Watching PBS was a necessary evil for the kids programming when the kids were little (Sesame Street, etc). And they do have good documentaries and other programming.
That said there is no reason PBS should be govt funded and shouldn't be another option on the 90+ cable channels.

Although I am firmly convinced that PBS is too liberal and terribly biased, I think they are necessary for their children's programming. It is better than anything on commericial television or cable television.

It is my responsibility to monitor my children's television intake and I try to do that to the best of my ability. PBS makes it easier because the content is pretty good and there are no commercials. I have seen some of the children's programming on cable and it is terrible. Nick is trash and morally repulsive. Disney is also pretty bad, they took off the best stuff (the Ink and Paint Club).

Must disagree about the quality of PBS children's programming. When my oldest (now 11) was a toddler, he would watch PBS' Barney and the "Nick Junior" programming block on Nickelodeon. His favorite "Nick Junior" show was Gullah Gullah Island.

Both were aimed at the same audience. Barney was a taxpayer-subsidized nanny-state pile of nonsense that grated on one's nerves after the second or third viewing. It was set in Generic Suburb, U.S.A., with a cast selected by diversity consultants and scripts written by a committee of educatonal experts. The kids who appeared on the show were talented enough and did their best, but they were forced into bland personas and situations.

Gullah Gullah Island, on the other hand, starred members of a real family, it was set in a particular place (the South Carolina offshore islands), and some of the dialog was in the local dialect. It had a personality; the kids acted like real people; and there was more "diversity" in a half hour of this show than in a whole season of Barney.

At least in this case, the free-market offering was far superior to the government-funded one. Moreover, it has always grated on me that I have to be taxed to pay for Barney and Sesame Street, but the people who own the copyrights on these shows get to make millions on the licensed merchandise and tie-ins for which the PBS show serves as an extended commercial.

I don't find Nick or Nick Jr. all that bad (most of their stuff is better than Barney), although Cartoon Network is generally better. Most of the shows (at least the ones my kids are allowed to watch) do in fact have moral messages, they're just not overt. Watch any episode of "Sponge Bob", or "Kim Possible", or "Rug Rats", or "The Wiggles", or "The Wild Thornberries" or even "Ed, Edd & Eddy". The last has obnoxious main characters, but most episodes consist of them getting a come-uppance for their character flaws. I don't have any problem pulling examples from these shows to illustrate moral points.

I personally despise sacharine shows with perfect people (like Barney or Little Bill) precisely because in my view, it sends the message that perfect people are the ones to follow the rules. In contrast, Kim Possible is good but not perfect, her own failings don't exempt her from trying to be good.

Moreover, you don't need that many hours of good shows anyway, especially if you've got Tivo or its equivalent.

As for the good PBS kids shows, we've got racks of DVDs of those which are even more commercial free than live PBS.

PBS is the best station we get, and they do have some great children's shows. However, as we are cableless we don't have much to compare it against.

I have never understood the Barney hatred that is widespread and reflected by several comments here. I find that Barney is perfect for my 3 year old and is sweet overall. No mixed messages unlike many of the Nick or Cartoon Networks offerings.

I am surprised by the amount of self-help
mumbo jumbo feel good hour junk that seems to be
airing these days on PBS. I can watch these things in fascination (quite like a train wreck) but never get the point.

Documentaries seem to be non-existent. When they
do show a documentary it's usually some overfunded
long-winded marathon the price for which they could probably have made 3 or 4 documentaries.

The science programming is near non-existent.

J.H.:

Boomers need reassurance.

I don't understand the Barney bashing either. It is a purple dinosaur that sings children's songs. That's it. The kids are smiling and nobdy is acting like a brat. It isn't meant for adults, it is meant for kids 0-3.

Sure it might be unrealistic; then again it is singing purple dinosaur.

I should have added to the above:

I am also eternally grateful that my younger boy never took a liking to Telletubbies.

Mystery and Masterpiece Theatre?

Don't forget Doctor Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus. They were some of the biggest audience draws on the local PBS station (KCET in LA); when they went off the air, about half their regular audience went with them.

