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Can we talk about things that don't make sense in Children's TV/books?


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Why do Bob the Builder and Wendy keep letting Spud help with *anything*?? Why hasn't he been straight-up banned from their property? He's ALWAYS screwing things up and making more work for the crew.

 

And why is it the people in that town always wait until just a few days before a big event to tell Bob they need something built for it? They obviously don't have to deal with permits and codes and such.

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Actually, yes. That's pretty much what happened to orphans and other unwanted children. They were handed out as free manual labor to anyone who would take them.

 

I don't think Anne's previous homes would have stood up to much scrutiny -- her mirror friend Katie in one house was in the one window that hadn't been smashed one night by the "slightly intoxicated" husband. The orphanages were fairly awful as well.

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Oh, and how did Snuffy go from being Big Bird's invisible imaginary friend to everyone being able to see him?

 

Snuffy was always real - the adults just thought he was Big Bird's imaginary friend, because Snuffy always wandered away before Big Bird could bring the adults to see him. The change was a conscious decision on the part of Children's Television Workshop. They realized that it wasn't the best message to show a child telling the truth and repeatedly being doubted by adults, accused of making it up, etc.

 

Which brings to mind the similar question: who would name a kid Remus Lupin when you know there are werewolves around? To paraphrase somebody who asked that, his parents might as well have put him in a meat parka, stuck squeaky toys in his shoes, and sent him into the Forbidden Forest after dark.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

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It's probably a type of spam bot.

 

Yeah, those are not people. They are macros-computer programs that automatically make a username, then copy and paste a reply. It is why some forums/blogs/etc require email verification or require you to type in those funky letters to make an account.

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Why do Bob the Builder and Wendy keep letting Spud help with *anything*?? Why hasn't he been straight-up banned from their property? He's ALWAYS screwing things up and making more work for the crew.

 

And why is it the people in that town always wait until just a few days before a big event to tell Bob they need something built for it? They obviously don't have to deal with permits and codes and such.

 

And yet, there's a building inspector that occasionally comes with his clipboard.

 

And how does he get those projects done so fast?! Builds entire roads in a day, redoes the interior of the museum in a couple hours. Amazing!

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Yes! When I read the Cat in the Hat book to dd, I always follow up with a conversation about how we don't ever keep secrets from mommy nor do we allow anyone in our house like that.

 

My sympathies are entirely with the fish in the book. We have similar conversations ....

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:001_wub: this thread!

 

On the topic of Harry Potter. Would a bunch of parents of 11 year olds really send their kids off to a boarding school where all the other kids were untrained with their wands? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Homeschooling might be a better approach for these special needs kids!

 

I always thought it odd that the climax of every story was coincidentally at the end of a school year. Does Voldermort know when May rolls around it's time to get serious?

 

In Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore is avoiding Harry because Voldemort is getting in his head, why doesn't he just tell Harry that instead of allowing Harry to feel like he has the plague all year?

 

I LOVE the Harry Potter books, but I could go on and on all day about the things that make NO sense whatsoever to me in them. :D

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Well, Dr. Huxtable has his office downstairs so he is nearby. I just assumed that Mrs. Huxtable has some kind of flex time arrangement.

 

Yeah, but all the doctors and lawyers I know work really long hours. And didn't Mrs. Huxtable make partner at some point? When she is on flex time? That's about as unbelievable to me as talking dogs and salt shakers. :D

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Uniqua is a ladybug.

 

Dh wants to know why Pepe Le Pew doesn't know that the cat is not a skunk and why does Sylvester not figure out that the giant mouse was really a kangaroo?

 

Eta: How does Goofy (a dog) end up with Clarabelle (a cow)?

 

And what is so great about Olive Oil? She is not really that great of a catch!

Edited by Excelsior! Academy
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:001_wub: this thread!

 

On the topic of Harry Potter. Would a bunch of parents of 11 year olds really send their kids off to a boarding school where all the other kids were untrained with their wands? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Homeschooling might be a better approach for these special needs kids!

 

I always thought it odd that the climax of every story was coincidentally at the end of a school year. Does Voldermort know when May rolls around it's time to get serious?

 

In Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore is avoiding Harry because Voldemort is getting in his head, why doesn't he just tell Harry that instead of allowing Harry to feel like he has the plague all year?

