Blog Talkback: How TV Guide Influenced Your Parents
- Thread starter LovelyKath
- Start date
Good lord, talk about wanting to sanitize television. Some of that commentary was beyond clueless. Thank goodness action animation is edgier today regardless, if only on cable. It's interesting & stunning to me how the magazine went from panning Batman TAS to praising Gargoyles five years later. I shudder to think what the TV Guide of 1990 would have said about a show like Young Justice or Sym-Bionic Titan.
This is a great and eye-opening trip to the past, thank you. I actually remember two of those covers.
Unrelated to animation, it grinds my gears how a strike against Ghostwriter was supposedly excessive political correctness. Based on what? The only obvious thing I can think of is the casting in and of itself, which is reasoning both superficial and dumb.
This is a great and eye-opening trip to the past, thank you. I actually remember two of those covers.
Unrelated to animation, it grinds my gears how a strike against Ghostwriter was supposedly excessive political correctness. Based on what? The only obvious thing I can think of is the casting in and of itself, which is reasoning both superficial and dumb.
It always irritated me when parents' groups did stuff like this, probably because my parents were good parents and yet let my brother and I watch G.I. Joe, Transformers, and He-Man. They didn't have problems with that stuff, and we turned out fine.
Having the X-Men sit down and talk their problems out with the Sentinels? Okay, how, pray tell, do you reason with machines that want you destroyed because of who and what you are? This is why these people don't write for these shows, and thank goodness for that.
Having the X-Men sit down and talk their problems out with the Sentinels? Okay, how, pray tell, do you reason with machines that want you destroyed because of who and what you are? This is why these people don't write for these shows, and thank goodness for that.
TVG's Doug rating reminds me a lot of my older brother telling me why Doug was his favorite of the first three; To him, Ren and Stimpy was grotesque and Rugrats was not his cup of tea, and it's probable if not likely that TVG concurred.
Stimpy's Invention first aired in February of 1992, BTW.
Stimpy's Invention first aired in February of 1992, BTW.
They stopped doing them around the time around the late 90's I believe. It was around the time that TV Guide was 'modifying' itself and cutting out all the stuff that made it worth reading.
If you look at TV Guide today, and look at the MASSIVE weekly book that it was back in the day, you'd never believe they were one and the same.
If you look at TV Guide today, and look at the MASSIVE weekly book that it was back in the day, you'd never believe they were one and the same.
crazy_benny101
New member
I used to eagerly read TV Guide every week when I was a kid, or at least I did when we had TV and had a reason to buy it. I even read about shows I didn't watch. I was a weird kid.
Annonemus.
New member
This explains everything - namely, why I could never watch TMNT, The Simpsons, Ren and Stimpy, or Power Rangers when I was a kid. Thanks a lot, TV Guide...
Of course, my mom never actually told me why I couldn't watch these shows when I was an impressionable young kid, so I had to figure it out myself. I eventually assumed that they emitted some sort of evil radiation from the TV that would make my head explode if I watched even so much as one second of them. So anytime I saw those clouds and heard the chorus of "The Simp-sonnnns...", I would run screaming from the living room and hide under the dining room table. Yep, monitoring my TV viewing made me one well-adjusted little kid, all right.
Of course, my mom never actually told me why I couldn't watch these shows when I was an impressionable young kid, so I had to figure it out myself. I eventually assumed that they emitted some sort of evil radiation from the TV that would make my head explode if I watched even so much as one second of them. So anytime I saw those clouds and heard the chorus of "The Simp-sonnnns...", I would run screaming from the living room and hide under the dining room table. Yep, monitoring my TV viewing made me one well-adjusted little kid, all right.
Given I was already in college in the 90s (and Mom and Dad didn't subscribe to TV Guide), TV Guide's 90s tips didn't influence my parents... that and they liked a few of the shows we were watching anyway (though Mom disliked "Ren and Stimpy" but put up with me watching it anyway...). 
fishingal234
New member
I'm actually surprised they did endorse Tiny Toons. Judging by their previous "tips" of what to avoid, I would have figured they'd go off on a tangent about how TTA was full of "imitable acts of cartoon violence" (because, you know, we all know your average child possess the ability to smack each other around with anvils and one-ton steel blocks).
