Doper Parents: Discuss Children's TV Programs Here

Cafe Society
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Here’s my two-cents, for toddler shows anyway:

The Best:

Bear in the Big Blue House
Expert Muppetry and top-notch songs. Whoever’s inside the Bear costume makes Big Bird look like a two-left-footed doofus.

Max and Ruby
Wonderful drawings (based on the Rosemary Wells books) and a sparse but elegant animation style detract from the adult’s nagging question: where are the parents?

Jojo’s Circus
Old-school claymation, first-rate music, an emphasis on physical activity and the most kickass kiddie show theme song since The Banana Splits.

Charlie and Lola
Recent UK import with a unique collage-esque animation style and good humour.

The Wiggles
Snark if you want but if you’ve spent any time at all in the unpredictable jungle that is kids musical TV then you know damn well that it doesn’t get much better–scratch that–doesn’t get much less annoying than the Wiggles.
*
The Worst:*

The Doodlebops
Ask anyone who’s seen it.

Tiny Planets
A couple of spazzy aliens fly through space on their couch to different planets (the planet of Self???) to solve simplistic problems and annoy the hell out of parents across the galaxies.

Oobi
Disembodied hands! Bug eyes! Grampoo! Poo?

Toddworld
Admirable message of tolerance is undone by garish drawings and clunky animation.

Hi-5
Face it, dad’s more interested in this show than Junior is, nudge, nudge.

2

Best

Cyberchase
The material is a bit advanced for my two year old, but it’s a rockin’ cartoon anyway.

Dragon Tales
Ah, that’s more age appropriate. Handling fear, sharing, honesty, colors, shapes, Spanish, numbers, Spanish numbers… I love this show. Max is kind of whiny, but the dragons and Emmy usually keep him in check. In fact, I think there was a whole episode devoted to anti-whining.

Worst

Caillou
Alex learned whining, foot stomping, pouting, arm crossing, glaring, etc. from Caillou. Worst piece of shit kid’s program available today, IMO.

We don’t have cable at our house, so we’re limited to PBS. He really only watches Zooboomafoo (loves animals), Sesame Street, and the two shows listed here.

3

The “two-left-footed doofus” is in his seventies. He’s been playing Big Bird for close to 40 years now. . .

4

I actually like the Wiggles. A friend of mine who is a music teacher told me that she encourages kids to listen to them. Their musicianship is excellent, and the songs are age appropriate without being condescending. We went to one of their concerts, and they put on a really great show, better than some that I’ve paid a lot more to see.

Plus, my brother unearthed the factoid that The Wiggles are the highest paid Australian entertainers. This is wonderful to know. Sample usage: Random Ditz: Did you see that dreamy Russel Crowe? He did some really mundane, boring thing!" Me: “Plus, he makes less money than The Wiggles!” RD “No, I mean he was on TV and thus and such.” Me, nodding happily: “Do you think someday he can afford a Big Red Car? Or will he never make as much money as The Wiggles?” (Any Australian entertainer can be substituted for Russel Crowe.) I enjoy this so much, I don’t want to know if my factoid is false.

I like Dora (good female role model, Spanish vocabulary, lots of adventures, random mariachi band - what’s not to like?) and Blue’s Clues (much better since I found out about the pink snails).

My sister-in-law warned me about Caillou, and the one time I saw it I was appalled at how much whining there was. What is with that kid? Why has no one beaten him to death?

I agree 100% about the awful, awful Doodlebops and Hi-5. Just icky.

Oobi was OK when she was younger. But it is an odd concept.

5

I meant no offense to Old Big Bird, but you should really see Bear; he soars around like Nureyev in that costume.

6

I feel bad for Max and Emmy; they don’t seem to have any friends! And they’re always in their playroom…don’t they ever play outside? I’m starting to think “Dragonland” is an escape device.

7

Ha, in the later seasons they do have Enrique though.

My favorite, hands-down, is Arthur. It has all the good stuff for kids, it doesn’t talk down to them, plus the writing is really very creative. It is weird to find myself watching it with the kids and sticking around to see how the epsiode ends. And as an example of how much I over-analyze: I can’t help but wonder what Buster’s parents saw in each other…

My least favorite that the kids watch is Berenstein Bears. It is not that I dislike it, so much as annoyed by it. The stories tend to be a little too didactic. And for some reason I am bugged by the fact that the bears don’t have actual names – just generic Brother, Sister, etc.

