July 14, 2001

5:17 PM

The end of an era, and now I can't trust *any* of my neighbours.

"After 33 years, PBS' longest-running series, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, is signing off. Fred Rogers, one of TV's most familiar faces, says it's time to say goodbye. "

Thank god he's going into syndication. The world will always need a beacon of positive thought.
posted by jcterminal (17 comments total)

wow, he was still on the air? good for him, i though he was long gone.
posted by Hackworth at 5:45 PM on July 14, 2001

I <heart> mr rogers.
posted by rebeccablood at 5:49 PM on July 14, 2001

Well, I was guilty of double-posting this a while back, so I guess this makes it a trifecta.
posted by briank at 6:08 PM on July 14, 2001

And how, rebecca. My ex and I wanted to be married by Mr. Rogers, seriously. (He's a minister, ya know.)

A zine called Bunnyhop did an interview with Mr. Rogers in 1995.

And what was up with that whole Purple Panda thing in the 70s?
posted by D.C. at 6:16 PM on July 14, 2001

I saw that interview last night. What a fantastic, wonderful guy. In a world of crap, Mr. Rogers is an oasis.
posted by owillis at 6:27 PM on July 14, 2001

Can anyone find the old esquire interview with him from a year or two back online somewhere? I remember it being really amazing.
posted by mathowie at 6:33 PM on July 14, 2001

Mr. Rogers versus Captain Kangaroo!
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:03 PM on July 14, 2001

That was the November 98 issue, which is two months before Esquire's online archives start. Google doesn't seem to be turning up a copy.
posted by fidelity at 8:30 PM on July 14, 2001

Damn...as a currently unemployed college student, I will be hard-pressed to find a program that cresecendoes into "The Price is Right" as nicely as Mr. Rogers. My summer is ruined!!!!!
posted by ttrendel at 2:24 AM on July 15, 2001

jcterminal, I'm so sorry to hear your sarcasm died.
posted by bryanboyer at 8:23 AM on July 15, 2001

my sarcasm is alive and well thank you.

how's yours?

:P
posted by jcterminal at 11:07 AM on July 15, 2001

I have the Esquire article. It's an excellent interview by Tom Junod. If anyone is interested, drop me an email, and I'll send it to you.
posted by Optamystic at 1:12 PM on July 15, 2001

This makes me feel worse than when a friend pointed out that the kids I teach never saw an episode of the muppet show.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:11 PM on July 15, 2001

Mr. Rogers defined my childhood. I think the classiest thing I ever saw, though, was his acceptance speech upon receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy. It may have been the least self-congratulatory, most uplifting moment ever on an awards show.
posted by donnagirl at 9:05 PM on July 15, 2001

This makes me feel worse than when a friend pointed out that the kids I teach never saw an episode of the muppet show.

did she ask all of them, or was this just an assumption, like the assumption I don't remember the fall of the Berlin Wall or own records?

then again, the muppet show has become terribly hard to find...
posted by dagnyscott at 7:09 AM on July 16, 2001

Here [real audio link] is a great This American Life segment on a guy who turned to Mr Rogers for help dealing with his neighbors on Chicago's West Side. The Mr Rogers section comes about 5 minutes in, after the prologue. As a child, thenarrator had had a long correspondance with Mr. Rogers, had even visited the man on Nantucket over his summer vacation, and in this segment goes to visit again to dicuss the tensions in his apartment building and on his block. Completely charming.
posted by sfz at 8:54 AM on July 16, 2001

What's gonna happen to mr. greenjean?

(I wouldn't feel too bad about all this. Being as this is the third time his 'retiring' has been reported on metafilter it looks like he has nine lives)
posted by justgary at 9:13 AM on July 16, 2001