Jan 3

We noticed recently that a lot of the shows we really enjoy involve the end of the world/civilisation as we know it.  I’m not sure what this says about our warped sense of entertainment. But check it out:

Jeremiah: An older series (2002-2003) that takes place 15 years after all the adults in the world are wiped out by some type of plague.  So the current adults have grown up without any adults around, having to survive the best they can. 

Battlestar Galactica:  Started last year. This sci-fi series involves a universe where man-made machines attain consciousness and then exterminate all but about 50, 000 lucky humans who escape.  It surrounds their search for a “mythical” planet called Earth and the dilemmas that are created by these machines that are often more human than the humans would like to believe.  But again, the majority of the human population? DESTROYED.

Jericho:  Once again, destruction. But this time only in the USA, so far as we can tell.  Jericho is a small town that seems to be one of the only places that has survived a massive nuclear attack on the United States.  The series follows the citizens of this town and their struggles in the period following this disaster.

Heroes:  Heroes takes place in a pre-armadgeddon world where people with special “powers” are discovering their powers and eventually band together to prevent some kind of attack on New York City. 

24:  Like Heroes, 24 is all about the Counter Terrorist Unit in the USA trying to prevent terrorist attacks that could wipe out major portions of their population.  Fun times.

Nov 5

I’ve recently been watching the first season of Prison Break. I never got a chance to watch last year and I’m really enjoying it thus far.  Can I just say that if the security of the prison facility in the show is in any way indicative of the security of real prisons then we are in SERIOUS TROUBLE. 

The inmates seem to be able to break in and out of any “secure area” by breaking glass, shaking and rattling bars until screws pop loose and so forth.

AND POCKETS! For the love of everything holy, WHY are the inmates allowed to have pockets which they use for smuggling all kinds of contraband. Also, up their sleeves, and down their pants. Here’s a radical idea:  Give inmates pants without pockets!!! What do they need pockets for anyway?  And while you’re at it, no shirts or pants either. The ratings can only go up. :)

Oct 5

We watched the season premiere of LOST last night.  It continued it’s long standing tradition of answering just enough questions to keep you hooked and creating about ten thousand new ones.  It drives me crazy but I just can’t stop watching.  I enjoy the writing and it definitely keeps me interested.  Here’s to another season of waiting for each new episode only to be driven to new heights of madness when the hour ends with yet another cliffhanger.  Cheers.

Sep 26

I WAS disappointed that I missed the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy when it aired on TV but since I read that CTV actually aired the second episode of the season instead of the first I was glad that I downloaded it and therefore saw the correct episode unlike the suckers who tuned in on Thursday! Ha!  And it was a good one. 

A great big thank you to all of you who helped us reshingle our roof yesterday.  My husband is so relieved to have it finished and we appreciate all of you very much.  It is such a blessing to have friends like you.  If we look fatter next time you see us it’s because of the vast amounts of donuts that were dropped off!

Avery has almost lost her voice as a result of the cold and cough she’s had and it’s quite amusing and more than a little nice. Three year olds need to be reminded constantly to speak quietly, particularly when there is a sleeping baby around. She does relatively well most of the time but it was kind of awesome to have her not be able to speak above a whisper! Too bad it can’t last.

Sep 3

One more show I forgot in my TV critique:

  • Save ‘Ums:  My most important and burning question with this show is what are these creatures supposed to be? Each character is a different color, shape, and size and clearly some of the Save ‘Ums have higher mental capabilities than others.  How can these creatures who aren’t even the same species communicate effectively and how did they end up together in the first place?  One Star
Aug 29

We’ve had cable this summer and as a result, I have come to know many kids tv shows more intimately than I’d like to admit.  “Kids CBC” and “Treehouse” have been saving my sanity, but I fear that they are lowering my daughter’s IQ.  I have learned that, as much as Treehouse is marketed as being so great for kids (because it has no commercials and all the shows are aimed at a preschool audience), probably 80% of the shows on this channel are pretty useless.  So since I have been critiquing these shows all summer I might as well go ahead and post them on my blog.  This list is by no means exhaustive, but these are the shows I feel I have seen enough times to have an opinion on.

