The Captain Has Left The Building

Sesame Street, Zoom, The Electric Company, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, and Saturday morning cartoons, these were the children’s programs I grew up watching. And I can’t leave out a local favorite: Uncle Zeb’s Cartoon Camp.

There are so many children’s shows now, some I let my kids watch and lots that I don’t. Three channels are pretty reliable for us: Noggin, Sprout, and Boomerang. They have favorite shows, some tolerable, some inexplicable. The Captain Has Left The Building will be an ongoing series for as long as I have to put up with this stuff. Here’s my run-down of the ones they watch, even if only occasionally, in no particular order:

Max and Ruby- they’re bunnies, in pants (and dresses). Ruby is the big sister who constantly micro-manages her little brother Max. Max is the stinky little brother who is determined to show his sister that she’s not the boss of him! We never see or hear Max and Ruby’s parents, nor are they ever referred to by anyone. There is a ne’er-do-well Grandmother, who is Max’s chief accomplice; there are scout leaders, shopkeepers, bus drivers, other parents, but apparently no direct adult supervision for the Max and Ruby. They do all sorts of things and go on all sorts of adventures that usually involve riding buses and wandering around town all by themselves. This one baffles Hubby, he says, “Who is letting them wander around all by themselves?!” And I have to remind him, “They’re bunnies, in pants.”

Dora the Explorer/Go Diego Go!- If you have not heard of these two programs then you must live in a cabin, in the deep woods, with no kids. I highly approve of these shows and even get a kick out of them myself. Children are asked to get up and help climb trees or pull ropes or jump in the air. And my 3-year old has even picked up a few Spanish words. The other day she said, “Gracias” to me instead of thank you. There are mysteries to solve, maps to follow, animals to save, monkeys and sneaky foxes to outwit. I only have one small problem with these shows–marketing. For now, I just try to keep them out of that aisle at the store.

To Be Continued…