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As I mentioned in the story thread, I'm writing an extra credit essay for my psychology course on examining approaches to producing educational TV for young kids by comparing two shows. We watched episodes of some Welsh import show called Fireman Sam as a baseline for comparison. And I did not like it at all, though some of the kids apparently do. If you're a Fireman Sam fan, you might want to duck out of this thread right now. Just a heads up. 
Of course, the TV show I've chosen to compare to the utter fail that is Fireman Sam is the bestest TV show ever, LazyTown. I'll be 'analyzing' things like the show format, the morals taught, the way lessons are learned, the cast of characters, and the attitude of the show toward its audience. Of course, I'm sure "Julianna is hot" is enough of a reason in LT's favor for most of us, but I have to turn in more than that.
A serious and far more nuanced and balanced version of what appears below, with all the lolspeak and swearing edited out, will be submitted to my professor. The below writing is just me having fun and shaping ideas for the main essay. I'm analyzing the four episodes of the 2005 Fireman Sam series seen in school and the few episodes on my LT DVDs.
So! Let's begin the Ultimate Showdown!
---
Our contenders:
vs 
Can't you just see which show is more fun already? Some asshole giving a thumbs up versus three awesome fun-loving characters. Oh golly gosh, I'm looking forward to the slaughtering already!
Show format and premise:
Fireman Sam is a collection of ten minute segments depicting the lives of the people of Pontypandy, a fictional town in Wales, and their protectors, the Pontypandy Fire Department. Each episode features a moral about fire safety presented in the beginning (usually in the form of a demonstration by the firefighters), an adventure in which the townspeople (usually the kids, but sometimes the adults) do something stupid, and a saving segment where Sam condescendingly lectures the kids as he's saving them and reinforces the episode's moral.
LazyTown, on the other hand, is a series of 21 minute episodes about the adventures of the citizens of LazyTown. True to its name, the town is lazy and has some unhealthy habits (especially in the first episode), but relative newcomers Sportacus and Stephanie have made progress in teaching everyone how to be healthy and happy. The show usually opens with a segment of athletics and fun with Sportacus in his airship, cuts to the kids playing in town, introduces Robbie and his plan for the day, then shows the conflict playing out. It ends with a celebration to Stephanie's Bing Bang dance. Somewhere in the middle, there will be at least one infectious song, Sportacus saving someone, and a moral, though it's not usually presented as overtly as it is in Fireman Sam. LazyTown creator and Sportacus-actor Magnús Scheving doesn't believe that viewers are morons---he treats his audience with respect.
Cast of Characters
vs 
I couldn't find a picture of Fireman Sam's townspeople or Milford and Bessie, I apologize. But I'll describe them here. I'll be breaking down the cast by archetype and general role in the plot. First up---
The Heroes: Fireman Sam vs. Sportacus
Both of these older men are intended to be role models for kids, armed with their penchant for saving people and admirable skills. Unfortunately, these men are not equally charismatic.
The one giving the thumbs up in the left picture is Fireman Sam Jones, henceforth referred to as Smug Douche. Smug Douche earns his nickname by being just that. He goes about patronizing his fellow firepeople and the people of Pontypandy with lectures at inappropriate times. He gave a kid a loud lecture about going into a burning building while he was trying to lead her out, for goodness' sake. I know safety is important, but have some tact. His catchphrase is "Great fires of London!" Which is...possibly meaningful in Wales or London, I'm doing research on that now. ---And apparently it's a reference to the Great Fire of London in 1666. It strikes me as odd to use a vast natural catastrophe as the basis for a catchphrase, but maybe there's a cultural significance I'm missing.
Moving to the picture on the right, the man on the upper left dressed in blue is Sportacus, a "slightly above average hero". He lives in an awesome airship, which is way cooler than that stinky fire station. There, he does the flippity-flip with an athletic move for EVERYTHING, including getting out of bed and brushing his teeth. I wonder how he gets to to the bathroom. Anyway, he has a crystal on his chest that glows when someone in town is in trouble, and he'll flip his way over to save them---whether it's a cat stuck in a tree or a kid stuck in a treehouse. He won't lecture them until they're safe and sound, unlike Smug Douche. And his admonishments are mercifully brief. His catchphrase is "Someone's in trouble!"