 

I LOVE the Harry Potter books, but I could go on and on all day about the things that make NO sense whatsoever to me in them. :D

 

 

Or how about the fact that there is pretty much NO adult supervision in the students' living quarters? As far as I can tell, the heads of houses sleep/live elsewhere. So you've got a bunch of hormonal teenagers sharing a living space (separate dorms, but girls can go to guys' rooms) with only a few older peers to keep an eye on them? Not to mention how easy it seems to be for kids to sneak out and find private spots after curfew--or even during the day, for that matter. Room of requirement, anyone?? So as impressive as all the magic in HP is, I think the REAL magic is in however they manage to have a teen pregnancy rate of zero!!:tongue_smilie:

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On the Cosby show, the dad is a doctor and the mom is a lawyer - so how are they always home when the kids get home from school?

 

His medical practice is in the basement of the townhouse.

 

Oh, and his patients only go into labor at night. :D

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Or how about the fact that there is pretty much NO adult supervision in the students' living quarters? As far as I can tell, the heads of houses sleep/live elsewhere. So you've got a bunch of hormonal teenagers sharing a living space (separate dorms, but girls can go to guys' rooms) with only a few older peers to keep an eye on them? Not to mention how easy it seems to be for kids to sneak out and find private spots after curfew--or even during the day, for that matter. Room of requirement, anyone?? So as impressive as all the magic in HP is, I think the REAL magic is in however they manage to have a teen pregnancy rate of zero!!:tongue_smilie:

 

^^ THIS

 

And how Voldemort was incapable of understanding love because he was conceived under the influence of a love potion... which are freely available for purchase at magical joke shops.:glare:

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On The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot, the moms think the kids are just playing make believe and not really going anywhere.

 

Why can't Scootaloo fly on My Little Ponies Friendship is Magic?

 

The thing that bothers me the most about kids shows now is how dumb the parents are made out to be in most of them.

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Bert and Ernie - that's an easy one. They're like that old show the Odd Couple. Bernie's wife obviously left him because he was neurotic and no fun so he went to live with his college buddy Ernie.

 

Kind of like the kid version of Ross and Joey on Friends :lol:

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The thing that bothers me the most about kids shows now is how dumb the parents are made out to be in most of them.

 

That is really troublesome to me too, in line with the Snuffy being seen by adults because having them accuse Big Bird of lying constantly looked bad scenario. Harry Potter is the same way for me. I remember reading it in my angsty teen years and raging that adults were cads and refusing (at least in Snape's case) to see the truth simply because it was being told by kids. Way to inspire kids to trust adults when bad things happen :001_rolleyes:

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What is Mr. Rogers doing at the house where he hosts the show? I mean, he always enters at the beginning and leaves to go home at the end. Does he just come to feed the fish and hang around for a bit? He does have his mail delivered there, so he must not be just squatting, right? So then why the separate house? Is it just so he can get residency in that awesome neighborhood?

 

 

I always thought it was like he was coming to your house and he was like your dad and then he would leave (like to go to work or something), but he always promised to come back and he always did.

 

And, now you've made me cry. I miss Mr. Rogers. :crying:

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Why do Dora's parents send her off into the woods alone when they are filled with giant spiders, angry trolls and annoying monkeys.

 

And why does Dora always remember her helmet, life jacket, etc, but have no parental supervision while wondering through the jungle?

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Love this!!!

 

How come Elvis hasn't been fired? He's routinely late, always answers questions incorrectly, and is clumsy. Can't Norman stay out of trouble for more than a second to let someone else have some fun?

 

I am so tired of "Tiny Ditty" and her "Tiny Spot" and her "Tiny POWERS!" :glare: I agree with the PP... I want to see the episode of Dinosaur Train where Buddy grows up and realizes he is seeing flying meat-sticks everywhere. When will Buddy grow up into a 40-ft tall Tyrannosaurus? Will he still come over for Christmas? (Pteranodon family eats fish so... what does Buddy eat? Fish?) OH, and WHO/WHERE IS BUDDY'S MOTHER? (Since the Pteranodon family must get on the Dinosaur Train to visit the Delores the Tyrannosaurus how did Buddy's egg end up with the Pteranodon family?) How did Mrs. Pteranodon NOT notice an additional egg until it hatched...? :lol:

 

In one episode of Curious George, the Man in the Yellow Hat became the Director of the Museum. Occasionally you see him in an office, with that museum assistant. That loves him. Please go on a date already. My son loves Curious George and all I think about is "Wow, it must be nice to have a crazy monkey and still so much free time to read books and garden..." :auto: I also see Man in Yellow Hat as much of an aristocrat. Speaking of that, why does he live in the only YELLOW apartment? In a YELLOW country house? Will that farmer's kid ever refer to George as a "city monkey" (or does he really think George is a boy?)

