Hey, You Guys! TV For Kids Is Cool, Dontcha Know
We’ve had cable for the last three years. We lived in two apartments in the same complex, and the complex gave us a discount on cable. We juiced it for all it was worth: we recorded almost all the Voyager episodes from Spike, and we’ve gulped up as much of The Amazing Race as we could find. We watched lots of movies and had a binge on Fringe for awhile before Just’In got his new job. I ate up all the Food Network and HGTV until I’d taken as many notes of handy tips as I possibly could. And Just’In really liked Clean House for awhile there; I thought it was weird.
We decided that we wouldn’t get cable or satellite in this place, though. We’re cleansing our palates and enjoying the books we have. We’re concentrating on projects and job-hunting and moulding the apartment together. And we still find time for a little less TV than we did before. Lately, we’ve been enjoying the auditions of American Idol.
Just the auditions, mind you. We did this when we had cable, too; the auditions are the best part of the whole show, and we don’t bother watching the actual competition. After the initial shock of only having seven channels, we’ve remembered the old British comedies that come on at night. Right now, we love “Keeping Up Appearances” with Hyacinth, Rose, Daisy, and the horror that comes from just Hyacinth.
I’ve re-discovered my love for PBS. Yes, the kid’s stuff, too; stop gaping or groaning inside. There’s a new show that’s come on called The Electric Company. It’s started this month. It caught my eye because of its music video/High School Musical quality. But they’re rapping. And there’s that learning-how-to-read thing like Between The Lions. Only this is for kids who are older, it feels like. Like Between the Lions, it’s got very specific plots and then letter features that deviate from the plot but center around a theme (the teens are stuck in a spaceship and trying to get out, but the sound of the episode is the short e and the long a).
Maybe it feels older because the actors are mostly teenagers/tweens and adults. They’re Number One on the PBS Kids site. Click on Channels and then Top Ten. Like the users on this site, my second favorite is Arthur. I was just watching the music videos the other day.
Electric Company. Wow. What a cool combination of sound and video. It feels like it should be owned by Disney, but I’m so happy it belongs to Public Television.
Posted on January 19, 2009, in From Rabid-Mormon Land Known As Utah and tagged children, TV. Bookmark the permalink. 91 Comments.
Explore with Twine 
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
Electric Company is not new. We had it back in the 70’s. I remember a lot of screaming and yelling or letters and sounds. Not the best pbs had to offer, even way back then. MOM
Lots of screaming and yelling, huh, Mom? Well, I think the only screaming and yelling they retained in the remake was that first “Hey, You Guys!” thing. Apparantly, the group of friends uses that call as a “gather together” rally when something’s wrong.
Not the most creative thing ever, but I can see kids latching onto it.
Electric Company is not new. We had it back in the 70’s. I remember a lot of screaming and yelling or letters and sounds. Not the best pbs had to offer, even way back then. MOM
Lots of screaming and yelling, huh, Mom? Well, I think the only screaming and yelling they retained in the remake was that first “Hey, You Guys!” thing. Apparantly, the group of friends uses that call as a “gather together” rally when something’s wrong.
Not the most creative thing ever, but I can see kids latching onto it.
Electric Company is not new. We had it back in the 70’s. I remember a lot of screaming and yelling or letters and sounds. Not the best pbs had to offer, even way back then. MOM
Lots of screaming and yelling, huh, Mom? Well, I think the only screaming and yelling they retained in the remake was that first “Hey, You Guys!” thing. Apparantly, the group of friends uses that call as a “gather together” rally when something’s wrong.
Not the most creative thing ever, but I can see kids latching onto it.
Electric Company is not new. We had it back in the 70’s. I remember a lot of screaming and yelling or letters and sounds. Not the best pbs had to offer, even way back then. MOM
Lots of screaming and yelling, huh, Mom? Well, I think the only screaming and yelling they retained in the remake was that first “Hey, You Guys!” thing. Apparantly, the group of friends uses that call as a “gather together” rally when something’s wrong.
Not the most creative thing ever, but I can see kids latching onto it.
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah
I love Arthur! We used to watch it every weekday. Good stuff. 🙂 Now I watch Sesame Street at breakfast every once in a while with the little sis.
-Sarah
So I’m curious: you remember Sesame Street from when you were a little kid. How has it changed since then? I know it’s missing Bert & Ernie, but is it brighter, more complicated?
Mm, I wouldn’t say “brighter” or “more complicated” necessarily, but there are some differences. It’s a lot more Elmo-centric than it used to be, and it incorporates more segments on learning Spanish (Murray and his little Spanish-speaking lamb). It still brings in ridiculously famous people as guests, from Tina Fey to famous broadcasters and rap stars (who rap about the alphabet and stuff), which is cool because that makes it more entertaining for older folks to watch too. (Similar to Arthur.)
-Sarah