Last article, I discussed part one of my list of the top nine PBS kids shows from my childhood, and what a fever dream they all were. Now, I’ve come to finish the list of the shows from my childhood that were totally bizarre, but also left an impact on me to this day. Without further ado, here is part two!
5. Cyberchase
Now, let’s talk about a show that discussed math (math, yuck!). I am of course talking about CyberChase, a show about a digital universe called CyberSpace. Motherboard, Cyberspace’s benevolent leader, was infected by a virus sent to her by the terrifying Hacker. Hacker does this by having three Earth children, Matt, Inez, and Jackie, touch a library computer map in the real world at the same time. Motherboard then sends the three kids into CyberSpace, where they end up joining forces with Digit, a creation of Hacker who ends up rebelling. Together, the four of them must protect CyberSpace from Hacker and his nefarious schemes by using (*gasp*) math and science until they can retrieve the Encryptor Chip, which Hacker stole, and wipe out Motherboard’s virus. One notable face in the voice cast is Christopher Lloyd as Hacker. And he does a scarily good job, seriously, someone get this guy an Emmy. His voice performance is TERRIFYING.Â
One thing that surprised me about CyberChase is how long it has gone on. It started in 2002 and is still going today! Poor Motherboard has been infected with a virus for 21 years! The Cybersquad needs to hurry up and get the encryptor chip back and beat Hacker’s ass! Poor Motherboard must be sick of waiting! A final notable thing about Cyberchase was how it made math fun for us kids who weren’t very good at math, especially those of us who had a lot of anxiety surrounding math homework and tests. It taught math in an intriguing way and also had a “For Real” segment that showed how math could apply to real life. That’s more than math class can ever say (Seriously, when in real life am I ever going to have 50 watermelons on me?). You won’t even realize the show is teaching you stuff until it’s too late!
4. Dragon Tales
Let’s wish, let’s wish, with all our hearts, to fly with dragons in a land apart! I am, of course, talking about Dragon Tales! Dragon Tales is about two siblings, Emmy and Max, and their adventures. Upon moving into their new house, they find a magical dragon scale in their new playroom, which, when reciting a special rhyme engraved in its box, can magically transport them to the magical land of Dragon Land! There, they befriend four friendly talking dragons: Ord, Cassie, Zak, and Weezie. Max and Emmy become frequent visitors to Dragon Land as they go on adventures with their new friends, help them out with their daily dilemmas, and learn some important lessons too!Â
One thing I love about Dragon Tales is how beautiful the show is aesthetically. Everything looks so colorful and vibrant, from the background to the characters. It was created by an artist called Ron Rondecker, who was known for his drawings of dragons.
I always felt like I was transported to Dragon Land whenever I watched Dragon Tales when I was little. Not only were there dragons, there were tons of other magical creatures as well, like fairies, giants, and elves. A final thing I loved about Dragon Tales was how relatable the characters were, specifically Cassie. Cassie is very smart and sweet, but she is somewhat insecure. She also worries often about making mistakes. This was relatable because as a child, I was not the most confident kid, and I also worried usually about making mistakes, so I connected to that part about Cassie. She showed me that it was okay to make mistakes and that you could overcome your anxiety.
3. Zoboomafoo
Here’s a show that taught me a lot of cool things about animals, and a lot of cool songs that live in my head rent-free to this very day! I am, of course, talking about Zoboomafoo, which starred everyone’s favorite wildlife-loving brothers, Chris and Martin Kratt, and of course, the titular lemur, Zoboomafoo, (who was a Coqueral Sifaka Lemur by the way). In the show, the Kratt brothers hang out with Zoboomafoo at a place called Animal Junction and meet and learn about animals. Baby animals, wild animals, pets… you name it, they met it.
I have to talk about Zoboomafoo himself! At the beginning of every episode, when Zoboo comes to Animal Junction, he doesn’t talk. He will only talk once he’s given a snack from the snack machine. Once fed, Zoboo would spin around super fast and yell “ZOBOOMAFOO!” which was always hilarious in a random sort of way. After this, Zoboomafoo would now be able to talk.
Another thing of note about Zoboomafoo is all the songs! I remember them all as if I just heard them yesterday. My personal favorite was the “Going to The Closet” song! Zoboomafoo would always sing this when Chris and Martin were about to go on a trip to see some animals in the wild. I loved this song because partway through it, Chris and Martin would go to the closet to get gear for their trip. Then, when they would open the closet, literally everything, and I mean everything, from inside the closet would spill out and bury the Kratt brothers. I LOVED this part as a kid, it never failed to make me laugh! I’m surprised it hasn’t happened to me yet, with how messy I am.Â
Next, we have to talk about Zoboo Land, a faraway claymation land inhabited by all sorts of strange creatures. There’s a mole named Noggindrill, who has a drill on his head and loves to drill tunnels. There’s Gooble, a giant purple bear who loves eating Goobleberries. But I can’t talk about Zoboomafoo without talking about all the real animals they had on their show! Zoboomafoo taught me a lot about a wide range of animals and contributed heavily to my own love of animals. For example, cats have always been my favorite animal. So I loved it when Zoboomafoo taught about the different types of cats in the wild, like lions. They even had an episode on kittens, which is literally the cutest thing ever. Thank you to the Kratt brothers for teaching me so many cool facts about animals!Â
As for honorable mentions:
2. it’s a big big world
It’s a Big Big World focused on animals and nature like Zoboomafoo, but it’s not as well-known. The main character of the show is Snook, a pale-throated three-toed sloth who is very smart and loves to help his friends with their problems and learn about the world around them. He is slow-moving and takes a lot of naps (well, what else would you expect from a sloth?) But he loves to sing and dance with all his friends. He’s a pretty chill dude. He lives in the world tree with some of his friends like Bob, an anteater who’s a huge ant simp, Smooch and Winslow, a pair of rambunctious marmoset monkeys, and Ick, a redtail catfish who is very crabby, despite being a fish. Snook likes to help his friends out with their dilemmas and help them learn about the world around them. Also, like Zoboomafoo, It’s a Big Big World would always have songs in it. My personal favorite was “We’ll Still Be Friends.” Again, another super nostalgic song for me, and I loved how upbeat it was! I also love the message of the song, which is that no matter what changes happen in life, we’ll still be friends! I just think that is a very comforting message. It’s a Big Big World was a show with cool songs, and even cooler characters.
1. The Big comfy Couch
Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready to clown around? With Loonette and Molly, a clown and her dolly on the Big, Comfy Couch! This was such a fun show for me as a kid, and it was one the few shows to make clowns seem not scary. The show stars Loonette and Molly, who as the theme song says, are a clown and her dolly, who live in a house with a couch that is indeed very big, and very comfy. Loonette and Molly like to go on adventures and solve problems from the comfort of the aforementioned couch. They also like to venture out to visit Loonette’s Granny Garbanzo and her cat Snicklefritz. There’s Major Bedhead, the local clown courier who makes deliveries to Loonette and Granny Garbanzo, and as the name suggests, he has quite the major case of bedhead. He’s very goofy but also quite clumsy. The Big Comfy Couch was such a cute show, and it still brings a smile to my face.
Whew! That ended up being a long list! But I hope you all enjoyed reminiscing with me about old PBS shows from my childhood (and some of yours too, no doubt). PBS had a lot of weird shows, and not a lot of them are super well known, but they were still very fun to watch and taught me lessons that I carry with me to this very day.