As you may have noticed from Google this morning, today is the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street! New seasons are in production including the newest muppet, Abby Cadaby, but today is a day for our old friends. Videos a plenty to fuel your nostalgia.
posted by grapefruitmoon on Nov 4, 2009 - 72 comments

Andy's Gang - 1 2 3: "The green puppet, Froggy the Gremlin, appeared in a puff of smoke, and was always interrupting the story." [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Aug 1, 2009 - 10 comments

Is Doctor Who too scary for kids? Parents surveyed by TheBabyWebsite seem to think so. But is being scared a good thing? (via io9)
posted by Artw on May 15, 2009 - 120 comments

Just over sixty years ago the Reverend W. V. Awdry told his sick son a series of stories based on real life incidents with trains, which he later wrote up as the Railway Series. Now Thomas the Tank Engine and the other engines of the Isle of Sodor (somewhere between Barrow-in-Furness and the Isle of Man) are a global phenomena, with toys, books and of course the TV series - filmed using model trains on more than 70 1:32 scale 16-by-20-foot sets, and voiced by the likes of Ringo Starr and Alec Baldwin. 2008 has been a rough year for Thomas: George Carlin, who voiced the series in the US up until 1998, passed away (previously), as did David Mitton, who had written and directed over 180 episodes (and who has previously worked on the special effects for Thunderbirds). There's changes ahead for Thomas as well - this year saw the faces of the engines, which had previously been cast in silicone and attached with double sided tape, replaced by CGI faces, and from 2009 onwards Nitrogen studios in Canada will be taking over production with an entirely CGI Thomas. Meanwhile a group of British students continues the tradition of model engine-based storytelling with their YouTube based British Railway Series.
posted by Artw on Dec 21, 2008 - 74 comments

After 30 years, the final bell has rung and it's home time for Grange Hill... [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 18, 2008 - 29 comments

8 Forgotten Kids Shows Sure to Give You Nightmares [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Jul 13, 2008 - 51 comments

Subverting childrens television shows isn't exactly new, but when did it become mainstream?
posted by tighttrousers on Jul 28, 2005 - 15 comments

Boohbah Zone. Monday Flash Fun. On acid. With teddy-bear-seal-things.
posted by armoured-ant on Jan 17, 2005 - 27 comments

Whatever Happened to all the Great Kids' Shows? When my wife was growing up in central Connecticut, she was a big Sandy Becker fan. (The original host of Wonderama, also seen here with a very young Linda Blair). She still remembers the characters he created for his show - Norton Nork, the Big Professor, and of course Hambone. She was naturally pleased to discover Christopher Gross' excellent site celebrating the popular kid's show host and his show. Even though so much early television has been lost to the ages, the site has accumulated several video clips, including a few, um, off-color clips. (Warning - both RealPlayer and a brief dirty word). Now if only someone would give the same treatment to the show I had growing up - Foreman Scotty, on channel 4. Sigh.
posted by yhbc on May 19, 2002 - 6 comments

Bozo to hang up his nose. After 40 years on the air in Chicago, the final episode of The Bozo Show will air in August. One of the personalities ingrained into the head of every Chicago kid is going away.
posted by hijinx on Mar 25, 2001 - 14 comments