By: Chuck Miller
television, Uncategorized

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to return… as an animated series?

I don’t know how to approach this news.  I really don’t.  I’m not sure whether I should be happy or sad about this – whether this is a continuing legacy of one of the greatest children’s television shows of all time, or a complete desecration.  And it involves one of my favorite shows of my youth.

The Fred Rogers Company, the organization that produced the long-running Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS for nearly 35 years, has announced a new animated series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. The new series, set to premiere in June of 2012, will feature the children of the characters from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and will be aimed at preschool viewers.  That’s right, instead of the loveable puppet Daniel Striped Tiger, we’re going to get an animated version of his 4-year-old son.

Daniel Tiger puts on the sneakers and sweater, just like someone else we all knew and loved. Photo courtesy pbs.org.

So who else is involved in this new show?  How about “O the Owl,” yes, he’s X’s nephew; “Katerina Kittycat,” whose meow meow mother meow meow Henrietta Pussycat; and Lady Elaine Fairchilde’s daughter Miss Elaina – I wonder if her offspring inherited the legendary Boomerang Toomerang Soomerang.  Oh, and the royal offspring of King Friday XIII and Queen Sarah Saturday will be in the show – not Prince Tuesday, but apparently his younger brother Prince Wednesday.  No word on whether he eats spaghetti in the North End of Boston, because as every kid knows, Wednesday is Prince spaghetti night.

Oh yeah, and the Trolley will be part of the show as well.  Instead of being exclusively a puppet show, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood will be produced as a computer-generated animated series, similar to the animation techniques used for Blue’s Clues. Those animated clips will actually bookmark a live-action puppet show, which will be produced in Pittsburgh – the same city where Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was produced for generations.

Couple of things to note here.  As much as the show spent a few minutes every episode in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was as much about Fred Rogers and his interactions with the television viewers as it was about the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.  I just hope that this new program builds on the legacy of Fred Rogers – the new show is going to have to walk a very fine line between educating children and entertaining the parents who still remember those great episodes of long ago.

Unfortunately, I also remember two other children’s programs that were resurrected – for better or for worse.

Example number one – in 1997, Saban Entertainment purchased the rights to produce new episodes of Captain Kangaroo.  Instead of hiring Bob Keeshan as the titular captain, Saban Entertainment produced the series with John McDonough as the host.  I saw one episode of it.  It still makes me sick thinking about it.  In fact, I heard a rumor that another company now owns the rights to the Captain Kangaroo series, and is looking to produce new episodes with some other guy as the Captain.  Scuse me… I need to go find a wall to bang my head against.

Example number two – Remember The Electric Company?  What a great show.  Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader… oh yeah, Morgan Freeman doesn’t want us to remember that he used to be on that show.  Anyways… in 2009, PBS produced a new series, this time involving a team of super-powered teenagers against a team of evil Pranksters.  It’s like someone decided to create an entire series based on The Adventures of Letterman. Blech.

Example number three – In the 1970’s, WGBH Boston produced ZOOM. Remember the kids in the rugby shirts, the off-key musical numbers, Box 350, Boston, Mass, Ohh-two-one-three-four!  Again, this show got a reboot in 1999, and ran for about seven years.  I saw it once.  ONCE.  That was at least two times too many.

Still, there is a bit of a curiosity factor I have about Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  And although Fred Rogers himself is not part of this show, I can only hope that his spirit and his connection with kids is still a part of this new series.  A lot of us grew up watching Mr. Rogers, and you can say whatever you want about his show – just know that he really made a connection with each and every kid who appreciated a gentle television show.

I just don’t want this new show to tarnish my memories of the original series.