MetaChat - Children's Television

David Attenborough's Life on Earth series.

I also liked Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, and Leave it to Beaver.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 08:09

Captain Kangaroo.

posted by JanetLand 04 October | 08:10

Scooby Doo when I was living in the States, Sesame Street when I wasn't.

posted by deadcowdan 04 October | 08:12

The Monkees, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Mr. Ed, The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Hour, Sesame Street, Captain Kangaroo...
I couldn't pick just one. I was a kid at a great time for cartoons, kids' shows, and silly sitcoms.

posted by BoringPostcards 04 October | 08:13

Scooby Doo, PRE-SCRAPPY. Don't forget the others: Scooby Dee, Scooby Dum, etc.

That show (and it's slow descent into the quagmire of shit) actually inspired a song called Daphne which I rarely sing these day.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 08:13

Oh yeah, I loved the Captain and Mr. Rogers, naturally. I had a pair of green Toughskins that would make me Mr. Green Jeans for the day.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 08:14

This site (even though it is on geocities - pah!) is a pretty comprehensive one for British shows.

As is this one.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 08:16

I used to watch Woody Woodpecker every single day in hopes that a Chilly Willy cartoon would come on, because he was so goddamn cute and I wanted to squeeze him until he popped. Other than that I liked a couple of shows where the host would read a book out loud and show you the illustrations, page by page. Like Reading Rainbow, but years before that. There was a drawing show I liked as well, plus a few local shows such as Pixanne or something or other, and Sally Starr and Chief Halftown and Gene London, where they would show cool cartoons and also do little segments and have guests. Like precursors to PeeWee's Playhouse. They were every bit as bizarre as PWP, but not intentionally.

posted by iconomy 04 October | 08:21

Here's some others I turned up:

The Banana Splits Adventure Hour
H.R. Pufnstuf
The All-New Super Friends Hour (yes, with The Wonder Twins and their space-monkey Gleek)
Plastic Man
Fangface
Jabberjaw
Grape Ape
Davey and Goliath
Gumby
Tennessee and Chumly
Hippety Hopper
The Houndcats
Motor Mouse and Auto Cat
Underdog
Partridge Family
Gilligan's Island
Popeye
George of the Jungle
Mister Magoo
Hong Kong Phooey
The Pink Panther
The Ruff & Reddy Show
The Huckleberry Hound Show
The Quick Draw McGraw Show
Snagglepuss
The Flintstones
Top Cat
The Yogi Bear Show
Jonny Quest
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
Wally Gator
The Jetsons
The Magilla Gorilla Show
Space Ghost
Birdman
Wacky Races
Speed Buggy

(man, a lot of this is absolute shite)

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 08:32

I distinctly remember the odd-ball shows — Pete and Pete, Fraggle Rock, Brady Bunch reruns, Heathcliff, and for years I've been trying to find the name of this morning show for kids I used to watch where once, the chicks from the B-52s were guests and taught the kids in the crowd how to style their own beehive hairdos.

posted by Brittanie 04 October | 08:38

Oh, how could I forget H. R. Pufnstuf! I loved that show, even though it freaked me out a little as a very young child. Also loved The Bugaloos.

I've got Pufnstuf on DVD now, and it includes the episode about the "evil mushrooms," which luckily I never saw as a young, impressionable child.

posted by BoringPostcards 04 October | 08:44

When I was very young I remember a series on TV called 'Mr Piper'. I think it was Canadian, but it was shown on TV in the UK.

Mr Piper was a big round man who had a parrot and he used to tell stories and sing songs, and there'd be little short filmed pieces too. I still remember the song.

"Come with me, come and see
All the wonders there will be
In my stories, in my songs,
Everything where fun belongs.

We'll have heroes, giants bold,
Visit lands both far and old
Have magic tricks to shiver your skin
Laughs galore with animals in

Our world of fun
Pied Piper House."

