Tot TV Watch

Yo Gabba Gabba! hasn’t even started up yet and it is already invading my head. When I first heard of the show, I pretty much decided it wouldn’t be one that would be shown at my house. However, since Noggin and Nick Jr. started showing the video clips of “Party In My Tummy” I can’t seem to get the dang song out of my head. I may or may not have even been caught singing it to my son - out loud. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the video clip below and tell me that it doesn’t get stuck in your head.

Yo Gabba Gabba, Party In My Tummy, YouTube, Nick Jr., Noggin

July 21st is Beach Party day on Noggin. Tune in to Noggin beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET, for beach themed episodes of all of your favorite shows. Here’s a list of what you will see:

6:30 AM & 12:30 PM ET MAISY: “Knock Knock/Panda/Follow the Leader/Beach” Maisy wants to play today, and so she goes to all her friends’ houses to see if they want to play but no one is in. What Maisy doesn’t know is that everyone is waiting for her at her house!/Maisy and Panda are off to the park, but Panda decides that he wants to do a little exploring of his own./Maisy and Tallulah are playing follow the leader. When Eddie joins in they find out that there are some things which everyone can do, and some things which only an elephant can do./Maisy and Cyril go to the beach, but Cyril is bit wary of going into the sea. He soon forgets his worries though, and finds that splashing about in the water can be as much fun as anything else.

7:30 AM & 3:00 PM ET THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW: “Beach” Shane becomes emotionally attached to a beach ball that vanishes mid-toss. WRONG TURNS: Underwater Room, Desert Room, South Pole. WILD-CARD BUTTON: Upside down/Right side up.

8:00 AM ET DORA THE EXPLORER: “Baby Crab” Dora and Boots are having a blast at the beach when all of a sudden they hear a call for help. It’s a baby crab stuck in a net! He was on his way to his mommy to bring her a present — a beautiful necklace made of shells — when he got stuck. With our help, Dora finds a pair of scissors inside Backpack and quickly frees Baby Crab. But as he scurries off, Baby Crab realizes he’s forgotten which way to go. Will you help Dora and Boots take Baby Crab through the Squishy Squid’s Musical Sand Castle, over a mountain of rhythmically Snapping Clams, and across the ocean to his Mami on Crab Island? You’ll have to shake your body like a crab!

8:30 AM ET GO, DIEGO, GO!: “An Underwater Mystery” Diego and Alicia are in the Rescue Center Submarine exploring the Ocean for new animals when suddenly, they hear a cry for help, Using Click, Diego and Alicia find a mystery fish named Lucy. Diego and Alicia have to find out what kind of fish Lucy is so they can take her back home. They’re going to need to find clues to solve this mystery! The big mystery fish has skin with spots and stripes, wiggles her tail from side-to-side, and has 3,000 teeth. It’s a Whale Shark!!!

9:00 AM & 11:00 AM ET WONDER PETS!: “Save the Goldfish/Save the Hermit Crab” The Wonder Pets fly to a child’s bedroom where a pet goldfish in an aquarium is trapped inside a bubbling treasure chest./While on vacation in Cancun, the Wonder Pets take a break from their holiday to help a hermit crab who has outgrown his shell.

9:30 AM ET BACKYARDIGANS: “Into the Deep” QUEST: Deep-sea explorers TYRONE and PABLO, with their incredible submarine, plunge to the deepest part of the ocean to discover the rare mermaid. Meanwhile, mermaids TASHA and UNIQUA will do anything to protect their mermaid garden from intruders. An exhilarating underwater chase ensues until the mermaids realize that all the scientists want to do is capture them — on film that is. MUSIC GENRE: BOLLYWOOD

10:00 AM ET DORA THE EXPLORER: “Beaches” Dora brings Boots a special present, a new floaty that will help him swim. Boots is thrilled, and they set off for the beach. But first they’ll have to go through the Dune maze (watch out for the crabs!), then fix the broken Boardwalk, and that’s how they’ll get to the beach.

