Theories why Bear came to an end

[Drtooth]

Also, you on dialup? You can pretty much snag whole seasons of whatever in an hour or two. I still buy boxsets here and there as a collector, but alot of stuff hasnt been made commerically available in the US

You want something new? Shoot, there's a wealth of stuff I guarantee you havent seen and would love out there

Yeah, I've had BAAAAAAD experiences in the past trying to get this stuff. Trust me on it. I just usually watch stuff on Youtube. I saw the ENTIRE run of the 80's Kinnikuman series there before Toei pulled it all down. Didn't get a chance to see the Scramble for the Throne series, though.

But I said it before and I'll say it again. it's a paradox. There's nothing out there forcing everyone to go online, and with everyone online, no one wants to spend the money it used to take. That's why Pushing Daisies got pulled after the second season... the production values weren't worth the ratings. Especially kid's television which, even without kids mass exodous from television, you have to admit, it's overly regulated by nut jobs of all kinds, causing it to be unprofitable.

Aside from that and getting back to the subject, I HATE when stuff that isn't interactive tries to be interactive. If you want interactive stuff for your kids, buy them some computer games (and there's no excuse... I've seen preschool games, even pre-preschool games). That's what's wrong with the still profitable preschool programming, and why we desperately need to see Bear reruns back.

 

[beaker]

Yeah, I've had BAAAAAAD experiences in the past trying to get this stuff. Trust me on it. I just usually watch stuff on Youtube. I saw the ENTIRE run of the 80's Kinnikuman series there before Toei pulled it all down. Didn't get a chance to see the Scramble for the Throne series, though.

But I said it before and I'll say it again. it's a paradox. There's nothing out there forcing everyone to go online, and with everyone online, no one wants to spend the money it used to take. That's why Pushing Daisies got pulled after the second season... the production values weren't worth the ratings. Especially kid's television which, even without kids mass exodous from television, you have to admit, it's overly regulated by nut jobs of all kinds, causing it to be unprofitable.

Aside from that and getting back to the subject, I HATE when stuff that isn't interactive tries to be interactive. If you want interactive stuff for your kids, buy them some computer games (and there's no excuse... I've seen preschool games, even pre-preschool games). That's what's wrong with the still profitable preschool programming, and why we desperately need to see Bear reruns back.

I was just thinking recently how I miss simplicity.

Case in point dude: I went to this local massive electronic store yesterday with a friend. We spent over an hour there, as he was intent on buying some sort of box that syncs up all the internet, blu ray and other stuff into a centralized hub. So he can watch youtube, netflix, etc on one tv or switch to another. He's the type who is always fidgeting on his iphone or having to have the latest gadget. All the stores are now phasing out dvds. They are punishing dvd folks by 1) including no extras/putting all the extras and features on the blu rays and 2) releasing blu rays at the same price or even cheaper than the dvd versions.
All the tvs I saw today were 55" LED 1080p, some were even 3d. Disney has been hyping their 3d tvs.

Tooth, where does it end? I saw a special program on all these emerging "smart cities" and planned futuristic technopolis cities around the world. Integrated technology, "smart" this, "smart that"...we're soon going to be truly living in this 1984-Matrix-Equillbrium situation.

I bring this up, as I kind of long for the more simpler days. Bear and Fraggle Rock certainly symbolize this. Old 80's and early 90's arcade and console games symbolize this. I fear where we're headed, and especially what kids will be like the more and more everything gets so complex. A part of me welcomes change and technology, another part of me worries where we as a society are headed.

 

[Drtooth]

I bring this up, as I kind of long for the more simpler days. Bear and Fraggle Rock certainly symbolize this. Old 80's and early 90's arcade and console games symbolize this. I fear where we're headed, and especially what kids will be like the more and more everything gets so complex. A part of me welcomes change and technology, another part of me worries where we as a society are headed.

The problem with technology is that it makes things so much easier and simpler, that it winds up killing a lot of fun stuff that becomes obsolete in the process. Arcades, television (you cannot lie down in bed and use a computer if you're having trouble sleeping but are too woozy to get up), stuff like that. Sure, there are things that are better, but I'd rather go to an arcade and play a whole bunch of creaky old arcade machines than to just download roms, where I can save and load state abusively.

And kids that are really little... there's no way I'd give them an iPad or iPhone. They need to watch regular TV. And again, that's where Bear and stuff comes in. The fact of the matter is, we're too reliant on everything, and frankly, that's also why we're all a lot bigger than we should be for one thing. And there's such a social scene we're missing in NOT going to movie theaters and boo-ing the trailers that suck, or going to arcades and having people hand you quarters to desperately finish a game. Sure, we have all this stuff to let us "talk" to each other here, but even someone like me who's a complete wallflower thinks this is impersonal.

Technology can make things obsolete, yes... but I really think things need to co-exist and sit side by side. E-readers should NEVER replace real books and libraries, Netflix should never replace movie theaters, X-Box downloads shouldn't replace arcades. You ever get a hundred tickets from an X-Box to win a plastic army man?

 

[beaker]

The problem with technology is that it makes things so much easier and simpler, that it winds up killing a lot of fun stuff that becomes obsolete in the process. Arcades, television (you cannot lie down in bed and use a computer if you're having trouble sleeping but are too woozy to get up), stuff like that. Sure, there are things that are better, but I'd rather go to an arcade and play a whole bunch of creaky old arcade machines than to just download roms, where I can save and load state abusively.

