For those of you who may recall, Captain Power was a TV show slash game back i the 80’s. Depending on who you asked, it either rocked or sucked. I can’t speak to how good the TV show was because I never saw it. I did have the game, however, along with a VHS cassette.
The game primarily consisted of pointing at a screen and trying to hit bright red parts of the opposing fighter planes. There was also yellow, and if you didn’t “dodge” it by turning your plane-gun away, you’d get hit. Get hit enough times, and the plane ejects.
I didn’t know what to expect when I asked for it, but I should have expected what I got even if I was young. Of course you wouldn’t be able to maneuver. it was a VHS tape! and whether you were doing anything or not, the game would go on and (on the VHS anyway) you would win. Your participation wasn’t actually necessary.
I have a bit of a flashback with that when Lain watches Dora the Explorer. I give myself two episodes of “Dora time” a day, where she watches the show while I get various things done in absolute piece.
For those unfamiliar, the formula for Dora episodes is that Dora and Boots have to go somewhere. They consult a map, avoid Swiper the Fox who wants to steal something, and so on. Dora is always asking “you” (the viewer) for help. It’s interactive as far as that goes. Lain participates sometimes. It’s pretty great.
At some point, though, Lain is going to figure out that her participation is not necessary. Dora will get where she wants to go with or without her help.
Hmm I don’t know a lot about kids but I have a question.
Once Lain realizes that Dora will get to her destination with or without Lain’s assistance will that not simply mean that Dora has achieved her goal and that Lain has outgrown her? Success essentially?Report
When the child starts noticing that even if she yells “GO INTO THE SWAMP!” that Dora ends up going to the store anyway, she’ll be ready for the Thundercats.Report
The six-year old still hasn’t figured it out. He will run to the screen to point to the answer, and because they allow enough time for younger children, he gets really frustrated with Dora’s seeming incomprehension.Report
Ah, so the show is preparing kids to be software developers who have to deal with non-technical people.Report
Or non-technical people who have to deal with software.Report
First the character’s name is Swiper and second he is a fox. As a father, ive had to watch my fair share of Dora. I perfer the Octonauts.Report
Thanks for the correction. I actually caught the fact that it was Swiper and not Swipey this morning, after I wrote the post. I didn’t realize it was a fox. Learn something new every day!Report
Creature Report! Creature Report!
(Creature Report!)
Dora is just awful. The animation, the stories, Swiper’s inconsistent characterization.
If you’ve seen “Dora and Friends” and wondered what happened to Boots, this is pretty funny:
http://www.rantsfrommommyland.com/2014/10/dora-and-friends-so-where-hell-is-boots.html
Report
Have you seen Thomas the Tank Engine? Next to that, Dora is a work of the highest art.
Still not as fun as Animaniacs, though more likely to keep Lain’s attention.Report
Oh man, Thomas the Tank Engline is painfully bad.
When my son was little, it was Teletubbies (and sometimes Barney). I have no idea whether Teletubbies was good, because I had no idea what the hell was going on. It was like the toddler cartoon version of cricket: the actions were all recognizable, I just had no idea how to make sense of them in combination.Report
I don’t LOVE Thomas, but I definitely prefer it to Dora (especially if you catch one of the older ones that use models instead of CGI), which just looks 100% cheap and is completely nonsensical always.Report
Chuggington – The Thomas alternativeReport
Who’s narrating Thomas, now that Ringo and Carlin are gone?Report
Tico is the squirrel.
I actually miss watching Wonder Pets and Yo Gabba Gabba with my daughter (thought I think I enjoyed the latter more than her.) I remember far more of the songs and catch phrases than she does. She now prefers to spend her TV time on live-action shows.Report
We have a couple little books of a Thomas ripoff. Not Chuggington, though. Starts with a K.Report
I remember wanting to participate with the Captain Power show but alas, did not have the toy. We DID get to play along with Bill Cosby when he did Picture Pages, thanks to my mom ordering the books, but were still upset our pens didn’t make the same cool noise.Report
I get almost as much peace when Kiddo is running around the living room, unpacking all the things, as I do when Dora is on in the next room. The shouting! The constant! Shouting! Every! Word! Emphasized!
I realize this is an issue within me, and if I could accept the shouty voice acting with equanimity, I could actually take advantage of it. But I’m not there yet.Report
I had a friend in grad school who stood at 4’11”. She once had a job dressing up as Dora and going to various events.Report
Fascinating. Its probably one of the best paying gigs an actor can get. I heard being a live Disney character at one of their resorts is really good work to.Report
As a stripper or children’s parties, or both?Report
You hate a child’s program with a Latino lead. I’m shocked. Worried that Lain might get the wrong ideas about people who aren’t white?Report
How’s your immune system?Report
That reminds me of a hilarious detail in the first photo here (look lower right):
http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2013/08/13/anthony_s_karen_a_photojournalist_s_unrestricted_access_to_the_ku_klux_klan.html
Worst white supremacists ever. (Also, Newcastle Brown! Seems more upscale than I would’ve expected).Report
There is absolutely nothing that is not hilarious about that photo.
Of course, it is also hauntingly familiar. Sometimes I don’t miss where I grew up.Report
I see what you did there…Report
Dora & Diego (Diego more than Dora) are a big hit with Bug right now, as is Octonauts, Paw Patrol, Fireman Sam, Umi Zoomi, and whatever else looks like fun on Netflix & Amazon.Report
My girls are both obsessed with Paw Patrol and Blaze and the Monster Machines. They also like Peppa Pig a lot, and I do too – there’s some subtle characterization of the adults that makes me laugh, like the rivalry between Granddad Dog and Grandpa Pig, or how Granddad Dog never wants to hear Grandpa Rabbit’s songs and stories.Report
Oh, and let’s not forget the PBS lineup, Peg +Cat, Wild Kratts, Plum Landing, etc.Report
We spent much of the weekend watching Larva, which is a South Korean cartoon (but with no dialogue, so language isn’t an issue) that consists almost entirely of fart jokes with two work-like larval creatures. To a 6-year old, it was pretty much the funniest thing possible.
Also, if you’re looking for a movie-length distraction on Netflix, Thunder and the Magic House was a big hit, though I haven’t actually watched more than 10 minutes of it myself.Report
octonauts and dino dan are pretty tops (though the mystery of dino dan’s dad is interesting to watch a kid unravel, and has unsettling implications if you think it through too hard) but the kid is starting to migrate away from “little kid shows” to stuff like batman, avengers, etc.Report
PBS Kids. It is the best programming on TV for young kids. My daughter was reading at about a second grade level of proficiency when she entered kindergarten. The wife and I did the whole reading a book at bedtime thing, which gave her the idea of reading a book as a desirable activity, but it was PBS Kids pushing phonetic reading in a surprisingly engaging way that gave her the actual skill set.Report
PBS Kids is mostly pretty good, but Sid The Science Kid creeps me the fish out. If you want to know what “Uncanny Valley” looks like in practice, there you go.Report
Am I the only one that originally read this as “Captain Planet” instead of “Captain Power” and wondered if it was going to be about how Dora has a less lame power than her older brother Ma Ti?Report
I read it that way too and got halfway through the article before going, “Oh…” [sad face]Report
And to bring it around, J Michael Straczynski (the Babylon 5 guy) was the chief writer for Captain Power.Report