LogFAQs > #894778784

Mead posted...

He was just a dude that would sit there and talk to kids, with short breaks to the weird puppets. Every once in a while hed check the mail or go to a factory, but that was about it.

I dont think kids nowadays would watch a show like that and its too bad

He was very staunchly opposed to the then-growing trend of children's shows that were flashy and had little substance, meant to catch attention more so than really engage. He singled out Sesame Street in particular for being a show that was similarly meant to educate kids, for its approach of jumping between short, relatively exciting scenes. His approach was more one of taking the time to actually connect and engage children, which was great.

Unfortunately, the approach of holding kids' attention with flashy content works a whole lot better and more reliably for advertising purposes, so his approach really didn't stand a chance outside of public television (which is part of why he fought so hard to keep PBS alive, and can probably claim near-singular responsibility for the fact that it didn't get canned back in the late 60's). TV was never going to end up where Mr. Rogers would have liked it to, but at least he managed to secure a spot for something different for as long as he was around.