Strollerderby : children's TV

Kid's Shows = Impure Thoughts?

Amy Kuras — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:31:00 GMT

When you’re home with kids all day, thoughts go through your head. Some of those are, um, impure thoughts. And sometimes those thoughts settle on some fairly odd choices.

Which is why I found this article from the Croydon Guardian over in England to be screamingly funny. Weekend radio host and mother of two Natasha Desborough has published her own web-only off-the-wall parenting guide, and while there are some funny things in there, the most brilliant part was her discussion of sexual fantasies about different children’s TV characters. Come on, Holy Mary, don't judge. We’ve all had them.

Her top guy? Sportacus, from LazyTown. Now I hate Lazy Town and find Sportacus annoying for a myriad of reasons, not least his weird little pointy mustache and inability to make a damn sandwich without executing more triple backflips than the US Gymnastics Team. Howevs, one could do worse – there are some pretty hot muscles under that costume.

In both the article and Desborough’s site, moms weighed in on their fantasy objects on CBeebies, which appears to be their version of Noggin. Some of them were hilarious (that guy over to the right there? Seriously?) but it got me thinking: Who would you not mind a little action with, should the opportunity arise? And I’ll start: Either Steve or Joe from Blue’s Clues, any Imagination Mover except the stonery-looking one, and Handy Manny’s voice is kinda sexy.

Okay, now that I have thoroughly embarrassed myself, how about you?

Love Blooms on "Sesame Street"

Amy Kuras — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:02:00 GMT

There hasn’t been a Sesame Street wedding since Maria and Luis's back in the early 1980s sometime. At least not one we’ve seen. However, a couple weeks ago, Annie Evans, one of the show's writers, and Martin Robinson, the puppeteer who plays Snuffy, Telly and Slimey the Worm, were married on the steps of 123 Sesame Street.

The story in the New York Times "Vows" column is simply adorable --- the couple, who met in 1993 and were good friends for years (even through Martin's marriage and divorce), began dating in 2002. Oscar the Grouch (given life by puppeteer Carrol Spinney) helped officiate the ceremony, and guests enjoyed dancing on the Sesame Street set. Click the video on the link –you'll see what Sesame Street would look like if used for a grown-up party (the answer to that is "awesome").

None of the other Sesame Street regulars were in attendance. Too bad, because I bet that Elmo turns into a real jerk after a few glasses of champagne.

PBS Dropping Mister Rogers??!!

Cole Gamble — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:45:00 GMT

The bible tells us there are a number of clear and distinct signs the apocalypse is coming. Plague, pestilence, famine and the cancelation of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

How could this happen? PBS has announced its plans to pull the venerable 40 year old show from their weekday schedule. While not a full on cancelation, MRN (that’s what we “Neighborheads” in the know call it) will be relegated to a single episode on the weekends.But there’s something you can do to save it.

It’s is hard, no, impossible to imagine the landscape of children’s educational television without looking at Mister Roger’s Neighborhood as the forbearer of all that has come since. In its time it was revolutionary, though revolutionary might seem an odd term for a snail’s pace TV program featuring the world’s most soft-spoken, cardigan loving gentleman. What Mister Rogers cared about most was healthy child development and giving kids the tools to look with hope and confidence upon a world that often inspires neither. That’s still a foreign concept to some.

But don’t strap on that black armband for just yet Mister Roger’s devotee Brian Linder has stared SaveMisterRogers.com an effort to reverse PBS’s decision. Go there now to find out how you can help keep MRN on. Need a little more motivation? Here’s Mister Rogers to tell you how proud he is of you.

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Behind The (Big) Bird

Amy Kuras — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:03:00 GMT

The Sesame Street my daughter watches and the one I watched have only a few things in common. I'm BE, for one thing -- "Before Elmo" and all his little pals. The Count used to be scarier, Oscar grouchier, and Bert and Ernie a little less, ahem, ambiguous.

One thing, though, we share: Carroll Spinney's been the man behind the Big Bird costume all that time. Now 74 (which certainly explains why we don’t see as much of Big Bird as we used to), Spinney is still playing the loveable, goofy, 8-foot avian (he also plays Oscar the Grouch). His book about his adventures, The Wisdom of Big Bird and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch, was released yesterday.

A few fun facts from the article: Spinney uses a TV monitor to see where he's going when he's in the Big Bird costume, because there's no other way to see outside.

The top half of the costume weights 25 pounds.

Spinney protects Big Bird's feet with slippers when they aren’t visible in a scene. Giant purple, custom-made slippers.

Back in 1972, some Georgia Tech ROTC students got hold of the costume and ravaged it, leaving the puppet mechanism ruined and the eyes torn out. Spinney said he went into shock at the sight.

And best of all: Spinney, who met his wife at Sesame Workshop,has three grown kids and four grandkids. You know those kids are ruling circle time –after all, what's cooler than having a grandpa who lives on Sesame Street?

Kid's TV Food Ads are Supposed to Improve, Sort Of

Karen Murphy — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:29:00 GMT

Yep, lots of people want to blame the fat-kid problem on junk food ads on TV, and the jury's still out on that one. But meanwhile, eleven of the U.S.'s biggest kid's food advertisers have agreed to new standards of the products they advertise.

Sounds good in theory, doesn't it?