  • Dora the Explorer:  One of the most annoying kids shows on television.  I know little kids like repetition but this show takes repetition to a whole new level of ridiculousity (it’s a word. oh yes it is.).  And why does Dora feel the need to shout every other word?  It makes me want to COMMIT acts of VIOLENCE!  Can YOU say ACTS of VIOLENCE?  VIOLENCE!  VIOLENCE!  VIIIIIOOOOOLEEEEEENCE!!!!! And now in Spanish…   One Star
  • Backyardigans:  Kind of a weird show with characters that are random animals, some that I recognize, others that I don’t.  But all in all it’s kind of a fun show and has good stories all centered around kids (animals) playing imaginary games in their back yards.  Four Stars
  • Franklin: This show has pretty good stories with decent lessons to learn about friendships and just basic values.  However, I have a hard time understanding why the main character has a real name (Franklin) but every other character in the show is simply called by their species (Bear, Fox, Beaver).  It doesn’t fit with my sense of order in the universe.  Four Stars
  • The Big Comfy Couch:  Sort of cute, has some good lessons for kids including learning to clean up after oneself. Lacks really compelling storylines. Three Stars
  • Little Bear:  Other than the fact that there is no turtle character I find this show almost indistinguishable from Franklin. But at least ALL the animals are called by their species name.  This show is just so bland. That’s the best word I can think of to describe it.  One Star
  • Rolie Polie Olie: I don’t know why, but it took me 2 months of seeing this show before I caught on that the characters are supposed to be some kind of robots.  I find the storylines somewhat engaging but more often than not this is overshadowed by the creepiness factor.  Every single item in the show has a face with eyes that blink.  Everything. The couch, the lamp, the door, the outside of the house, the plants, the sun, the windows.  These inanimate objects have faces and blink but never say anything or interact with the characters in any way!  It’s like watching some kind of bizarre horror movie.  Another annoying feature of this show is the Zoe, the younger sister robot who is supposed to be quite young.  I don’t know if there is a non-annoying way to imitate baby-talk but this certainly isn’t it.  Her speech is really grating.  Despite all of this, the show has grown on me a little bit over the past few months.  Two and a Half Stars
  • Berenstein Bears:  I think this show is mostly just an animation of the same stories that are in all the books.  I grew up reading the Berenstein Bears so I enjoy this one.  I think the lessons are really good ones. Five Stars
  • Dragon: A claymation aimed at people with the intelligence of a stalk of celery.  I think it is supposed to be funny but I just find it lame.  In one episode Dragon (the main character) wants to get mail so he decides to write himself a letter.  A drama ensues when Dragon encounters problems with trying to get mail.  It’s just dumb.  One Star
  • Poko: I love this show.  I think it deals with one of the most common themes that my daughter is dealing with right now: How to deal with frustration in a healthy way.  Preschoolers deal with this a lot.  Most episodes of Poko follow Poko as he tries to play with his dog or his toy monkey and the different frustrations that he must deal with when things don’t go as planned or when he is unable to do what he wants to do.  The claymation is really good and Avery loves this one, too.  My only question: why does Poko always wear colors that are typically classified as “girl colors”?  I am not sexist and I have no problem if Poko wants to wear purple and pink.  But why does he always wear those colors?  Does he have something against red and green and orange?  He should branch out! Five Stars
  • Pinky Dinky Doo: Another good show.  A weird combination of animation and…what do I call it?  Clip art?  Basically Pinky tells her little brother “made up” stories and kids learn at least one new word (such as flabbergasted, bizarre, cacophony).  There are “games” after the story is over to recall different characters, sounds or the order of the plot which I think is a good way to do repetition.  Five Stars
  • Lunar Jim: Star Trek for Preschoolers.  This show takes place on the moon (or some planet) with several astronauts and even an artificial lifeform.  It’s cute and it teaches important things like environmental stewardship and cooperation.  Of course, I like science fiction.  I’m not sure what people who are not so fond of sci-fi would think.  Five Stars
  • Ebb and Flo:  Soooooo boring.  Every episode feels like it’s about nothing. I can’t stand this one and neither can Avery. One Star