Point? Sportacus wins for not being a smug douche, even if his odd mustache might give that impression to someone unfamiliar to the show.
The Villains: Fires vs. Robbie Rotten
Well...fires are fires. They exist and destroy shit. Absolutely nothing funny about them. Although the special effects used to represent them are sometimes funny!
Robbie is a suave mother****er and classic Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain with a kick-awesome actor behind him. He has a lovely dark accent, classy taste in chairs, and a tendency to bring much-needed comedy into the show. Oh, and he looks badass in a pirate costume.
Point? Robbie puts the fire out. No contest.
The Adults: Penny Morris, Elvis Cridlington, and Officer Basil Steele vs. Mayor Milford Meanswell and Bessie Busybody.
Penny (to the right of Smug Douche in the left photo) and Elvis (to the right of Penny) are the two non-douches of the Pontypandy Fire Department. Penny is a quick-on-her feet smart woman and skilled mechanic, and Elvis is the designated Butt Monkey/sympathetic character who gets an unfair amount of lectures from Smug Douche. His catchphrase is "Great balls of fire!", which is admittedly pretty cool. They're led by Officer Basil Steele (far left in the left photo) who provides advice and occasionally gets in trouble himself. But he's a really nice guy!
Milford and Bessie from LazyTown, on the other hand, have an odd relationship. Milford is Stephanie's uncle and the mayor of LazyTown, a good-natured man with a bad bout of clumsiness and a tendency to get himself in more trouble than the children. Bessie is his secretary and a gossip-prone person. The two of them seem to have a romantic interest that never quite pans out.
It's a tough call, but I have to give this one to the firefighters who are not Smug Douche. They almost make up for how unbearable he is.
The Kids: Sarah, James, Norman and Mandy vs. Stephanie, Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy, and Trixie
Pontypandy's kids: Sarah and James are really bland goody-goods, the perfect niece and nephew of Smug Douche and well on their way to becoming mini-firefighters. Norman and Mandy are the interesting ones---Norman's a sneaky prankster, and Mandy's a prankster with more tact than Norman. Together, the two of them tend to go on all the interesting adventures (and subsequently get in trouble and earn lectures from Smug Douche). They're cute, though, and I like the dog who occasionally follows them, Rusty. He's cute.
LazyTown's kids: The one most people notice is darling pink hurricane Stephanie (pink-haired girl in LT cast photo), played by the adorable Julianna Rose Mauriello. She's a goody-good who came to town, saw how sad and boring the other kids' lives were, and cheerfully encouraged them to dance and play with her. She sings most of the show's catchy songs and dances up a storm. As for the other kids, mostly their names hint at their personalities: Ziggy (boy with lollipop in front) is a somewhat overweight young boy who loves candy, but he's personally inspired by Sportacus and tries to emulate his hero. Trixie (girl with pigtails) is Stephanie's best friend and a daring trickster, often pulling the group into fun situations. Stingy (boy in yellow with piggy bank) is a somewhat snobbish boy who attempts to claim everything as 'his', but he does it in an oddly cute way. Pixel (boy with headgear and gadget) is the resident geek, with a love of video games and inventions, but his cleverness is often the key to solving problems.
This one's easy. The Pontypandy kids don't have enough variation in personality to be interesting, although they try and I hear it got better in later seasons. LazyTown's kids all have their own strengths and endearing qualities. Point goes to LazyTown.
Lessons/Morals:
Fireman Sam: Fire (and general) Safety
Every little bite of Fireman Sam is tailored to teach viewers a lesson about safety in as Anvilicious a manner as possible. Usually, Smug Douche will be shown teaching a safety tip at the beginning of an episode, the citizens won't listen to him, and then he has to save the day while lecturing them about what they should've learned in the beginning. Lessons of the episodes I watched include: replacing a smoke alarm's batteries on time, not using water on an electrical fire, listening to adults when they tell you something's too dangerous, and telling the truth when you do something wrong. This takes up the entire episode, with no room for fun. I think I might've cracked a smile once in an hour of watching this show, and that was mostly at Elvis. I like him.
