children's tv

When My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic debuted in October of 2010, it started amassing a group of fans that nobody intended on: guys. Male fans of the show, or "bronies" as they call themselves, steadily grew in numbers and fandom—even getting together to watch it, trade/sell toys, write pony fanfiction, and talk all things pony.

This trend of remaking childhood classics holds no nostalgia for me. It only holds anger that companies feel that they can update a part of my childhood in order to double their profit margins and, in the same breath, insult my child by suggesting he won’t enjoy something with a simple, timeless message.

Seatbelts, everyone!

If there’s one show I watched as a kid (other than Star Trek) that made me the nerd I am today, that show was The Magic School Bus, with its accompanying series of books. In MSB, Ms. Frizzle’s class was a utopia where learning was literally a magical experience. Starting on PBS, it has also had stints of syndication on NBC, Qubo, TLC, and The Discovery Channel, making it the longest-running children’s science show to date.