Nobody Likes Calliou

He's the most annoying cartoon child ever put on screen.

My kids were not allowed to watch it.

I disliked that he complained more than I thought a TV character should, and that his parents capitulated to him.

There were plenty of good shows that we liked better. I even learned to love Barney.

You learned to love Barney?

Nothing was better than Bill Nye the Science Guy, though Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? was pretty awesome. Unfortunately my kids were a little young for it.

Marissa D said:

You learned to love Barney?

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LOL in my defense I was on complete bedrest, which might also explain my affection for labor.

only the EARLY barney was acceptable. i only loved watching the show for that one kid, Michael. he was my fav.


there's a meme about how Calliou grew up to be the One Punch Man. (OPM is an anime, by the way) and it cracks me up.


but when i was a kid, we didn't watch show like Aurthur, Calliou, Big Comfy Couch, or Teletubbies. i think we pretty much just had Barney and Sesame Street. but i was too busy watching Thundercats, Silver Hawks, Transformers, Eureka's Castle, David the Gnome, Wuzzles, Snorks, Smurfs....ya know....

Frankie007 said:

but i was too busy watching Thundercats, Silver Hawks, Transformers, Eureka's Castle, David the Gnome, Wuzzles, Snorks, Smurfs....ya know....

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G.I Joe, Bionic-6, Bravestarr, Rainbow Brite, The Littles, Gummi Bears, and one really awesome station that would play Danger Mouse segments in lieu of half its commercials, so that if you watched their whole Saturday-morning line-up you'd get the whole DM episode.

Not a parent, but a Canadian. (An ooold Canadian. One channel- CBC all the way, and all day) When I was a child, we had 'The Friendly Giant', 'Mr. Dress-up' and that introduction to French 'Chez Helene'. And as I am writing this, it occurs to me that they were more shows starring adults, for children, rather than about children and their doings.
I was too old for 'Sesame Street' when I first saw 'Sesame Street', but looking back 'Old' Sesame Street had more adults on it. The old guy, the younger couple. (Confession: my favourite part was the misbehaving dots - a black screen fills up with orderly lines of white dots, in time with a little tune. Sometimes it worked fine, other times one dot or another would get out of line, or not show up in time, or cram itself in beside other dots and have to be sent back to it's spot.)

Caillou hatred is a well-established past time for my two oldest kids, who grew up watching the show on occasion.

Here's some of my favorite Caillou hatred: https://www.sbnation.com/2014/3/26/5549908/arian-foster-caillou-is-awful

Caillou is a despicable, spineless 4-year-old boy who cannot do anything. He can't grow hair, not because he has cancer or progeria, but because he sucks, and even his own body recognizes that he does not deserve hair or food or love. He has a baby sister who dominates his life because she is a normal, loving child who does not whine about the slightest fart of the breeze. Caillou's parents love her better because she is a better person.

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frimble3 said:

Not a parent, but a Canadian. (An ooold Canadian. One channel- CBC all the way, and all day) When I was a child, we had 'The Friendly Giant', 'Mr. Dress-up' and that introduction to French 'Chez Helene'. And as I am writing this, it occurs to me that they were more shows starring adults, for children, rather than about children and their doings.
I was too old for 'Sesame Street' when I first saw 'Sesame Street', but looking back 'Old' Sesame Street had more adults on it. The old guy, the younger couple. (Confession: my favourite part was the misbehaving dots - a black screen fills up with orderly lines of white dots, in time with a little tune. Sometimes it worked fine, other times one dot or another would get out of line, or not show up in time, or cram itself in beside other dots and have to be sent back to it's spot.)

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You are me!

My kids HATED Caillou, but I never realized it was a thing .

I remember when Teletoon was first going on air. I was imagining something like Adult Swim, 24/7. Anime, Ren and Stimpy, raunchy cartoons, retro cartoons! The possibilities were endless and I was so excited.
I was laid up in the hospital watching the count down to airtime.
The timer hit zero.
And the Caillou theme started.

It was a disappointment.

frimble3 said:

I was too old for 'Sesame Street' when I first saw 'Sesame Street', but looking back 'Old' Sesame Street had more adults on it. The old guy, the younger couple. (Confession: my favourite part was the misbehaving dots - a black screen fills up with orderly lines of white dots, in time with a little tune. Sometimes it worked fine, other times one dot or another would get out of line, or not show up in time, or cram itself in beside other dots and have to be sent back to it's spot.)