  • Max and Ruby:  Or, as I like to call it, “The Orphan Bunnies”.  There are NO adults in Max and Ruby’s life except Ruby’s bunny Scout leader.  Ruby is clearly a child herself and yet she is the one who takes care of her little brother Max who can’t even say 2 word sentences.  She feeds him, bathes him, and is completely responsible for him.  Someone should call Child (or Bunny) Services.  Besides not being able to talk much, I get the feeling Max has some sort of mental disability or developmental delay, likely due to the lack of parental involvement.  You have to wonder, is their mother drunk as a skunk and passed out upstairs and ruby is just covering for her and acting like everything is ok when deep down she is a shattered little bunny?  Three Stars
  • Nana Lan’:  This is kind of a muppet rip-off that I find extremely irritating. The premise is a small child that goes to her Nana’s house every day while her mother works.  The Nana is a human-ish muppet. So why on earth is the little girl muppet some sort of green alien-type muppet?  This makes no sense to me.  Was there some sort of genetic mutation in which the daughter and her daughter have become radioactive?  A side effect of this radioactivity is that the little girl can apparently only speak gibberish.  I just find it annoying and I can’t get past that enough to tell if there are good stories or valuable lessons to learn.  One Star
  • Mighty Machines: I like to watch this show because I always learn cool stuff. It’s like watching those “How It’s Made” shows on the discovery channel.  I know a lot of little boys watch this show and maybe some girls like it, but Avery’s not that into it.  But I think it’s a cool and genuinely educational show.  Four Stars
  • Bob the /builder:  This show is fairly well done and the annoyance factor is quite low.  It is interesting that they have the exact same shows with the same lines done in North America with North American voice actors and then in Great Britain with British voice actors.  It’s interesting to hear the difference.  I think it really emphasizes good work ethic and takind pride in a job well done which is a good thing for kids to learn about.  Four Stars
  • Miffy and Friends: This show wins the prize for most addictive theme song. I find myself singing it all the time.  However it’s not an aggravating song that you wish would get out of your head.  The show is very simplistic in setting and story line but again, my daughter loves it.  Her taste is hard to predict.  Three Stars
  • Clifford the Big Red Dog/Clifford’s Puppy Days: These shows are both fun to watch.  In one Clifford is the enormous dog we all recognize and in the other we see Clifford as a puppy who was smaller than all the other animals.  Both shows encourage loyalty, friendship and honesty and make you feel warm and fuzzy.  I think it’s a good one. Five Stars
  • Thomas and Friends: I hated this show when I was a kid and nothing has changed.  I know the stories have good morals but I just don’t like it.  The theme song, however, is always in my head if I hear it on tv. I just don’t like the non-moveable faces on the trains.  I don’t have a good reason.  So there you go. Two Stars
  • Timothy Goes to School: This one is ok.  It’s also kind of bland.  One interesting character is a cat (all the characters are animals) who is supposed to be Japanese, while I suppose all the other animals are “North American”.  There is some exploration of cultural difference which is neat.  Nothing remarkable to say either for or against.  Three Stars
  • Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends:  Another show that I kind of like and don’t know why I like it.  It’s all about young bugs who are all different and trying to get along.  But somehow all these different bugs have a mother who is a big spider. How a spider gave birth to all manner of different kinds of bugs, I can’t say. But there are some important themes like courage, self-confidence and friendship. Five Stars
  • This is Daniel Cook: This show is more of kid’s “Reality TV” show.  Daniel Cook is a little boy who “interviews” different people and learns how to do all kinds of different things from baking cookies to flying a hot air balloon. My only problem with Daniel is that he always interrupts the people he is supposed to be learning from.  You’d think if he is going to be the “star” of a show they could take five minutes to explain to him the importance of good manners.  I find him a bit rude, although it’s more in the childish, oblivious way, than in the bratty way.  Four Stars
  • Dragon Tales: This one is more fantasy than reality but it’s nice.  Two kids travel to a world inhabited by friendly dragons. They have different adventures which teach them about caring about others’ feelings, trying new things, and following instructions.  This one is another big hit with Avery.  Four Stars
  • Zooboomafoo: Discovery Channel for preschoolers.  Two adults and a leaping Lemur named Zooboomafoo learn about different kinds of animals.  It encourages appreciation of and fascination with animals of all shapes and sizes.  A great show.  Five Stars