Took my mother in law, who is a thriving 86, to dinner and to see the Fred Rodgers documentary.

As a kid I never could get excited about the show. I was always waiting for something exciting to happen. It would get to the edge of being interesting and always leave me wanting something to blow up etc.

But it was the only movie I felt good about taking my dear mother in law to so off we went. What a great documentary of an exceptional human being. I was very impressed with the man and the movie. A brisk 90 minutes which never was less than fascinating. Even if you're not a fan or are familiar with him, I think you will find the work rather inspiring.

Probably going to check out that show. It has sounded interesting to me since seeing the first ad. That, despite having developed a slight case of the a$$ for the guy as a kid. His show came on at the same time as Batman, that I wanted to watch. Mom wanted my little brothers and sister to watch Mr. Rogers. Only one TV in the house, and Mom always won that one!

I watched it a bit when younger. Really like the way he was so inclusive, ahead of his time.

Will try to catch the documentary! Thanks!

Fred Rogers was a GREAT man who had a lot of positive influence on youngsters--many of whom had very little nurturing or positivity in their lives.

I think he was one of those rare individuals who is truly good to his/her core.

My wife is going to see the documentary tonight with a friend, and I hope to see it soon.

Not a fan. He’s the kind of guy we would stay away from. Guy was creepy, or is. I did love the spoof Cheech and Chong did of him back in the day. ‘Would you like to come over to my place and help me feed my fish...’. That was good smoke. Hi

scat: "Not a fan. He’s the kind of guy we would stay away from. Guy was creepy, or is. I did love the spoof Cheech and Chong did of him back in the day. ‘Would you like to come over to my place and help me feed my fish...’. That was good smoke. Hi "

Yes Scat I sort can relate. I used to be a hard partying type myself and the world becomes upside down. The good becomes bad and the bad becomes good............See, Mr Rodgers is "creepy" and Cheech and Chong are to be admired. It's never to late to fly straight........life is actually a whole lot more fun and less confusing.

Parker I feel your pain........I would of been crushed if I didn't get to watch Batman (Pow!). I would watch Rodgers for about 10 minutes and then go play with my army men ;-)

Rogers testifies to Congress

What’s interesting is a lot of the issues for kids that his show tried to help are still valid today, maybe more so, even kids with good parents.

T

There was nothing creepy about Mr. Rogers. Our children liked to watch him, and they grew up to be educated, law-abiding (as far as I know), gainfully employed citizens who are raising their children in Christian homes. I am not giving Mr. Rogers all of the credit for that, but I think watching him didn't hurt, either. His values of inclusion and neighborliness seemed to "take" with them, and they have friendly, open personalities.

They learned their letters and numbers very early in toddler-hood by being read to, and by watching "Sesame Street" and "Electric Company" occasionally, as well. They were both National Merit Scholars and their undergraduate education didn't cost us or them a dime.

I may just have to go see that movie.

As a child, I found Mr. Rodgers creepy too. I found Miss Betty on Romper Room even creepier. I hated when she brought out her magic mirror and would tell kids she could see them. Remember how she taught that the Do Bee was good? : O

Give me Axel’s antics anytime.

I had read articles about him and sounds like he was a true American "Hero?" Never watched him as a kid, because he was not on one of the 3 TV stations we could get.

Now Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans, if anyone calls THEM "Creepy" or says anything derogatory about THEM, I've got a bone to pick with YOU (LOL)!

ozarkpaddler: "I had read articles about him and sounds like he was a true American "Hero?" Never watched him as a kid, because he was not on one of the 3 TV stations we could get.


Now Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans, if anyone calls THEM "Creepy" or says anything derogatory about THEM, I've got a bone to pick with YOU (LOL)!"

We won't burst your bubble about Capt Kangaroo and cast. But a new book just might. Sounds like they were polar opposites of Mr Rodgers off camera. I'm pretty sure I watched Capt Kangaroo and liked him and was bummed when his show was cancelled.

inspector13: "
As a child, I found Mr. Rodgers creepy too. I found Miss Betty on Romper Room even creepier. I hated when she brought out her magic mirror and would tell kids she could see them. Remember how she taught that the Do Bee was good? : O

Give me Axel’s antics anytime.

"

You know what was creepy was teletubbies. Talk about the "dumbing down" of our kids! I was Mr Mom to our daughter the first 5 years of her life and we were always together. The first thing I did was ditch the cable after watching a Disney sitcom where the parents were portrayed as stupid, the kids were smarter and of course disrespectful followed by a laughter soundtrack.

