Your Thoughts: "Pioneers of Television" with Jim Henson

[Yorick]

Without reading other posts in this thread first, I'd like to say that I was very impressed and happy with the special...it was quite touching. When Mr. Rogers laughed in an interview, I just thought, "What a lovely man." He's one of the very few on TV that you could just tell was a sincerely sweet person.

So, although there wasn't much Jim Henson I still thought it was very well done. I could have easily watched two or two and a half hours (and then they'd give Soupy Sales substantial time and have more of everybody).

When I said, "I hope it's just about Jim" it was because that's what I initially thought it was, and was looking forward to. But I forgot to mention that I still cared about the other folks, for sure. And as a matter of fact, I really loved it.

Kind of amazing The Wallace and Ladmo Show ran from April 1, 1954 to December 29, 1989—36 years, isn't it? Anyone here ever watch that show?

 

[Bellygrub]

I was a little dissapointed at the short amount of screentime Jim recieved....but thems the breaks. I also agree that they spent to much time on that Wallace and Ladmo show.

I was surprised not to see Captain Noah (Local Philadelphia show). He had a 27 year run which isn't to shabby. Wonder how many of us were hoping to see our local childhood favorites

 

[D'Snowth]

Like minor muppetz, I too ended up missing the show last night (Comcast is so wonderful to work with, aren't they? )... but, from reading comments and such from everyone else, it doesn't sound like I missed much, so oh well.

 

[Yorick]

The "Pioneers of Television" show will be on again:
Eastern Time
Thurs 12:30 AM
Fri 9:30 PM

PS I've now read this entire thread, and I don't know if someone else here said that Wallace and Ladmo got too much coverage, but I found their portions interesting, and my comment on them was more about how great it was that they lasted on the air from the early 50's to a few days short of the early 90's.

I would love it if each act mentioned (and then some) had their own hour show about them, but I know that won't happen.

 

[Drtooth]

That show seemed to be on there because they wanted to have a constant theme. It's interesting, and I wish I saw it, but it's a shame they didn't devote more time to other things. Then again, there's clearly some stuff they either couldn't get the rights to or doesn't exist anymore.

Still, I'd NEVER say you didn't miss much. It is a very interesting program and it has a very important history of how these shows, some of which we never heard of, shaped our popular culture.

 

[Canadian Fan]

I did see Jim's portion of the show, I liked what I saw. It was sad to see Fred Rogers being interviewed because it reminds me that he passed away almost 8 years ago.

The other shows featured, I've never heard of except Romper Room, and we had a Canadian version of Romper Room taped in Kingston, Ontario. It aired on all CTV stations.

 

[ErnieBertGonzo]

I think today(?)'s showing will be coming up on my DVR, but I won't be able to see it until maybe a week or two from now.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I did see Jim's portion of the show, I liked what I saw. It was sad to see Fred Rogers being interviewed because it reminds me that he passed away almost 8 years ago.

The other shows featured, I've never heard of except Romper Room, and we had a Canadian version of Romper Room taped in Kingston, Ontario. It aired on all CTV stations.

Yeah. The one I grew up with was "Romper Room and Friends" with Miss Molly. I was sort of wondering about that. I might want to look up the info for that show. It may have just been on a local station in my area. There was also one called 'Hatchy Milatchy' which was on channel 16, my local ABC affiliate. I also wish Jim's part would have been longer. Maybe they should do another episode that's more of a tribute to Henson and the Muppets. It was neat to see Mr. Rogers in an interview. I sort of wonder when those interviews took place. He really didn't look to great there. I'm assuming that was recently before he died.

 

[Drtooth]

I gotta tell ya, I was NEVER fond of Romper Room. I saw a few episodes when I was younger, and other than a Paddington bear cartoon, it left no impression on me whatsoever. It's like, no wonder Sesame Street was rebelling against that sort of kid's show.

 

[Canadian Fan]

Here's a link with some information about 'Romper Room & Friends' as it was known in Canada:

http://www.tvarchive.ca/database/18347/romper_room/details/

Fran Pappert "Miss Fran" was the only Romper Room teacher I remember.

Canada had some other good kids shows I remember - 'Harrigan', 'Oopsy The Clown', 'Treehouse Club', 'Mr. Dressup', 'The Elephant Show', 'Under The Umbrella Tree', 'Fred Penner's Place', 'The Friendly Giant', 'Today's Special'.

We also had our own version of Sesame Street called Sesame Park which ran from 1996-2002. From 1969-96, the American version of Sesame Street was aired with Canadian content.

You can find out more information about the shows I listed above at:
http://www.tvarchive.ca/