LazyTown: Healthy living---food and exercise
The overall goal of the show is to get kids to enjoy eating healthy food and exercising. This is done through the positive attitudes presented by the characters toward fruits and veggies---termed 'sportscandy' in the show---and demonstrating that they give you the energy to do all kinds of fun things. Exercise is promoted through the athletics of Sportacus, the silly games the kids play, and the catchy dance numbers from Stephanie. These things just seem to exist as part of the universe. They're not presented as patronizingly as in Smug Douche's show, and genuinely make the audience want to play. In creator and Sportacus-actor Magnús Scheving's native Iceland, LazyTown made a huge dent in childhood obesity! And all without the need of a smug douche for a character.
Point goes to LazyTown, easily. Its morals are easier for kids to immediately apply in real life and are presented in a more fun and slightly more subtle way. I'm not against fire safety, of course, and I see how Smug Douche is an interesting way for kids to learn it, but LT does it better. Learning by mirroring models instead of learning by following instruction.
Presentation and Production Values
Fireman Sam: I reviewed the 2005 stop motion animation series. The Pontypandy sets are creative, the animation is (mostly) smooth and interesting to watch, and all the characters except Smug Douche have interesting voices to listen to. Fairly standard for a kids' show, but the clay characters have a well-polished and appealing look. Except Smug Douche. Writing-wise, it's formulaic but occasionally clever. I like Elvis and Rusty best, they bring some variation to things.
LazyTown: At the time of its creation, LazyTown was the most expensive childrens' show ever produced. And it shows. It features elaborate sets produced with a blend of props and CGI, a mix of human and puppet characters, and clever original songs in every episode. Some people say the puppets fall in the middle of the Uncanny Valley, but I think they're cute and far better designed than the early versions. It's also formulaic, but there's a fair bit of cleverness, especially when Robbie appears on screen. "No one ever suspects the mailbox" indeed.
Point? Well...there's no way that Smug Douche and his more tolerable friends can compete. LT wins!
Total Points and Conclusion:
Smug Douche: 1
LazyTown: 5
As you can see, I vastly prefer LazyTown. It has the power to get people of all ages moving, and it does it while actually being entertaining. That's something that's too often missing from childrens' television. I heartily recommend the series, though it'll take some work and importing to get the DVDs.
----
So I've got a LOT of editing/balancing to do before I can turn this in to the professor, but I just wanted to lay out my basic ideas and hopefully entertain you with my opinion. It mostly turned into a screed about how much I hate Smug Douche. :oops:
Do y'all have experience with other kids' shows intended to be educational? I've heard good things about The Doodlebops, and it looks cute.
Of course, the TV show I've chosen to compare to the utter fail that is Fireman Sam is the bestest TV show ever, LazyTown. I'll be 'analyzing' things like the show format, the morals taught, the way lessons are learned, the cast of characters, and the attitude of the show toward its audience. Of course, I'm sure "Julianna is hot" is enough of a reason in LT's favor for most of us, but I have to turn in more than that.
A serious and far more nuanced and balanced version of what appears below, with all the lolspeak and swearing edited out, will be submitted to my professor. The below writing is just me having fun and shaping ideas for the main essay. I'm analyzing the four episodes of the 2005 Fireman Sam series seen in school and the few episodes on my LT DVDs.
So! Let's begin the Ultimate Showdown!
---
Our contenders:
vs Can't you just see which show is more fun already? Some asshole giving a thumbs up versus three awesome fun-loving characters. Oh golly gosh, I'm looking forward to the slaughtering already!
Show format and premise:
Fireman Sam is a collection of ten minute segments depicting the lives of the people of Pontypandy, a fictional town in Wales, and their protectors, the Pontypandy Fire Department. Each episode features a moral about fire safety presented in the beginning (usually in the form of a demonstration by the firefighters), an adventure in which the townspeople (usually the kids, but sometimes the adults) do something stupid, and a saving segment where Sam condescendingly lectures the kids as he's saving them and reinforces the episode's moral.
LazyTown, on the other hand, is a series of 21 minute episodes about the adventures of the citizens of LazyTown. True to its name, the town is lazy and has some unhealthy habits (especially in the first episode), but relative newcomers Sportacus and Stephanie have made progress in teaching everyone how to be healthy and happy. The show usually opens with a segment of athletics and fun with Sportacus in his airship, cuts to the kids playing in town, introduces Robbie and his plan for the day, then shows the conflict playing out. It ends with a celebration to Stephanie's Bing Bang dance. Somewhere in the middle, there will be at least one infectious song, Sportacus saving someone, and a moral, though it's not usually presented as overtly as it is in Fireman Sam. LazyTown creator and Sportacus-actor Magnús Scheving doesn't believe that viewers are morons---he treats his audience with respect.
