The Quality of Some Children's Shows

Having spent the last seven days with a twelve-year-old, I've seen a lot more shows from Nickelodeon than I have in the last few years. Boy how things have changed, and not necessarily for the better.

I grew up during the time that we had Bugs Bunny, Gumby, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Rogers, Zoom, and The Electric Company. The worst thing I saw as a kid was Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff and hitting the ground without getting seriously hurt.

Then in the late 80's, Ren and Stimpy debuted. There had been some talk about other cartoons on other networks being controversial because of the battle violence depicted or because they seemed more like 30 minute commercials for children's toys. In my opinion, Ren and Stimpy crossed the line with regular references to used kitty litter, dried nasal mucous, and flatulence. Obviously, it hasn't stopped there.

During this time, Nickelodeon came out with the Dare programs that had people covered in harmless "green slime." It didn't look the greatest in the world, but at least it (I'm assuming) it was clean. Now they've got a show featuring the cast from All That having other kids do really disgusting things like drinking a gallon of human sweat. The twelve-year-old watching the commercial for the show also reacted with an "ewwwwww," while giggling at the same time. This is supposed to be children's entertainment? When did grossing people out become a spectator sport?

Like other programs that focus on the gross-out factor, I do exercise my right to change the channel or turn the television off. Because I was with other people, I tried to keep my mouth shut. However, I finally had to respectfully speak up and state that the commercial and some of the cartoons were revulsing me. I'm not a prude, but I do draw the line at gross-out humor featuring bodily functions and fluids.

I admit I have no children, but if I did, I would be very concerned with them watching cartoons and shows of this caliber. I know people say that kids are fascinated with this kind of entertainment, but they'd be fascinated with "tamer" entertainment if it was more readily available. I wish there was a wider variety of programming available instead of the current genre being cranked out by a select few in Hollywood.

sigh Where's Gumby when you need him?