As with my fellow posters, I, too, grew up in the greater New York area and viewed "Wonderama" as nothing less than a weekly ritual, as hosted by Sonny Fox and, a little later, the late, great Bob McAllister. Both men had a real knack for talking to children without talking down to them. Really, they seemed to be having as much fun as the kids. And the kids were having a ball, obviously. From the exercise segments ("Exercise! Exercise! C'Mon, everybody, do your exercise!"), to the dance contest (where the main songs always seemed to be the Grass Roots' "Midnight Confession" and the Foundations' "Build Me Up, Buttercup," long after both had ceased to be hits), through McAllister's superficially nonsensical, but ultimately unforgettable songs ("Nobody Here Has an Aardvaark," "I've Got You"), to his Professor Fingleheimer creation ("The more you fingle, the less you heimer. Fingleheimer! Fingleheimer! Fingle-dingle-heimer!"), it was the sort of simplistic (But fun!) programming that would never pass muster with today's more sophisticated youngsters. And for that reason, I pity today's kids. They don't know what they're missing.
But we former "Wonderama" fans DO know. It was an irreplaceable part of our childhood, one we'll always treasure.
