My mother always encouraged my brother and me to watch Sesame Street, because (she told us later), it was the only children’s television program she could stand.
My mother was right.
Baguette’s favorite shows are Pajanimals–the first show we started watching, back when the episodes were single songs and ran for 3-5 minutes, and by the way we all still love that lullaby–and Sesame Street. While they’ve introduced new characters since my earlier viewing days, it still feels like the same neighborhood.
So with those two shows, we’re in decent shape (although Mr. Sandwich and I have been known to snark Pajanimals under our breath from time to time). But then there’s the rest of children’s television–or, at least, the rest of the programming on Sprout TV.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Based on what I’ve seen, this show is all about knowing your place. When you try to do more than your nature and status permit, disaster ensues. Mr. Sandwich says “It’s British.” I say, more like Ancient Rome. And Thomas’s Gordon could learn a lot from Sesame Street’s Gordon–notably, how not to be a jackass.
Driver Dan’s Story Train
The lion drives a train and picks up other illustrations of stuffed animals in sequence. But where’s the story?
Caillou
There’s really nothing I can say about Caillou that hasn’t been said before. What a little whiner.
Poppy Cat
It took me a while, but eventually I realized that this is a show in which a little girl writes stories about her cat, and then reads them to the cat. The cat and her friends have ridiculous accents. And Egbert is always a tool.
Super Why
Mr. Sandwich objects to this show much more than I do. I think it’s the idea that the characters “changed the story,” as their closing theme song says. I figure it promotes reading, but it does go on way, way too long.
Barney and Friends
Baguette knows who Barney is, but as far as I can tell, she doesn’t much care. Suits me fine.
The Berenstain Bears
Ditto. She and I both seem to find this show equally uninteresting.
Wibbly Pig
I really don’t understand what’s happening in this show. I think some child owns a pig, and the pig owns a stuffed animal that is also a pig, and some combination of them imagine things. Or something like that. It does have the MOST ANNOYING SONGS I’ve ever heard. Every episode. But it’s generally a calm show, so we let Baguette watch it before bed.
What are you watching?
Photo by Visa Kopu, via Flickr. Creative Commons.
This is be instance where living abroad is a real boon. My disconnect from my home culture means I’ve never even heard of half these shows. I have to actively seek media that I want to bring into our home because what comes in via cable in America has to be downloaded or bought on dodgy DVD here. So far we’re awash in The Sound of Music (which comes with its own difficulties, notably nazis), Olivia, and one or two PBS kids shows. And though I’m annoyed with the frequency with which we have to sing the good bye song from TSoM, it’s an arrange,met that I’m pretty pleased with!
Sprout seems to be where old episodes of PBS kids’ TV go for a new lease on life, so I think that most of these shows started out there. We haven’t started on movies yet, but I think we probably will soon.
I’m so glad that my kids are older now, because if I ever had to watch another episode of The Doodlebops, I would probably hang myself with a Slinky. 🙂
I just looked that up, and I think my brain is now made entirely of knives.
I don’t understand the relationship between the trains and drivers on Thomas. They have drivers that they don’t seem to need. And sometimes there are drivers and sometimes there are not. Ugh.
We are all about Disney Junior. And Dora. So much Dora.
My son will watch anything with a super hero.
Baguette knows who Dora is (she said “Hi, Dora!” to a cutout in the store a couple of weeks ago), but we haven’t watched the show yet.
I’m hoping to introduce Baguette to superheroes. Any recommendations about where to start? I’m very disappointed in the Avengers book I got recently. Way too much Ant-Man.
We use Netflix. Lots of super hero stuff on there. CJ loves the old cheesy Adam West Batman.
Much better than Ant-Man.
We weren’t fans of the Berenstain Bears show, but my kids read the books over and over again. When she’s a little bit older, I can’t say enough about Zoom and Electric Company (the new versions) and Wild Kratts. Any show by the Kratt Brothers is fantastic for kids who love animals.
I still remember the books fondly–it’s the show that gets me! (Or, more accurately, doesn’t.)
If you think Barney is awful, you clearly don’t have a tween in your house. Barney is a rocket scientist compared to Zendaya. ( I don’t mean to insult the actress, who may be quite intelligent, but the writers on her show suck.) Unfortunately, my daughter loves her show. I heard it’s been cancelled, however, so there is a God. Oh, and there’s Victorious, which might actually be worse. The only tween show I could stand was iCarley, but it was cancelled, too. There’s a spinoff, but it doesn’t look promising. It seems like every time I force myself to watch one of Katie’s shows, we have to have a conversation about why these shows’ values don’t coincide with ours. Nor do the writers’ IQs.
I hear you. Whatever shows are on when Baguette is a tween, I’m sure I’ll have a similar reaction–and we’ll all be having similar conversations.