I also used to love "The Singing Ringing Tree" and "White Horses"

*sings* "On white horses let me ride away, to a world of dreams so far away, let me run, to the sun ..."

posted by essexjan 04 October | 08:44

Favorites:
Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
Underdog
Jetsons

posted by mightshould 04 October | 08:49

I did a Mefi post on local kids TV.

posted by jrossi4r 04 October | 08:49

Pippi Longstockings was brought cheap by the Irish RTE!

posted by Wilder 04 October | 08:51

Mighty Mouse, Banana Splits, Clutch Cargo, Felix the Cat! Oh, and Zoom, Romper Room, Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers.

posted by tr33hggr 04 October | 08:53

I didn't watch a lot of shows, but I was a Sesame Street kid (born the same year as it debuted) and I am really thankful for its presence in my early childhood. I got to meet Maria when I was 5 and was utterly starstruck. I had a big kid crush on Bob. To this day, when I go to the Thanksgiving Parade and the float goes by, I find I'm hopping up and down and waving at them all like a madwoman.

I also enjoyed the NY-area show The Magic Garden (with hippie chicks Carole and Paula, a pink squirrel, and a Magic Tree), and my dad, grandfather, and I had a ritual of watching the Bugs-Bunny/Roadrunner Cartoon Hour.

Other than that, I was msotly outside.

posted by Miko 04 October | 08:57

It was a TV Special, but I loved Free to Be You and Me.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 08:59

Man, Hugh. I feel like I missed out!

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 09:03

Miko, a friend and I had a pretty elaborate plan this summer to do a Carole and Paula act, in which they really push the gay agenda on the kids. But neither one of us plays an instrument, and we figured we'd have a tough time getting backing - we'd have to develop the whole thing first, and decided we didn't have time. We had big fun talking about it though.

The Brady Bunch
The Muppet Show
In Search Of
The Flintsones
Rocky & Bullwinkle
Little House On The Prairie

I didn't watch much TV as a little little kid.

posted by rainbaby 04 October | 09:07

Oh yeah, I also loved Get Smart.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 09:11

jrossi4r, my friend Marvin's (also a great drummer - played for Heretix) dad was Mr Cartoon (in WV), an iconic local figure:

The man most recognized by Tri-State (West Virginia, Southern Ohio, and Eastern Ky.) television viewers as Mr. Cartoon was WSAZ's weather man, Jule Huffman,who took over the show and stayed as host until his retirement in 1995. Huffman's Mr. Cartoon was accompanied by an animal sidekick, known as Beeper. Beeper joined the show in 1974. Before that, Mr. Cartoon was generally accompanied by one of Hanna-Barbera Productions' "Banana Splits". Beeper was originally known as Mr. Cartoon's "friend", and got the name Beeper following a contest in which kids got to send in their suggestions for the creature's name. The two would play cartoons for a studio audience of children, whom Huffman had decided to add to the show after Lewis left. While cartoons and commercials aired, the children would play off-camera games such as musical chairs. One of the show's daily segments featured a selected audience member attempting to answer a riddle as read by Mr. Cartoon, with Mr. Cartoon reminding the audience member that if they answered incorrectly, they would get "twenty lashes across the naked eyeball with a wet noodle" and later the "yucket bucket".

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 09:16

The Late Late Show in Tom Snyder

posted by mullacc 04 October | 09:18

In Search Of...

Oh, yesinfuckingdeed. I remember it well.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 09:21

Heh, we had WBFF's Captain Chesapeake hosting our cartoons. Seems he was on Mr. Cartoon, too.

His competition was WDCA's Captain 20.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 09:25

Land of the Lost
Animated Star Trek
Mr. Wizard
All the Sid and Marty Krofft stuff
The Lost Saucer

posted by WolfDaddy 04 October | 09:26

I loved loved LOVED Square One (a math show that was on PBS). I'm so bummed that I haven't found copies of it on DVD.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 04 October | 09:28

Heh, we had WBFF's Captain Chesapeake hosting our cartoons. Seems he was on Mr. Cartoon, too.

He was the original, and then he moved on to Balmer (a fact I never knew until now). I assumed that Mr Cartoon was some sort of superbeing, like Santa Claus. I do remember going on his show, but feeling (at the time) way to old to do so.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 09:29

Hey TPS, that wasn't the show with the crazy grey-haired guy with the funny voice who would say "ConSIDER, IF you WILL..." all the time, was it? Maybe that was a physics show, I don't remember.

Captain Chesapeake had his own theme music, which I'm singing as I type, and one of his gimmicks was that ship's bells would indicate what was on next: ding ding ding ding... "Four bells, It's time for Scooby Doo!"... ...ding ding ding ding ding ding ding... "Seven bells, It's BRAIN BAFFLER TIME!!!"

