The Window in the Corner: A Half-Century of Children's Television Paperback - 2004

From the publisher

A nostalgic and informative look at the golden age of children s television.From the soothing tones and creaking marionettes of "Watch With Mother" in the 1950s to the surreal "Time Machine"-like landscapes of Teletubbyland, this examinationlooks at the extraordinary world ofkids' television in Britain and North America.Discussing how commercial success has vied with the need to educate, this survey also touches onhow programs such as "Blue Peter" tried to instill feelings of compassion as well as entertain and how series such as "The Magic Roundabout" set about cultivating fantasy in children s minds. The ground-breaking debut of "Sesame Street" is also highlighted, revealing how, through careful research into the learning processes of the very young, it set the standard for teaching the "three R's" while remaining entertaining. Theguide also includes detailed discussion of developments in animation techniques from the string-operated puppets of the Woodentops, through the somewhat slicker "Supermarionation" of Stingray, to the computerized "cut-out" characters of South Park, and from traditional cartoon animation of shows such as "Yogi Bear" to the plasticine figures in the Wallace and Gromit films."

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