Bluey

Simply impossible to explain this show. Nothing I write will do it justice. I've been around since The Magic Roundabout, The Flumps, Captain Pugwash, Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo... Nothing from that era, or today's attempts like Peppa Pig, or anything in-between, come anywhere near to the standards of Bluey.

I sit with my young daughter (not that you need a young one to watch this,) and I'm laughing hard one minute, and fighting off the tears the next.

The creators, in fact the whole team from the story writer, to the animators, to the sound and music team, and especially to the actors... And every single other person involved... Are purely fantastic human beings.

If you listen from a distance it doesn't sound scripted half the time, it just sounds like an amazing family having fun. Most of the stories hit home, hard. Every character has amazing depth and are so loveable. Every single episode has something unique and amazing in it.

What did I learn from this? These kids are awesome.

It is rare that any program, let alone a kids tv show, makes you want to be a better parent, and then shows you how. But this family of dogs does just that. Mum works and Dad does everything he can to be a loving carer who fosters imagination and play. The lessons are subtle, cased in layers of imagination and humour and end up hitting you right in the heart. I consider myself a pretty good parent, but Bluey shows me how to be a better one. And dare I say it, it has fostered a closer relationship to my daughter as a result. Yep. It is that good.

I created an IMDB account just so I could say how fabulous this show is.

My 6 year old is obsessed and so am I. So good to have a kids show from Australia with aussie themes and humour. Congratulations to all involved with this show, you deserves to "sit and watch the cricket"

Simply perfect. Everything about Bluey is fantastic.

It's modern Australia without ever dipping into cork hat cliche. It's family life without anyone having to look like an idiots. There's jokes galore for the parents but without feeling forced or inappropriate. It teaches us all stuff without ever preaching. The lessons aren't just for the kids either - there's not a parent that has watched Bluey that hasn't learned something. In fact, if there is ever a hint of boredom or wanting a game to play, pop on an episode of Bluey and by the end of the 7 minutes you'll have a new game to play.

Even when there was a question mark over whether Chilli was left on the fringes being forced to play the straight man, with Bandit getting all the parental glory, the writers sorted it and she got her punchlines.

The comparisons to other pre-school shows are inevitable and let's hope they continue as Bluey should finally mean we see the last for the damn pig. That pig is rude without consequence, treats her dad like an idiot, dumps on her friends, never says please or thank you and bullies her brother, Bluey and her family are the polar opposite.

If there is a downside to Bluey, it's that Bandit sets an impossibly high dad standard for us to all live up to.