Today when I returned home from school I was feeling pretty sickish, so instead of starting on my homework I sat down and watched TV for a couple hours. Anyone who has watched television during the 3 pm - 5 pm time slot knows that the options are rather limited. As I scrolled through the stations, failing to find anything at all appealing, I couldn't help but miss all the great shows I watched as a child. Even the children's shows today fail to meet the quality of the kid's shows of my day. Now, as a child, I was not allowed to watch any station besides PBS, until pure stubbornness won me the ability to watch Disney channel when I was nine. I still do not fully understand why my parents had this rule, since they let my sister, Liesel, watch whatever she wanted once I won television freedom. I am still bitter about this. Anyway, these are the television shows of my childhood, which I would gladly trade for anything on the air today.
1)
Arthur
Upon further inspection of this show I've noticed that almost all the minor characters are rabbits. And Arthur's family owns a dog... but they are aardvarks and some of their friends are dogs. I'm not entirely sure what this means, but this show was still one of my favorites.
2)
Wishbone
A little dog dresses up in costume and plays the main character in famous books. So. Awesome. One episode I distinctly remember was an adaption of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Purloined Letter" (which is actually a short story, that I just read... it was better with Wishbone).
3)
Liberty's Kids
This show had it all: battle scenes, romance, investigative journalism, George Washington, French people. I probably would have failed the APUSH exam were it not for this show.
4)
Cyberchase
Just like
Liberty's Kids taught me about the American Revolution,
Cyberchase taught me math, probably better than any teacher ever had (except for Mr. Maas, of course).
5)
Zoom
I'm not really sure what this show was about, at all. A bunch of kids did stuff on TV for half an hour, which was always entertaining. It was from
Zoom that I learned how to make chin-people.
This post just made my day! I definitely can relate to your disappointment regarding the lack of worth-while television shows around 3 pm. Weirdly enough, I often just turn on the Food Network for background noise. Similarly to your childhood experiences, I also strictly watched PBS. My parents refused to buy cable until I was in 6th grade. Although the jokes and short skits somewhat struggled, Zoom was by far my favorite PBS show. I remember looking up various recipes online after watching each episode. I think one time I even submitted my own recipe! A chocolate-covered pretzel recipe, creative, I know. I also loved Caillou and George Shrinks. Two of PBS's finest shows in my opinion. I am still not sure why I was so enthralled by a bunch of kids conducting experiments on television, a 4-year-old boy fascinated by the world around him, or by a tiny child who flies around in his own helicopter, but like you, I would gladly choose these three shows over anything on afternoon television today!
ReplyDeleteWow. I love this blog. I loved these shows as a kid, especially Zoom and Arthur. Arthur was the best. But, I think you've forgotten a few. I would add Boy Meets World...I mean who doesn't love Corey Matthews? And, there were some solid life lessons in that show. Also, as a child, I have to admit, I watched the Power Rangers. I was embarrassed to admit I liked it cause I though only boys were allowed to watch it so I would never let my parents catch me watching it. I also watched the Rugrats. That show caused me to legitimately believe that if you swallowed a watermelon seed, a watermelon would grow inside of you. I also enjoyed Molly and the Big Comfy Couch. She rocked. I wish those shows were still on today. I would watch them over Jersey Shore or 16 and Pregnant any day.
ReplyDeleteMariel, I feel the pain of your limited TV-watching as a child. My parents also only let me watch PBS and occasionally Disney channel. to the point where I did not realize that other channels existed. I was particularly obsessed with Arthur and Zoom. Once I sent something in to Zoom in the hopes that it would make it onto the show. It was some sorts of arts and crafts thing... Sadly I don't think they liked my idea. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteMariel, I love this post! I think that the shows we grew up with are so much better than the ones kids watch today. Hannah Montana does not have anything on Lizzie McGuire-so much better. The 90's were truly a great time to grow up. To prove this, here is an awesome website my sister recently showed me. I recommend it to everyone. http://things90skidsrealize.com/
ReplyDeleteMariel, this really takes me back. I loved Arthur (I always shared a connection to DW). It is funny how engrained these show can become in out minds. I clearly remember an episode where one of the girls got her ears pierced and they turned green. I do not know what happened after that, but I was so disturbed that I vowed for several years that I would never pierce my ears. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI also feel nostalgic for the good old days of children's programming. Perhaps I'm just biased towards what I grew up with, but when I found out that Christopher Robin's place in the Hundred Acre Woods had been usurped by some little girl named Darcy, I was genuinely upset. PBS shows also dominated my childhood television viewing, my favorites included Magic School Bus, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow. Like you Mariel, I had a mother who regulated TV strictly, I was basically restricted to PBS and Animal Planet for the entirety of my early childhood, Disney and Cartoon Network were not allowed. But despite my mothers concerns, I think I was actually exposed to some pretty good TV, and it didn't rot my brain. I feel sorry for parents today, from what I know of children's programming they just don't have the same options that I did when it comes to well made, educational shows.
ReplyDeleteI never really watched TV as a child; it literally took ten years for my parents to even bother setting up a free television antenna after we moved here. They believed that all American TV was "trash" and despised the large amount of advertisements. It took years of begging to get them to set it up, but after I won that battle many other wins followed: Netflix, cable, and others. However, I spend so much time on Netflix now. Sometimes, I get bored of watching, but I do not know what else to do. I think that my parents may have had a point to their disdain... Although I am not about to give up TV.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that this definitely just made my day! I can fondly remember viewing all of these shows as a kid. Though there were a few others that I think should be added to this list.
ReplyDelete1) zoboomafoo- a nature show for kids narrated largely by a talking lemur named zoboomafoo. This was one of my favorites.
2)elmo's world- in my younger years yet another favorite
all in all, a great visit to memory lane!