Cast of Characters
vs I couldn't find a picture of Fireman Sam's townspeople or Milford and Bessie, I apologize. But I'll describe them here. I'll be breaking down the cast by archetype and general role in the plot. First up---
The Heroes: Fireman Sam vs. Sportacus
Both of these older men are intended to be role models for kids, armed with their penchant for saving people and admirable skills. Unfortunately, these men are not equally charismatic.
The one giving the thumbs up in the left picture is Fireman Sam Jones, henceforth referred to as Smug Douche. Smug Douche earns his nickname by being just that. He goes about patronizing his fellow firepeople and the people of Pontypandy with lectures at inappropriate times. He gave a kid a loud lecture about going into a burning building while he was trying to lead her out, for goodness' sake. I know safety is important, but have some tact. His catchphrase is "Great fires of London!" Which is...possibly meaningful in Wales or London, I'm doing research on that now. ---And apparently it's a reference to the Great Fire of London in 1666. It strikes me as odd to use a vast natural catastrophe as the basis for a catchphrase, but maybe there's a cultural significance I'm missing. Moving to the picture on the right, the man on the upper left dressed in blue is Sportacus, a "slightly above average hero". He lives in an awesome airship, which is way cooler than that stinky fire station. There, he does the flippity-flip with an athletic move for EVERYTHING, including getting out of bed and brushing his teeth. I wonder how he gets to to the bathroom. Anyway, he has a crystal on his chest that glows when someone in town is in trouble, and he'll flip his way over to save them---whether it's a cat stuck in a tree or a kid stuck in a treehouse. He won't lecture them until they're safe and sound, unlike Smug Douche. And his admonishments are mercifully brief. His catchphrase is "Someone's in trouble!" Point? Sportacus wins for not being a smug douche, even if his odd mustache might give that impression to someone unfamiliar to the show.
The Villains: Fires vs. Robbie Rotten
Well...fires are fires. They exist and destroy shit. Absolutely nothing funny about them. Although the special effects used to represent them are sometimes funny!
Robbie is a suave mother****er and classic Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain with a kick-awesome actor behind him. He has a lovely dark accent, classy taste in chairs, and a tendency to bring much-needed comedy into the show. Oh, and he looks badass in a pirate costume.
Point? Robbie puts the fire out. No contest.
The Adults: Penny Morris, Elvis Cridlington, and Officer Basil Steele vs. Mayor Milford Meanswell and Bessie Busybody.
Penny (to the right of Smug Douche in the left photo) and Elvis (to the right of Penny) are the two non-douches of the Pontypandy Fire Department. Penny is a quick-on-her feet smart woman and skilled mechanic, and Elvis is the designated Butt Monkey/sympathetic character who gets an unfair amount of lectures from Smug Douche. His catchphrase is "Great balls of fire!", which is admittedly pretty cool. They're led by Officer Basil Steele (far left in the left photo) who provides advice and occasionally gets in trouble himself. But he's a really nice guy!
Milford and Bessie from LazyTown, on the other hand, have an odd relationship. Milford is Stephanie's uncle and the mayor of LazyTown, a good-natured man with a bad bout of clumsiness and a tendency to get himself in more trouble than the children. Bessie is his secretary and a gossip-prone person. The two of them seem to have a romantic interest that never quite pans out.
It's a tough call, but I have to give this one to the firefighters who are not Smug Douche. They almost make up for how unbearable he is.
The Kids: Sarah, James, Norman and Mandy vs. Stephanie, Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy, and Trixie
Pontypandy's kids: Sarah and James are really bland goody-goods, the perfect niece and nephew of Smug Douche and well on their way to becoming mini-firefighters. Norman and Mandy are the interesting ones---Norman's a sneaky prankster, and Mandy's a prankster with more tact than Norman. Together, the two of them tend to go on all the interesting adventures (and subsequently get in trouble and earn lectures from Smug Douche). They're cute, though, and I like the dog who occasionally follows them, Rusty. He's cute.
