Winky-Dink and You

Instead of sending in my fifty cents (which was a week's allowance) for a Winky Dink and You kit, I used a piece of Saran Wrap and a crayon. It worked just as well.

Some of my fondest early memories was interacting with the Winky Dink Show on Saturday mornings at my grandmother's house. It's amazing how a plastic sheet the size of a TV screen, three crayons, and a cloth can be the creative tools of the first interactive TV show. But I believe my fond memories of helping Winky Dink through dangerous situations with my crayons and cloth will easily surpass the memories of today's kids with Nintendo, XBox, etc. The Winky Dink show is just one example of the clean, simple fun that makes the 50's so euphoric to those of us who were pre-teens during this time. The different between the good guys and the bad guys was clear cut. And even though Winky Dink was always getting into situations where we had to draw a bridge for him to cross a river, a tree to hide behind, etc., we were given the opportunity to be the hero with Winky Dink. I wish I still had my magic drawing screen so that I could draw the "white picket fence" of the 50's again.

The show created quite a bit of ire among some parents because kids would draw on their TVs using ordinary crayons and without using the "magic screen" (sometimes doing real damage to the TV). I remember always wanting a "magic screen" so I could participate, but then, just weeks after I got one, the show was cancelled.

I enjoyed this show very much. Some of you older readers might remember a few of the following things after I remind you. The cost of the "kit" was $1.00 (actually that amount was supposed to cover the postage and handling). The address was Winky Dink, Box 5, New York, New York (no NY or zip codes - the box number was sufficient at that time). The items came shipped in a cylindrical mailing tube which you could use to roll up the screen and put it back into for storage. I remember them telling you that Winky Dink would be hiding somewhere in the next episode (they usually showed you a few places where he could be)and then they would put lines on the screen one at a time, which you would trace. And when the last line had been traced you would see an image of the place he was hiding (might be a barn or a lighthouse, etc.) This program was the granddaddy of all interactive videos. It was the internet of that era, in that you had input,(lines traced on the screen),from which you got output, (the images you ultimately created from the lines you traced). I know it all looks hokey by today's standards, but to me it was one of the most enjoyable shows I can remember from my childhood. And a far cry from the Simpsons and Bevis and Butthead...

I never saw the show, but Gabe Kaplan discussed it in his stand-up routine, which could be heard on his comedy album "Holes and Mello-Rolls". "Mello-Rolls" also had the stand-up bit which was later developed into "Welcome Back Kotter."

Kaplan mentioned he was a fan of the show as a kid, but like most kids, never bothered to get the "magic drawing screen" sold, and instead just drew directly on the TV screen, and did not erase his drawings. His father would be annoyed to find that Gabe had been watching Winky-Dink again, cursing the cartoon that had encouraged his kid to draw all over the TV screen.