RULE of thumb: beware any program with Dr. Ruth.
Case in point: PBS’s “Between the Lions.”
The kids show — pitched to encourage elementary-level reading — debuts Monday at 10:30 a.m. on WNET, boldly going where “Sesame Street” has gone before.
Dr. Ruth makes the scene in the opener as Dr. Ruth Wordheimer. The sex therapist helps a monkey puppet overcome his big word “freak-out.”
The daily half-hour from WGBH begs the question: If reading is so fun, why are we all watching TV?
One answer is that parents and caregivers often prefer passively watching TV to reading, and rereading, the same book — and answering the myriad questions that this process entails.
And secondly, there’s the comfort of remaining in your own living room when Junior actually does freak out.
Who wants to be around the corner at the local library where everyone can see that he’s a hellion in short pants with the sharing skills of Saddam Hussein?
“Lions” strives to bring the library setting home. The central characters are a pride of lion puppets that run a library along with Click the Mouse. Click — Get it? Like a computer? Oy.
The lions — Theo, Cleo, Lionel and Leona — read such fusty texts as “Pecos Bill Cleans Up The West” with book pages appearing statically on the screen like outtakes from Hooked on Phonics.
As my four-year-old said over the top of his Hot Wheels on a first viewing, “This is not ‘The Lion King.'”
But, the next day, Trevor wanted to watch the show again. He even sang along with the vowel “e” song. He can even spell “wet.”
Now, that is impressive.
I WAS at The MacDonald’s play station in Bay Ridge last Saturday when an Asian woman confessed — unprompted — that she doesn’t let her four-year-old watch TV any more. Only videos.
Why? Too much sex and violence?
No. What’s troubling the MacDonald’s Mommies are commercials. The relentless advertising targeted at our kids.
Gushers. Cheerios. $900 Gateway computers. They all elicit the same response from our little captives: I want that, and I want it now.
While Washington watchdogs programming, who’s minding the electric store? Madison Avenue knows our kids’ not-so-secret desires — and has no reins on exploiting this knowledge.
While PBS has joined in accepting advertising — Cheerios sponsors “Lions” — their plugs are tame in comparison to the commercials slathered on Nickelodeon.
Kids have trouble distinguishing between programming and advertising. They’re ad-saturated, as my son demonstrated at church last Sunday.
Standing on the altar, Father Ed asked Trevor about the dreams of the saints. My little genius answered that he’d had a dream about cream coming out of the top of his head.
Thank the Lord, Father Ed had seen the same Oreo commercial and knew that while my son may not understand the saints, he knows his cookie ads.