10:30 AM ET GO, DIEGO, GO!: “Diego Saves the Baby Humpback Whale” “Aroo ah! Aroo ah!” A baby humpback whale is beached on a rocky island and can’t get back into the ocean! Diego sets off to save the humpback whale, running through a rainforest obstacle course, then swimming with Tuga the Leatherback Sea Turtle past jellyfish and sharks. When Diego reaches the baby humpback whale, he leads the other humpback whales to make really big waves to lift the beached humpback whale into the ocean and back to her mommy!

11:00 AM ET WONDERPETS!: “Save the Goldfish/Save the Hermit Crab” The Wonder Pets fly to a child’s bedroom where a pet goldfish in an aquarium is trapped inside a bubbling treasure chest./While on vacation in Cancun, the Wonder Pets take a break from their holiday to help a hermit crab who has outgrown his shell.

11:30 AM ET BLUE’S CLUES: “Blue Goes to the Beach” Steve and Blue are going to the beach! In this episode we decide what clothes would be most appropriate to wear to the beach, experiment with physics in a game of sink or float with Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, then help sea creatures find their way back to the playground by matching their shapes with the coral reef.

12:30 PM ET MAISY: “Knock Knock/Panda/Follow the Leader/Beach” Maisy wants to play today, and so she goes to all her friends’ houses to see if they want to play but no one is in. What Maisy doesn’t know is that everyone is waiting for her at her house!/Maisy and Panda are off to the park, but Panda decides that he wants to do a little exploring of his own./Maisy and Tallulah are playing follow the leader. When Eddie joins in they find out that there are some things which everyone can do, and some things which only an elephant can do./Maisy and Cyril go to the beach, but Cyril is bit wary of going into the sea. He soon forgets his worries though, and finds that splashing about in the water can be as much fun as anything else.

2:00 PM ET MAGGIE AND THE FEROCIOUS BEAST: “Nothing In the Beach Ball/Picnic Time/The New Rubber Ball” When Beast punctures a beach ball, our trio goes to the beach ball factory where they meet their friend Nedley and try to get a new ball. However, once there they discover that something is wrong so they stay until they get to the bottom of the problem./When Hamilton, Beast and Maggie try to have a friendly picnic, they are overcome with ants and have to find a clever way to get rid of them./When Maggie gets Beast the rubber ball he has always wanted, he becomes obsessed with it. However, when the triplets come over for a birthday party and he hasn’t anything to give them, he generously gives them his beautiful new ball.

3:00 PM ET THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW: “Beach” Shane becomes emotionally attached to a beach ball that vanishes mid-toss. WRONG TURNS: Underwater Room, Desert Room, South Pole. WILD-CARD BUTTON: Upside down/Right side up.

5:00 PM ET FRANKLIN: “Franklin at the Seashore/Franklin and Snail’s Dream” Franklin and his friends take an adventure to the seashore to relax and explore. While there, he encounters lots of new friends and learns what mysteries the beach holds.

6:30 PM ET LITTLE BEAR: “Little Bear’s Mermaid/Father Flying Flapjacks/Maracas” When Little Bear’s family goes on a picnic by the lake, Little Bear meets a mermaid./Little Bear and his father surprise Mother Bear with a breakfast of Father’s famous flying flapjacks./When the Bear family cleans out the attic, Little Bear uncovers some of Mother Bear’s old treasures, including a pair of maracas with a very colorful history.

It occurred to me today that I had not followed up on this post regarding the future of The Upside Down Show. I originally posted about the speculations of whether the show would be canceled or not back in January, with promises of an answer in February. A little bit of quick research gave me the answer I was searching for. Previous reports made it sound like the show’s stars were debating whether they wanted to continue, but according to the June 1st post on The Umbilical Brothers‘ home page, Nickelodeon made the final decision. Here is the note from Shane and David:

To all the fans of The Upside Down Show, we reluctantly have to give you some bad news. We have received word from Nickelodeon/Noggin USA that they don’t want to do a second season. After all of the positive feedback we’ve received from around the world, and the show’s critical success, this decision is somewhat mystifying. Our executive producer Michael Bourchier has looked into other avenues to get another season off the ground and keep the show alive, but unfortunately he has run out of options. So we’d like to thank everyone involved in the show at Sesame Workshop and Blink Films, from conception (thanks Kurt and Belinda) right through to production here in Oz. The production team was brilliant, and we couldn’t ask for a better crew. And now we must move on to other challenges. Thanks for watching!

