FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman

I heard this show was aimed toward the younger kids, but I feel it's for anyone, any age. I'm 13, and I still watch PBS! When I first saw the commercials for these, I thought it was for younger kids. Then, the first episode came on. I recognized Taylor, from ZOOM. I thought it was so neat that they got to go on challenges, and go to different places! I actually learn things from watching this show, and Ruff Ruffman is just so funny! After watching the very first episode, I told all my friend and sister about "Fetch!" Now we all watch it, and we're addicted! Again, this is a show for all ages, and you learn stuff almost every day. It's a new era for PBS. Way to go!

Despite growing up in the early 2010's, one day 7 year old me found a show in the back aisles of Netflix, covered in dust, on my Apple TV during the early developmental days of Netflix. Little did I know that this show was to leave a mark on my childhood forever, and I longed to be on the show, sadly not knowing that the show ended years prior upon rediscovering this masterpiece.

FETCH! Takes place with an animated dog known as Ruff Ruffman, who, in the animated world and with the help of Princess Blossom Von Yum Yum the cat and Chet the mouse, set up STEM academics for 6 contestants on the show. Being funded by the National Science Foundation, this show is educational and with hands-on experience teaches kids from the planets and Solar System to the inner workings of the beehive. I would highly recommend this show.

FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman is an educational reality game show in which an animated orange dog sends six real kids off on challenges. Now, I know what you're thinking - many people like this show, but at least to me, it has a few problems. Here they are!:

1. The contestants - Every kid on this show talks, looks, acts, and dresses alike - don't even get me started on Bridget, Noel, and Talia! In some episodes of the series, the FETCHers tell Ruff what they like and that everyone else should like them too. VERY bad lesson to teach kids!

2. The challenges - When Ruff has a problem, he turns to the FETCHers and has THEM solve it. Did I mention the fact that these problems cannot be solved inside Studio G? No - the kids have to go to faraway places in order to help Ruff. Some of his challenges make no sense too, partially due to the fact that Ruff, Blossom etc are animated while the FETCHers are live-action - Ruff fears he'll have to live in the wild, so he encourages the FETCHers to go camping. In another, a bunch of sheep come into the doghouse and Ruff encourages the FETCHers to herd a flock. Too bizarre, huh?

3. Too frightening - FETCH! Is supposed to be a kids' show, but it contains too many things that horrify kids to the point where they don't want to watch the show anymore. There were two episodes in which the kids go inside haunted houses, which are mostly frightening especially for young children, and another in which the kids go to New Orleans, where one of them is eaten alive by an alligator, and Chernobyl, in which they get chased in the dark by hybrid animals.

4. Ruff is the leader of the pack - On most children's shows STARRING kids, they're free and can do whatever they want. However, on FETCH!, there's one centric character - Ruff Ruffman himself. As mentioned earlier, they are forced to do what he does and stick around waiting to do what he wants to do. These kids must be tired by now!

5. Too fast-paced - FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman was clearly the Bill Nye the Science Guy of its era - according to DannyBoy TV, it was estimated once that Bill was the fastest-paced children's show on television, and I believe FETCH! (mainly the animated segments) was just that. Many of the portions featuring Ruff, Blossom, Chet, and the former's relatives are too quick and, once the (viewing) children understand what's going on, it's over and the next scene is almost done. Geez - fast-paced shows encourage too many children (especially autistic ones (like myself)) to be overstimulated!

6. Too lazy, especially when it comes to production - From what I've heard, when the Studio G segments were being taped, Jim Conroy (Ruff's voice actor) put on stick puppet shows for the FETCHers to watch, and commented on the kids' challenges in New York. Oh, and did I mention that he voices EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER on the show except for Blossom and Chet? Not to mention that some of the challenges are also pretty lazy - as one reviewer said, one group of kids had to get the remote which controlled a toy boat with a clue in it on across a pool from the kids. The remote was in a basket floating in the pool, so, instead of just swimming to the remote and grabbing it, they had to construct a long pole which they used to slide under a section of the remote to pick it up. BALONEY!

7. Encouraging obesity - Yes, you heard me right, this show is encouraging children to get fat, as the kids on this show barely eat anything other than pizza and ice cream, despite some challenges involving health food. Now, I eat A LOT of junk, but not once in my life have I gotten overweight, and, as a children's television historian, kids deserve better than this - they need to eat FRUIT and VEGETABLES to give them a fresh start.

Now, WGBH Boston clearly cared about kids through the other shows that they produced, such as Arthur, Between the Lions, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and especially FETCH!'s predecessor ZOOM. What do these shows (aside from Ruff's) have in common? They're all very educational for children and can stick with people even as they grow into adulthood. FETCH! Should've been like this, though they should've fixed what was wrong and BOOM! - we've got an enjoyable children's show (it would've been better without the animated segments IMO).

In short, if you want your kids to have bright, smart futures, do them a big favor and SKIP THIS SHOW! Turn on ZOOM instead!

This is the greatest PBS show there ever will be. I will refer to this series as Fetch. Fetch is a spectacular game show that interacts with kids. My favorite animated character was Blossom the cat. I loved Ruff Ruffman,too. I love how it makes the kids go use clues to find things. And if some kids did not get picked they could have gotten bonus points. I remember coming home from school and turning this show on. It is very suitable for children, it is on the PBS network, but nothing violent, sexual, or no language. Like I said before, this is the best PBS show ever.

7-

Most children's TV, especially that meant to be educational, is grossly condescending to a ridiculous degree. This isn't a problem however with Fetch, because it is executed in such a way where while it is an oversimplified and educational kid friendly variation of the standard reality TV show, it is also a parody of the standard reality TV show.

Ruff Ruffman is a dog, and the underprepared host of his brand new game show, FETCH! He is determined to be successful with his minimal supplies and lack of energy to put effort into his own challenges and prizes. This results in an already funny setup that is only exaggerated by the brutal honesty of the kid contestants, and the egotistical and dramatic character of Ruff.

The show can intermingled humor and education by letting the kids, (both the players and the viewers) know they've being tricked, and getting less than what they should in a show like this. In all lights, children are being treated like adults, despite being taught 3rd grade knowledge.

It's wonderful, it's entertating, and it nailed the idea. It felt good as a kid, and still holds up because it's always written to please someone who's smart and has complex emotions, rather than the garbage that was made for three year olds that has been advertised for children of all ages.