Jul 13

Jul 13 Bailey's PBS Memories

Who didn't love the daytime ‘PBS Kids’ programming block as a kid? I don't know if it was the perfect mixture of learning and entertainment, or the fact that there were no commercials, but PBS was probably my most-frequented television channel... And since I have maxed out my emotional stamina (at the moment), I feel no shame in taking a stroll down memory lane. Let us travel back to the '90s, as I reminisce over my favorite PBS programming from my childhood. And yes, there will most definitely be more installments.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (NET 1968-1970, PBS 1971-2001) - We can't begin talking about child-oriented programming on PBS without discussing the man who saved PBS by convincing the Senate to further fund the station by utilizing his skills as an emotional genius to simply and beautifully state his case. This, of course, was just the person Fred Rogers was, and it shows in every episode of his decades-spanning television show. Rogers' program was a safe, quiet space for children (and, let's face it, adults) to discover and acquaint themselves with a myriad of experiences and emotions. Even as a child, I could tell that Mr. Rogers made an effort to ‘see’ people, even when addressing a television camera. We could certainly use his special brand of appreciation and care to this day.

Shining Time Station (1989-1993) - For many American '90s kids, this was our introduction to “Thomas the Tank Engine.”This program was one of the series I remember watching back when I lived in Maine (I left Maine at age two, so you can imagine the impression the show left on me). I loved the anthropomorphized trains, the charming conductor, who was sometimes Ringo Starr and sometimes George Carlin, and I even loved the admittedly slightly creepy puppets that lived in a jukebox and played royalty-free music. My most vivid toddler memory of the series is a scene in which one of the jokester characters tricks some kids by offering them a giant lollipop that turns out to just be a tiny lollipop wrapped up a bunch of times. I've searched for this scene on YouTube and haven't found it yet . So, all you Shining Time Station nuts out there, reach out and help me confirm that I didn't make this up. Please and thank you!

Between the Lions (2000-2010) - I was a bit too old to watch this show, even when it first aired (I was eight years old and had been an avid reader for four years), but I found it so hilarious that I watched it regularly. The series took place in a Sesame Street-esque puppet-inhabited universe, where a family of lions lived in and ran a library. A character or guest would read a short children's story every episode, the remainder of which was dedicated to sketches that built reading skills for a slightly older audience than that of Sesame Street. So many recurring segments come to mind at the thought of this series: "Arty Smartypants" (in which a demented-looking puppet magician with comically large pants would mix sounds in them to make a word); "What's Cooking" (in which the two librarian lions followed a recipe of rhyming words, only to note how long it took to cook the meal, and resort to gorging on the raw meat); and, possibly my favorite, "Cliff Hanger" (an animated segment in which a man hanging from a cliff was nearly saved in every installment, only to find himself hanging from the same cliff at the end). There were also some memorable and catchy tunes. The "Ten Small Words" song still pops in my head occasionally.

Only three PBS series to discuss today, but there are so many more to revisit! What are your favorite PBS memories? Did you get hooked on a series where you knew that you were older than the target audience? Let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to change into your house shoes when you get home!