Ramona

We watched this series around 1990 or so on VHS, when my daughter was about 6 or 7. Of course we read the books, also. Which I recommend even if you can't find copies of the program.

After just having watched the movie "Ramona and Beezus" (which suffered greatly in comparison) I had to come back and remind folks how great this TV show was.

I thought the characters were well cast. Ramona and Beezus especially. Although Ramona got into her quota of embarrassing situations, the program was not a non stop series comedic events. There was actually time spent on the development of the character's personalities, giving the program some depth. And even as an adult watching it, I could remember in an emotional sort of way how Ramona felt when she thought herself misunderstood and of no importance. As most children do at some time or another.

Too bad it's not available on DVD. Makes you wonder who decides to put the most inane drivel on DVD and not good stuff like this. If it was available, I bet we could talk our daughter into watching it with us when she visits.

I just re-watched a few episodes of this series on very poor VHS tapes that I recorded the series on. I'm glad I did, though.

Ramona is based on the children's books by Beverly Cleary and follows the adventures of the title eight-year-old (Sarah Polley). She has fun with friends and family and gets into trouble much like many eight-year-olds. All ten episodes are pretty good. "Mystery Meal" kind of grosses me out as a vegan, but it's funny seeing the parents trying to get their kids to eat cow's tongue! And any episode that mentions Godzilla Versus The Smog Monster twice can't be all bad. I like "Ramona's Bad Day" even more. Although it's disheartening to see Ramona going through a rough day, she does imagine herself getting revenge on her friend Howie's uncle (a pre-Psi Factor Barclay Hope), who always teases her. "The Perfect Day" is also good.

Lori Chodos plays Beezus, Ramona's sister. I swear I've seen her on something else, but IMDb doesn't list anything besides this show. Unfortunately, this series is not on DVD. Why is every crappy show made these days on DVD except something I'd actually like to buy? An injustice if there ever was one!

I was thinking about this show recently and I decided to see if I could find some episodes for sale. I found some on Amazon and I just finished watching "Ramona the Patient" a few minutes ago! It was really fun to realize that I could still hum along with the theme music and remember the cat book report that she does at the end.

This show was on in the late 80's, and it aired on Sunday mornings for a while if I remember correctly. I was about 6 and I loved it because I was always a huge fan of Beverly Cleary books. The show itself is pretty good, and it does remain loyal to the stories. It's also fun to see Sarah Polley in such a cute role, as she's known to play very serious, somber roles these days.

Yay Ramona!

I've never forgotten this TV show. I was the same age as Ramona (I suppose I still am) when this was aired in the UK in about 1989. Me and my sister watched it together and I watched in wonder at the family unit and the strong relationship they all had with one another. We had a nice family but not like in Ramona's house. The parents played along with the kids' fantasies and ideas - in our house we'd probably have been told to stop being silly. The show was our first real insight as regards to American culture and it was fascinating to compare the differences between our schools in England and those in America; the students (I was jealous of how cool they were compared to me) the teachers (so kind and gentle, yet firm in a nice way) the way people talked to each other in general - no school uniforms for the American kids - why not? And the bell rings and they all get out of their seats. Although I'm sure in one episode the teacher stops them and reminds them the bell is for her, not them and then lets them leave anyway. In our school I'd have got the cane (if they still could) for being in such a rush to get out. We didn't even have a bell until high school anyway. Watching this as an adult, I forgot how young the kids really were. Adorable cat show/book report in episode three that just made me laugh along with the other kids in the class. Adorable show. Heartwarming comedy and an unforgettable little treasure.

I loved this program as a 7/8 year old when I first watched them in the 80s and 30 years later, I have just bought the DVD from retrotvmemories website & re-watched them as an adult. They still make me laugh a lot & even though there are sad elements like when they bury the cat, they are so heartwarming how the family love & support each other. I will give the DVD to my 2 year old niece when she is a bit older, I'm sure she will get the same enjoyment that I did. Ramona is not your typical kid so unique & eccentric kids will definitely identify with her. I've not read the books but given they were written from 1955 onwards, they are surely timeless, given that they are so relatable over 60 years later. They just don't make them like this anymore.