The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: jay-ell on September 04, 2007, 01:33:23 am
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A little while ago, we discussed briefly the terrible shows that are on kid's television. I'm interested in knowing what quality stuff is out there, because my kid is starting to outgrow the Baby Einstein and such, and while my Old School Sesame Street collection is pretty cool, it gets old. Mainly I am looking for stuff that will keep a 2 - 3 year old's interest and maybe teach him something of use without driving me up the absolute freaking wall.
Some of our favorites:
Kipper (http://www.hitentertainment.com/kipper/index2.html)
Signing Time (http://www.signingtime.com)
Leap Frog Letter Factory (http://www.leapfrog.com/Primary/SkillSets/PreschoolKindergarten/ReadingLanguage/PRD_letterfact_dvd/Letter+Factory153+Video+DVD.jsp?bmLocale=en_US)
No full-length movies yet. He doesn't have the attention span for that, and we don't let him watch that much at a time anyway. Most days he watches about half an hour's worth before naptime and another half-hour between bath and bed.
Anybody's kids like Blue's Clues? I have heard good things about it (and the research that went into making it) but the little bit I've seen looks really inane.
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I love kids shows!
What are you running from? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbUwigey4Do)
The American Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKAtkG3Wtsg)
SLAVES! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBQxPUBks_U)
Celebrate Our Differences (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xBq6Ry6Eew)
Children's Guide to Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r0Ytq4F43w)
D.O.G.O.G.B.Y.N. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkArm0YVV2c)
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This is why we can't have nice things.
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I was resisting, but I knew this would go poorly.
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I should have started this in the morning, when all us parental types are awake, and not in the evening, when all you carefree hedonists are drinking vodka & wheatgrass shots and looking at videos of naked ladies sitting on cakes.
You should be ashamed. It's a school night, after all.
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You should be ashamed. It's a school night, after all.
You know, I always think that too, but I never am. Funny that.
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This is overthinking territory.
Watch shows with your kids and decide what's good. What I like you might not, and really, if you are limiting the exposure anyway, does the research really matter? Your local library probably had DVDs you can borrow to see what's good for all of you; that way you don't have to invest to find out something blows (personally, I hate hate hate Caillou and George Shrinks, but we liked Roly Poly Ollie, go figure)
My 8 year old is at the top of her class (admittedly, in Hawaii) and we generally let her watch whatever, just not tons and tons of it.
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Well, yeah. Basically what I am looking for here is stuff that might be on the obscure side, or that I might see at the video store and think, "nah," but which is in actuality very good.
Kipper, for example. It appears, at first glance, to be low-budget animation based on a series of books, but in actuality it is adorable and funny and has my kid learning Received Pronunciation. I would never have even popped it in the DVD player if it hadn't been highly recommended to us by my brother's wife. Would I like a dog like a dog like a dog like a dog like Kipper? You bet your sweet ass I would.
I'll check out Roly Poly Olie. Our new house is within walking distance of a nice library with a large children's section, so that is an excellent suggestion.
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Another vote for Blue's Clues. They're like textbook examples of preschool lesson plans. My kid will watch an ep two or three times over (at least - some she really loves like the new baby arc of 4 shows). Also, there was a late '90s sitcom (Yes, Dear?) where Steve had a cameo in a dream of the female lead. They ended up making out, which I thought was wonderfully subversive.
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Our kids love them some Dora the Explorer, but she doesn't need to many referrals. Go to the grocery store and she's inescapable; Viacom will sell her image to anyone with a product and a blank check.
My favorite kids' show right now is probably Jack's Big Music Show (http://www.noggin.com/shows/jacks.php). The Upside-Down Show (http://www.noggin.com/shows/upsidedown.php) is kind of fun too.
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Kipper is indeed great. It is so much fun to imitate their voices. I always imagine that before each scene they've all done just a ridiculous amount of Quaaludes.
Other shows that my friend's daughter (3) and I have enjoyed:
Angelina Ballerina
Little Einsteins (really nice animation in this one)
Jem (My friend is a huge eighties girl)
Sailor Moon
Bearenstain Bears ( a little saccharin for me, but it has George Michael from Arrested Development at the voice of brother which I find amusing)
Blues Clues (My friend makes fun of me because I am actually really into this show; I love all of the subtle animation the do to the characters - they never let any one stay still for more than a half-second)
She watches those and also many animated movies. She love all of the Disney, Pixar and Miyazaki movies.
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I loved the Berenstain Bears as a kid. P finds them decidedly disinteresting. I'm a little disappointed by this, but he's young yet.
