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Strollerderby
Back when I was a kid, it seemed as if all my friends’ moms were addicted to soap operas. Today’s moms are more likely to have the TV tuned to kiddie shows — which is why it’s not such a surprise to hear that The Walt Disney Company will eliminate its SoapNet cable channel and replace it with a new network targeted to preschoolers.
Since it aired soap opera reruns, the 10-year-old SoapNet has been relatively cheap for Disney to operate. But, as Nickelodeon has discovered with Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin), preschool television programming is big business.
The new commercial-free channel will be called Disney Junior, which some critics say emulates Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Continue reading »
Nick Jr. will begin airing a new series June 1st called The Olive Branch, produced by Josh Selig’s Little Light Foundation. The program has been endorsed by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and UNICEF and its mission is to foster conflict-resolution around the world. Tutu understands that children’s programming can be an invaluable learning tool and says, “The Olive Branch is a wonderful example of television that will make a positive contribution to the world. It will be understood and appreciated by children in every country.” The show is performed entirely without words and is scored with “rich, classical music” by Emmy Award-winning composer, J. Walter Hawkes. The series is hand-drawn by Pablo Smith of The Wonder Pets! and 3rd & Bird. Continue reading »
The Nick Jr. site is a popular one with parents – many Strollerderby writers included – so why are some parents opting out on the gaming site after watching an ABC News warning?
Because a link on top of the site could send them straight out to play mature games including a “cooking” game that includes an animated woman removing her top and one featuring a “naughty cheerleader.” Continue reading »
According to Common Sense Media, Nickelodeon’s Glenn Martin, D.D.S. is “iffy at best” for kids under 16 due to sexual content and some gruesome violence.
Nickelodeon agrees, saying they never intended for the show to be watched by children in the first place. “There’s certainly no ploy for publicity,” Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler told the St. Petersburg Times. “This is a funny show for the Nick at Nite audience … which is 18 to 49.”
So why are parents writing angry letters and filling up Internet forums with their complaints? Because Glenn Martin, D.D.S. comes on at 8 p.m., immediately following Spongebob Squarepants.
Earlier this spring, Nickelodeon started airing promos for a band called the Jumparounds, which featured a quartet of cute young people singing and dancing away to upbeat perky songs. I wrote a post about it that was less than enthusiastic and got more hits than any post I have ever written. Most of those were along the lines of “We love them! If you don’t like it, don’t watch!!”
Well, Kiki, Marina, Twist, and Shout (the names of the four characters) faded away and Nickelodeon wasn’t promoting the show anymore, nor did it show up on their summertime schedule. About a month ago, though, the videos retuned, but the crew had a new name – the Fresh Beat Band – and their half hour show premiered on Nick last week.
The nice people at Nickelodeon sent me a screener, and I’ll say this: Continue reading »
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