit. Beautiful time-consuming background art in that one and some really obtuse story lines.

Sad that it went under the radar and has never seen the laser of DVD.

[couw]

The legend of SAIL CAT!!!!

[BruceH]

My younger son loved Thomas the Tank Engine and eventually got a lot of the wooden tracks and trains and used to play with them ALL the time.

Both my kids were deeply into Spongebob as soon as the show started. I like it, but never liked how they seem to show the same episodes over and over (you might say this is true of most kids shows, but especially Spongebob.)

I used to rent VHS tapes of the new Batman animated series; I don't know who loved it more, the kids or me. That was a damn good show! It's on DVD now...one of these days I should buy it.

I used to watch Arthur with my older boy when he was 3 and 4...good times, good times.

[Jim Alfredson]

Zora likes Miffy, which is nice because it is rather low-key. It seems like many of the popular kids shows are just plain annoying. Dora and Diego especially. All the do IS YELL AT YOU! ALL THE TIME!

She likes Wonderpets, too. I agree that Sesame Street has really gone downhill and she doesn't even like watching it anymore. She likes Caillou (sp?) but he's kind of annoying too (very whiny).

[BruceH]

I forgot to mention Invader Zim! I suppose it's a show that's guilty of being very hyper, but that's part of the joke. I wish that show had lasted longer, I always loved it.

Then there's Daria. For older kids perhaps, but one of the best shows of all time.

Edited May 7, 2007 by BruceH