My kid’s favorites are Dragon Tales, Sesame Street, and Caliou. It is funny to hear them outside playing and use phrases like the “The Forest of Darkness”.

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The worst children’s show I’ve seen has got to be Boobah, by the makers of the Teletubbies. I can’t tell if it’s for children or people tripping out on acid. Children who grow up with Boo-bah are going to have a really messed up view of reality. I don’t understand what the point of it is; there are some aliens, or something, and they jump around and make weird noises with a bunch of rainbow sparkles or something, then they…go into their alien pods, or something? :confused:

9

Well, they did eventually divorce.

10

I hate Max and Ruby–that whiny one-word kid drives me crazy! (“Outside!” “Wormcake!” SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!)

Franklin–is that turtle capable of telling the truth? I haven’t watched in ages, but it seems like he was always lying about something, and then never REALLY getting punished for it.

Even my kids don’t like Higglytown Heroes–including the three year old.

As for The Wiggles–my youngest loved them, till they changed their format. I had gotten to where I kinda liked 'em myself, till then.

I can tolerate Dora–my son is learning some Spanish, which I try to reinforce every time we go to the local Mexican restaurant (and they are kind enough to not laugh at my pronunciation, or when I make a mistake!) But I hate Map and his stupid song!

I prefer the episodes of Blue’s Clues that had Steve–not real keen on Joe.

Barney is not allowed in this house, nor are Teletubbies or Boobahs. I’d have to blow my brains out if my kids watched those shows all the time!

Guess when all is said and done, I still prefer the non-educational stuff–like Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes! :smiley:

11

My daughter is 4. Two shows that she REALLY liked have been taken off the air. “Out of the Box” was a great crafts/storytelling show that used to be on Disney.

TLC starting running episodes of Balamory, a BBC import, in the mornings…they took it off of their schedule after last week., and put the Magic School Bus back in the time slot.

A fairly new show that makes a real emphasis on exposure to classical music and art is “Little Einsteins” on Disney.

12

I came in here just to mention this show! Exposure to classical music plus kid friendly introduction to musical terminology.

But now that my five year old is almost six, she’s more into The Fairly OddParents (which I find pretty amusing, too), and shows that feature slime, like Double Dare 2000. For some reason, she’s freaked out by Bear in the Big Blue House. She says it’s scary when he sniffs. :confused: She doesn’t like SpongeBob, and The Doodlebops freak her out completely! Oh, she does enjoy Jack’s Big Music Show on Noggin.

I actually watched Boobahs once when I was under the influence of Percocet, and it was pretty amusing. :stuck_out_tongue:

13

Clifford the Big Red Dog is the hands down favorite at our house. My 10 month old is fascinated with it. He is also a huge music lover, so The Wiggles and, yes, The Doodlebops are also a must in the morning.

Which is good for me, 'cuz I have an excuse to watch Charlie and Lola in the half hour between them :wink: .

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Best:

Sesame Street: I loves me some Grover weirdness. He’s cute and furry. Fang loves him some Elmo. He also likes to count along with The Count.

Dragon Tails: I think there are some good interpersonal communication lessons there.

Clifford: Good, wholesome entertainment. Nice for a Saturday morning.

Thomas: I now know more about railway operations than I had ever wanted to.

The Wiggles: Fang likes the songs, and they aren’t cutesy-cutesy annoying. It’s a good way to get him to sit still for twenty minutes while he does his nebulizer. I still think that Anthony is a psycho killer in his off time, though.

Worst:

Caillou: Hands down. That show just gets to me for some reason. Plus, I think his parents are dope fiends. They are just so. laid. back.

15

Caillou, from what I’ve read, is actually french for Big Head.

What kind of name is that for a little boy? (The books are not so as annoying.)

16

Best:

Have to agree with the ones already said here, except I’m not much a fan of Ruby and Max. The question of where are the parents drives me nuts, and Max’s toys are more noisy and annoying than anything my Dad has yet to buy my son (watch me eat my words this Christmas :wink: ).

My son also likes to watch The Backyardigans, which I enjoy too. Interesting songs and cute storylines. On the fluffy side, but shows the kids playing, imagining and co-operating together.