~ Shane and David

I have to say that I’m really upset about this. My son absolutely loves The Upside Down Show. It was one of the few shows that we really enjoyed watching together. What I’m even more upset about is that we deleted most of the saved episodes that were on the TiVo not too long ago. I guess now we just have to hope that the first (and only) season will be released on DVD.

The Upside Down Show, The Umbilical Brothers, Shane Dundas, David Collins, Nickelodeon, Noggin, cancellation

Sunday, June 17th, is the day that we all stop to celebrate the great things that dads do for us.  While we appreciate dads year-round, Father’s Day is a special day to let them know just how thankful we are for all the things they do.  So what is the best way to help Dad relax on his special day?  Keep the kids busy of course!  Noggin will help out with the entertainment by offering up some great episodes featuring dads, including a brand new episode of Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends.

Celebrate Father’s Day with your kids by watching a couple shows together and then discussing the importance of family and dad’s special day.  Just don’t forget to remind the kids how special they are too!

Following is Father’s Day marathon schedule (all times Eastern):

8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. - Dora the Explorer - “Boots’ Special Day”
Today, Boots gets to do anything he wants, because it’s his special day! Un dia especial. Boots most favorite thing in the whole world is to visit his daddy at work. To get there, Boots chooses a journey that includes all the special things he loves to do, like leading a Big Drum Parade and visiting Diego’s Animal Center. By the time Boots gets a big
hug from his daddy, he will have had the best day ever!

8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. - Go, Diego, Go! - “Three Little Condors”
Diego and Alicia have found a Mommy and Daddy Condor for three little condors at the Animal Rescue Center. But condors don’t fly at night so they must hurry and find their new Mommy and Daddy before the sun goes down! Diego and Alicia head out with the three little baby condors. Along the way, they have to get past the Bobo Brothers and find a
golden butterfly that will lead them up to Condor Cliff. But we better hurry. The sun is going down!

1:30 p.m. - Pinky Dinky Doo - “Daddy’s Special Shirt”
SET UP: Tyler is frustrated because he’s having trouble making a paper
airplane. TALL TALE: Pinky has to pick up Daddy’s special shirt at the Laundromat in time for his important trip. But the washer is broken so Pinky and Mr. GP must do the washing themselves. The shirt comes out extra stiff and starchy the way Daddy Dinky Doo likes it. On their way home, Pinky and Mr. GP get lifted off the ground by a gust of wind that turns the stiff shirt into a glider and plops them back down in front of their building. But Daddy has already left for his trip! BIG IDEA: Pinky and Mr. GP ride the shirt like a glider all the way to Daddy’s appointment and deliver the shirt just before his meeting begins.

2:30 p.m. - Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends - “A Party for Pops”
Every year Miss Spider and the bug kids have a special “Thank-you, Dad” day for Holley. They send him out to do chores while they make him presents and treats for a surprise party that may no longer a surprise - but it’s a fun family tradition. However, when new poppa Spiderus finds out about it, he’s envious. He wants a special day, too. But he’s disappointed that Spindella and the buggy triplets don’t seem at all interested in “surprising” him with a party. So he decides to throw his own party and cajoles Holley into being his only other guest. After some un-fun festivities, Holley invites Spiderus back to the Cozy Hole to share his party, only to discover that Miss Spider and his buggy brood aren’t there. Now Holley’s disappointed - until the two dads find their families at Le Beestro with gifts and treats and hugs. Miss Spider and Spindella have pulled off the best surprise party ever!

5:00 p.m. - Franklin - “Franklin’s Father”
Franklin has a string of misadventures at the train station while waiting for his mom to return from a weekend trip. When Mr. Mole happens by, Franklin hears that his father’s childhood was full of mishaps too.