We used net flicks and watched tons of Veggie Tales and Winnie the Pooh CD's and she also developed a great love for reading. One of the biggest mistakes parents make is sitting their kids down in front of TV for hours on end. Garbage in, garbage out.

I agree. I saw Teletubbies once when a niece was watching it. The baby face superimposed onto the sun was even creepier than those flabby infantile aliens. The producers must have thought that children have the attention span of fish the way they repeated everything twice an episode. Even though I don’t think TV is good for children under 4, I would let any toddler of mine watch Peep and the Big Wide World.

The documentary was on PBS recently.

I was too old to watch Mister Rogers but I would like to watch the documentary.

I’m the product of a show in the late 1950’s called Romper Room. It was hosted by a teacher like women named Miss Betty. She taught us how to behave. She used a method that involved two kinds of bees. We were encouraged to be “Do Bees” and do what we were told not “Don’t Bees” and rebel. The lesson stuck with me and I was dependent on “Doobee” for 18 years.

Miss Betty also had a “Magic Mirror” she held up and could see into our homes through the black and white television sets. Everyday she would see different kids! “I see Susie, Billy, Claudia, Patrick”......I was startled when she said my name and I had to check the snaps on my pajama bottoms. I didn’t want to expose myself and embarrass Miss Betty.

I liked the segments where he showed how stuff was made. Graham crackers and French horns come to mind.

Zulu: "I was too old to watch Mister Rogers but I would like to watch the documentary.


I’m the product of a show in the late 1950’s called Romper Room. It was hosted by a teacher like women named Miss Betty. She taught us how to behave. She used a method that involved two kinds of bees. We were encouraged to be “Do Bees” and do what we were told not “Don’t Bees” and rebel. The lesson stuck with me and I was dependent on “Doobee” for 18 years.


Miss Betty also had a “Magic Mirror” she held up and could see into our homes through the black and white television sets. Everyday she would see different kids! “I see Susie, Billy, Claudia, Patrick”......I was startled when she said my name and I had to check the snaps on my pajama bottoms. I didn’t want to expose myself and embarrass Miss Betty."

:)
I was more of an an adventure cartoon kid along with Batman. Saturday morning was it for me. The Herculoids and Johnny Quest. Give me Danger Island any day over Mr. Rogers. That said, I will definitely watch this new documentary.

Ha! Johnny Quest......my favorite. I would probably still watch it.

I have always liked animation. For a while I got a kick out of "Rockos modern life" and I was older than I would like to admit.

The Incredibles new flick is good but not quite as good as the first one which I have seen several times.

If you are on the fence about this guy....

I'm proud of you by Tim Maas

also

The Simple Faith of Mr Rogers

Some books he has written'



The World According to Mister Rogers

Many Ways to say I Love You

Being 67 I never watched him but my kids watched him some. After he died I had to find out more about him...which is why I have his books on the shelf....once in a while I might glance at him.

The guy was the real deal or a great con artist. So was Jesus Christ....
Never heard any women or kids come out of the woodwork and accuse him of stuff. Gonna leave watch the movie in Green Bay in half hour...

dr bob



Dear mister Rogers.........

I definitely gotta see this movie.

a.) I love Documentaries
b.) I grew up LOVING Mr. Rodgers
c.) Who wouldn't love a story of a great human right now?

ps. Teletubbies are creepy and weird
pps. Cailou is even worse. He's a total sass to his parents and they just bend over backward to satisfy his every will. It's worse than Shameless! (not really).

Sorry, I was a caddie, altar boy, paper route, kind of a street urchin like kid, and there is no way I could watch Mr Rogers neighborhood without retching violently. End of story.
I remember being a fan of the Banana Splits on Saturday mornings over something else. That has to be an obscure reference. It might have been versus the Monkees show.

Well done documentary in my opinion. The guy really cared about kids and what they were exposed to.

dr bob

C’mon man, ‘let’s go back and I’ll put on my cardigan sweater’. No red blooded American kid my age in my ‘neighborhood’ would watch that crapola. What happened to good old cynicism? That is what we were weaned on. I wouldn’t trust Mr Rogers any more than I would trust Father Zavasky. Sister Bonaventure was scary, but I would take her abuse over a lisping priest any day. If it sounds like a duck, well you try your luck, I’ll just stay away.

inspector13: "
Give me Axel’s antics anytime."

Loved Axel and Touser...