But the reality is a bit, well, watered down. For instance, Campbell's will advertise its low-sodium soup as opposed to regular old chicken-noodle. Trix won't advertise until it changes its formula (WHAT?? Mess with Trix?!! Sacrilege!). And McDonald's will still advertise, of course. Only it will be for kid's meals limited to 600 calories or fewer. So kids can still see junk food, only, what, in smaller portions? Reduced-fat? Couldn't we just have ads that didn't actually feature any junk food? Or is that too much to ask?

Yeah. I know the answer to that one. But consider this: will the new initiative cause more marketers to actually change their products or will they simply spend less on kid's advertising and spend their dollars elsewhere? A Nickelodeon spokesman predicted their financial impact from loss of advertising revenue based on the new standards would be “a non-issue” because most products advertised already fit the criteria have plans for reformulation.

So like I said, the changes won't amount to much in practice. Oh well.

Disney More than Frozen Body; Now with More Racism!

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:28:00 GMT

Hope you didn't already book those travel plans to Disney World this summer! Because this video is an eye opener. The Media Education Foundation explores the darker side of the Disney Empire -- the all trusted, all innocent, all knowing media conglomeration.

From highly sexualized female cartoon leads that haven't changed much in appearance since the 1940s to entire movies about Africa without any black people in them to the idea that it's a woman's job to overlook a violent, brooding beast to find a true prince, the video uncovers a not-so flattering side of the happiest mega-corporation in the world.

It's definitely worth a look if you're not afraid of being locked away in the Disney Vault ....

Ninja Turtles Kick Butt, Take Names

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:08:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I wondered why on earth the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a new movie -- considering the show last saw massive popularity when "Alf" was eating cats and molesting that boy. Or whatever it was Alf actually did.

The point is, I was wrong. Turns out the turtles are a big thing, and they just beat the crap out of the box office competition - making the cartoon the hottest movie in America and bringing millions of people back to their childhood for two hours at a time.

Producers said the turtle movie tapped into the nostalgia young people have for those pizza-eating, Da Vinci clods (oh that's just bad). A lot of people grew up on turtles and they wanted to check them out one last time.

That makes sense. Who doesn't want to remember the glory days? So when's that "Silver Spoons" movie coming? Huh? Huh!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie? Aren't They 40 By Now?

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:49:00 GMT

My younger cousins loved, LOVED the TMNT -- to the point that they dressed up like little reptiles and paraded around the house shouting something about Michelangelo eating all the pizza -- whatever the hell that meant.

But that was more than a decade ago. My cousins -- the prime TMNT viewing audience -- are almost done with college now and have officially switched from dressing up like cartoon turtles and eating pizza to, um -- OK, fine, they're still eating pizza. But they've also started drinking beer and seem to not be able to dress themselves at all. I'm guessing that unless you can lick them and get a good contact high, turtles are the last things on their minds.

So I found it odd to see a commercial for a brand-spanking new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Are those things still around? Or has every child in America officially flushed them down the toilet? I'd totally get behind a "Snorks" movie if Hollywood is going retro -- but Turtles? Really?

Pee Wee Herman Makes a Comeback? God I Hope So

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:19:00 GMT

Dora's dull. Diego's dimwitted. The Wonderpets? Wimps. There's just no children's show like "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." And it may be coming back -- at least in movie form. In a recent San Francisco Chronicle article, Paul Reubens said the iconic show that offered lessons in childhood anarchy and not-so subtle gay subtexts (Cowboy Curtis does a mean "YMCA") could hit the silver screen in a more adult form. To which I say, it's about. freaking. time.

I watched "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" with abandon. But because I was both too young and too stupid, I missed out on many of the wink-wink, nod-nod gags and characters that played havoc on Reagan-era conservatism at the time. Dixie the cab driver. Cowboy Curtis. Jambi the Genie. They might as well have went off with Dorothy in search of the Wizard. Now with a new era of conservatism, the time is ripe for a show that tells children it's OK to be a fat white lady and date your black neighbor or to "marry" a "fruit salad." I'm ready now -- and frankly, so is the country.

Questions remain, however -- like how Reubens plans get over certain, um, charges and also how he can transform himself back into the gray suited, baby face ever-boy of yester-80s. After all, he's looking like the long-lost brother of David Sedaris nowadays. (Reubens confessed to dumping cigarette ashes into robot Conky on the set -- a Sedaris move? You decide.) Reubens says digital film can do wonders for your complexion. I say today's secret word is Botox.

A Blast From Our Past: "The Electric Company" on DVD

Karen Murphy — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Am I the only one here old enough to remember "The Electric Company" on PBS? Along with "Sesame Street" and "Mr. Rogers", "The Electric Company" comprised the third leg of a formidable children's programming lineup on PBS in the 1970's, and Parenting Magazine has just named a 4-disc retrospective of the show as one of it's "Best DVDs Of The Year" for children 5 and up. The Emmy-winning children's program featured an ensemble cast of now-familiar names such as Morgan Freeman, Bill Cosby, and Rita Moreno, with voice-overs by such 70's comedy heavyweights as Gene Wilder, Joan Rivers (before she became annoying), Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel.

"The Electric Company" became a cultural phenomenon of the '70s, teaching children basic reading and grammar skills with an emphasis on fun. The new DVD set features 20 of its best episodes along with bonus programming, for a suggested price of $49.98.

So what's up with this new interest in the 70's? I don't have the answer to that, but I am guessing that having your kids watch a show like "The Electric Company" might be a lot more innocuous than a lot of TV out there today.