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The show’s final cuts reflected many similarly exacting interventions. Once, Rogers provided new lyrics for the “Tomorrow” song that ended each show, to ensure

The show’s final cuts reflected many similarly exacting interventions. Once, Rogers provided new lyrics for the “Tomorrow” song that ended each show, to ensure that children watching on Friday wouldn’t expect a show on Saturday, when the show didn’t air. And Rogers’s secretary, Elaine Lynch, remembered how, when one script referred to putting a pet “to sleep,” he excised it for fear that children would be worried about the idea of falling asleep themselves. Rogers was extraordinarily good at imagining where children’s minds might go. The more I learn about him, the more I feel he was underappreciated in his time.

User23 5y ago
As someone who was a child that grew up watching him, I can assure you that he was extremely appreciated by his target audience.
- edoceo 5y ago
  Land of Make Believe crew checking in!! Modern Daniel Tiger is a good message and all, but blatant. Fred had that subtlety that let you still find your path to your personal truth, like the best dad.
  - travisgriggs 5y ago
    Newly minted granddad here. I’ve spent a couple hours with the kiddos playing and Daniel Tiger in the background. They watch sometimes. I agree with your sentiment. It seems nice and all, but somethings just meh about it compared to the old stuff. I’m increasingly concerned about a world that has doers and deciders. Fred Rogers was able to be both. He had the skills to do. But he also had a lot of influence and was able to decide. So often anymore, there are a group of creative doers who are placed under the thumb of people less able to do who have promoted themselves as a whole to take care of the deciding, so that the doers, uh, er, uh, have more time to do. Daniel Tiger feels like a well meaning kids show created in just such an environment.
  - stephenhuey 5y ago
    In defense of Daniel Tiger, even if it can’t fully compete with Fred Rogers while trying to follow in his footsteps, it at least explores childhood feelings in a slow, deliberate & understandable way which is more than I can say for most shows for kids. Too much frenzied action in the realm of kids’ entertainment and Fred Rogers was complaining about that in testimony to Congress long before I was born!
  - beerandt 5y ago
    We found in Bluey a lot of what we were looking for and expected in Daniel Tiger. Especially the "talking to kids in a helpful way" aspect. They're obviously not cut from the same template or are even necessarily trying to be the same thing. The kids enjoy both, and both are great shows, but affecting learned/emulated behavior (for both the kids and us with better parenting) is much more apparent with Bluey.
alexjplant 5y ago
Sesame Street took a similar tack when Mr. Hooper died [1]. I was a rather literal child and was often frustrated by adults' use of such euphemisms for death ("in a better place", "passed on", "asleep forever", etc.) as I considered it deceitful and patronizing. It's nice to know that there are children's shows that deal with such an uncomfortable fact of existence with plain language and dignity. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjFbz6vGU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjFbz6vGU8
- edoceo 5y ago
  Gotta NSFW tag this or something. Hit with these first grade memories.
- asxd 5y ago
  Those lines > "Big bird, it has to be this way--because." >> "Because?" > "Just... because" Goodness those hit me hard.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - p1mrx 5y ago
    Because natural selection doesn't optimize for longevity.
    - asxd 5y ago
      What you're saying is true, and it can be helpful to put things into logical terms like that. But it's a messed up thing when you're a kid. You're thrust into the world, and some people around you make everything alright. Then one of those people leave, forever. As I'm sure many others can attest to, even as an adult, that frustration doesn't go away. I accept that it can be explained as deterioration of the cells, or maybe general entropy, but there's an emotional aspect to it nevertheless. Somehow, it's comforting for me to remember that it happens "just because."
    - hoseja 5y ago

User23 5y ago

As someone who was a child that grew up watching him, I can assure you that he was extremely appreciated by his target audience.

edoceo 5y ago
Land of Make Believe crew checking in!! Modern Daniel Tiger is a good message and all, but blatant. Fred had that subtlety that let you still find your path to your personal truth, like the best dad.
- travisgriggs 5y ago
  Newly minted granddad here. I’ve spent a couple hours with the kiddos playing and Daniel Tiger in the background. They watch sometimes. I agree with your sentiment. It seems nice and all, but somethings just meh about it compared to the old stuff. I’m increasingly concerned about a world that has doers and deciders. Fred Rogers was able to be both. He had the skills to do. But he also had a lot of influence and was able to decide. So often anymore, there are a group of creative doers who are placed under the thumb of people less able to do who have promoted themselves as a whole to take care of the deciding, so that the doers, uh, er, uh, have more time to do. Daniel Tiger feels like a well meaning kids show created in just such an environment.
- stephenhuey 5y ago
  In defense of Daniel Tiger, even if it can’t fully compete with Fred Rogers while trying to follow in his footsteps, it at least explores childhood feelings in a slow, deliberate & understandable way which is more than I can say for most shows for kids. Too much frenzied action in the realm of kids’ entertainment and Fred Rogers was complaining about that in testimony to Congress long before I was born!
- beerandt 5y ago
  We found in Bluey a lot of what we were looking for and expected in Daniel Tiger. Especially the "talking to kids in a helpful way" aspect. They're obviously not cut from the same template or are even necessarily trying to be the same thing. The kids enjoy both, and both are great shows, but affecting learned/emulated behavior (for both the kids and us with better parenting) is much more apparent with Bluey.

alexjplant 5y ago

Sesame Street took a similar tack when Mr. Hooper died [1]. I was a rather literal child and was often frustrated by adults' use of such euphemisms for death ("in a better place", "passed on", "asleep forever", etc.) as I considered it deceitful and patronizing. It's nice to know that there are children's shows that deal with such an uncomfortable fact of existence with plain language and dignity. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjFbz6vGU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjFbz6vGU8

edoceo 5y ago
Gotta NSFW tag this or something. Hit with these first grade memories.
asxd 5y ago
Those lines > "Big bird, it has to be this way--because." >> "Because?" > "Just... because" Goodness those hit me hard.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- p1mrx 5y ago
  Because natural selection doesn't optimize for longevity.
  - asxd 5y ago
    What you're saying is true, and it can be helpful to put things into logical terms like that. But it's a messed up thing when you're a kid. You're thrust into the world, and some people around you make everything alright. Then one of those people leave, forever. As I'm sure many others can attest to, even as an adult, that frustration doesn't go away. I accept that it can be explained as deterioration of the cells, or maybe general entropy, but there's an emotional aspect to it nevertheless. Somehow, it's comforting for me to remember that it happens "just because."
  - hoseja 5y ago