...and on the subject of "original Nicktoons", I'm guessing they were only able to pick one of the three. Ren & Stimpy was an obvious red flag, but what was wrong with Rugrats? Why not endorse that? It wasn't exactly "risque" by any means, and it almost aims itself as being the kind of kid-friendly series that the TVG editors adored back in the day.
...and on the subject of "original Nicktoons", I'm guessing they were only able to pick one of the three. Ren & Stimpy was an obvious red flag, but what was wrong with Rugrats? Why not endorse that? It wasn't exactly "risque" by any means, and it almost aims itself as being the kind of kid-friendly series that the TVG editors adored back in the day.
mattmika g
New member
Could they dare say a bad word against it when it's being presented by Steven Spielberg?
Yes they could. To his face. *points*
http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/berg952.html
http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/berg952.html
"Rugrats" had a lot of poop humor, though. It was presented in a much more innocent way than, say, "Ren and Stimpy", but it was still there. Also, looking at it from their point of view, it did focus on babies crawling away and having dangerous adventures right under their parents' noses - I'm sure 1991-era TV Guide would claim that the show broadcasts a message like "disregard your authority figures and do whatever you want".
Thanks!
Now I’m doubly glad I stated that as a question.
I don’t know how much butt smooching is going on after they hit Sesame Workshops Ghostwriter for being too politically correct.
Generally irreverent humor is so much better then reverent humor.
Continuing on the irreverent humor:
I’ve talked to parents who really hate South Park because of how disrespectful the kids are. I try to point out how the parents and other grown-ups behave on that show but they don’t have much interest in hearing about that. But is there an adult on the show, other then Chef, that deserves any respect? They’re few and far between. Mr. Garrison needs to be opposed at every turn.
On the other hand Moral Oral shows just how ridiculous it is to show reverence to corrupt authority figures.
Of course those are adult shows.
I wonder if a lot of it comes down to do you want kids that are going to respect and obey authority without question or do you want them to always be questioning authority and expect that respect is earned, not some sort of divine right, and how is that reflected in cartoons?
To me it's an American ideal to always question authority, although kids should give their parents the benefit of a doubt (having their kids best interests in mind). However, Marge Simpson has certainly earned much more respect then Homer.
Now I’m doubly glad I stated that as a question.
I don’t know how much butt smooching is going on after they hit Sesame Workshops Ghostwriter for being too politically correct.
Generally irreverent humor is so much better then reverent humor.
Continuing on the irreverent humor:
I’ve talked to parents who really hate South Park because of how disrespectful the kids are. I try to point out how the parents and other grown-ups behave on that show but they don’t have much interest in hearing about that. But is there an adult on the show, other then Chef, that deserves any respect? They’re few and far between. Mr. Garrison needs to be opposed at every turn.
On the other hand Moral Oral shows just how ridiculous it is to show reverence to corrupt authority figures.
Of course those are adult shows.
I wonder if a lot of it comes down to do you want kids that are going to respect and obey authority without question or do you want them to always be questioning authority and expect that respect is earned, not some sort of divine right, and how is that reflected in cartoons?
To me it's an American ideal to always question authority, although kids should give their parents the benefit of a doubt (having their kids best interests in mind). However, Marge Simpson has certainly earned much more respect then Homer.
SpanishGirl
New member
My parents never really had a problem with what I watched on TV. As far as I know, they didn't go looking over the new lineup of cartoons every year or read up on reviews for them before allowing me to watch them. They trusted my judgment, at least by a certain age, and would sometimes watch TV with me, so they basically knew what I was watching anyway. I think that they didn't want me to watch The Simpsons for its humor, but to be fair, I was never really interested in watching that show when I was little, or now for that manner, anyway. It is kind of weird to see how harsh they were in these articles to different action and comedy series.