Popular American Children's Shows

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe

Feb 19, 1968

--Aimed towards preschoolers
--Featured Rogers as puppeteer and host
--Characterized by simplicity
--Spoke Directly to audience about issues
--Factory tours
--Demonstrated experiments, crafts, & music

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

Sep 13, 1969

--Wanted to create a non-violent Saturday morning program
--The Mystery, Inc. gang turn up in the Mystery Machine, en route to or returning from a regular teenage function, when their van develops engine trouble or breaks down for any of a variety of reasons
--Mystery, Inc. gang gets into Mystery Machine to go somewhere
--Van has engine trouble or something that prevents kids from going to event
--Place where trapped has monsters and a mystery to solve

Sesame Street

Nov 10, 1969

--Goal was to help young children prepare for school
--Faced societal and economic challenges
--Geared towards low-income families

Reading Rainbow

Jun 15, 1983

--Encouraged reading
--Each episode centers on a theme from a book
--Explored through segments or stories
--Provides book recommendations for kids
--Encourages visiting local library

Eureeka’s Castle

Sep 5, 1989

--Puppet characters
-- Eureeka is a sorceress in training
--Live in a wind-up castle music box
--Box belongs to friendly giant
--Batley the bat always crashes into things
--Uses clay animation

Rugrats

Aug 11, 1991

--Focuses on lives of toddlers
--Common experiences are adventures for babies
--Mispronounce words or use poor grammar
--Parents can’t understand them
-Explore their surroundings and try understand what adults are doing

Power Rangers

Aug 28, 1993

--Costumed heroes
--Team of young people recruited and trained by a mentor
--Morph into Rangers
--Special powers/abilities
--Save the world

All That

Apr 16, 1994

--Live action
--Sketch comedy show
--Variety show
--Features Good Burger, The Loud Librarian, & Everyday French with Pierre Excargot

Pokemon

Apr 1, 2001

--Huge franchise
--Idea is to train team of captured Pokemon & compete against other trainers
--Goal is to become the Pokemon Master, the strongest trainer of all

Invader Zim

May 11, 2004

--Story centers around Zim and his “dog” Gir
--Exiled to earth to keep from destroying home planet with half cooked schemes
--Created by comic book writer
--Aimed towards older children