Currently Watching: Between the Lions

….or… “A Rant about Today’s Children’s Television”

I’m sitting here in the livingroom (having just finished a bowl of strawberry oatmeal and soy milk), watching the ETV show “Between the Lions”. Being a huge advocator of reading and literacy myself, I am so glad there is still a show such as this on the air. It’s one of the few left that is truly educational while remaining comical and fun. If you’ve never seen it, Between the Lions is a live action puppet show about a family of Lions who live in a library. Each show, the two children and their parents have various adventures in the library which incorporate reading and phonics skills – and the 30 minute program is devided into 2 specific 15 minute segments. Like Seseme Street, this show always has a theme and focuses on a specific life issue as well as specific phonics sounds during each 15 minute segment. Between the adventures with the Lion family, they’ll flip to other fun short segments such as “Chicken Jane” (a play on the old Dick and Jane books), “Smarty Pants”, and “Cliff Hanger”. Also in Seseme Street style fashion, guest stars will occassionally make appearances to sing or perform (usually singing about a letter sound). Interactive reading is also written on the screen at various times during the show. The rhyming all the way throughout is hilarious enough to hold an adult’s attention (well, an adult like me who is easily amused) and the segments are done well enough to keep a child’s attention – without going at constant ADD hyperspeed like some shows do! This is definately a show I will be letting Jack watch.

In my opinion, few shows nowdays are worthy of being viewed by children under 10 - and that includes the so-called cartoons out there. Growing up in the 80s, I experienced an abundance of wonderful shows that had not only highly educational content, but they taught life lessons (moral and intellectual) that were not “dumbed down” into the small box of what today is considered “children’s viewing fare”.

Other than Dora the Explora (which I have only seen snippets of, but think seems high quality), there are very few cartoons that I plan on letting Little Jack view. I definately don’t want him watching Cartoon Network (which we are fortunate enough NOT to have on our “Family” plan from Dish Network – coincidence?). I mean, who in the world wants their child to be bombarded with constant farts, exposed rears, disobedient children, nervous shakings, snot exploding from a grotesque looking nose, rudeness, lying, and all manner of disorderly conduct?

I certainly don’t want Jack to develop the sick, gross sense of humor that many people have in today’s culture. Laughing at an occassional, accidental poot is fine in the private comforts of family (Kevin and my dad are horrible offenders!) - but these shows do not differentiate between when it’s “right or wrong” to let loose with all sorts of nasty bodily functions and green / yellow / slimy body fluids. Sure, children are going to think these various things are funny, but the cartoons portray all of these acts in an adult humor manner. Many cartoons also have adult inuendoes that make my jaw drop in a “did they just SAY that???” kind of way. That is what I don’t like. Adult humor is fine for adults. Not for a small child’s 30 minute daytime tv program. Can’t children remain children in the short timespan they’re allowed to be young????

Other than Cartoon Network, I find Nickelodeon’s cartoons to be 2nd most offensive. Back when I was a kid (I was born in 1982), Nickelodeon was THE network for kids. They had many fine, fine cartoons (many of which were foreign) and educational programming. However, sometime during the ’90s, Nickelodeon went (pardon the pun) down the tube completely. I was about 10 years old when the live action comedy show WeinerVille first aired on Nick. Even at age 10 I knew enough to be embarrassed by the fact that a show was called WeinerVille. I tried to watch it, but couldn’t really stomach what they thought was comedy. It was the only show I avoided at the time. Unfortunately, as the years progressed, all of the “classic” nickelodeon shows (Today’s Special, PinWheel, David the Gnome) faded out as Ren & Stimpy, NickToons, and AllThat took their place.

And then of course there was Butt-Ugly Martians.

Must such uncomfortable terms and ugly graphics be used in children’s programming? I’m not talking about it being “wrong” for adults to view them – I’m just saying that for small children, I believe these types of television programs are completely unsuitable. Yet they are still marketed as children’s programming on a KID’S TV Station.

And what’s worse is that many adults, falling under the assumption that cartoons are “made for kids” and thus “this cartoon must be fine”, let their children watch it unsupervised.

And we wonder why we have rude children in schools and heavy discliplanary problems? Mass culture and society has done nothing but encourage it subliminally!

On Nickelodeon, during the 1980s, I learned of computers, human relationships, and even english poetry (from the mouse) on Today’s Special. In Pinwheel, I was introduced to the magic of drawing (Picture Pages shorts with Bill Cosby) and other life lessons. David the Gnome taught loyalty, bravery, and kindness to all. Mr. Wizard’s World taught the coolest science stuff (stand back, Bill Nye!!). And one of the deepest, intellectual cartoons of the day also aired on Nick – The Noozles. The other cartoons on Nick also held up to this high caliber of childhood entertainment – The Little Prince from Outer Space, The Little Bits, Belle & Sebastian, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Adventures of the Little Koala…and of course… Lassie.

Where are these shows nowadays? Gone. Replaced by Tak & the Power of JuJu, Mr. Meaty, the Fairly OddParents, The Amanda Show, and Zoey 101 (which, by the way, isn’t being cancelled despite of the lead character’s offscreen teenage pregnancy). I’ve tried watching Nickelodeon over the past 8 years, but it just leaves a sick feeling in my poor tummy and a mindless feeling in my grey matter. Oh, and a helpless feeling that leaves me crying “Is THIS what my child has to look foward to learning about????”. At least Nick Junior hasn’t gone all the way downhill – I do like the Backyardigans.

Growing up, some of my other favorite shows aired on ETV (PBS), Educational Television. Many life lessons were learned from Mister Rogers Neighborhood, counting skills were learned through Seseme Street, math skills were learned through Square One, and geography skills were learned by watching Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? And all of these shows hold a deep place in my heart. They were fun to watch, moral, educational, and had very high standards. Mister Rogers never once “dumbed down” an issue, taking on topics such as the first day of school, bitterness, anger, fears, being afraid of going down the tub drain, and even death. Then Carmen Sandiego was far more than the 30 minutes of mindless viewing of today’s standards. I remember each morning during 3rd grade sitting around discussing the latest eppy of Carmen Sandiego. You were considered “weird” if you hadn’t seen it! And furthermore, Oscar the Grouch, as mean as he was, never once blew snot from his nose and Grover’s rear was never exposed for the sake of “generating a quick laugh” from audiences.

Thank goodness a few of these shows are still on nowadays, although Seseme Street could be very well called “Elmo’s Street”. I personally find Elmo very, very annoying, and the current show seems very very superficial in comparison to the depth they use to have in earlier years. Despite my personal hatred of Elmo, however, I still want Jack to watch and learn from Seseme Street as he is growing up (provided they don’t change too much more).

Mister Rogers also still airs. I wish they’d come out with his shows on DVD’s like other shows are nowadays, because I fear that within a few years his “old ways”, “directness”, and “quiet, calm nature” are going to be booted off of television in favor of the fast paced, ADD generating graphics of today’s cartoons. Maybe ETV won’t end up going that route though. There are so many lessons Little Jack will be able to learn from this wonderful children’s show.

Clifford the Big Red Dog isn’t that bad either. Let’s hope ETV stays the one shining source for quality children’s program as Little Jack progresses into his toddler, pre-school, and kindergarten years! I might just cry if they let me down.