The Top Ten Weirdest, Creepiest, Freakiest Children's Television Shows
I added a long comment of my own at the bottom of shiveredsky's essay, which I will also post here below the link to the original essay. The TV shows listed here are in many cases more than a little creepy, but so is the original essay, and the comments --omg! Anyway, here's the link:
"This is a list of the top ten children’s television shows currently being aired on US television that give me the willies. This is my opinion, and my opinion alone. The list doesn't include old shows, but if it did many of these would probably remain on the list. This is also a list of shows geared toward pre-school aged kids, 'cause after that there are just too many. . . ." More on linked page.
My comment:
1) Back when I saw my first TV show -- 1948; I was 3 then -- they had such gems as Thunderbolt the Wonder Colt (no good description of it on the Web that I could find, but you might be able to find it via a Web search), a seriously retarded hand-puppet venture. They also had some good ones then, but that's true now, as well.
2) On Peewee Herman: it's adults that comprise(d?) the bulk of this show's audience. It contains a lot of subtle subtexts that adults spot instantly but which go right over the heads of children under, say, 12 (or maybe, by now, 6 -- these days, between public schools and the media, you can't be certain just how much your small child knows about sex and other adult concerns).
3) Boards of Canada: they provide the soundtrack for David Firth's "Salad Fingers" animations. 'Nuff said.
4) Cat intelligence: I can see why a cat, a dedicated carnivore, would like Boobah -- the damned things look just like wiggly prey.
5) What the hell is wrong with role-models such as Mr. Rogers, anyway? Some faces/voices can set off an atypical aversive response by a few people because of genetic differences or something, but Mr. Rogers himself was always kind, gracious, civilized, and otherwise a great role-model. There's this "barbarian chic" attitude that finds everything civilized to be "creepy" or otherwise repellant. Okay, you barbarians go play Conan over there, and we civilized types will do our best to prevent our civilization from falling in spite of your best efforts. Okay?
6) Urban legends: Why are so many people so ready to believe the worst about someone they don't even know on the strength of mere rumor from an unknown source? Why this delight in character assassination for the sake of it?
7) General comment: Looking over this list of weird children's TV shows and many of the comments on it, I no longer wonder why people have become progressively more ignorant, borderline psychotic, prone to borderline personality disorder, and otherwise dysfunctional. The question remaining is: How has the modern world lasted as long as it has? Maybe there is a kind, just God who doesn't want us to become extinct. Because I can't think how we have otherwise escaped the fate of all self-destructive species for so long.
"This is a list of the top ten children’s television shows currently being aired on US television that give me the willies. This is my opinion, and my opinion alone. The list doesn't include old shows, but if it did many of these would probably remain on the list. This is also a list of shows geared toward pre-school aged kids, 'cause after that there are just too many. . . ." More on linked page.
My comment:
1) Back when I saw my first TV show -- 1948; I was 3 then -- they had such gems as Thunderbolt the Wonder Colt (no good description of it on the Web that I could find, but you might be able to find it via a Web search), a seriously retarded hand-puppet venture. They also had some good ones then, but that's true now, as well.
2) On Peewee Herman: it's adults that comprise(d?) the bulk of this show's audience. It contains a lot of subtle subtexts that adults spot instantly but which go right over the heads of children under, say, 12 (or maybe, by now, 6 -- these days, between public schools and the media, you can't be certain just how much your small child knows about sex and other adult concerns).
3) Boards of Canada: they provide the soundtrack for David Firth's "Salad Fingers" animations. 'Nuff said.
4) Cat intelligence: I can see why a cat, a dedicated carnivore, would like Boobah -- the damned things look just like wiggly prey.
5) What the hell is wrong with role-models such as Mr. Rogers, anyway? Some faces/voices can set off an atypical aversive response by a few people because of genetic differences or something, but Mr. Rogers himself was always kind, gracious, civilized, and otherwise a great role-model. There's this "barbarian chic" attitude that finds everything civilized to be "creepy" or otherwise repellant. Okay, you barbarians go play Conan over there, and we civilized types will do our best to prevent our civilization from falling in spite of your best efforts. Okay?
6) Urban legends: Why are so many people so ready to believe the worst about someone they don't even know on the strength of mere rumor from an unknown source? Why this delight in character assassination for the sake of it?
7) General comment: Looking over this list of weird children's TV shows and many of the comments on it, I no longer wonder why people have become progressively more ignorant, borderline psychotic, prone to borderline personality disorder, and otherwise dysfunctional. The question remaining is: How has the modern world lasted as long as it has? Maybe there is a kind, just God who doesn't want us to become extinct. Because I can't think how we have otherwise escaped the fate of all self-destructive species for so long.