miles-husoy

I loved, LOVED this show in the 90's when I was in grade school. When I tried watching this show again in February 2014 (I was 27 at the time), I was sick at home with a bad head cold. At that time, I thought the show was cheesy and outdated. But giving it another try in 2021, I know now that it was and still is heartwarming and thought-provoking...for any age, really. I think what turned me off originally in 2014 was the production value. Some segments are still a little childish, but it had its moments even for adults. I'd take a dose of The Puzzle Place over most of what PBS aired after they got rid of Square One TV (when if it all is that show ever going to be released on DVD?!), and it was far better than Barney & Friends.

So what exactly made the show so good? I can think of a few reasons:

-The idea for the show came about because of the Los Angeles race riots involving the Rodney King beatings and the associated white policemen who were acquitted.

-Most of the puppeteers came from Sesame Street and the show was produced by Lancit Media, who were responsible for Reading Rainbow.

-No two kids were the same ethnicity, and that was the point, to celebrate their diverse backgrounds.

-Careful research was made on all the ethnicities.

-Some episodes were heartwarming, including Leon not being invited to his white friend's birthday party just because he was black.

-Besides racial harmony, it also talked about the equality of boys and girls.

-Sizzle and Nuzzle were so cute, and the subplots involving them were just as entertaining.

-Guest stars included Ernie Hudson, Sinbad, Amy Hill, Patti LaBelle and Nia Peeples, as well as Lynne Thigpen as the Chief from Acme Crimenet.

-The Puzzle Place itself was the perfect spot to let loose and have fun.

-Many real-life children wished they could be teleported to The Puzzle Place.

Also, if you'd like a good history of the show, check out the Defunctland documentary on YouTube.

If they ever release The Puzzle Place on DVD, I'll buy it. It needs to become popular again.

We just keep asking for something that we're never going to get. So look, Sesame Workshop, how's this? Burn all the episodes onto some DVD-R's, and, for a reasonable fee, send them out to all the fans. I mean, it's not like we're ever going to see this show again in reruns (I think we've all given up on that), so how could it possibly hurt? This is one of those rare shows that people of all ages can enjoy, which is quite hard to find in this day and age. It was wildly entertaining, and that's something hard to find as well. I'm bored of waiting for it come to back to the public. There's no excuse for withholding it for so long, thus ensuring its place in obscurity and meaning people will soon forget it altogether. This show has to be better known to everyone, especially today's children. I realize having it off the air adds to its mythical value, but there's no point in letting it drift away any longer. Quit scaring us. It's just not interesting anymore.

My sister had a VHS copy years and years ago, but our mom got rid of it feeling we had outgrown it. Maybe in adolescence, she was right. Fast forward to 10+ years later and I decide to check a DVD copy out of the library just for old times' sake for no real reason. Prior to now (I'm a 27-year-old single man), I have discovered lots of movies I was too young to see circa 1993...A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, The Terminator, Road Trip...OK, that movie didn't come out 'til 2000 and it's not an absolute classic like the first three, but you get the idea! I popped the movie into my player this evening to see if the movie held up. And wouldn't you know it...it does! In fact, I cried so much at the end, my ears are still moist half an hour after it ended.

Truth be told, however, the first few minutes are pretty stupid, but it does show Chance and Sassy's resentment to one another, which is important to the story. The real magic comes when the three animals (especially Chance) realize what home and family really means when their child owners leave them on a farm. That's when they decide to make their escape and from there, it's an adventure that may be dangerous, but in the words of Sassy, "I laugh at danger." The most touching scenes are Sassy finding her way back to Chance and Shadow after she was rescued from being drowned and Shadow finding the lost Molly in the woods. The touching musical score from Bruce Broughton is also a major factor.

I'd like to note I work with pets sometimes, so I know how it would feel if one of them (or even all of them) just disappeared. My family's favourite cat died of old age in July 2011. As you can imagine, I was heartbroken, but at that time, I was sharing a house with a middle-aged couple who had two shihtzus, so before I went out to do my errands that day, I made sure to say hello to the two little dogs because although one of my family pets was gone, I had two other ones who could be a beacon of hope for me.

