Noggin and PBS were my favorite channels to watch growing up, and to this day, I can still vividly remember some very specific episodes of my favorite pastime shows. As I was brainstorming which five series would get my pick, it was too difficult for me to create a numbered, hierarchical list, so — in no particular order–here are just some of the shows that stole my heart as a young girl and still continue to hold a special place in my heart:
The Backyardigans
I mean, come on, who didn’t love watching The Backyardigans growing up? One of my favorite episodes was when they were sneaking through a paleontology museum and had to replace one of the claws on the T-Rex display, and another was their “Mission to Mars” episode that showcased the song, “Almost Everything is Boinga,” featuring Alicia Keys.
Go, Diego, Go!
Unpopular opinion: I did not like Dora the Explorer as a kid. I’d still watch the show when it came on, but if her cousin Diego was an alternative, I’d switch channels instantaneously. I remember learning about scarlet macaws, whale sharks, and red-eyed tree frogs through Diego, and I credit him for kick-starting my fondness for all animals and wildlife.
Little Einsteins
I started playing the piano when I was three and a half years old, and watching the Little Einsteins allowed for that music-loving side of me to meet the adventurous and explorative side. The songs that play in the show are still ingrained in my core memory, and I’ll even find myself remembering the lyrics they sang over the music each episode when I hear some of them.
Dragon Tales
One of the fondest shows I watched as a child, I loved watching Emmy and Max go on their adventures with their fairytale friends. I wanted nothing more than to be their best friends and go on all their journeys alongside them. The two-headed brother and sister dragon, Zak and Wheezie, were my favorite of the clan, even though they were always bickering about something.
The Doodlebops
I don’t have many friends who watched The Doodlebops, but I’d watch their show and movies religiously growing up, and my passion even led me to begging my parents for tickets to one of their live shows since they were a Canadian children’s TV show, and we were living in Washington, U.S.A. at the time. Their retro and eclectic styles piqued my curiosity and entertained my mind for hours on end.
Even as I wrote this article, I thought of a million more shows I grew up binge watching. Some honorable mentions include the Wonder Pets, Super Why!, Dinosaur Train, Oobi, Oswald, The Upside Down Show, and — a classic — Blue’s Clues. There’s truly no telling what I would’ve done had these shows not existed because their entertainment value was so high, and I can still recall certain episodes to a “T.” Although I am no longer in that period of my life, I have rich memories associated with it and hope those sentiments continue well into my adolescent life.