darwinfish Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 For those of you that have small kids, I'm sure you can understand my aggravation. Super WHY! is a kids show on PBS here in America. http://pbskids.org/superwhy/ It's always bothered me as a show in general. It's supposed to teach kids reading, even though it's title isn't written grammatically correct. The stories are moronic, and they spend half the show singing and dancing. And, not different songs ... the exact same songs in every episode. Each story starts by one of the characters being confused about something. Usually it's something that if they take two seconds to think about they'd realize isn't really a problem. But they spend an episode going through some Aesop's Fable story (which they have to modernize so that the bad guys aren't really bad, just misunderstood) in hopes to make a connection to their own problem. Then at the end of the episode, they ask a magical computer what the answer to their own problems are. The magical computer usually spits out something that if they had any common sense they should already know, like ... "The super story answer is, Listen!" It was only this morning, while watching this with my daughter, that I suddenly realized how much a Super WHY! episode is just like a church service, and maybe, subconsciously, That's why it's always bothered me. So, point by point -Singing and dancing (well maybe not the dancing, per se) the same moronic songs - check -Characters/church goers confused about something that they could think out for themselves - check -Making analogies to ancient stories (and modernizing them so they're not as harsh as they were when they were originally written) - check -Asking for a magical answer that only seems to solve their problems - check So, that's my take. There's so many reasons to hate this show. My heart goes out to all those parents who have had to endure this in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdaddy Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Yes super why to the rescue blows. Freaking dumbasses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdaddy Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 But it's better than Sid the science kid. They look like fraggles on crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 i think 'spongebob' is the worst, kids that watch it end up being little psychopaths Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Little dude....hates super why. I think it's because he's see all the episodes. However, He L.O.V.E.S. Curious George. Martha Speaks and Arthur are close seconds. On nick he likes Team Umizoomi and Wonder Pets. HOWEVER ALL of the above can be replace by Thomas the Tank Engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 HOWEVER ALL of the above can be replace by Thomas the Tank Engine. My son's addiction is Thomas. It's like crack to little boys, he can't get enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 The only Television my kids are allowed to watch, is PBS. It's much better than alternative stations, but there's always room for improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverAgainV Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 My kids & I have never seen the "Why" show, but then again my kids are in high & middle schools. That explains that. My daughter watched Barney, Arthur & some others when she was little. Funny thing is my son didn't watch anything much...I would actually try to coax him to SIT & watch Thomas the Engine or Dragon Tales, hoping I could get a break...ha! Nothing doing! Funny how now that he's older, I can barely coax him to get UP off of his arse as he's always on the damn computer. I am grateful to PBS, Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno...as I pretty much learned to read watching The Electric company. Some of that stuff was pretty hilarious...for back in the olden days anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I am grateful to PBS, Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno...as I pretty much learned to read watching The Electric company. Some of that stuff was pretty hilarious...for back in the olden days anyhow. I miss Reading Rainbow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
older Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 My shows were Superman, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy and the Howdy Doody show. I had my own Superman suit, and I was once in the Peanut Gallery (no autographs, please). You young'uns missed out on some great TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverAgainV Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I am grateful to PBS, Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno...as I pretty much learned to read watching The Electric company. Some of that stuff was pretty hilarious...for back in the olden days anyhow. I miss Reading Rainbow. They should have a PBS vintage show. Was Reading Rainbow in the 90's or 80's? Hey older, would you please elaborate on the Peanut Gallery?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 They should have a PBS vintage show. Was Reading Rainbow in the 90's or 80's? I watched it in the 80's but it was only canceled within the last five years. I would love a vintage PBS channel. I was watching the documentary Being Elmo the other day, and they played the intro of Sesame St. from when I was a kid. I thought, wow, that is really familiar. I'd love to play that stuff for my kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughtyhamster Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 When I have kids, I think I'll stick with anime ( there's some good anime out there, but you have to look hard for it), and selected Disney movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scitsofreaky Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Super Why! is super annoying, but the boy likes it and he does seem to get something from it. Thomas the Train is a god to him, but it's a fucked up show. A Cracked article pointed out how crazy the Island of Sodor is, but it really hit home when my sone talked about a train not being "really useful." I thought, "Great, my kids going to grow up idolizing a utilitarian dictatorship." Dinosaur Trian is possibly the best show on t.v. Um, err, for him, not me, yeah, that's it... Seriously, it trains and fucking dinosaurs! Where was that when I was a kid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Valk0010 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 i think 'spongebob' is the worst, kids that watch it end up being little psychopaths I love spongebob now, and i am 21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Valk0010 