The Most Annoying Kids Shows

[Drtooth]

I'm going to admit this... Barney shouldn't have been as terrible as the show came out to be. My sister was a toddler when he started up and I generally didn't hate him until I actually watched the series multiple times and found all the flaws. Seriously, I actually didn't hate the character until after several months of watching him. If there's one thing I do like, it's his character design. he actually looked, well... cute. I see a LOT of uggos when it comes to children's programming. But as far as those flaws are concerned...

• The show looks really rinkydink. The music was so synth. And not even cool 1980's Saban/Levy synth pop background music (which is awesome)... that lame, you can tell they're using one cheap keyboard synth.
• I'd almost chalk this up to the kids' bad acting, but there's so much Stepford smiling that it's actually quite disturbing. Now I know the importance of Oscar on Sesame Street. He was the filter for any kind of overly happy moment.
• It's hard to tell what's worse. The songs they took from the public domain or the ones they did themselves. They're sappy... not quite the worst I have heard on kid's television, but drippy and pointless none the less
• Barney has the atmosphere of a cult. They all worship the guy in the purple dinosaur suit. They stay after school to worship him. I don't like that in a kid's show.
• Every line, spoken by dino or human kid actor, is sing songy.
• No tension. None at all... and when there is, it's easily resolved. Much as I hate "the complainer is always wrong," at least it's an improvement on this program.

 

[D'Snowth]

• No tension. None at all... and when there is, it's easily resolved. Much as I hate "the complainer is always wrong," at least it's an improvement on this program.

Wasn't that one of their complaints with SST? Well, I mean, the opposite of that complaint?

 

[beatnikchick300]

I'm going to admit this... Barney shouldn't have been as terrible as the show came out to be. My sister was a toddler when he started up and I generally didn't hate him until I actually watched the series multiple times and found all the flaws. Seriously, I actually didn't hate the character until after several months of watching him. If there's one thing I do like, it's his character design. he actually looked, well... cute. I see a LOT of uggos when it comes to children's programming. But as far as those flaws are concerned...

• The show looks really rinkydink. The music was so synth. And not even cool 1980's Saban/Levy synth pop background music (which is awesome)... that lame, you can tell they're using one cheap keyboard synth.
• I'd almost chalk this up to the kids' bad acting, but there's so much Stepford smiling that it's actually quite disturbing. Now I know the importance of Oscar on Sesame Street. He was the filter for any kind of overly happy moment.
• It's hard to tell what's worse. The songs they took from the public domain or the ones they did themselves. They're sappy... not quite the worst I have heard on kid's television, but drippy and pointless none the less
• Barney has the atmosphere of a cult. They all worship the guy in the purple dinosaur suit. They stay after school to worship him. I don't like that in a kid's show.
• Every line, spoken by dino or human kid actor, is sing songy.
• No tension. None at all... and when there is, it's easily resolved. Much as I hate "the complainer is always wrong," at least it's an improvement on this program.

I actually agree with all of that. One of the good things about kids' shows like Sesame Street and Arthur is that they don't make it seem like it's wrong or unnatural to have negative feelings (anger, sadness, envy, etc.). They teach that it's fine to have them, as long as you deal with them in a constructive way (such as talking it out if you're angry with someone rather than just hitting him/her). And I'm fine with shows that are a bit lighter, especially for little kids (I think a problem a lot of kids' shows, and shows in general have, nowadays is that there are just people acting like complete jerks to each other for no reason at all, and it never amounts to anything), but Barney was the opposite extreme; it was so overly smiley and cheerful that, like you said, the characters seem like Stepford Smilers. Again, a show like Arthur is good because the kid characters act like kids (they're not mean, but they're not perfect either).

 

[Drtooth]

Wasn't that one of their complaints with SST? Well, I mean, the opposite of that complaint?

Yeah. Sesame Street usually had tension. And tension is a good thing to have in a kid's show because that's how you deal with problems. By having problems in the first place. Sure, there were probably times that Barney had some small, fantastic, cartoony problem. My mind blocked out that stuff...

On the subject of bad music/songs in a kid's show...

I can't say The Busy World of Richard Scary is a low quality production at all. It can be kinda fun sometimes... but those Safety First and Imagine That segments have the clumsiest, a-melodic, painful rhyme filled, poorly worded, lazily performed music I've ever heard in a kid's show.

 

[Drtooth]

Again, a show like Arthur is good because the kid characters act like kids (they're not mean, but they're not perfect either).

A year or so ago, I went to this special Author Speech Engagement (or something like that) and the Author was Marc Brown. I remember that he said it took forever to get an Arthur cartoon off the ground because he got the "best cartoon writers in the business" and they absolutely had no clue how to write for Arthur. I can only assume this was in the 80's and the writers kept handing in Pink Panther and Sons/Get Allong Gang type scripts. Good thing it took them until the 90's.

 

[mr3urious]

The music was so synth. And not even cool 1980's Saban/Levy synth pop background music (which is awesome)... that lame, you can tell they're using one cheap keyboard synth.

If there's one thing I liked about Colby's Clubhouse (at least this video special), it's the funky FM/Sega Genesis-sounding instrumentals. The musical number at 2:05 is worth a listen to.

 

[CensoredAlso]

If there's one thing I liked about Colby's Clubhouse (at least this video special), it's the funky FM/Sega Genesis-sounding instrumentals. The musical number at 2:05 is worth a listen to.

Colby!!!! They showed us that special in Preschool. Very hard to forget, lol. I'm surprised now at how hardcore it goes at some points actually. Colby the robot loses his memory because a bully tampered with him. And the kids have to re-teach Colby what love is. But when the kids start trash talking the bully, Coby gets all confused and is about to short circuit because the kids' behavior isn't compatible with love and forgiveness. I guess it's sort of a parallel to the idea that every time you sin, you are placing Jesus on the cross again. Pretty intense for kids when you think about it, lol.

 

[tutter_fan]

I have to admit that the last post made by me was a rant, and what I had said in that post was 100% true to me. Luckily I didn't use any "swear words". I would not want to rave & rant, and risk being banned at the same time.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Yo Gabba Gabba, what's the point of that show? It's creepy beyond reason!
Dora the Explorer, I can't believe I actually liked that show as a kid!
Barney and Friends, same as with Dora.
All live action shows on Nick and Disney Channel
Spongebob has gotten stupider, so stupid, it's getting annoying!

I actally like Zaboomafoo and still do!

Plus Gabba Gabba decided to take the Rainbow Connection literally..and had Paul Williams himself do it! They made him walk through a darn rainbow! THAT IS NOT I REPEAT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT WHAT KERMIT MEANT!

 

[D'Snowth]

I will confess that I did watch Barney, though rather irregularly, when it first came on... but even then, I would only really watch it when there really wasn't anything else on, or if my parents had PBS turned on the TV (which they did quite often, so I can think back on not only SST, but READING RAINBOW, MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD, BOB ROSS...) That continued up until about 1998 or so when Barney went through its own little ATC-esque era, when they got new sets, brought in new kids, threw in new puppet characters, changed the titles, etc. Haven't watched since.