We had a Mister Rogers fan club in college. We would sing his song, then turn on the show, watch it & maybe even have a alcoholic beverage or 2.
Personally I watched Captn. Kangeroo, Duane Eliot & Floppy and Dr. Max & Mombo when young. Dr. Max & Floppy were local children shows.
Of course I have to mention looney toons the greatest toons ever made. I'm sure they were an influence on me but not sure if it was a good one?

The slow and deliberate manner of his talking/speech drives me nuts. It doesn't sound like a 'quack' to me.
Good intentions. His gentle disposition made him a bit of an oddball to many.
But hey, who am I to judge.

scat: "Sorry, I was a caddie, altar boy, paper route, kind of a street urchin like kid, and there is no way I could watch Mr Rogers neighborhood without retching violently. End of story.
I remember being a fan of the Banana Splits on Saturday mornings over something else. That has to be an obscure reference. It might have been versus the Monkees show. "

I was too old to watch him when he first came on the air, but my kids enjoyed him when they were very young. The guy was a minister and married to the same woman for 50 years. There is zero evidence that he was ever any kind of pervert.

His show wasn't for older kids, but for very young ones. Whenever I watched it with my kids I always wondered how many youngsters in f**ked-up families were maybe finding some comfort and benefitting from the show.

Our children were of the generation about eight to ten years younger than scat et al, and were raised during their toddler years by a full-time Mom who often could use a break from two little ones by late afternoon. My husband was either in the military (earlier years) or a farmer (a bit later on) and worked very long hours. The kids were typically "busy", but also extraordinarily intelligent and verbal, especially our son, the younger of the two. "Sesame Street" and/or "Electric Company" kept their minds jumping and stimulated, but then Mr. Rogers came on afterward, and with his quiet way he seemed to just have a grandfatherly touch that was appreciated. His stories of how things were made, of the different occupations of the people in the neighborhood, etc. were good for little ones who lived far away from grandparents and other family. He would get out that cardigan, and I would see my active little guy begin to settle down and pay attention for a few minutes. I do not think it was a bad thing.

They didn't watch every day, and they didn't watch after they were old enough to have activities outside the home. Once they were in pre-school, I don't remember them watching TV much at all. We were a board game family, and most evenings we didn't have the TV on; we were around the kitchen table playing games.

mjmkjun: "The slow and deliberate manner of his talking/speech drives me nuts. It doesn't sound like a 'quack' to me.
Good intentions. His gentle disposition made him a bit of an oddball to many.
But hey, who am I to judge. "

Well, to be fair the scriptures do state that one should be "slow to speak and quick to listen" maybe Mr Rodgers took that literally ;-)

One thing I am picking up, particularly from people unacquainted with organized Christianity, is that somehow Mr Rodgers is an aberration. That he is the exception and not the rule. I know better.........there are countless millions Mr Rodgers, people who are kind, thoughtful, patient etc according to the commands of scripture and the help of the Holy Spirit. Yes I know we can point to many others who are not but Christianity is for the imperfect. So yes, the churches are filled with hypocrites for if man could perfect himself Christ need not have suffered. Still, the life altering effects are undeniable. I speak from experience, despite my many rough edges, I am 180 degrees different than before giving my life to Christ.

I am reminded of my former Pastors who had considerable influence on me. Patient and kind and in some respects were far more sacrificial in their kindness than being in a TV studio having spent 25 years on the mission field in Africa foregoing the comforts and benefits of the States.

A neighbor one town south of me. Axel

Then there was Pee Wee Herman. A wildly creative hit that suddenly took a turn.

mastertangler: "

ozarkpaddler: "I had read articles about him and sounds like he was a true American "Hero?" Never watched him as a kid, because he was not on one of the 3 TV stations we could get.



Now Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans, if anyone calls THEM "Creepy" or says anything derogatory about THEM, I've got a bone to pick with YOU (LOL)!"

We won't burst your bubble about Capt Kangaroo and cast. But a new book just might. Sounds like they were polar opposites of Mr Rodgers off camera. I'm pretty sure I watched Capt Kangaroo and liked him and was bummed when his show was cancelled. "

OH NO, now I'm going to have to check it out!

scat: "Sorry, I was a caddie, altar boy, paper route, kind of a street urchin like kid, and there is no way I could watch Mr Rogers neighborhood without retching violently. End of story.
I remember being a fan of the Banana Splits on Saturday mornings over something else. That has to be an obscure reference. It might have been versus the Monkees show. "

Heheheh, I remember the "Banana Splits!" Hehehe, one of the few shows my sister and I could agree on (LOL)!

Fred Rogers before congress

seeking funds for PBS

dr bob