Blast to the Past

I've recently been going through the seasons of Friends- my fav show- and it's got me thinking about TV shows of the real past. Of like my childhood. Youtube has proved to be a pit of endless wonder in order to rediscover the joys of my past.... Enjoy yourself.

I LOVED watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. He'd come on after Where in the World is Carmen San Diego (I've already posted this theme so you'll just have to go back to a previous blog post to enjoy that....), so I got my fill of geography and science in one hour of afternoon TV (usually the only hour of afternoon TV I was allowed). I later discovered that he wasn't really a scientist.... it doesn't matter, I still learned a TON. I love how they say Bill's name like a million times and I love the lady saying "Science rules".

There was something about the Puzzle Place that always captivated me. Maybe it was the puppets. Maybe it was the mini United Nations that they had. Maybe it was the fact that there were kids called Kiki and Skye on the show. Also that they always seemed to resolve every conflict that they ever had in a nice 22 minute episode. I also am now convinced that John Tartaglia did the voice for Ben (and possibly more characters...) But who were those weird colored people who moved away the puzzle pieces at the beginning? I do NOT remember them.... Peace Police?

Oh my gosh, I wanted to be the kids who shared books on this TV show. I thought Levar Burton was wonderful with his pushing kids to actually read books (which is so poignant these days when I'm teaching students who I don't think read a single day of their lives.... OK exaggeration but not by much). I loved it when kids were talking about their book and then said cheekily, "well..... I don't want to give anything away, so just read _______". Wow, way to hook me!

OK, if you don't like Lamb-Chop's Play-Along, then I don't think I can speak to you. Who doesn't love a lady doing ventriloquism with puppets. Hush Puppie was my FAVORITE. I loved the songs, I loved the rare times I noticed Shari's lips barely moving, I loved Shari period. I will never forget the trick where you put a piece of tape over a balloon and then you can stick a pin through it without it popping. Genuis!

What was it with me and puppets? What happy family Gloria, Iggy, Jacob and Holly were. And what was under the Umbrella Tree....?

I didn't watch a ton of cartoons but I certainly remember watching this one. Gummi Bears had one of the best theme songs and I remember being pretty impressed at how well they could bounce around. I later always felt guilty eating gummy bears.... oops... But how could you not love the Gummi Bears? They were dashing and daring, courageous and caring, faithful and friendly with stories to share. Share with me, Gummi Bears!

I didn't watch a lot of this at home because I think it was already over but we certainly watched a plethora of these in science class. I just liked the theme and the connecting lines that made up the triangle for 3-2-1.

This show (when it was on- I remember when it went off the air and I think was replaced by Bill Nye actually) gave me my math lesson for the afternoon. I loved the detective pair (who I seem to remember at one point measuring the angle at which the rain hit the window) and there was also a cartoon character whose mom was always calling him because one time he put his socks on after his shoes. Bizarre.

I'm not sure which I liked better- the TV show or the books. The books were certainly funny for the commentary that the kids would make but I also could not get enough of the TV shows. I loved the one where Ralphie became a bat and the one where they go into the human body. I feel like Ms. Frizzle was a lot crazier in the books and the kids certainly commented more on how crazy she was. And I loved how in the body one they commented on how creepy her tongue shoes were. Amen, kids, amen.

OK. The ONLY reason I am putting this one in is because I would watch it in Hebrew. So I know the theme song in Hebrew. But I cannot find the theme song in Hebrew on youtube so enjoy the English one. Why are bananas walking down the stairs in pajama? And why are they chasing teddy bears? Did the bananas have names? Questions, questions, questions!

Instead of showing you the theme song to Sesame Street, I am putting up the video of my favorite clip from Sesame Street. Yes, I owe my ability to count to twelve to the ladybugs and their picnic. Thanks guys! Can I come along next time?

OMG. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I FOUND THIS. THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY SISTER AND MY COUSIN.

AAAHHHHH, I cannot believe I found this one as well! I would always watch this right before I went either to school or to the dining hall on the kibbutz in first grade. If I wasn't ready, I didn't get to watch Booli the snowman. Notice the clock in the lower right hand corner? This was part of the morning show (I guess kinda like the Today Show) and it would come on for like four minutes at the same time each morning. I LOVED this show and was so sad when I wasn't ready for school in time to get to watch it.

Oh did I love Kidsongs. I love how they just took over this studio (the adults said yes pretty quickly....) and they were so creative! I wanted to be a part of the crew so badly (and it didn't hurt that some were super cute to little eight-year--old me). I loved everything about this show. I loved the behind the scenes drama about putting together and producing a TV show (btw were these kids smart for their age? They were pretty good at all the technical stuff). I loved the singing and the dancing. I wanted to be the person who wrote Kidsongs on the poster. Oh, good stuff, good stuff.