Why Kids May Like Danny Instead of Fred

             My younger brother occasionally likes to watch PBS TV shows online, and he occasionally does so while I happen to be in the same room. That's where I learned about this guy:

Meet Daniel Tiger, ain't he cute?

            To be released on PBS this September, Daniel Tiger is the new star of the upcoming show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. For anyone curious, this little guy opens the show by putting on his shoes and singing about how it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Sound familiar? If it doesn't, maybe this will refresh your memory.

          That's right, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is going to replace Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood this Autumn. As the new Mr. Rogers, Danny gets the theme music, the trolley, and an assortment of other things from the first show.

          I remember enjoying a couple episodes of Mr. Rogers when I was young, but I was never really a fan. So instead of a rant of how TV and PBS aren't like they were back in my day, this post will be identifying some possible cultural shifts that might explain why PBS would feel that Danny needed to replace Fred.

The Somewhat Fantasy World Versus the Fantasy World

          There is the obvious difference; the producers of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood decided it would be dangerous to bring an actual child tiger into the TV studio, so they created a cartoon tiger and put him in a cartoon world.

           In the earlier Mr. Rogers, the viewers shifted between Fred Rogers' world--populated by human beings, construction plants, and graham cracker factories--and the Land of Make-Believe--populated with puppets, castles, and characters in costumes. The only way to cross the border between these worlds is by the trolley car, which happens to make an adorable sound.

          With the increases in uses of digital technology and cartoons in children's TV (shows like Wonder Pets, Dora the Explorer, the Wiggles Space Dancing, and others) that allow producers to bypass old TV limitations, children can probably identify more with a less realistic landscape than an authentic one.

The World Versus the Child

          Does anybody remember that one episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood where he takes the audience on a tour of a graham cracker factory? Or where the inhabitants of the land of Make-Believe had that discussion about what love is? Classic episodes, and very much a normal day for Fred.

          In the episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood where it's Daniel's birthday, on the other hand, we don't see anything like that. Instead, we watch Daniel go through his day in his cartoon world, playing with his friends, and eating his cake.

          This is also a result of the current children's TV trends, since they tend to focus on the characters and interact with the audience rather than teach or demonstrate. Daniel Tiger excitedly talked about how he loves birthdays, and then asks the camera; "Do you like birthdays?" for example. It could be argued that shows like Bob the Builder do include practical advice about the real world (watch the pilot for "Project Build-it" to be sure), but this too is done with clay-mation (or more recently digitization) to make it more identifiable with kids.

The Grandpa Versus the Grandson

           I could be wrong, but I think children's television is more popular if the kids can watch it and say; "Wow! That guy is just like me!" Daniel Tiger strikes me as the typical little boy (except for the stripes and whiskers) who wants to play, make believe, and prove that he's a big boy to his parents. When he smushes his own birthday cake trying to prove his maturity, kids can probably nod their heads with understanding.

          Mr. Rogers seems more like a fatherly/grandfatherly figure as he comes in through the door smiling, dressed as though he just got off work, changes to a sweater and tennis shoes (more playful and informal in an adult sort of way), and calls the audience neighbor in such a soothing way. While this kind of image was good in its time, children nowadays would rather watch characters like themselves messing up like they do and learning along with them, contrary to a character like grandpa who tells stories about such things before sending you off to the Land of Make-Believe to see his puppets experience them.

The World That Is Versus the World You Make

           As mentioned above, in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, there is a clear distinction between the land of reality and the land of fantasy, and the only way to cross between these lands is to go on the trolley. In Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, there is no such distinction. Daniel will invite the audience to make believe with him, then the screen will change and things will be acting out of the ordinary, which only contrasts reality in that there's a white fog around the border in the screen.

           In Daniel, he and the audience are making the worlds they are in, while Mr. Rogers seems to take advantage of the world that's already there. I'd have to say that this is probably the biggest difference between Mr. Rogers and Daniel Tiger. With Fred, it's fun schooltime; with Danny, it's fun playtime.


             I hope this didn't come across as bashing the tiger before he was born, but what do you think? Should television drop the idea of a cartoon tiger and replay old Mr. Rogers episodes?