 

:lurk5:

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:001_wub: this thread!

 

On the topic of Harry Potter. Would a bunch of parents of 11 year olds really send their kids off to a boarding school where all the other kids were untrained with their wands? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Homeschooling might be a better approach for these special needs kids!

 

I always thought it odd that the climax of every story was coincidentally at the end of a school year. Does Voldermort know when May rolls around it's time to get serious?

 

In Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore is avoiding Harry because Voldemort is getting in his head, why doesn't he just tell Harry that instead of allowing Harry to feel like he has the plague all year?

 

I LOVE the Harry Potter books, but I could go on and on all day about the things that make NO sense whatsoever to me in them. :D

 

Oh, I love Harry Potter too, but yeah, I have all sorts of questions about it. I saw one recently in a Meme: Fred & George see Ron on the Marauder's Map sleeping every night with a man named Peter Pettigrew, and don't think anything of it?

 

Why doesn't Remus patent the magic behind the Marauder's Map and live off the income?

 

 

Ok, well, again, when I want to, I can never think of the questions I've asked before. :D

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Why do they always call George a monkey when he's obviously a juvenile ape--either chimp or bonobo? It particularly irritates me on the modern version, where they are purporting to teach kids about science.

 

In the original book (which was published in the 1940's so it's understandable), the Man in the Yellow Hat was obviously on a big game hunting jaunt, and too George to sell him to the zoo. In the modern movie version, he was doing the sightseeing/photo safari thing and George, obviously an orphan, followed him rather than get captured.

 

What really baffled me for inconsistency in Little Bear was the talking snake that lived in the garden. It wasn't anthropomorphized, except for the talking, and it was small. It didn't follow any kind of logic.

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Oh, I love Harry Potter too, but yeah, I have all sorts of questions about it. I saw one recently in a Meme: Fred & George see Ron on the Marauder's Map sleeping every night with a man named Peter Pettigrew, and don't think anything of it?

 

 

Ha! I'd never thought of that before! :lol:

 

I always wondered if the parents bring all the luggage trolleys back through after the Hogwarts Express leaves or if they leave them on Platform 9 3/4.

 

If Sirius could have escaped from Azkaban by simply turning into Padfoot, why did he stay there for 13 years?

 

I also didn't get why the Death Eaters didn't have the skill. Rita Skeeter can turn into a beetle but Voldermort's army of dark wizards don't have that ability? It seems that would have been an easy way to enter Hogwarts, instead of depending on Draco to fix the Vanishing Cabinets.

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If Sirius could have escaped from Azkaban by simply turning into Padfoot, why did he stay there for 13 years?

 

 

I always thought it was because he still blamed himself for the Potters' death. He felt like he deserved the punishment because he convinced them to make Peter their secret keeper, but when he saw the picture of Ron's rat in the newspaper, he knew Peter was alive, so he knew he had to escape and take his revenge.

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:001_wub: this thread!

 

On the topic of Harry Potter. Would a bunch of parents of 11 year olds really send their kids off to a boarding school where all the other kids were untrained with their wands? That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Homeschooling might be a better approach for these special needs kids!

 

I always thought it odd that the climax of every story was coincidentally at the end of a school year. Does Voldermort know when May rolls around it's time to get serious?

 

In Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore is avoiding Harry because Voldemort is getting in his head, why doesn't he just tell Harry that instead of allowing Harry to feel like he has the plague all year?

 

I LOVE the Harry Potter books, but I could go on and on all day about the things that make NO sense whatsoever to me in them. :D

 

I also love them and we are just reading HP 3 with our girls and it has really been bugging me that with those time turners there's no way possible to somehow use them, you know in book 6 or 7 to do something about Voldemort? Really? There had to be something. I've been worrying about this way too obsessively for the last week or two.:lol:

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I also love them and we are just reading HP 3 with our girls and it has really been bugging me that with those time turners there's no way possible to somehow use them, you know in book 6 or 7 to do something about Voldemort? Really? There had to be something. I've been worrying about this way too obsessively for the last week or two.:lol:

 

They were all smashed in book 5. Otherwise that would have been way to easy. :lol:

 

Good point about the Marauder's Map, though!!!! Maybe they just didn't use it much those last two years at nighttime. :tongue_smilie:

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I also love them and we are just reading HP 3 with our girls and it has really been bugging me that with those time turners there's no way possible to somehow use them, you know in book 6 or 7 to do something about Voldemort? Really? There had to be something. I've been worrying about this way too obsessively for the last week or two.:lol:

 

Some people think that's

.
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Why can't you ever tell how big Clifford the Big Red Dog really is?

