I'm in the middle of some serious TiVo administration. I try to go through the upcoming shows at least every other day - keeps me on top of what's taping and what's not, allows me to check before something tapes if it's an episode I've already seen, generally keeps me well aware of what my household is watching. I've been noticing a trend over the last week or so that the To Do List was looking pretty empty ... even considering that primetime shows haven't started showing up yet. It turns out that when the kids' channels switched over to the new season, our Season Passes didn't go with them. So I had to go through and clean up the Season Pass list, get rid of the old ones, and reevaluate which shows needed to be taped and which ones weren't getting watched.
I made the decision that both Curious George and Zoboomafoo had to go. I love Zoboo, but the kids never want to watch it. CG I was never such a fan of ... if it didn't have William H. Macy narrating, I don't think we would have watched it in the first place! Mostly by this point we've whittled down what TiVo picks up for our kids to shows that Lou and I enjoy watching as well and think are good-quality TV. (No, that's not an oxymoron.)
The Backyardigans: inventive plots, promotion of prop-free imagination-driven play, and a wide range of topics covered. Plus, catchy songs.
Arthur. Classic kids' stuff. Personally, I love Buster. It's an articulate show that treats kids like equals and doesn't talk down to them.
Cyberchase. I admit, this one isn't my favorite. I don't like the animation style and just can't get into the characters. But the boys love it - it's one of their top choices at any given time - and they certainly learn a lot of math concepts from it.
Baby Looney Tunes. Modern take on the classic characters. I think they do a great job of updating and deaging the original characters. The plotlines are inventive and fun and there are some inside jokes for fans of the early cartoons as well. My personal favorite is Sylvester.
Avatar: The Last Airbender. A new classic that our whole family loves to watch together. It's a good vs. evil epic battle narrative with nice art, detailed and complicated characters, and a well-thought-out mythology. The only thing I can't decide is whether I'm a bigger fan of Sokka or Zuko.
Dragon Tales. This skews a little younger, and is mostly a back-up these days, but everyone likes it and it makes for restful, interesting watching.
Max & Ruby. This is notably Charles's favorite show. It's a little more old-fashioned than most, and definitely has some quirks (famously, they have no parents, so Ruby is always in charge of her little brother). It's also very polarizing - either you love it or you hate it. I like it myself - the old-fashionedness appeals to me.
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