User reviews

This was a spin-off of "Polka Dot Door", a long-running TVO programme for kids. It appears that it started out not long after the demise of its predecessor. It ended up being one of many kids' shows that I saw on TVO during my childhood. It never was one of my favourite shows in TVO's kids' line-up, but I still got enough out of it to keep watching for a while, and can still remember a lot of it.

Of course, this show featured the Polkaroo. Marigold, Humpty, Dumpty, and Bear, who were all just stuffed toys in "Polka Dot Door", were living characters in "Polka Dot Shorts", with actors in costumes playing them, just like the Polkaroo in both shows. The Polkaroo had a pet named Bibble. The episodes showed one or more of the characters experiencing a problem of some kind (having trouble getting along was sometimes the problem), and having something to learn from it. At some point, a character would always find a "a great big pair of polka dot shorts" somewhere. When the show started out, viewers would be shown the story acted out while a woman read it to some kids. Eventually, this changed, and the episodes went straight to the story, with voice-overs for the characters.

As a kids' show, "Polka Dot Shorts" obviously wasn't very complex, but it was definitely less simple than "Polka Dot Door". (Not that "Polka Dot Door" being extremely simple was a bad thing. After all, we have to remember how young an age group the show was aimed at, and how successful it was with that age group.) Kids could enjoy "Polka Dot Shorts", and it could also teach them certain things, such as getting along and respecting each other.