I will have to check out Blues Clues based on y'alls recommendations. I've only seen snippets and I found it personally underwhelming, but P hasn't ever seen it so I'll give it a go. I think my folks have Noggin, and I find the Upside-Down show intriguing. P loves music so I will have them tape an ep or two of both Carlos's suggestions. Thanks for those.
Does anyone else think Map from Dora sounds eerily like Marshie from Homestarrunner?
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Boo to Angelina Ballerina, boooooooo! She's a whiny little git! She taught my daughter to stamp her foot and throw stuff about her room when she's mad. Fuck that shit.
I never made the Map-Marshie connection, but I can see that. And just to drag this topic into the gutter, like every other topic seems to be lately, I once suggested to the missus that she imagine sex with Map. "Well I know the way to the clitoris!"
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And just to drag this topic into the gutter, like every other topic seems to be lately, I once suggested to the missus that she imagine sex with Map. "Well I know the way to the clitoris!"
First, you have to go inside the waistband; then over the muff mountain, and that's how you get to the clitoris!
That pretty much tracks perfectly.
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Boo to Angelina Ballerina, boooooooo! She's a whiny little git! She taught my daughter to stamp her foot and throw stuff about her room when she's mad. Fuck that shit.
Your kid had to be *taught* to throw a tantrum? Wow, you're one lucky man.
First, you have to go inside the waistband; then over the muff mountain, and that's how you get to the clitoris!
That pretty much tracks perfectly.
Yay! Hilarity!
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Your kid had to be *taught* to throw a tantrum? Wow, you're one lucky man.
She figured out Basic Tantrums on her own. Angelina taught her Advanced Tantrums.
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I was a huge fans of the Bears' books but not so much of the various adaptations.
From a very young age, my parents figured that letting me watch adult teevee was probably good for my learning curve as long as they were around to explain things when they didn't make sense to me... and it wasn't just a babysitting device thing.
I knew more about politics at the age of seven than most adults do, just from my parents explaining the jokes on SNL and David Letterman and Johnny Carson to me.
Of course, I was very precocious about my language skills as a child. I could read the New York Times in kindergarten and when adults would challenge me on it, I'm told I would lay down the science.
As a child I was singularly obsessed with proving to adults that I was as smart as an adult.
I was a very weird kid and not particularly above average in most other ways... but I was very tall and very well-read.
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I think lfm just told the life story of 75% of the board regulars, with minor variations. At least, it sounds a lot like my childhood. I remember being really excited every four years because I was allowed to stay up late to watch the presidential election returns.
I was for Reagan because we had the same birthday.
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I've never been particularly tall, but everything else makes sense.
Jough, you are an evil man.
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I think lfm just told the life story of 75% of the board regulars, with minor variations. At least, it sounds a lot like my childhood. I remember being really excited every four years because I was allowed to stay up late to watch the presidential election returns.
I was for Reagan because we had the same birthday.
I was pissed, I was two years too young to vote in '84. Otherwise I was pretty much Alex P Keaton growing up.
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I had a crush on Alex P. Keaton growing up. Not Michael J. Fox. Alex P. Keaton.
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My wife really likes Wonder Pets! as a show - she DVRs it regularly, it's educational and entertaining, and there's a few jokes-for-the-grownups snuck in there kinda like old school Sesame Street was. It introduces kids to opera (as the show is performed as an operetta) and there are two episodes per half-hour - each adventure is twelve minutes long. It also follows a Blues Clues-like predictable format to help build up their confidence in themselves.
When we start popping out babies, though, I'm showing them Wonder Showzen episodes when the wife is away.
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Pedro and I have discovered that the Mickey penis Clubhouse is basically Seinfeld for kids.
Seriously!
Mickey is Jerry
Minnie is Elaine
Goofy is Kramer
Donald is George
Daisy is Susan
Pete is Newman
We haven't figured out where Pluto fits in. We think he might be a metaphor for Seinfeld's seventh main character, The City of New York.
But still. Dudes. It totally works, and I'm not even stoned.
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There's plenty of wonderful children's entertainment out there. I'm immersed in it at the children's theatre all the time, so I've got loads of suggestions. I'll just rattle off the classics for you:
The Snowman (http://www.thesnowman.co.uk/) is a short film based on the book by Raymond Briggs. It's a beautiful film, was nominated for an Oscar, and is basically timelessly wonderful. I don't know how much of the US it reached, but in Canada it's basically an institution. Here's a link to the entire film on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ponB8Hd_lG4), though it's of shitty quality.
I've yet to see the DVD itself, but Where the Wild Things Are (http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/scholasticdvds/fr/wherewild.htm) is so good, and Maurice Sendak is the god of children's literature. The DVD has a great read-along feature. It's also got the equally good Night in the Kitchen on it, so I'm pretty sure it has to rock. Here's the YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnwkUt2VrQ)of just the Where the Wild Things Are Part of the Disk, and even though it's not the best quality here, it's still pretty fantastic.