5:30 p.m. - Little Bear - “Father’s Day”
Little Bear and Father Bear are going fishing on Father’s Day - just the two of them. But then Hen joins them, and then Owl joins them, followed by Duck…and Cat! Two fishermen quickly turn into six, and everyone has a great time.

father’s day, noggin, miss spider’s sunny patch friends, little bear, franklin, go diego go, dora the explorer, marathon, pinky dinky doo

This week is Diego’s Great Rescue Week on Noggin. Tune in Monday, June 11th, through Friday, June 15, at 5:00 p.m. ET to catch all five great rescue episodes. The episodes will air as follows:

* Monday - Little Kinkajou is in Beehive Trouble
* Tuesday - Diego and Baby Humpback to the Rescue
* Wednesday - The Great Roadrunner Race
* Thursday - Diego Saves Baby River dolphin
* Friday - Macky the Macaroni Penguin

Go Diego Go, Great Rescue Week, Noggin

My son hasn’t been sleeping very well the last couple of days due to teething and keeps ending up in bed with me at some point during the night. When that happens he generally wakes up early because he hears our alarms go off. To keep him busy long enough that I can jump in the shower, I usually turn Noggin on to keep him company.

One of the things that I both love and hate about Noggin is that they rotate the show schedule seasonally. Since we TiVo most shows anyway, the only time that the schedule change really affects us is in the mornings when he wants to lay in my bed and watch TV.

The 7:30 a.m. (central) time slot is the most important for us as that is the time I need to keep him occupied. For a long time Oobi was on during that time slot and it didn’t exactly work. That’s why I was thrilled this week when I turned Noggin on to find out that Jack’s Big Music Show was running at 7:30. That gives me a good 20 minutes to do the things I need to do while he is entertained by Jack, Mary, and Mel. I’m hoping this schedule will stay for a while.

According to the schedule on Noggin.com, Dora the Explorer is supposed to be in that slot, so either this week is a fluke or they just haven’t updated the schedule online. Either way, it is better than Oobi.

Noggin, schedule, Oobi, Dora the Explorer, Jack’s Big Music Show

Before I had a child of my own, the only kids songs I knew were the ones taught in church and school when I was a kid myself. Well, that and the annoying “I love you, you love me” song from Barney. I have my oldest nephew to thank for that one. When I was pregnant with my own child, I was determined to find a better alternative.

As I searched for the newest thing in children’s music, I quickly learned that it had come a long way since I was a kid. Asking other parents for suggestions led me in all kinds of different directions, but eventually I turned to the TV for my answers. I explored shows like The Wiggles and Barney and was sorely disappointed.

I couldn’t find anything that suited me until I discovered Noggin. After one listen to The Laurie Berkner Band’s “Monster Boogie” I couldn’t get the song out of my head. The video aired in between shows one morning and I was instantly hooked. By lunch time that day I was searching the internet for the lyrics and an idea of when I might be able to see the video again. From there, I discovered Jack’s Big Music Show and a whole new world of kids’ music. Bands like Milkshake, Music for Aardvarks, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Hot Peas ‘n’ Butter, and Dan Zanes make kid’s music very enjoyable. (For more information on Dan Zanes, check out the great interview he did with Erinn over at Parenting Our Children.)

The children’s music artists of today have a little more to offer than those that I knew as a kid. Instead of sugary sweet songs bound to drive parents crazy after a few listens, today’s kids’ music is filled with rock beats and entertaining lyrics. The songs are fun and tend to get kids and parents alike singing and dancing along.

music, kids, Laurie Berkner Band, Milkshake, Music for Aardvarks, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Dan Zanes, Jack’s Big Music Show, Barney, The Wiggles, Noggin, Parenting Our Children

Saturday, May 5th, is “Cinco de Mayo“, a day that Mexicans celebrate freedom and liberty. To help preschoolers celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Noggin is having a fiesta. Tune in to Noggin Saturday morning beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central to join in on the party. Dora, Diego, Blue, and all of the rest of your kids’ favorite Noggin pals will be there.

Cinco de Mayo, Noggin, Fiesta, party, Dora, Diego, Blue

Even in infancy, it was obvious that my son loved music. I started playing music for him early on and when he was old enough, started searching for TV shows that featured kids music I could actually stand. That is around the time that I discovered Jack’s Big Music Show. From that point on, our TV seemed to be stuck on Noggin. If you are a regular reader of this site, then you know that I tend to write a lot about shows that air on Noggin and my toddler is the main reason. He loves it and I love that they don’t show a million commercials.

