YouTube Tuesday: Reminiscing

Television programming for children sucks. There, I said it. We watch all of our T.V. on DVD. Not that that's much better; we get super bolus 92 minute injections of Dora instead of regular 23 minute intervals as live T.V. would bring us. There are some clever shows out there. Ben Ten has some pretty awesome aliens. And there's this other karate/ninja something show with a cowboy & a team of other things. But as a whole, it's really gone downhill since I was a kid. The 80s, in my humble opinion, were the pinnacle for Saturday morning cartoons. We had new ones and we had reruns from previous decades which {again my opinion} culminated in the perfect storm of t.v. viewing bliss. C'mon, we all enjoy a good show.

I have collected a list of different shows on YouTube and, to tell you the truth, I am a bit shocked! I didn't think I had seen that many different shows. But then again, it was the era of combining 4 into one. Nickelodeon had shows such as 'You Can't Do That on Television' and 'Pinwheel' which were comprised of a main story strung together with related vignettes of skits. Here's a quick list, in no particular order:

- Today's Special - Mr. Wizard - 3-2-1 Contact - Picture Page - Kid's Incorporated - Alvin & the Chipmunks - Smurfs - Gummi Bears - Gem (she's truly outrageous) - Inspector Gadget - He-Man - Pinwheel - Danger Mouse - Bozo the Clown -

I'm leaving a lot out. My parents will probably see this and think, "What is she talking about?" I know that's what I'll think when my children look back on their television viewing of the 2000s. {really, what's up with the name for this whole decade? well, that's a whole different discussion} It took me a while to catch on to Ben Ten. I realized, in Spring '08, that my kids had a whole cartoon figured out & were pretending it on the playground, and I had no clue what they were doing. I thought they had invented some of it, but then, I was suspicious. They explained it was from a cartoon called 'Ben Ten'. Hmmm. Let me tell you, Ben has some pretty cool aliens.

I haven't even mentioned sitcoms, but then again, I'd rather not delve into how much of my life I've wasted on television. I wish there was a way just to share my play list, but here's the highlights.

This first one still pops into my head at weird times. And won't leave. I can remember this silly short from 25 years ago, but I still don't know where I left my cell phone.



3-2-1 Contact. One of the finest shows that PBS had to offer. They need more of these kinds of shows. Everything doesn't have to be in animation. I loved this in first grade!



And a final addition, Picture Pages with Bill Cosby. Talk about an addictive song. Oh, and btw, when I was going through these vids with my kids, they were not sure how to react. First came the, 'You watched this when you were our age?' and then I could just see the thought bubble above their heads filling with 'Wow, she is demented! She thinks this is the best? Oooo-kay Mom.' Enjoy.