MovieChat Forums > Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968) Discussion > Mister Rogers' Neighborhood replaced wit...

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood replaced with...

posted 12 years ago by Shaftaire_of_Astora
12 replies | jump to latest

Not everywhere, but in a lot of places it was replaced with two incredibly inane shows with very little educational value. Those shows? The Teletubbies and Boohbah, and if you've seen them you know how sad it is that they are what children of this generation are getting instead of the amazingly talented and intelligent Mister Rogers. Pretty much the exact opposite of what's on now. I see no reason why they couldn't have replayed any of the thousands of shows from the past. What a shame :(

When I have children I'm going to do my best to make sure they don't even know that kind of stuff exists.

[–] stevde2 12 years ago

I hear you. Unfortunately, aside from some of the later episodes of the late 90s, the Neighborhood shows are dated and harder for children to identify with these days. It would've been nice if Fred had passed the torch (see the other thread I created on this) so he could've have a successor, but he didn't. In a bad way, Fred helped fuel the intensity of these other shows by slowing down in the late 90s and not having someone replace him. It's a shame - and I know Fred wasn't some kind of television savior, but he did let down a lot in this regard. Oh well.

[–] Rockhound6165 12 years ago

Actually, it's been replaced by Mr. Tiger's Neighborhood. It is the same idea with some of the same characters like King Friday and such. Even has the same theme song. I have it on now with my foster son. I like it so far.

[–] ExplorerDS6789 12 years ago

"the Neighborhood shows are dated and harder for children to identify with these days. It would've been nice if Fred had passed the torch (see the other thread I created on this) so he could've have a successor, but he didn't. In a bad way, Fred helped fuel the intensity of these other shows by slowing down in the late 90s and not having someone replace him. It's a shame - and I know Fred wasn't some kind of television savior, but he did let down a lot in this regard. Oh well."

Maybe to a point. I mean, when I was a little, they showed a good amount of the '70s episodes and it didn't matter much to me... sure there were small differences between the '70s and '80s, just like the '80s and '90s to the '00s and '10s, but that's small potatoes.
As for passing on the torch... to whom? This is MISTER ROGERS' Neighborhood, without Mr. Rogers, it's just a neighborhood.

He didn't let down anything, you're probably just too young to remember or appreciate his legacy, and I don't blame you, I mean, look what your generation os subjected to.

Besides, would you want his show to turn out like Sesame Street is now? I swear, watch an episode from the '80s and the watch one now. It's an entirely different show!

[–] jdsven 12 years ago

Right on about Sesame Street. I'm not sure how much infleunce Jim Henson had on Sesame Street as it wasn't his brain child like the Muppet Show, but the years Henson was with them were much stronger than it is now.

Mr. Rogers would have probably went the same way. Look at the new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhod .Sure a bit of me starts smiling when I hear the classic theme, but it's just not the same as the genuine article.

[–] ExplorerDS6789 12 years ago

Right, and you know what I've noticed about the shows on PBS Kids today? They're all animated. Sure there's Sesame Street, but the focus is more on the Muppets and cartoons than the human characters. There's Caillou, Cat in the Hat, Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Super Why!, and Sid the Science Kid to name a few. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're good shows chock full of educational material, but the problem with exposing your child to nothing but cartoons, they don't get a taste of reality. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood focused on real people who do real things. He talked about REAL things, we got to see REAL things. He also showed there was a time for make-believe and a time for being quiet and relaxed. That was the magic of Fred Rogers and his show, it had such a mellowing effect on the viewer and it didn't over-stimulate like I'm sure these newer, animated shows are doing. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood may have some of the lessons Fred taught, but again, it's a cartoon.

There's nothing wrong with kids watching cartoons, hell, I was hooked on them when I was little, but there was a balance. I watched cartoons AND live-action programs and movies. When I was of kindergarten age, Sesame Street, Mister Rogers and occasionally Reading Rainbow were all I needed. Then Lamb Chop's Play-Along and Shining Time Station, two live-action shows with real people (and puppets). You've got to have a balance. Dated or not, PBS needs to start airing Mister Rogers again, preferably before Sesame Street or after the cartoon cluster.

Do you see what I'm getting at here?

[–] scribe1270 12 years ago

Sesame Street is the brain child of Joan Ganz Cooney, so you will have to bring up any problems with Sesame Street with her.

[–] pooka5472 11 years ago

Joan Ganz Cooney does not run CTW anymore. The company is now run by H. Melvin Ming.

[–] ExplorerDS6789 11 years ago

Joan Ganz Cooney does not run CTW anymore. The company is now run by H. Melvin Ming.

Ming the Merciless?

[–] pooka5472 8 years ago

Update, Mel Ming has left the company, and Jeffrey D. Dunn has taken over.

[–] ExplorerDS6789 8 years ago

Update, Mel Ming has left the company, and Jeffrey D. Dunn has taken over.

Pretty funny names those guys have.

[–] PrincessMagical 11 years ago

Any child can appreciate Mister Rogers. It's not dated.

Your chains are still mine, you belong to me! - The Phantom Of The Opera

[–] Troll_Dahl 11 years ago

It's worth noting that Teletubbies existed when Mr. Rogers was still on the air, at least on my station (WHYY) and I think they were still showing reruns when Boobah started up. You also have to bear in mind that those shows are explicitly intended for very young children. Kids in early grade school can still get a lot out of Mr. Rogers (hell, I still get a lot from Mr. Rogers as an adult!), but Teletubbies is designed for kids under the age of, say, three. Doesn't mean it's the best thing around, but it is a difference. Mr. Rogers' primary target audience probably went up to six or seven-year-olds or so.

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