When I was young, TV didn’t have the bad name it has now. Back then it was a social studies medium, Broadway training ground and musical outlet extraordinaire. Sesame Street and The Electric Company (featuring actors like Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman and eventually a victim of its own success according to Wikipedia) were the gold stand – educational and very Free to Be…You and Me. One of my favourites was Schoolhouse Rock, animated educational shorts that combined catchy tunes with, say of the use of interjections, the number 5, or the American Revolution. Get a couple of bottles of wine into 30- and 40somethings and mention Schoolhouse Rock and you have a guaranteed singalong.
These shows affected how I think about issues like gender equality. They promoted my love of language and music. They made learning accessible and fun. They engendered an unshakeable affection for the actors involved.
These days, television is much changed, as anyone who’s spent a Saturday morning watching poor-quality mind-numbing shows with terrible laugh tracks that seem to mainly promote backtalk and being cool.
But in the past couple weeks I’ve heard about a couple of shows that have made me prick up my ears. The first is Disney Junior channel, which launches today. This post is not sponsored and I haven’t seen the programming but any channel that features the voices of Richard E. Grant, Billy Connolly and, er, Catherine Tate reading poetry gets my vote. Presenting culture – in this case works by AA Milne and Robert Louis Stevenson among others – to kids in an easy-to-absorb format works. (Long before I went to the Opera, I knew the “Barber of Seville” because of Bugs Bunny and Hamlet set to “Carmen” because of Gilligan’s Island.)
The other show is Annabel Karmel’s new kids’ cooking show on ITV (pictured). I’ve been a fan of Annabel’s cookbooks for ages, since we used her weaning recipes with my now sever-year-old. In her new show “Annabel’s Kitchen“, the chef cooks and interacts with kids and puppets. Yeah, OK, I know. The puppet thing is a bit Wayland Flowers and Madame for me. But Annabel has tasty recipes that encourage parents and kids to push the boundaries beyond spag bol and cheese sandwiches.
Worth checking out – they just might be shows your children reminisce about in adulthood.
Oooh, I love the idea of a kids’ cooking show. One thing I regret (since I hate cooking and baking) is not getting my kids involved in meal preparation. Not only does it help while away the hours, but it gives them a great life skill and might even get them to eat what’s put in front of them.
Seasame Street was my televisual nanny for much of my formative years – a great, great show.
I think that there are some good modern ones. Peppa Pig is quite gentle and teaches lots of good stuff. Mr Maker is great.
There is lots of whizz-bang, exploding mayhem on, but I think there always has been. It give everyone a bit of a headache in our house.
What I hate more than anything is In The Night Garden and Tellitubbies with surreal scenes and characters talking gobbledegook.
“Pe-e-e-e-pa PIG. Da-duh-da-duh da-da-da-da da-dun…” That song sticks with you.
I never did understand In the Night Garden – so glad my daughter didn’t like it at all!
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