Adults should watch Mr. Rogers

[mr3urious]

One other great thing about the show is the music. Longtime composer Johnny Costa played some very sophisticated jazz arrangements on the show, and refused to play "baby music". I just realized that that way of thinking is brilliantly reflected in the opening, where it starts off with a dreamy celesta against the miniature neighborhood as if to mock that "babyish" tone, then immediately segues into a more complex piano jazz sound as a nice bait-and-switch.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Johnny Costa wasn't alone. Once in a while, Fred sat down at the piano and he could rip it up too.
Once Fred stopped by the music store, and they had the mother of all jams. Fred and Johnny on duelling pianos, Joe Negri on guitar, Francois Clemens singing, two others on drums and bass. Awesome doesn't even describe it. But Fred Rogers could get down with the best of them! 8)

 

[mr3urious]

You know what the biggest missed opportunity on the show was? Mister Rogers meeting Bob Ross. They're both mellow, happy, devoutly Christian men, making it a perfect combination! Alas, that never came to be.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Dude.... YES! That would have been perfect....

 

[Hayley B]

The one episode that I would love to fully see, is the one where he had Margaret Hamilton. Pieces of that I've seen makes me think how sweet of him to have done that and show everyone how nice she really was.

 

[mr3urious]

Dude.... YES! That would have been perfect....

I could see an episode where Fred tries to paint some happy little trees, or Bob tries to play the piano. Neither may be very good at it, but it could be a lesson in that just because someone's good at something, that doesn't mean they're good at other things, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. The most important thing is that they did their best and had fun.

 

[mr3urious]

Now here's a clip of Mister Rogers getting upset over a puzzle he was about to solve after Mr. McFeely takes it away. It's pretty amusing seeing him get so upset (well, upset for his standards, anyway), but even more so is of McFeely, which during these early years was always in a hurry and apparently on several kinds of uppers.

And here he is in Soviet Russia meeting the cast and crew of Good Night, Little Ones!, a childrens' show that's pretty much an institution to this very day over there. Especially heartwarming is Daniel meeting up with Khryusha the piglet.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I also loved the way his neighborhood changed over the years in the opening and closing credits.
It always started from his real home and ends at his neighborhood home. In the early years, his house was shaped like the NET logo. That changed in 1970 when NET became the PBS we all know and love.