We also watch Mighty Machines (don’t know if they show this in the States) which is filmed from the perspective of the vehicles. People are perepherial to the ‘stories’ which is basically the vehicles showing where they work and what they do. Educational and interesting, I’ve even learned some things watching it. I just wish I could catch the full episode about the salt mines instead of the bits and pieces I’ve seen so far…

This is Daniel Cook. Kinda cutesy, but also interesting in showing different jobs and stuff. The intro music is annoying, but the content is pretty good for younger kids.

Worst:

Caillou, Boobah’s and Barney. (In one book series I really enjoyed, the signing of a new contract for Barney was in fact a symptom of Hell trying to gain access to our level of existence… or could have been a coincidence.)

Sheesh, I had another one for the worst but it’s moved clear out of my mind at the moment.

17

Isabella (11 months) loves Sesame Street and Clifford the most. She likes Barney, but only the one video where they’re singing and dancing on stage. She ignores the regular tv show. She also likes Teletubbies and Boobah but we rarely catch the show since it comes on during naptime. Thank God.

I personally like Dragon Tales, Maya and Miguel, and Dora since we’re a bilingual household.

HATE with a fiery passion that evil little Caillou. Bella doesn’t care for him either.

My 16 year old likes Postcards from Buster and Cyberchase, but don’t tell anyone.

18

My five-year-old daughter’s disdainful review of The Doodlebops:

“All they do is talk about THEMSELVES!”

My kids are mostly too old for the “little kid” shows. But we still love Lazy Town. Sporticus is da shiz.

19

I love Tiny Planets. When I first saw it, my head jerked up when I heard one of the characters called “Bong.” I watched for 10 minutes, then yelled to my SO, “Honey, come see this. Some pothead is making kids’ cartoons now!” That show is just bizarre, in a drug-induced sort of way.

My 4-year-old has recently glommed onto Max & Ruby, which I loathe. Ruby is just a bossy little brat, and Max seems too stupid to exist.

My 1-year-old has a lifelong love of Miffy & Friends, which is adorable. Cute little bunnies, playing with cute little bears and pigs. Although last spring, there was a Miffy special, where Miffy got a new baby brother or sister (they didn’t specify which), and the baby has never again appeared on the show. Odd.

I’ve outlawed Teletubbies and Barney, as well as Boobah (another psychedelic substance fest, if you ask me). And Caillou is the whiniest little kid, so that’s out, too.

20

Am I the first to mention the frelled-up mess that is Little Bear? Sucky animation, bizarre timing, and downright freaky plots.

First one I saw, Little Bear meets the little girl Emily. Emily introduces her doll, Lucy, and says, “She tells me things.” And you just know, those things are, “You must kill zem, kill zem all!” There’s also an entire episode where the animal friends pretend to make duck soup out of their friend Duck, to appease the monkey’s hand puppet. Yeah, you read that right. Of course my daughter LOVES this show.

Ruby and Max, I’m ambivalent about. As my husband loves to point out, it is messed up that a seven year old and a toddler seem to live by themselves. But the show is kind of cute (though Bunny Scouts seems to be sucking Ruby dry, don’t you think?), and every day lately, our house rings with the plea, “WubyMax again?”

**Dora ** is annoying as all shit, and the animation is awful, but it’s perfect for Chloe - right now she likes repetition, repetition, repetition, and that’s Dora all over. E.g.,

. . . If there’s a place you’ve got to get
I can get you there, I bet
I’m the map
I’m the map, I’m the map,I 'm the map, I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the map
I’m the map!

So, he’s the map, in case anyone’s unclear on that.

**LazyTown ** is growing on me, but I really hate the creepy puppets. I did find it funny when Chloe referred to Stingy as “Stinky.”

We adore **Maisy ** around here, and Jack’s Big Music Show, Blue’s Clues, and the **Wiggles ** are all enjoyable to me as well as Chloe. One thing I like about the Wiggles is they emphasize healthy eating. Almost every other show has at least one segment featuring sweets, and then Chloe begs for them - not good.

**Miss Spider ** is not bad (fun to hear Kristen Davis as a big spider), though again, we’re troubled by a spider family adopting other species of bugs, and not, you know, eating them.

Funny **Doodlebops ** story. Hubby was puttering around getting ready for work, and the Queen Deedee episode was on. She declares she’s going to be a queen, and Rooney asks, “But then what are we going to be?” Hubby chimes in, “Oh don’t worry, you’re a queen too.”