Top five children's TV programmes

Children's TV can be very difficult to get right. If you go too far into preachy territory, you lose. Then, if you try to challenge them too much, you can turn the parents off the show. Over the years, there has been some gems that have worked and some that are still being made nowadays, entertaining the second or even third generation of viewers.

Overview

These days, children's TV have their own channels such as CITV or CBeebies. In the seventies or eighties though, these shows would have been shown on the main channels at specific times, and they had to justify their time slot in the same way that adult shows do nowadays.

The shows

The Muppet Show This show transcended the bounds of children’s TV with its mix of surreal comedy and guest stars clearly enjoying themselves. It managed to mix musical numbers and comic sketches, whilst also managing to mock itself. It lasted five seasons and continues to be a hit on YouTube. Grange Hill This show set first in a London school before relocating to an unnamed city when shooting moved to Liverpool in 2003. The show tackled adult subjects such as teen pregnancy and drug abuse in an honest way. This approach often got the show into trouble with pressure groups, but it rarely backed down, especially in the early years. Doctor Who Credited with giving generations of kids' nightmares, Doctor Who finished in 1989, but was revived in 2005, scaring the pants of a new generation. The show took on some large science fiction stories in its time, with the new series dealing with genocide in a safe family audience way.
Transformers
The original show from the eighties was a heading mix of action and adventure that was recreated in playgrounds of the world, by kids with the latest toys. Transformers continue to appeal to kids with a new animated series appearing every few years, and the trilogy of films.
ThunderCats This show has recently been rebooted, but the original classic will always have a place in the fans' hearts. The show treated its audience to a fantasy adventure that also had moments of violence and darkness that would surprise many fans of the new show.

Conclusion

The shows nowadays, whilst they entertain the audiences, are unlikely to be still talked about in twenty years like ThunderCats or Transformers, or even the last thirty years such as Grange Hill. Audiences are more intelligent than what a lot of programmers give them credit for. However, the programming is affected by pressure groups who attack shows that attempt to open the shows up beyond simple plots and forgettable characters, and create real drama.