I think the best children's shows have a slight sense of wistfulness - the ones I loved in my 1970s childhood in the UK were Bagpuss, Mr. Benn and the Charlie B

I think the best children's shows have a slight sense of wistfulness - the ones I loved in my 1970s childhood in the UK were Bagpuss, Mr. Benn and the Charlie Brown shows. The best of the animated Batman shows in the 90s caught that too (particularly the superb Mr Freeze ones), but it doesn't seem to be that common, though I'm not following kids TV as much as I did.