The 100 Greatest Kids TV Shows

I think this was a truly fantastic idea for a show, and I was looking forward to this a lot. However, the outcome was a bit of a disappointment.

This may have been about Kids' TV Shows, but it was certainly not one for the kids. The big kids perhaps. Channel4 are aimed at a predominantly youth audience of the 16-24 age bracket, and the premise of the show fits in with its quirky, alternative style.

This had a lot of potential - definitely a worthy addition to Channel4's top 100 series. There were a lot of major problems here, though - with so many people expecting it to be a success like the ones before, it should really have been better quality than this.

My first criticism comes from choosing Jamie Theakston to host the show. Normally, someone with a slight connection to the subject is chosen to host such a show, yet Theakston has little connection to the Kids' TV genre, other than hosting 'Live & Kicking' (which was not mentioned, and no one really associates with him anymore). He did not do very well taking on this job, either. A better recommendation may have been to choose Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish for the role, as they already hosted a similar kids' nostalgia previously in the year.

My next criticism comes into conflict with all these shows in general, and it is how the votes are cast. When casting your vote, you are only given 100 nominations to choose from. This suggests to me that Channel4 have already picked the top 100, and just want you to re-arrange them. Although you can add other votes below, not many people would do this, meaning classic shows like 'Button Moon' only came in the top-70 region, when it should have been a lot higher. If 150 shows were given to choose from, it would be a lot more fair and interesting.

There was also a lack of research on some shows, which is understandable if you want to fit 100 shows into the programme. However, to merely skip over shows like 'The Sooty Show', which is one of the longest running kids' shows ever, it seems a little poor quality. Especially considering images of Sooty and Sweep were all over the official website where you casted the vote, not to mention in the ad break scenes as well. To only get 15 seconds of Theakston commentating over a montage of a few clips seems very un-just for a show with so much history and such a large fanbase.

And finally, my main dispute comes over the winner of the show. Although 'The Simpsons' is a very good show, it is not a kids' show. It was created for an adult audience, broadcast to an adult audience, and has never really been intended to inform, entertain or educate children. It should not have been included in the nominations as it is not strictly a kids' show. Because it is such a popular show, people were bound to vote for it if they saw they could, but the fact remains that it is not a show meant for children, and should have never made it into this show, let alone won it.

Despite its obvious problems, this was still a good show. It was a fantastic nostalgia trip, and a chance to see what happened to all the people who brought us our favourite shows as children. Unfortunately, certain aspects of the show were not done well, and it left a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth.

This was, indeed, a good idea, and most of the content was very interesting, but I have to say, I was disappointed with it after what I had come to expect.

I doubt if there's ever been 100 shows marketed exclusively for kids so this Channel 4 list cheats somewhat by including family shows . The winner at number one in the list was THE SIMPSONS but is this actually a show that's specifically produced for children ? I mean it started off as a spot on THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW and I doubt if you'll call Ms Ullman a children's entertainer , and much of the humour on THE SIMPSONS will go above children's heads . DOCTOR WHO is classed as a children's show ? Again I would class it as a family show and it's interesting to note that it' at it's best when it becomes too scary for 6 year olds . How can you compare classic DOCTOR WHO with BAGPUSS and BUTTON MOON ? I found out later ( And Jo points this out ) that Channel 4 wrote a list of 100 shows that they perceive are children's shows and it's then left for the voters to vote what one they think is best . This is entirely different from allowing people to make up their own mind as to what qualifies as a children's show . There's something else and that's when this show was produced Channel 4 were in negotiations to buy THE SIMPSONS . Strange that Homer Simpson also won THE 100 GREATEST TV CHARACTERS poll later on which leads me to think the poll might have been rigged

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

There is something a little less interesting about a kids show compilation than there is about TV ads or Moments from Hell.Perhaps,inevitably,it fails to make a bigger impression on the pre-dominantely adult audience watching it.The fact that Channel 4 chose to broadcast this after 9.00 would also attest to this.Alright perhaps as a nostelgia trip,remembering programmes from your youth such as 'Button Moon' (''kids entertainment on 24p'') and Pinky & Perky,but not as much else.**