 

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtOO8JnsAce4NUJipXQHXXBMfOHPAL4455rdaEalDyZX7Q6qFnCw He fits into his dog house

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_-MbdMhj5eh__G1f9q3z47RGVOhMPi10E3rNhr_l2KRQ2cZNb He doesn't fit into his dog house and Emily Elizabeth is as big as his toe.

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShtdn7VSWbKKdfWob29YDXkqPOr1I_8wRQTes4cmwJbS71o7ZQ He's smaller than the neighbor's house (and Emily Elizabeth is as tall as his knee)

 

 

 

DQPOCHKAKWMz4cPUsROV_bixBHUwZc219gWTdejtwr4X3PhhjlwVJaYJAur62jYQM_BJtFO5_OSV4daBdLXcCjHViXxq96OiAFma8-qw_CET9mHPNuTHGUI5FTSsKibB5JXMh8ses5Gmk9UyND-kq-0NW7Gau_i2LWIT9TnNWA

 

but as big as the Fire Station?

 

 

 

 

 

Issues of scale really bother my boys. In the Redwall series, a squirrel kills a wolverine and a mouse kills a bobcat and a badger wields a mouses sword - to name a few.

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I could start an entire epic about Harry Potter - and I LOVE the story of Harry Potter! But every time JKR created a new magical object or introduced another possibility of the magical world, she was painting herself into a new corner, don't you think?

 

Triwizard Tournament - who would ever think this is a good idea for fostering international magical cooperation? Have children compete magically. We certainly hope they're good at magic, because they will die otherwise. Oh, and the 14-year-old will have to compete because the cup says so. But nobody can give him a handicap on account of his age.

 

Also, why do spectators come to see the second and third tasks? What do they do - stare at the surface of the lake for an hour?

 

Plot Hole: the cup is a portkey, but earlier in the book, portkeys only left at a particular time. This portkey was "loaded" to only work when grasped? Or what? Also, why would it take him back to the outside of the maze? Portkeys didn't work like that in the rest of the book!

 

Why aren't more witches and wizards animagi? Isn't that a rather handy skill? Is Dumbledore one? Why isn't Voldemort an animagi?

 

Why do Death Eaters throw stunning spells? Why not just AK everyone?

 

Why can't Molly Weasley improve Ron's dress robes?

 

Why wouldn't Dumbledore share the horcrux information with the other Order members? Why rely on a teenage boy and a few of his friends?

 

Why can house elves apparate and disapparte through enchantments that foil wizards and witches?

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Why are the Weasleys poor if they can do such great magic?

 

Just how does the economy of the Wizarding world function, anyway? Everyone either works for the Ministry, teaches at Hogwarts, or is the sole proprietor of a little shop or inn. Where's the industry? Where are the professional services?

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Just how does the economy of the Wizarding world function, anyway? Everyone either works for the Ministry, teaches at Hogwarts, or is the sole proprietor of a little shop or inn. Where's the industry? Where are the professional services?

 

Good point. Wasn't Mr. Weasley fascinated by the Grangers' being dentists? Wizards have teeth! They might use magical dentists, but surely there must be some health care professionals beyond the lady in the Hogwarts infirmary.

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Good point. Wasn't Mr. Weasley fascinated by the Grangers' being dentists? Wizards have teeth! They might use magical dentists, but surely there must be some health care professionals beyond the lady in the Hogwarts infirmary.

There is that hospital where Nevil's parents are admitted. It was a regular medical facility with nursing home on a particular floor.

 

ETA: They are on the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

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Why are the Weasleys poor if they can do such great magic?

 

Just how does the economy of the Wizarding world function, anyway? Everyone either works for the Ministry, teaches at Hogwarts, or is the sole proprietor of a little shop or inn. Where's the industry? Where are the professional services?

 

Well, we know there are at least book publishers and broomstick manufacturers!

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^^ THIS

 

And how Voldemort was incapable of understanding love because he was conceived under the influence of a love potion... which are freely available for purchase at magical joke shops.:glare:

 

That's not the only reason. It was because nobody ever loved him, he suffered years of mistreatment, etc.

