Today’s Preschooler Isn’t Impressed With My Generation’s TV
A four-and-a-half-year-old child has just run roughshod over some of my most treasured childhood memories.
It’s my own fault.
I thought that having the munchkin at our home while sheltering in place during these Covid-19 times, would enable me to conduct an enjoyable social experiment while reminiscing. I wanted to discover what today’s preschooler thinks to the kids’ television programs my generation recalls with such fondness.
But it didn’t quite go as planned.
Many British readers raised between the mid-sixties and early eighties will no doubt recognize many if not all these shows, while an American audience might find these offerings humorous if discovering them for the first time by clicking through to the YouTube links.
Here’s how Livvy the four-and-a-half-year-old reacted to five such shows…
1. Mr. Benn
I began with my all-time favorite, the adventures of a likeable man who exchanges his stiff suit and bowler hat for a different costume every time he visits a curiosity shop in his anonymous suburb. He would be magically transported into a new adventure as perhaps a magician, a chef or in this case an astronaut, but always (despite my brother and I shouting at the TV telling him not to) would return though a door that led back to reality and his mundane life after about 13 minutes. The Cowboy episode is widely regarded as Mr. Benn’s finest, so is linked here, but Livvy was subjected to the Spaceman.
Livvy was a reluctant participant at first. We must be doing a fine job of weaning her off a habit of standing mesmerized in front of the TV during time allotted for cartoon watching. Or perhaps it was the primitive 1960s animation techniques that failed to capture her attention. It is noticeable how yesteryear’s animation is content to linger on a still frame for what feels like an eternity, compared with the present-day preference to flicker wildly across the screen. So, perhaps predictably, Livvy only really took much notice when there was movement as the spacecraft took off from and landed on several planets. For Livvy, a paltry 1 out of 5 was the mark awarded. Sorry Mr. Benn, my old friend.
2. Camberwick Green
Livvy giggled and thought it hilarious that Windy Miller, the focus of the episode we watched, drank too much cider and fell asleep slumped up against a shed beside his windmill, which ground to a halt as a result. No, really! In a kids’ television show aimed at our developing masses, this cute character is troubled by apparent alcoholism, while children chuckle.
Camberwick Green along with Trumpton and Chigley each number 13 wonderfully animated episodes as part of the Trumptonshire trilogy, devised in the sixties. While Livvy was by this point thoroughly frustrated with my experiment and agreed she would rather go for one of those unpopular walks we force upon her than be subjected to further viewing, these 39 episodes are still worth enjoying even in today’s climate. Provided you have a more receptive audience, that is. 2/5 for Camberwick Green and a tipsy Windy Miller.
3. Bagpuss
I forget that technology is second nature to today’s youngsters, so was caught by surprise when Livvy — who is apparently familiar with the navigation of YouTube — began scrolling away from my selections and found one of her own. She selected the video, clicked her preferred choice and enlarged the viewer so that we returned to the full screen option.
The premise for this tale of a cloth-eared fat cat that belongs to a young girl depicted in the ‘not so long ago’ Victorian age, is that when Bagpuss wakes from sleep then so do all his friends. Livvy was intrigued by that idea and I attempted to convince her that when she falls asleep at night, all her teddy bears and dolls come to life and entertain themselves while she is in the land of nod. She seemed skeptical. Anyway, Bagpuss held her attention for all of three-and-a-half minutes of the show’s 14-minute duration, before tiresome slow animation and an admittedly boring storyline lost her attention. But we had a new leader in the field of 60s and 70s kids’ television at least: 3.5 out of 5.
4. Mary, Mungo and Midge
Ah, another personal favorite. Mary is a young girl who lives in a high-rise flat with her parents in what I presume is London given the presence of red double-decker buses and the style of a bridge across a river. Her dog Mungo can be a little bossy, while mouse Midge is inquisitive and as a result gets into many troublesome situations. I always wanted the be Midge when I was little. Whenever I use the word inquisitive, I still hark back to this show. While watching with Livvy, I was drawn to the now very politically incorrect presence of a golliwog among Mary’s collection of toys as Midge played his flute, the tune from which gave Livvy the giggles.
Livvy lost interest in Mary, Mungo and Midge very quickly because the opening sequences drag on for two minutes before the episode really begins. Midge did hold her attention, particularly in this episode ‘The Letter’ when he fell into a post box and was then carted away by the postman. She watched this animated offering for longer than any of the other shows I forced upon her, so that alone earns a 3/5 mark.
5. The Clangers
I was certain that the pink puppets known as The Clangers and their friend the Soup Dragon would garner more attention, but alas, I was wrong. By this time, Livvy had decided that styling my hair into a humorous quaff that she observed with great delight made me ‘look like a girl’ (apart from my beard) would provide better entertainment. The Clangers’ funny whistled means of speaking and their preference for eating green soup failed to raise so much as a glimmer of intrigue. At one point, Livvy was holding both hands in front of her eyes rather than be subjected to another moment of the knitted puppets and their bizarre planet. 0/5 for The Clangers.
We didn’t make it to The Magic Roundabout. Originally broadcast in French in the 1960s, a whopping 441 episodes found their way to the BBC during a 12-year period. Characters include Zebedee, a freaky-looking red head who bounces around on a spring for a body, and Dylan, a laid-back musician named after Bob who appears to be stoned throughout each episode. The psychedelic colors and slightly disturbing music are perhaps what led to rumors (which have been nothing more than allegation) that some form of hallucinogenic drug might have influenced some of the show’s creation. Dougal the dog loves nothing more than sampling a sugar cube (if you know what I mean). The narration is provided by Eric Thompson, father of celebrated actor Emma Thompson.
If you’re going to delve into UK children’s television from this golden age, you might as well start here. Pure genius. Livvy made her escape before she could enjoy this classic.
