The last generation to have TV as their major media source is nostalgic for the good ole days of 90s programing. How could Nickelodeon turn down an opportunity like that?
This brief NPR report is interesting, because it states that 20-somethings are so deluged with media throughout the day they will relax in front of the TV with familiar programming, a single media source taking them to their childhood comfort-zones.
Since we don’t receive a single broadcast, cable or satellite channel in our home, I have been corrupting my children by procuring the TV shows of my youth on DVD. Therefore, my teenage daughters who have never seen Hannah Montana have watched nearly every episode of Gilligan’s Island, The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. They also enjoy Hogan’s Heroes, Get Smart, Little House on the Prairie and Mission Impossible.
Some of those old shows have amazingly good writing, such as The Partridge Family. Others that I remembered fondly, such as MacGyver revealed amazingly bad writing when watched again after all these years.
Of course, we have introduced them to some newer shows, such as Pinky and the Brain, Dr. Who and Wooster and Jeeves.
For her birthday my wife got the entire A-Team series in a box made up to look like their ubiquitous van . Since their mom owns the dvd’s, the kids aren’t allowed to watch them on their own. When she found out that we have evening activities three nights in a row this week, my 14 year old daughter whined that she wouldn’t be able to watch another episode till the weekend. Poor kid.
How will they fit into a world built upon pop culture with lines like “I love it when a plan comes together.” and “Missed me by that much.” and “Are you pondering what I’m pondering?”
Haha! “Pinky and the Brain” is so stinking funny. I haven’t seen it in years. “Darkwing Duck” is another good cartoon in that vein. I showed that one to my kids via YouTube, and they ate it up.
Kids are pretty flexible. They can go from an Underdog dvd, cheering on the dapper superhero working to foil Simon Bar Sinister’s plot to try and take over the world and then stick in a P&theB dvd to cheer on a large headed mouse’s plans to try to take over the world.
Why do we cheer Brain trying to take over the world when we jeer Simon Bar Sinister doing the same thing?
Because it’s the same thing they do every night, Pinky. Mwah, ha, ha.
Last week I introduced the kids to my late father’s favorite superhero, Super Chicken (Braack, Braack, Braack, BRAAAAAAACCCCHHHH!)He was part of the George of the Jungle program in 1967, driving his Super Coupe. Do they even allow such wonderfully bad puns anymore, let alone maintaining them as running gags? (or in this case driving gags?)