Recently I’ve been “shopping around” for some new shows because I pretty much have all of the Noggin shows memorized. My biggest criteria for a show is that is has music that isn’t completely annoying to listen to over and over again (educational value is a big plus as well). It is easy to find kids shows with music, but not so easy to find kids shows with music that adults can stand to listen to as well. That’s why I’ve put together this list of my “Top 5 Shows to Get Your Preschooler Singing and Dancing”. In all of the following shows, the music is bearable and the dance moves you might see from your toddlers and preschoolers while they are watching are priceless.

Here is the list (in no particular order):

1. Jack’s Big Music Show - Shocking, eh? I just absolutely love this show. The music is great. The characters are entertaining, and it always captivates my son.
2. The Backyardigans - The music in this show is so catchy I tend to go around singing it for hours (or sometimes days) after I watch an episode. I just love the song about the “scurvy pirate”.
3. Hi 5 - I’ve seen both bad and good reviews on this show, but I don’t think it is so bad. The music encourages kids to get up and be active while still including educational aspects.
4. Sesame Steet - This one pretty much goes without saying. I don’t think I’ve ever known a kid who didn’t like Sesame Street. Some of the music that I watched as a kid still sticks with me today. Anyone for a “Ladybug Picnic?”
5. The Little Einsteins - The great thing about this show is that it introduces Classical music in a fun way to preschoolers. The songs are catchy enough to get my toddler moving, but are teaching him about some of the fundamentals of music at the same time.

Obviously there are tons more that I haven’t included here, some intentionally, some not. What shows get your preschooler groovin’?

music, dance, singing, top 5, Jack’s Big Music Show, Backyardigans, Hi 5, Sesame Street, Little Einsteins

Easter is coming up this weekend, so what better time is there to talk about two young bunnies?  The two bunnies I’m speaking of are Max and Ruby, a pair of siblings who are constantly at odds with each other.

Max is a 3-year-old bunny who, as most toddlers do, wants to get his way.  Whether it is playing with his trucks or putting bugs in a birthday cake, he wants what he wants when he wants it.  He is always trying to get his big sister Ruby to bend the rules just a little bit and often ends up getting in trouble.

Ruby is Max’s somewhat bossy 7-year-old sister who always seems to be in charge.  She tries to be responsible and keep Max in line, but sometimes it seems she has her own agenda.  Ruby is often frustrated by Max’s childish ways and that tends to result in quite a bit of sibling conflict.

Max and Ruby generally end up compromising and ending things on a good note.  Throughout their conflicts, they still manage to show each other a little bit of love and respect. Sometimes they even seem to enjoy each other’s company.

The draw of this show is that it shows sibling relationships in their truest form.  You could walk into any house containing 3 and 7-year-old siblings and see the same type of interactions.  However, you would also most likely see at least one parent breaking up the arguments, which seems to be missing from this show.  In fact Max and Ruby’s parents never have appeared on any episodes I have seen, although their grandmother is a regular fixture.

Max and Ruby was created by author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and is based on her Max and Ruby books.  It began airing as an animated series in 2002. 

You can see Max and Ruby on both Nick Jr. and Noggin.  Max and Ruby’s Easter Special will air on Nick Jr. Friday, April 6th, at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT. Brand new episodes will be shown the week of April 9-13 on Nick Jr. to jump start the new season.

Max and Ruby, Easter special, Rosemary Wells, siblings, relationships

There is no doubt that I am more than just a little obsessed with Noggin’s Jack’s Big Music Show but it seems that I’m not the only parent out there searching for answers about the show. After many, many searches I always seem to come up empty handed. Cynical Dad, however, decided to take matters into his own hands and managed to get an interview with Spiffy Pictures, the creators of the show. Although their answers seem a little reserved, they did touch on some of my most pressing questions:

Will there be a third season of Jack’s Big Music Show?
We don’t know about that at this point, as the second season is pretty new to everyone. Hopefully we won’t wait as long to shoot new ones than we did for the first-second season. Even though our fans really stuck with us. Thanks!