And kids that are really little... there's no way I'd give them an iPad or iPhone. They need to watch regular TV. And again, that's where Bear and stuff comes in. The fact of the matter is, we're too reliant on everything, and frankly, that's also why we're all a lot bigger than we should be for one thing. And there's such a social scene we're missing in NOT going to movie theaters and boo-ing the trailers that suck, or going to arcades and having people hand you quarters to desperately finish a game. Sure, we have all this stuff to let us "talk" to each other here, but even someone like me who's a complete wallflower thinks this is impersonal.

Technology can make things obsolete, yes... but I really think things need to co-exist and sit side by side. E-readers should NEVER replace real books and libraries, Netflix should never replace movie theaters, X-Box downloads shouldn't replace arcades. You ever get a hundred tickets from an X-Box to win a plastic army man?

Man, I have such fond memories of near panic attack moments at the end boss and desperately needing a continue to finish the game. Or joining in on TMNT with people you dont even know, but instantly becoming comrades for the game. Looking at my 33 years of life, I genuinely would have to say the years spent in arcades from the early 80's all the way through late 1990's was definitely one of the biggest joys for me. Getting dropped off at an arcade for hours as a kid(a big no no these days, if arcades even existed now) or walking to hole in the wall arcades was glorious. As an "archivist/historical gamer"(what I call myself since I dont play much these days, but theme a lot of my work around classic gaming) it's definitely nice to have instant access to virtually every game in existence. The amount of import famicom/megadrive/sfamicom/arcade games alone that never made it stateside is amazing, just to finally play em' or relive old games. But yeah, I mean nothing can ever beat the feeling of playing an upright dedicated cabinet.

Im thinking of starting up an underground guerrilla print/online pdf formatted retro gamer/retro nerd culture publication zine if you wanted to write some articles.

But I think a key theme as to what we're talking about is appreciation. With everything so instant, it becomes "...meh"(to use a modern expression) I miss when movies had animatronics over cgi, when things were "badical to the max" and you played the heck out of a game ya worked all summer to afford.

All that fidgety ADHD behavior and mental compartmentalization that texting/laptop/facebooking/twitter begets I think is really going to fragment people's concentration and other traits.

Arcades are dead though. And I dont mean "arcades" that mostly consist of rhythm, driving and shooting games all running on lcd screens and swipe cards over tokens. It IS cool that you can make a game in your room and have it make it to the Xbox live arcade download, wiiware, disware or PSN for everyone to enjoy. Or make your own iphone app. I myself have a great idea for an SNES looking online multiplayer rpg for the iphone or android.
So the possibilities are endless...
I mean I could go to an indie game developer conference and randomly find myself working in the industry from random luck running into someone.

I'm a huge film buff, devouring endless hours of foreign, indie, documentary, underground, summer blockbuster, animation and even rom coms...but I havent been going the theater at all in the past year. Half the movie theaters now have $5 matinees and $5 all day tuesday which is nice, since prices have risen(and I am very choosy with the whole 3d option) The new theaters near me are all digital, tho I find something mezmerizing about film.

But its all moving toward instant. Go to Best Buy, and its clear they're phasing out dvds...and no telling if anyones truly buying blu rays. The move is trending toward all content being streaming or downloadable rather than physical media(like PSP gaming)

Some things in 2011 are good, some are so so, some are flat out lame. I appreciate the attempt by companies to try and have fat free/lowering sodium/marketing toward healthy crowd, I appreciate a move toward more eco aware products and fuel efficient cars. But a lot of it feels like window dressing.

...as we move into the future, I find it necessary to bring a little bit of the past and entropy with us.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I'm torn on this. Obviously I miss the media I grew up with and enjoy the nostalgic feelings they bring me. But on the other hand I've formed my own pleasant memories with today's technology as well and I imagine today's kids will too.

 

[frogboy4]

The things I like about Bear that most other shows just don't have:

*It doesn't try to be wholesome, it just is.

*The repetitive elements, that such educational shows must have, are sweetly comforting rather than grating.

*It's not a space-age technology-centered program.

*It's a simple program with simple themes, but doesn't talk down to its audience.

*The expert puppetry can be complex, but it comes off seamlessly.

*In a relaxed way, Bear inspires the exploration of many things without being preachy.

____
​

I remember a critic once claimed that Bear didn't teach responsibility because he never went to a day job in order to afford his Big Blue House, but childcare was his job. It's one of the most important jobs there is! Maybe Bear should have sung a song to that critic to explain things to him, however I kind of liked how none of that had to be explained. It didn't need to be burdened with heavy back story. Sesame Street doesn't have that. I hope they bring Bear and Tutter back in some capacity someday.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I remember a critic once claimed that Bear didn't teach responsibility because he never went to a day job

::raises eyebrow:: You know some critics think WAY too much about these things, lol.

 

[beaker]

::raises eyebrow:: You know some critics think WAY too much about these things, lol.

Well, we live in an ultra pc world now. Elmo and Rosita's dad can come back scarred and wounded from fighting in wars...but
"Sesame Street Old School" dvd has to come with a disclaimer to parents(because *gasp* it shows kids playing in a real ghetto in live action clips, not the fake inner city of Sesame)

 

[Drtooth]

I remember a critic once claimed that Bear didn't teach responsibility because he never went to a day job in order to afford his Big Blue House

Neither did Mr. Rogers or PeeWee Herman. Having the show IS their job, yes.

Was this a television critic or some child's advocate that reads FAAAAR too into things and tears everything with a personality down?

 

[CensoredAlso]

Well, we live in an ultra pc world now. Elmo and Rosita's dad can come back scarred and wounded from fighting in wars...but
"Sesame Street Old School" dvd has to come with a disclaimer to parents(because *gasp* it shows kids playing in a real ghetto in live action clips, not the fake inner city of Sesame)

That was indeed the height of inexcusability.