 

Also, why do spectators come to see the second and third tasks? What do they do - stare at the surface of the lake for an hour?

 

Magical ways of knowing what was going on and announcing?

 

Plot Hole: the cup is a portkey, but earlier in the book, portkeys only left at a particular time. This portkey was "loaded" to only work when grasped? Or what? Also, why would it take him back to the outside of the maze? Portkeys didn't work like that in the rest of the book!

 

Different form of portkey?

 

Why aren't more witches and wizards animagi? Isn't that a rather handy skill? Is Dumbledore one? Why isn't Voldemort an animagi?

 

The books say that animagi are rather rare. I would imagine that Voldemort would be a little too arrogant for the study *of something else* that would be required to become that thing.

 

Why do Death Eaters throw stunning spells? Why not just AK everyone?

 

I would imagine that AK would take more power, concentration, effort and energy than other types.

 

Why can't Molly Weasley improve Ron's dress robes?

 

She doesn't think they need improving?

 

Why wouldn't Dumbledore share the horcrux information with the other Order members? Why rely on a teenage boy and a few of his friends?

 

They have less to lose, they don't have formed opinions about what should be done, they are already being followed, I can think of any number of reasons for that?

 

Why can house elves apparate and disapparte through enchantments that foil wizards and witches?

 

Their magic is different, just like dwarves have different magic.

 

Why are the Weasleys poor if they can do such great magic?

 

They don't think of themselves as poor. They have what they need.

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Why can't you ever tell how big Clifford the Big Red Dog really is?

 

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtOO8JnsAce4NUJipXQHXXBMfOHPAL4455rdaEalDyZX7Q6qFnCw He fits into his dog house

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_-MbdMhj5eh__G1f9q3z47RGVOhMPi10E3rNhr_l2KRQ2cZNb He doesn't fit into his dog house and Emily Elizabeth is as big as his toe.

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcShtdn7VSWbKKdfWob29YDXkqPOr1I_8wRQTes4cmwJbS71o7ZQ He's smaller than the neighbor's house (and Emily Elizabeth is as tall as his knee)

 

 

 

DQPOCHKAKWMz4cPUsROV_bixBHUwZc219gWTdejtwr4X3PhhjlwVJaYJAur62jYQM_BJtFO5_OSV4daBdLXcCjHViXxq96OiAFma8-qw_CET9mHPNuTHGUI5FTSsKibB5JXMh8ses5Gmk9UyND-kq-0NW7Gau_i2LWIT9TnNWA

 

but as big as the Fire Station?

 

 

 

 

 

Issues of scale really bother my boys. In the Redwall series, a squirrel kills a wolverine and a mouse kills a bobcat and a badger wields a mouses sword - to name a few.

 

totally agree! All of my kids have noticed the scale issues with Clifford. I refuse to read these books anymore - problem solved!

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On Jay Jay the Jet Plane, how exactly are new planes born?

 

And maybe not quite a "children's" show, but If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

 

Why do so many cartoon characters wear pants OR a shirt, but rarely both?

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Why doesn't Curious George, the curious little MONKEY have a tail?

 

Why did Franklin have to wait for his mom to have his baby sister? Why didn't they sit around and wait for an egg to hatch?

 

Why does Franklin talk about wanting a pet and which kind he wants? They are all animals, why aren't they all equal? Or are some Animals while others are animals?

 

Why is Word Girl's dad orange?

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Speaking of speaking animals, it doesn't really matter what show, but why can all the other animals talk but the dog?

 

I mean in the Super Sleuths we have a talking Tigger, Rabbit, Pooh Bear, but Buster the dog barks! In Word World, all the animals talk, but Dog. It seems to be a theme, we can make any animal we want talk, but no making the dog talk, that that is crazy talk!

 

I wondered about this last night when we were watching one of the Garfield movies. Garfield is a CGI talking cat, yet Odie was played by a real dog, who obviously doesn't talk. He doesn't talk in the comics or animated cartoons either.

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I loved that show along with Saved By the Bell and Hey Dude. Why wasn't Zach Morris sent to alternative school for all the stuff he tried to pull at Bayside? Regardless of that it was still a fine show.

 

Those are the shows I grew up on! And I don't know anyone else who watched Hey Dude. I loved that show. :lol:

 

Oscar the Timelord - :smilielol5:

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