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 09:33

Don't think so, Hugh- but then again it's been so long since I've seen it I can't really remember. I remember lots of little skits and songs about math (some of which I still remember- Infinity, Keep Building up, Infinity, over and oveeeer again!), and there was "Mathnet" with Kate Tuesday, too. Man, I miss that show ::sob::

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 04 October | 09:36

OMG In Search of!!

In our house there was also Monkey Magic, Fawlty Towers and The Goodies (although it wasn't until rewatching them later i realized how risque that show was). Also Get Smart, Brady Bunch and Batman.

I grew up on a diet of kitsch.

posted by gomichild 04 October | 09:59

My wife loves Monkey Magic... but I find it really odd.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 10:02

Sky King
Roy Rogers
Superman
Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts - Still, arguably, some of the finest television, much less children's television, ever made.

posted by paulsc 04 October | 10:02

TPS: This?

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 10:05

Fat Boys - One Billion Is Big

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 10:07

Yeah Hugh, I remember Captain 20.

For me, a lot of the same:
Land of the Lost
Captain Kangaroo
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
Tom and Jerry
Bugs Bunny
Sesame Street
Brady Bunch
Donny and Marie
Laff Olympics

I remember seeing glimpses of Sigmund and the Seamonster and H.R. Pufnstuf and it totally intrigued me, but either my parents were good at keeping it away from me or I just constantly missed it.

posted by Hellbient 04 October | 10:13

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 04 October | 10:22

Behold the power of youtube.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 October | 10:26

Archimedes! ::guitar solo:: Archimedes! ::guitar solo::

I remembered that chorus perfectly after all these years!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 04 October | 10:33

Oy! How is it no one has yet posted The Electric Company as an all-time fave?

I also had a brief but extremely passionate love affair with The Monchhichis, apparently a short-lived show based on the Japanese toy monkeys of the same name. When my family moved overseas, I wrote endless letters to the military television station begging them to air said show. Fruitless.

posted by brina 04 October | 10:35

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.

posted by chewatadistance 04 October | 10:38

Oooh. Here's a link to the Monchhichis cartoon commercial. It says Cartoon Network, so I'm guessing someone must have unearthed it and aired it on CN some time. Hmm.

posted by brina 04 October | 10:42

My brother was the tv fanatic; I preferred reading, but I remember most of chuckdarwin's list, that Tom Hatten hosted the Popeye cartoons on channel 5 and some educational thing on one of the commercial networks about Martin (Marvin) and his wonderful machine...this was LA in the 70's.

I HATED Mr. Rogers.

posted by brujita 04 October | 10:54

rainbaby: That is AWESOME. I'd pay to see that.

It's a pity that the Magic Garden was so regional, in a way; most people have never seen it, and man, it's a gem.

You could have had a field day with "The Story Box" and "The Chuckle Patch."

posted by Miko 04 October | 11:26

I didn' t watch a lot of TV as a child but I never missed the Bugs Bunny show or Emergency.

posted by arse_hat 04 October | 11:32

Can't pick just one, so:

Captain Kangaroo
Read All About It (probably the creepiest kid show.)
The Electric Company
3-2-1 Contact
A lot of the Filmation stuff (Space Academy, Jason of Star Command, Secret of Isis, etc)

As far as cartoons went, I loved most of them, at least prior to Saturday Morning just becoming a bunch of product tie-ins. I mean what the hell, Mon-Chi-Chis and Teen Wolf?

posted by King of Prontopia 04 October | 11:37

Hey, wasn't Read All About It the one with those kids who would solve word puzzles, eventually leading them to the trail of the fell Dunedin (known as "Don Eden" in our dimension)? If I'm remembering the right show, that was creepy.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 11:43

OH YEAH! THE HERBERTVILLE CHRONICLE! HOLY SHIT!

posted by Hugh Janus 04 October | 11:45

In Search Of ... hell, yeah.