Currently the only merchandise available from Jack’s Big Music Show is the CD. What other types of merchandise will we eventually see in stores?
We think a second CD and a DVD with four episodes on it, one of them never seen before! (cool, huh?)

Will you be involved in the upcoming Jack’s Big Music Show live tour?
We haven’t gotten a green light on a live tour. But we would be, for sure.

For the rest of the interview you’ll have to hop on over to Cynical Dad’s blog. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as soon as I find out any more info.

Jack’s Big Music Show, merchandise, cd, dvd, tour, third season, Cynical Dad, interview, Noggin

Up until now I have managed to escape watching LazyTown, but for the sake of the blog I decided to record and actually watch a full episode.  To be perfectly honest, I could have gone my entire life without watching it and not missed much.  I did like the machine Pixel built that could pause, fast forward and rewind life, but Stephanie’s fake looking pink wig and the music (that reminded me of that “Barbie Girl” song) drove me a little batty.  Needless to say it won’t be seen on our TV again anytime in the near future.

LazyTown was created by Magnus Scheving, an aerobics champion and CEO of LazyTown Entertainment.  It has a very unique look which was created by a combination of CGI animation, puppets and live characters. Scheving also stars in the show as the active and health conscience superhero Sportacus.  His character spends his days trying to lead by example and show the residents of LazyTown - known for being lazy - how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Stephanie, who recently moved to LazyTown and lives with her uncle, is an optimistic young girl who has to make daily choices between a healthy alternative and taking the easy way out.  She loves LazyTown, but strives to get her new friends Ziggy, Trixie, Stingy, and Pixel outside to play and keep them more active.  She encourages the others by holding onto her motto, “There’s always a way!”  As an aspiring dancer, Stephanie really appreciates some of the fantastic moves Sportacus performs.

Robbie Rotten, the town villain, is perhaps the laziest of them all.  He spends most of his time snacking and watching TV in his underground lair.  The only time you see him outside is when he has come up with some new idea that he thinks will make his nemesis Sportacus look like a fool.  He just doesn’t understand why all the kids look up to Sportacus instead of himself.

Each day in LazyTown is a brand new adventure.  The adults may be a little lazy, but the kids are learning to give up some of their lazy habits,to Robbie Rotten’s chagrin.  All of the characters add their own splash of personality to the show to create a nice balance.

The one redeeming quality that I see in the show is that it does encourage kids to be active and promotes the idea that all kids do have the will to succeed.  They might just have to search a little to find it.

You can catch new episodes of LazyTown all week long (4/2/07-4/5/07) on Nick Jr. It also airs on Noggin. Check local listings for times.

LazyTown, Magnus Scheving, Sportacus, Stephanie, Robbie Rotten, Nick Jr., Noggin, new episodes

Set your TiVo’s tonight because Noggin is airing a brand new episode of Jack’s Big Music Show on Sunday, April 1st. According to tvguide.com, the episode is called “Silly Show.” Jack, Mary, and Mel will be doing all sorts of silly stuff, from playing piano with their feet to putting tap shoes on Mel the dog.

Jack’s Big Music Show, new episode, Silly Show, tvguide.com

Noggin will be airing five all new episodes of Pinky Dinky Doo this week. Be sure to tune in at 3:00 p.m. ET beginning Monday, March 26th, for some wild new stories and lots of new “big words”. You can read more details about each episode in the previous post, “Celebrate Storytelling with Noggin“.

Pinky Dinky Doo, new episodes

One of the more entertaining aspects of writing on the web is watching the page’s stats. Occasionally I like to check and see where my visitors are coming from so that I know what to focus my writing on. The most common search string I get for this site is generally some variation of “Steve Burns on Jack’s Big Music Show” or “Steve Burns groundhog video”.

In order to appease my readers, I have been searching for the video online but haven’t been able to find a copy that I could post here. It was available on YouTube for a short while before Viacom insisted that all of their content be removed from the video sharing site. As of now, the only place online that the “I Hog The Ground” video can be seen is on the Noggin web site. Go on, you know you want to rock out with Steve one more time!

Steve Burns, Jack’s Big Music Show, I Hog The Ground, ground hog day, search strings, YouTube, Viacom, Noggin