>They're catering to self-absorbed aging hippies
>instead of just putting the best product they
>can on the air.

Just add it to the list of Things We Threw Away So We Could Screw in the Mud at Woodstock...

I made the mistake, about 15 years ago, of contributing money to PBS. I received followup calls for a decade during each pledge period to renew or increase my membership. These pledge Nazis are worse than long-distance telemarketers. PBS and NPR are run by public service true believers. The comparison to commercial cable channels misses the point: these people are dedicated to a cause. It is not about what you choose to watch, it is about their duty to 'enlighten' and 'educate' you.

I stand corrected, Nick Jr. is excellent television. Unfortunately, it is on only in the morning. Gullah Gullah Island was a great show. So are the shows Little Bear and Franklin. I believe that latter shows are Canadian. Nick Jr. used to run Rupert, which was based on the comic strip. Good stuff for kids.

On the other hand, Nick is terrible and morally repulsive (with the exception of Sponge Bob-a guilty pleasure when we had cable). Nick has Rosie O'Donnell and the Linda Ellerbie/DNC "news" shows.

Did anyone notice who Nick had at its 'Kid's Choice Award"? Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, and the cast from the OC. Their winner for best actress was Halle Berry for which movie? Gothica? Die Another Day?

I know, I know. Turn off the tube.

AOG:

"...it sends the message that perfect people are the ones to follow the rules."

What do you want for three year olds--Catcher in the Rye?

And don't forget the scandal from a couple years ago in which some PBS affiliates were selling their pledge lists (and in some cases not even selling, but VOLUNTEERING them) to Democratic politicians in their respective viewing areas. As a defense some spokesman claimed that Republicans also bought pledge lists, but as far as I know no evidence of a Republican purchase was ever presented. At least when I watch network TV I'm never hectored to give my address.

PBS does have a few things that Cable dosent: Doctor Who, Red Dwarf and The Red Green Show.

These three shows do more than enough to offset KQED's "Annual Gay Pride Month" (which, strangely enough, seems to come around every other month or so).

Red Green is a documentary, by the way.

The author makes a very good point: the owner of franchises such as Ken Burns' documentaries, Sesame Street and Jim Lehrer NewsHour could make a very nice business out of producing those shows and selling them to the highest bidder...and plenty of cable channels (A&E, Discovery, MSNBC, History Channel) would bid. Since that's the case, why are we using tax dollars to produce those shows instead of sponsors' money (the way all other TV programming is financed)?

Peter;

I actually like Teletubbies (and both boys did as well). The Teletubbies are generally obedient, but every now and then they "rebel" against the narrator. Or "Bob the Builder", which is not nearly as robotic as Barney. Maybe it's because I've never read The Catcher in the Rye I still just a tiny bit of spice, even for the poopers.

pchunk;

That's the wonder of Tivo - you can move the schedule around. As for the "Kid's Choice Awards", that doesn't play in this house.

>I received followup calls for a decade during
>each pledge period to renew or increase my
>membership. These pledge Nazis are worse than
>long-distance telemarketers.

There was an episode of The Simpsons where that happened to Homer. He makes a joke pledge to PBS, the next thing he knows all the PBS characters (including Sesame Street and Barney) are after him with torches and pitchforks to collect.

Homer ends up going to the South Seas as a missionary to escape them. (Of course, that has its own set of problems...)

My old D&D DM:

"Ken, why are you so down on Baby Boomers? You're a Boomer."

Me:

"Yeah, but does that mean I have to like it?"

I was born in 1955. That puts me in the second half of the Boomers. For the accident of my birth and age, I am forever linked with and surrounded/overwhelmed by the most shallow, self-centered, and whiny generation of perpetual adolescents in the past century. And because of my age, when the bulge finally exits the boa, I'll be carried along and crapped out with it.

VIETNAM, WOODSTOCK, AND DOPE-IS-GROOVY WERE *NOT* THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS OF ALL TIME! WE THREW AWAY THE STARS SO ALL OF YOU COULD WHINE ABOUT THE FIRST, SCREW IN THE MUD AT THE SECOND, AND FRY YOUR BRAINS ON THE THIRD!