Marine Boy

posted by danostuporstar 04 October | 12:06

There weren't a whole lot of cartoons that I *didn't* watch when I was a kid, but my favorites:

Sesame Street
Loony Toons
Tom & Jerry
Fraggle Rock
The Great Space Coaster
Gigglesnort Hotel (Chicago-produced)
The Bozo Show (Chicago version)

When I was a little older (like, 8 or 9):
Dukes of Hazzard
Knight Rider
Night Court
M.A.S.H.

posted by me3dia 04 October | 12:08

Land of the Lost
Gumby
The Brady Bunch
The Partridge Family
old Warner Bros and Looney Tunes cartoons
The Monkees
Gilligan's Island
Kimba
old Mickey Mouse Club
Animal Kingdom
Scooby Doo
Wonder Woman (live action w/Lynda Carter)

and maaaaany mooooore!

posted by deborah 04 October | 12:22

Oh, ditto TPS on Square One. Youtube has some stuff up here.

I was also a big fan of 3-2-1 Contact and (of course) Sesame Street. And in high school I went through a phase where I'd watch Teletubbies when I got home...I found it profoundly soothing after a day of AP Physics.

posted by Fuzzbean 04 October | 12:29

Yep, Miko, the chuckle patch would have been KEY.

I had never seen it. My friend's husband was talking about it in the dressing room and found and shared You Tube vids and we went nuts. He wishes he never brought it up.

posted by rainbaby 04 October | 12:29

Scooby Doo
Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space
Arc II, which was a weird live action post apocalyptic 70s tale about a bunch of teens trying to save the environment after the end of the world. I adored it, but it didn't last long.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Kimba
H&R Puf N' Stuf - the Banana Splits
The Electric Company & Sesame Street & Zoom - anyone remember Zoom? Zoom was awesome. I was friends in high school with Nancy who was on Zoom! My claim to fame!
And then, of course, Lidsville. So weird! So awesomely strange!
Then after school it was the Monkees and the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family. And I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched - I always loved Bewitched. In 5th or 6th grade I got totally obsessed with Star Trek, which was on every weekday at 5:00 and I'd rush home to watch it; I wigged if I had to miss it. Embarrassing fact: I kept a journal of which episodes were on. I was the. world's. biggest. nerd. in 6th grade.
And here's the wonderful collection of Saturday morning cartoon soundtracks that I always push whenever something like this comes up.

posted by mygothlaundry 04 October | 12:49

My list:
Sesame Street
The Electric Company
Zoom
Romper Room
Bozo's Circus (It was practically a rite of passage for kids who grew up in the Chicago area to go to a taping at least once. At its peak there was a 10 year wait for tickets and people would sign up for the list when their kids were born! I went in first grade.)
The Muppet Show
Kidd Video
Pac-Man
Looney Tunes
Tom & Jerry
Richie Rich
Captain Kangaroo
George of the Jungle
Mr. Wizard's World
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
Big Blue Marble
Kids Incorporated
Degrassi Junior High
Silver Spoons
Diff'rent Strokes
Inspector Gadget

posted by sisterhavana 04 October | 13:17

Are there any Toronto-area bunnies who remember Tiny Talent Time? It appears to have been a local production, and only ran for a few years. Basically, a bunch of little kids would appear on it and perform a little number, singing or dancing or playing an instrument. And there was a smarmy host who would do little interviews and say to every kid before they began performing, "And So-and-so, if you could have just one wish [snapping his fingers in the kid's face for good effect], what would it be?"

My sister and I couldn't understand why our older brothers hated it so much.

I also liked "The New Adventures of Hercules". "Over here, Herc! Over here!" JumpedTheShark.com has a HYSTERICAL thread on its gay subtext, which made me laugh until tears streamed down my face when I read it.

Then there was "Uncle Bobby", which was another short-lived Canadian show. Uncle Bobby had white hair and an English accent and wore a powder blue suit. Years later some friends of a friend of mine were leaving high school at the end of the day when they saw a school bus drive up with Uncle Bobby at the wheel. They were pointing him out to each other and exclaiming, "Look! It's Uncle Bobby!" He saw them pointing at him and flipped them the bird.

My sister and I especially loved Scooby Doo and The Muppet Show, and we liked less but would watch a lot of the other shows that are mentioned here.

posted by Orange Swan 04 October | 13:40

OMG! Mr Piper is on YouTube!

And White Horses!

