So, when I was growing up, Sesame Street was only really coming in to its own, and while I watched it, I watched Nickelodeon programming so much more...and I do believe that channel was even younger.
Tangential thought: Why does MTV get so much ground breaking recognition while Nickelodeon is barely talked about? At least Nickelodeon is still a children's network, and any and all tweaking still kept the same basic idea of it being a children's network (the only exception being Nick-at-Nite which was old TV shows for older people...because children were supposed to be in bed by then, and now has spawned its own channel of TV Land). MTV has to have separate channels just to play the music videos the channel was invented to do. Ugh, Nick needs more recognition.
Anyway, I grew up on a show that I know a lot of people remember, because I mention it and they say "hey, I remember that." Pinwheel. Blatant Sesame Street knockoff (two guys living in the same room named Plus and Minus who bickered a lot? NOOOO, that's not a knock off!) but for some reason I liked it more, even though it was more classic puppetry than the innovative Muppet technology (well, technically it was technology for puppetry). Here's the intro, which I think manages to get every character in to the intro in a short amount of time, too:
I also watched what might have been the most disturbing childrens show in history: Today's Special. Not so much like, scar you for life disturbing, but simply odd...I mean, it was about a mannequin that came to life when the store closed to help out the night dresser, and the night wtachmen, and such, and in doing so taught lessons on a specific theme for the show (which was billed as todays special...get it?)...though I guess it might have led some stoner guy to turn it in to the cinematic gem Mannequin, so you could say it was disturbing there...here's Today's Special's opening, with a neat little jazz song for the first 10 seconds...which degrades in to like, every 80s TV show theme ever.
And of course, if you watched Nick...you saw Picture Pages! Ah, Cosby.
