I've been meaning to mention that I was watching the new season of Sesame Street last week. On the positive side, I can definitely say I've liked seeing the emphasis on early literacy that they put into the new episodes. Also, while they are keeping the "segmented" format of the show they've had for the past few years, the segmentation isn't nearly quite as obvious as the past few seasons. However, I have a bit more negatives to point out. First, the new arrangement of the theme song... I can't stand it. They took the theme song and re-arranged it to sound like a hip-hop song; unfortunately, this only comes across as "trying too hard" to sound hip and current. Also, I really don't like the new computer graphics they've been using (used in the new opening sequence, and I have also seen at least one segment (featuring R&B singer Chris Brown) that utilized the new CG. From looking at the CG, I can already tell they are of the variety that it will make these segments look so dated within the next 5-10 years, and will therefore diminish how much these segments can be re-used in the future (it'll be like some of the segments from the years when I watched; some of those segments look so 1970's, that they haven't appeared on the show in years). A new human character (named Chris, the nephew of Gordon and Susan who has moved to Sesame Street to attend college) has been introduced. It makes me think the actor who played Gordon & Susan's son (Miles), wanted out (his character graduated from high school either last season or the season before), so it wouldn't make sense to introduce this nephew unless the actor playing Miles wanted out. I haven't seen the actress who played Gabbi (Luis & Maria's daughter) for a while, either, so I don't know if she's still around.
I turned over to Sesame Street this morning, expecting to see another new episode... but it was a re-run from a previous season. That's one thing Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children's Television Workshop) has been doing in recent years that's driven me crazy... they'll produce only 2-3 weeks' worth of new episodes each season, spread them out, but spend a lot of the season primarily airing re-runs from the past couple of seasons).
Today on Nick Jr. marked the debut of a new show, Yo, Gabba Gabba!. We didn't watch it, because, to be honest, the promos I've been seeing for the show have really scared me. It looks like someone is trying to re-create the look and feel of the Sid & Marty Krofft properties from the 1960's/1970's. Out of curiosity, I was seeing what kind of a reaction the show was receiving over at the Nick Jr. messageboards, and let's just say reaction has been less than favorable (only two people said their kids were interested in it). Most parents were saying that either it looked like a back 60's flashback, or the promos scared their kids so much that it frightened them (whether making them scream or giving them nightmares). I've looked at the boards there in the past to gauge how viewers react to the shows, and this is the first time I can truly say that the opinion has been rather one-sided (I have seen some, like Max & Ruby and LazyTown that people either really liked or really hated, but I have never seen such an overwhelming negative response there). If this ends up being indicative of audience reaction, it makes me wonder how long it'll remain on Nick Jr. Of course, one has to wonder how the show made it onto the Nick Jr. schedule in the first place -- methinks it was probably a case of someone having some really good connections to high-ranking executives at Nick Jr.).
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