LazyTown's kids: The one most people notice is darling pink hurricane Stephanie (pink-haired girl in LT cast photo), played by the adorable Julianna Rose Mauriello. She's a goody-good who came to town, saw how sad and boring the other kids' lives were, and cheerfully encouraged them to dance and play with her. She sings most of the show's catchy songs and dances up a storm. As for the other kids, mostly their names hint at their personalities: Ziggy (boy with lollipop in front) is a somewhat overweight young boy who loves candy, but he's personally inspired by Sportacus and tries to emulate his hero. Trixie (girl with pigtails) is Stephanie's best friend and a daring trickster, often pulling the group into fun situations. Stingy (boy in yellow with piggy bank) is a somewhat snobbish boy who attempts to claim everything as 'his', but he does it in an oddly cute way. Pixel (boy with headgear and gadget) is the resident geek, with a love of video games and inventions, but his cleverness is often the key to solving problems.
This one's easy. The Pontypandy kids don't have enough variation in personality to be interesting, although they try and I hear it got better in later seasons. LazyTown's kids all have their own strengths and endearing qualities. Point goes to LazyTown.
Lessons/Morals:
Fireman Sam: Fire (and general) Safety
Every little bite of Fireman Sam is tailored to teach viewers a lesson about safety in as Anvilicious a manner as possible. Usually, Smug Douche will be shown teaching a safety tip at the beginning of an episode, the citizens won't listen to him, and then he has to save the day while lecturing them about what they should've learned in the beginning. Lessons of the episodes I watched include: replacing a smoke alarm's batteries on time, not using water on an electrical fire, listening to adults when they tell you something's too dangerous, and telling the truth when you do something wrong. This takes up the entire episode, with no room for fun. I think I might've cracked a smile once in an hour of watching this show, and that was mostly at Elvis. I like him.
LazyTown: Healthy living---food and exercise
The overall goal of the show is to get kids to enjoy eating healthy food and exercising. This is done through the positive attitudes presented by the characters toward fruits and veggies---termed 'sportscandy' in the show---and demonstrating that they give you the energy to do all kinds of fun things. Exercise is promoted through the athletics of Sportacus, the silly games the kids play, and the catchy dance numbers from Stephanie. These things just seem to exist as part of the universe. They're not presented as patronizingly as in Smug Douche's show, and genuinely make the audience want to play. In creator and Sportacus-actor Magnús Scheving's native Iceland, LazyTown made a huge dent in childhood obesity! And all without the need of a smug douche for a character.
Point goes to LazyTown, easily. Its morals are easier for kids to immediately apply in real life and are presented in a more fun and slightly more subtle way. I'm not against fire safety, of course, and I see how Smug Douche is an interesting way for kids to learn it, but LT does it better. Learning by mirroring models instead of learning by following instruction.
Presentation and Production Values
Fireman Sam: I reviewed the 2005 stop motion animation series. The Pontypandy sets are creative, the animation is (mostly) smooth and interesting to watch, and all the characters except Smug Douche have interesting voices to listen to. Fairly standard for a kids' show, but the clay characters have a well-polished and appealing look. Except Smug Douche. Writing-wise, it's formulaic but occasionally clever. I like Elvis and Rusty best, they bring some variation to things.
LazyTown: At the time of its creation, LazyTown was the most expensive childrens' show ever produced. And it shows. It features elaborate sets produced with a blend of props and CGI, a mix of human and puppet characters, and clever original songs in every episode. Some people say the puppets fall in the middle of the Uncanny Valley, but I think they're cute and far better designed than the early versions. It's also formulaic, but there's a fair bit of cleverness, especially when Robbie appears on screen. "No one ever suspects the mailbox" indeed.
Point? Well...there's no way that Smug Douche and his more tolerable friends can compete. LT wins!
Total Points and Conclusion:
Smug Douche: 1
LazyTown: 5
As you can see, I vastly prefer LazyTown. It has the power to get people of all ages moving, and it does it while actually being entertaining. That's something that's too often missing from childrens' television. I heartily recommend the series, though it'll take some work and importing to get the DVDs.
----
So I've got a LOT of editing/balancing to do before I can turn this in to the professor, but I just wanted to lay out my basic ideas and hopefully entertain you with my opinion. It mostly turned into a screed about how much I hate Smug Douche. :oops:
Do y'all have experience with other kids' shows intended to be educational? I've heard good things about The Doodlebops, and it looks cute.
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