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I’m really
picky about the shows I’m going to
let my daughter watch when she’s old
enough to enjoy them. Generally I gravitate
to the ones that can get into, or will allow
me to have a conversation with her about
it, when she’s old enough to have
acquired conversational skills beyond that
of “giddle diddle idle.” In
the meantime I let her occasionally watch
shows like “Teletubbies” (as
much as I detest them…) just so she
can see things that are colorful enough
to attract her attention. Where I’m
careful here is to limit the amount of time
she sees TV, because I don’t want
her to become as much of a couch potato
as I can be, and I don’t want it to
become a babysitter.
When she gets older, I’m going to
let her watch “Bear in the Big Blue
House” because she already likes Bear
and I love the life lessons it teaches.
I’ve also been checking out a few
other shows to give her some variety. One
that I had never heard of showed up at my
house recently in the form of a DVD.
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It is called “Grandpa’s Place”
and in reading the back it gave me the impression
that it was meant to be educational and fun. I
love puppets (and of course… muppets), but
I was at first taken a bit aback by the pictures
of the characters on the DVD cover. I thought
they looked a little scary and hoped it was just
a product of the photography.
When I put in the disc, my fears were allayed
and the puppets weren’t scary at all. (On
the picture ‘Captain Dog’ looked like
‘The Great Pumpkin’) I liked the premise
of the series, which has Jason (Cody Arens) visiting
the magical place that is his “Grandpa’s
Place.” Ed Lauter stars as Grandpa, and
I was surprised to see how warm and friendly he
could be after so many years of playing tough
guy roles. The puppets come into play when Jason
finds three old toys in a trunk in the basement.
They end up coming to life and enjoying the afternoon
visits to Grandpa’s.
The series is a little sweet, but nowhere near
as bad as “Barney” (which is a corporate
institution my daughter will be kept far, far
away from), but it does have enough song and sketches
to stir the imagination while teaching all about
teamwork and the importance of family.
There are two DVDs available, each with two episodes.
I only have the first set in hand enjoyed it enough
to try and track down the second. I was also surprised
to see Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba”)
show up in the second episode. I understand that
Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark”) guest
stars in an episode on the other disc.
While I can’t say that “Grandpa’s
Place” is the best show of its kind, and
it suffers a little due to its low budget, it
is better than most of the kids shows I’ve
seen in recent times. I love the fact that it
deals with the relationship between a grandfather
and grandchild because it is an experience I never
had. Fortunately, my daughter gets to spend all
kinds of time with her grandmother, and the two
of them enjoy it to no end. “Grandpa’s
Place” will definitely have a place on my
daughter’s shelf, ready to be brought down
when she’s old enough to appreciate and
learn from it.
Starring: Ed Lauter, Cody Arens
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Oak Films
Release Date: Available
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give an Grandpa's Place a B-.
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