Kevin Nauta (prydonia@accn.org)
Wed, 26 Nov 1997 18:12:28 -0500
apearce@academy.net.au wrote:
> I have heard it said that some of the problems with children's TV
> result from its attempt to cater to as large an age range as possible, to
> maximize ratings. Children's books, on the other hand, are generally aimed
> at a specific age group, probably in recognition of the fact that different
> age groups have different levels of reading skills. I think that this
> "catering to all ages" factor in children's TV has (a) led to a large number
> of bland programs and (b) that by attempting to make the programs suitable
> for younger viewers, a gaping hole has been left when it comes to quality
> programs for older kids/teenagers. This is where Press Gang comes in. It
> is one of the few shows that actually gives its viewers some credit for
> intelligence, rather than talking down to them and trivializing the issues.
> This is actually what makes it accessible to viewers older than the target
> audience (i.e. 33-year olds.)
>
> Ann
Kevin replies:
Well put. My fellow Americans on the list, remember what ABC did to the
"Ghostbusters" cartoon? I think that came on while I was still in high school--or
maybe freshman year of college--and I loved that show. It was Saturday morning
cartoon stuff, but it was well written, a little bit scary, and was aimed at older
kids. Fox's "Dog City" was aimed a little younger, but had dialogue that was
sophisticated and could be quite funny if you were in the right mood. (Picture
"Bugsy Malone" with an all-dog cast, if you haven't heard of Dog City before.)
Both met the same fate: the focus was taken off the "adult" characters in the
cartoon and placed on the token "kid" character, with the series viewed and
sculpted through a five year old's eyes. Unfortunately, the shows turned into
caricatures of themselves that were so dumb, the original audience split and the
five year olds didn't like them, either. End result? Dead show.
The attitude PG takes is so much different. Tiddler is the sop "kid" character in
PG, but you can't tell from watching that she's treated very much differently than
the older kids, and she has a lot more power than many of her fellow members of the
news team. (She's in on the Thursday planning meetings Lynda holds in "The Week
and Pizza.) Nobody lost more in the transition of PG from a "children's show" to a
more adult-oriented offering than Tiddler's character, and that's a shame. It
would have been interesting to see Lynda and Tiddler square off for control of the
paper, as Tiddler threatens to do when Lynda gets too old. "Day Dreams" is an
interesting take on Lynda's viewing of Tiddler as a rival, even though in the
alternate future, Julie outflanks Tiddler for control of the paper.
Anyway, that's my buck and a quarter on the subject.
Kevin Nauta
prydonia@accn.org
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