If you truly want to ensure your boys turn out wacky, I highly recommend the brilliant, funny, smart and unnerving Canadian children's show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (http://www.frightenstein.com/). It is the best show ever made. A kids show with Vincent Price as the host/narrator? How can you go wrong?! Looking back on this show now, I can't believe how awesome it is. There are loads of clips of it on YouTube, and you can by at least two seasons of it on Amazon. I have fantastic memories of the unnervingly creepy characters and the total insanity of that show! Wolfman Jack? Did they want us to grow up to do drugs?
My SO would hate me if I didn't recommend Fraggle Rock - they've got seasons 1-3 out on DVD, and we've got all three. He's watching season 3 right now while he washes dishes. These are more his thing than mine, but he just loves it. And granted each episode teaches important lessons about kindness, compassion and acceptance.
If you wanna talk Jim Henson, I recommend the fantastic DVD collections of The Storyteller (http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Hensons-Storyteller-Definitive-Collection/dp/B000EU1Q5E/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2337258-7960118?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1189649672&sr=8-1) series. This is basically the high art of Jim Henson at it's best, and you've got some unbelievably brilliant actors along side fantastic creatures of Jim's creation. So damn, damn good. Great for kids, and the quality of these sets is bar none. If you want to save money, just get "the Complete Collection" - the second collection of Greek Myths is not quite as strong, but is still great.
I could go on for a lot longer, but these are probably my top pics for kids your son's age, and they're all timeless enough that he and his future lil' brother will enjoy them.
Edit: Oh, I almost forgot: The Dog Who Stopped the War (aka La Guerre des tuques) (http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Who-Stopped-War/dp/B0001ZVA3K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2337258-7960118?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1189651401&sr=8-1) is a brilliant French Canadian film dubbed into English about kids who build a giant, fantastic, unbelievably awesome snow fort, then go to war over it's owner ship. It addresses, quite deeply, the concept of war. The war is ended when part of the fort caves in and kills one of the children's dogs. It's a surprisingly frank, deep exploration of war and loss from a child's perspective. I saw it when I was about 7, just before my first experience with human death when my grandpa died. It was very useful in helping me understand loss.
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Pancake fuck*ng Moutain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_Mountain) I can't believe I didn't think of this before. Any kids show with Henry Rollins, Built to Spill, and George Clinton as a guests gets a gold star automatically.
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Okay, I got lost in YouTube after the last post... Every Canadian kid who was a child in the 80's has seen this, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDi9DzihrE) and it's delightful. Probably not interesting to hip kids today though.
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Harold and the Purple Crayon?
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Charlie the Unicorn?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnJAozfBq7w
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Adventure Time! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9A)
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Adventure Time! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9A)
That is so excellent.
1 can for my fellow KWUR DJ.
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When exactly is Panacke Mountain on? I'd like to see it, but I guess I'm gonna have to spring for a DVD.
We were recently exposed to Yo Gabba Gabba (http://www.nickjr.com/shows/yo-gabba-gabba/index.jhtml). On first glace I was like "This is fuckin' WEIRD," but after watching a couple episodes and reading about it a bit, it's weird in a good way. Any show where Mark Mothersbaugh makes a guest appearance must have something going for it.
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When exactly is Panacke Mountain on? I'd like to see it, but I guess I'm gonna have to spring for a DVD.
It's on summer hiatus right now and might not be back. The show apparently almost breaks even and can't get a real TV deal. The creator was approached by Discovery Kids but that apparently never materialized.
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If you like They Might Be Giants, or have kids, or both, you should subscribe to the TMBG Friday Night Family Podcast. Vids from the forthcoming "Here Come the 123s" and the existing "Here Come the ABCs." Plus John & John as puppets.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheyMightBeGiants
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Okay, I got lost in YouTube after the last post... Every Canadian kid who was a child in the 80's has seen this, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDi9DzihrE) and it's delightful. Probably not interesting to hip kids today though.
Hell yes on the Log Driver's Waltz. I show that to everyone I know who's not Canadian.
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Incidentally, as soon as I can justify spending the $3 somewhat frivolously, I'll be buying the "Pinball Count" song from Sesame Street (by the muthafuckin' Pointer Sisters!) as a ringtone.
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TMBG do awesome kid's stuff. We have "Here come the ABCs" and will probably get HCT123s soon.
Also, Pingu. (http://www.pingu.net/uk/whale.htm) Sample episode here (http://www.pingu.net/uk/episode-download.htm). Now available on DVD.