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think I was probably 4 or 5 when I first watched star wars, I think between that and Star trek my childhood entertainment was great. I also remeber being 9-10 and watching nova, and I am amazed now how I didn't realise it actually contradicts, the family yec perspective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Super Why! is super annoying, but the boy likes it and he does seem to get something from it. Thomas the Train is a god to him, but it's a fucked up show. A Cracked article pointed out how crazy the Island of Sodor is, but it really hit home when my sone talked about a train not being "really useful." I thought, "Great, my kids going to grow up idolizing a utilitarian dictatorship." Dinosaur Trian is possibly the best show on t.v. Um, err, for him, not me, yeah, that's it... Seriously, it trains and fucking dinosaurs! Where was that when I was a kid? I don't really know what my son gets out of Thomas, most of the time he just wants to build train tracks all over the house. He likes Dinosaur Train once in a while, but probably only because there's a train in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I think I was probably 4 or 5 when I first watched star wars, I think between that and Star trek my childhood entertainment was great. I also remeber being 9-10 and watching nova, and I am amazed now how I didn't realise it actually contradicts, the family yec perspective. Not much different than my childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I remember actually seeing Empire in the the theater. My dad then got a new watch and gave me his old one. I ran around all summer talking into it like Luke and Han did. Saturday mornings were, now, old school loony toons, He-man, She-ra, thundercats, etc. While Saturday afternoons was a three hour block of BSG, Buck Rogers, and Star Trek TOS. Buck Rodgers was actually the first time I remember thinking a woman was hot. Something about the Draconian Empress' outfits. Later that feeling was confirmed by Fisher's gold bikini in Jedi. /sigh/ ah the innocence. It's actually kinda fun now to watch the DVD's of old school loony toons with my son. He thinks they are hilarious. He also requests sometimes to watch Nick bommerang cause he loves the old school Tom and Jerry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thought2Much Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Buck Rodgers was actually the first time I remember thinking a woman was hot. Something about the Draconian Empress' outfits. I must have been just a little too young when I watched Buck Rogers, because I was totally turned on by the Draconian Flagship, and didn't even notice the Draconian Empress' (or was she a princess?) outfits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thought2Much Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 The show that I can't stand is Busytown Mysteries. It wouldn't be so bad if my son only watched it on TV, but the problem is that we own the DVD, and when you watch all the episodes one after another, you realize just how freaking formulaic the show is. It's even more formulaic than Scooby Doo, if that tells you anything. And the so-called "educational" television bothers the hell out of me, because these shows totally screw up the fact that apes and monkeys aren't the same goddam thing. Curious George isn't a monkey; he looks and sounds like a chimp. In one of the Barney episodes, they sing a whole song about monkeys, but show footage of gorillas, chimps, orangutans, gibbons, and one or two clips of actual monkeys. People wonder why I get so upset about this. They tell me I'm a nitpicker. They wonder what the big deal is about getting monkeys and apes confused. Fine. Let's say that I'm putting together a song about cats, and in the footage that goes with the song I show clips of a black lab, a schnauzer, a Boston terrier, a poodle, a housecat, and a greyhound. There's nothing wrong with that, right? I mean, cats and dogs are really pretty much alike, aren't they? They both have eyes, ears, four legs, fur, and for fuck's sake, they both even have tails. Hell, just like apes and monkeys, they even share a common ancestor. People would say that was all nuts, yet that's exactly what they accept when they dismiss the fact that the people who put together these shows can't get it through their thick skulls that monkeys and apes are different things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
older Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Hey older, would you please elaborate on the Peanut Gallery?? The Peanut Gallery was the bleacher section on the Howdy Doody show that held about 40 kids who were the in-studio audience for the show. They were on camera to the right of the puppet stage. The kids would participate by singing the opening song and some commercial jingles (ugh). The show aired live, not tape delayed, during the 1950s from Rockefeller Center in New York. By the way, Clarabell the clown was for some time played by Bob Keeshan who went on to become Captain Kangaroo. There is a good Wikipedia article on the show here: http://en.wikipedia....iki/Howdy_Doody and there are a few clips from the show on Youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 no the phrase. No comments from the Peanut Gallery has a context.....THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Let's all hear it for the Berestain Bears! They are just like people only more (like people than people actually are). And they have that helpful harmonica to tell them when somebody made a selfish or immoral choice. And who would name their kids "Papa" or "Sister" anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughtyhamster Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Saturday mornings were, now, old school loony toons, He-man, She-ra, thundercats, etc. I grew up watching those shows too! I especially digged She-Ra:Princess of Power as I loved that she was a princess who rescued the guys, totally unlike Snow White and her ilk from Disney. Once my mother found a flimsy plastic She-Ra mask in a dumpster outside a store during Halloween, and I cut the crown off ( the mask had scratches on the face) of it and used the crown for play. Then I found an oversized old white blouse of my mother's, an old gold lame belt that had belonged to my grandmother, a gold neckband given to me by a woman my grandmother took care of, and I had my She-Ra costume for make believe. When I have kids I'll spoil them with those old 80's shows and movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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