Oh, I am going to faint with joy now. The Singing Ringing Tree is there too!

posted by essexjan 04 October | 16:53

Mr. Dressup. Which no one else seems to recall. He died a few years ago, I was sad.
Kind of the Canadian Mr. Rodgers, but more artsy.[1]

[1]of the "let's paint what we want to be when we grow up" variety. not the "this black canvas represents the darkenss of my soul, now I shall roll nude in rosepetals as a midget pees on me to express how empty the world is"

posted by kellydamnit 04 October | 18:14

I didn't get a chance to read everyone's posts yet, so I'm sure someone will jog my memory, but here's a few I remember best:

Davey and Goliath
Looney Tunes
Land of the Lost (Sleestacks, anyone?)
Electric Company
Zoom

Now I'll go back and reminisce..

posted by redvixen 04 October | 18:26

Ooo, Ooo, I'd forgotten Kimba the White Lion, mgl! (how are you feeling, by the way?) I remember one episode clearly where Kimba is swimming, and his mother appears in the stars above him.

Also:

Good Times (not necessarily a kids show, but a favorite of mine)
The Magic Garden
Pink Panther
The Partridge Family (yep, had pictures of David Cassidy on my wall)
Captain Kangaroo
The Monkees!

posted by redvixen 04 October | 18:38

Wow, so many good memories in here!

Good shows that I'd let my kids watch:
3-2-1 Contact
Square One (haven't thought of that one in years)
Bugs Bunny (and all the old Warner Bros. cartoons)
Pee Wee's Playhouse

Shows I liked but in retrospect are just silly:
Gilligan's Island
Brady Bunch
Scooby Doo
Flintstones
Jetsons

Crap shows I would never let my own kids watch:
GI Joe
He-Man
Thundercats
Transformers

posted by Joe Invisible 04 October | 21:48

I remember The Forest Rangers, another Canadian show that was shown on UK TV. I wanted to have a fort and a gang of friends. It was very much like the Famous Five books, the kids solved crimes and interfered with the plans of criminals to do mischief.

I also adored Thunderbirds. I believed every second of it was true. I remember watching it about 10 years ago with my husband and, as Scott was on his way to T-bird 1, wearing his Sixties casuals, my husband said 'I thought they wore uniforms'. I said 'they do. By the time he gets to the cockpit, he'll have his uniform on.' And he did. How, I don't know, you never question these things as a kid.

I don't know if this one ever made it out of Australia, but Skippy The Bush Kangaroo was our very own version of Lassie. She was not a kangaroo, but a wallaby. But, just like Lassie, she had amazing communication skills. Just by a few clicking noises, everyone knew what she was saying. "What's that, Skip? Mark's fallen down the disused mine shaft three miles north-east of the billabong? And he's broken his ankle?"

And she could play the drums and piano, untie knots, scuba dive, fight snakes ... if you don't believe me, look!

On Saturday mornings, we had The Double Deckers. Incredibly cheesy, but English cheese through and through. Brinsley Forde went on to form Aswad, the reggae band, and Peter Firth became a respected actor.

And Sunday afternoon it was Follyfoot.

posted by essexjan 05 October | 01:58

Jan, Skippy is the most surreal thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm speechless.

God bless the internet.

Are you Australian by birth?

posted by chuckdarwin 05 October | 05:28

Yes, chuckd, my parents were Ten Pound Poms, but they couldn't settle in Australia and came back to the UK when I was very small.

I still feel Australian, although I've lived in the UK for practically my whole life, especially when it comes to cricket, Olympics, rugby ... It's Australia v England in the Rugby World Cup tomorrow afternoon. No doubt at all who I'll be rooting for.

posted by essexjan 05 October | 08:07

Are there any Toronto-area bunnies who remember Tiny Talent Time? It appears to have been a local production, and only ran for a few years. Basically, a bunch of little kids would appear on it and perform a little number, singing or dancing or playing an instrument. And there was a smarmy host who would do little interviews and say to every kid before they began performing, "And So-and-so, if you could have just one wish [snapping his fingers in the kid's face for good effect], what would it be?"

I REMEMBER THAT!! We got it in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, too!
I used to watch it all the time with my little sister and our cousins, almost every Sunday!

I remembered the show, but not the snapping fingers thing. Wow that takes me back!

posted by kellydamnit 05 October | 09:54

04 October 2007