No matter how old you are or what your tastes are or if you generally can't stand anything that comes from Disney, you seriously must see this film and you'll feel redeemed that way. And as piece of advice: don't be afraid to let a song or a movie or a TV show turn on the waterworks for you; it means you have a soul.

10. This is a reunion show, as mentioned above. 9. Only 1/3 of the original cast bothered to show up, thus supplying only 1/3 of the humor. 8. It's never a good idea to call something "the new version" of anything as it will only make fans long for the original (just like The New Leave It To Beaver). 7. Had this show started out as a new concept, people might not have noticed right away that it wasn't really that funny. But when you have the original to compare it to, it can be downright painful (just like Saturday Night Live after the departure of the Not Ready for Primetime Players). 6. Dr. Johnny Fever is NOT a regular. That factor alone hurts the show. 5. This show was syndicated, which means no major network would buy it. More often than not, the networks would never know a good show if it lived next door. This time, however, they made the right choice. 4. Who are all those other people? They have no personalities. They might as well be rejects from Murphy Brown or Newsradio. 3. Herb, Les and Mr. Carlson are funny, I'll give them that, but here they have nobody to get their laughs off of. 2. In the original WKRP, the premise was that Andy had to bring rock to the station against Mama Carlson's wishes and deal with all the buffoons. What exactly was the premise behind this show? Was there even a premise at all? You know a show's in trouble when someone says, "Uh, they're still running the station with Herb, Mr. Carlson and Les." AND FINALLY... 1. The Number One reason for this show bombing (and by that, I don't mean "the bomb")...Tawny Kitaen. Any show that's desperate enough to use her as the resident bimbo/sex symbol is desperate indeed. Any time you see her name (or the names of Pamela Anderson or Barbi Benton) in the opening credits, you know right away that what you're watching is utter crap. What a shame to blacken WKRP's great name this way.

Sad YTV no longer shows those Short Circutz cartoons. They were before their time, and this one, titled 'Breaking the Ice' or 'Love Found' (you'll find them both on YouTube), is no exception. They were are feasts to the eye. Here, a separate world shows birds & fish living in solitary, until a red bird swoops down on a blue fish and will do anything to be beside his newfound love. The bird even goes to the extreme by flying so hard, he smashes the ice and immediately falls in love with the fish. Soon the other birds fly in and join them, proving once and for all that separation is never the answer and that obstacles can be broken---just beautiful. The smooth jazz score doesn't hurt either. Sure, it has a bit of an elevator feel, but I feel it was suited for a cartoon about love --- and a perfect one at that. It had been almost ten years since I recently discovered it on YouTube, and I almost started crying. Definitely look it up for yourself. This animated short needs to be better known.

I've forgotten what a great show Reading Rainbow was. I broke my foot recently, and where I live, there's nothing to watch but Reading Rainbow. Now I am 20 years old and am more of a name in the workplace (so most of my co-workers probably have kids who enjoyed this show), so I can't really call it a guilty pleasure. There are some moments I'm not crazy about (e.g. stupid songs, too-childish stories), but along the way, I also get a good look at science, history, culture, etc. So while Reading Rainbow may be geared towards a children's audience, it's still got something for everyone (today, I even saw the episode with Liang and the Magic Paint Brush and got an insight into Chinese culture - I'd forgotten all about it!). Anyway, Reading Rainbow seems unlikely to go away soon, so it's still enjoyable for all ages. I'm starting to like it again myself!!!!

Wishbone was a wonderful show. It didn't last long and it didn't get much media attention. That's awful! Wishbone (the dog) was so cute and he had quite an imagination for literary works. The children were also talented and well-behaved. Wishbone was a well-produced, high-talent show, and it was MUCH better than Sesame Street or Barney. Additionally, I'm glad to see that some episodes have been released on DVD. I hope to track them down and actually hope that PBS will see it in their heart to release more of them (or even the whole series - in fact, when will they wake up and release Square One TV or Mathnet?). I hope that within the next ten years, Wishbone will still have people talking.