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I might have seen the first episode of Sesame Street but it's possible I don't remember it. I do remember, however, watching it in the early years when it was Elmo-less and bawling my head off when Mr. Hooper died, and Luis and Maria got married (hell, I remember when Maria first moved to Sesame Street from Puerto Rico and her being amazed at snow).

I remember the guy who would paint numbers everywher, then was amazed when he showed up as a neighbor of The Jeffersons, then was further amazed when he showed up as a hotel clerk in This Is Spinal Tap.

"I'm going to paint a seven..."

BenPanced said:

I might have seen the first episode of Sesame Street but it's possible I don't remember it. I do remember, however, watching it in the early years when it was Elmo-less and bawling my head off when Mr. Hooper died, and Luis and Maria got married (hell, I remember when Maria first moved to Sesame Street from Puerto Rico and her being amazed at snow).

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IMHO less Elmo was a good thing. And no Elmo was even better. And, yes, I haven't watched it for years, but it seems to have become more child (and marketing) oriented, unlike the more 'balanced' earlier version.

Twick said:

You are me!

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Hello, sibling from other parents entirely!
Didn't our parents save a fortune, and their sanity, by having only one channel? No choices, no arguing.

I think it was 'Friendly Giant' with his 'big chair for two to curl up in and a rocking chair in the middle', that began my fondness for dollhouse furniture. That, and the little train, going through the little landscape. And Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe were so obviously puppets. No need for wild colours or fancy rod-and-stick work, or, indeed, CGI.

frimble3 said:

IMHO less Elmo was a good thing. And no Elmo was even better. And, yes, I haven't watched it for years, but it seems to have become more child (and marketing) oriented, unlike the more 'balanced' earlier version.

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Many of the old episodes can't be shown because they're "unsafe" for children, apparently. Big Bird is unstable, as evidenced by Snuffy, but the biggest complaint seems to be that the kids hang out at Mr. Hooper's store or go into the apartments of adults who aren't their relations. As if it's a horrible thing for kids to know which adults they can go to if they're in trouble.

Also... original Oscar was ORANGE. (and that is just wrong.)

I remember being so excited when someone besides Big Bird finally saw Mr. Snuffleupagus for the first time. There was such a great build-up to that one epsiode... Big Bird kept arranging meetings, and they kept falling through for one reason or another, and everyone was convinced that Mr. Snuffleupagus was an imaginary friend. And then the first time they saw him---! I was so happy for Big Bird that everyone finally believed him!

For some strange reason Snuffy terrified my youngest daughter. I would know he was on the screen because wherever I was she would come tearing into me, grabbing my legs. She couldn't talk very much but her translator (older sister) told me that she was afraid of that big elephant looking thing. She, my youngest, was a timid child but the first time I actually saw Snuffy I thought maybe she needed to sit and actually watch him to get over the fear. Nope. Never happened. Would not stay in the same room with Snuffy. She still is a little odd.

As for poor Caillou, give the kid a break. My grandson is 4, just as blond, and the little boy across the street is also blond. Both look bald from a distance. Both are just as whiney and self focused as Caillou, as are my dark haired nieces and nephews. The show was written for toddlers. Look at Stewie-- he wants his mother dead and nobody hates him! --s6

The Caillou Christmas special didn't completely suck. Faint praise.

My mom still laughs about the time when, in high school, my brother, out of that sense of nostalgia/curiosity that drives people to occasionally rewatch a show they loved as a child, sat down and viewed an episode of Sesame Street for the first time in years.

After a couple clips, he looked up at my mother and said, "I watched THIS? It's so stupid! It would insult the intelligence of a six-year-old!"

She responded, "That's because it was made for three-year-olds."

The look on his face was priceless.

There's a part of me that can't wait for Caillou to die of the cancer he clearly has, otherwise why would his parents let him do whatever the hell he wants all the time? I'm in accord with the Caillou hate, my kids watched it a bit when they were little, now they are just as full of spite for the little whiner as the rest of the internet. They sing the theme song sometimes just to irritate me.

Kids TV has all gone to crap. Go back to the Mister Rogers and the early Sesame Streets and kids used to actually learn stuff. My kids are teens and when Mom and I feel nostalgic we put on an old episode from Youtube on the TV and they actually put down what their doing at watch entire episodes. Then get the sing song going, especially when an old Sesame street plays the counting song.

*sings*
one two three four five,
six seven eight nine ten
...
eleven twelve.
*stops singing*

You're welcome for the ear worm.