The New Kids Revival

Last night, while flicking through channels on TV, I happened upon the Much Music Video Awards '08, just as the hostess was announcing "the moment you've all been waiting for...Here to perform for the first time in 15 years...The New Kids on the Block!!"

I'm not going to lie. My first reaction was a snicker. An evil little snicker. Like, oh my God, how lame. That is soooooooo not cool.

But then, out came these guys on the stage, and they didn't look so different than they did 15 years ago. OK, so they dressed a little more slick. And they looked more mature and grown-up. But they didn't look ancient. In fact, I think some of them are more handsome now then they were back then.

Then they did a little medley of their old hits: "Step By Step", "Hangin' Tough", "Please Don't Go Girl", and "The Right Stuff". They had all the cheesy old dance moves, but instead of snickering at them, I realized the people in the crowd were loving it, and I started to love it a little too. It was like I had been transported back to a fun time when I spent hours in my basement, trying to match their dance moves, imagining myself as one of their back-up dancers. My sneer had turned into a smile, and I was enjoying every minute of their performance, reminiscing about my old Donnie doll and how much I used to love him & the rest of the guys.

Suddenly I wasn't thinking of this reunion as pathetic. I was starting to think it was pretty neat.

Then they sang their new single, "Summertime", and be damned if the thing isn't still stuck in my head. It's catchy. It's like old-school NKOTB with a new modern twist. Almost has me thinking I might have to buy their new CD.

It's a little weird. It's been 15 years since the New Kids faded out of the music scene, and for a long time in between, they were considered a joke. "Remember when we liked the New Kids? How stupid were we?"

Then there came the spawn of new-age boy bands in the late '90s: The Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, 98 Degrees, and so on. They were always compared to those legendary pioneers in baggy colourful pants, muscle shirts, and goofy hats - and eventually, they were laughed off the stage too.

But now, the New Kids are back, and something tells me, they just might be cool again. At least for this summer. And I know one thing for sure: I'm not going to get caught up in negativity in dwelling on how lame it all is. I'm going to embrace it and re-discover those innocent years of being the New Kids' biggest fan. Opportunities to return to our childhood don't come along very often, so we should all jump back on the NKOTB bandwagon.

It's the New Kids Revival. And I, for one, don't want to miss it!

Kids' TV: Not What It Used to Be...

OK, so the comments section on my last Blog has convinced me that it's time we all sit down & talk about our old favourite TV shows. The ones we watched as kids, before we started school, or in the evenings after supper, or the wonderful Saturday cartoons.

In the past few years, I've had to dive back in to the world of kids' TV, with my nephew Caden around, and also with some of my friends having kids. I've been introduced to the new television programming out there for children: Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Franklin, Little Bear, The Backyardigans, Toopy & Binoo, Four Square - oh, and my personal favourite: The Mole Sisters. Who the heck names a kids show "The Mole Sisters"? And why would kids want to watch the adventures of two moles that are sisters? It's just weird...

When Stacy bought Maddy an old videotape of The Elephant Show with Sharon, Lois, and Bram recently, it brought me back to my childhood. Remember that show? Remember how much fun it was? They sang and played instruments and played games with kids...and it was always interesting to see what michief Elephant was getting into.

It got me thinking about other great shows I used to watch faithfully. Join In - I loved that show. Today's Special - it was the best! With Muffy the Mouse and Jeff the mannequin that only came alive at night, after hours. And those were just the shows in the evenings.

Before I went to school, or on PD Days, or in the summer - you didn't miss Mr. Dressup and Fred Penner in the mornings. Then there was Under the Umbrella Tree, with Iggy the Iguana, Jacob the Bluejay, & Gloria the Gopher. And of course, there was Sesame Street. Where would any of us be without Sesame Street? And I mean the good old Sesame Street - not this hokey Sesame Park or Elmo's World that they've come up with since we graduated from kids' TV shows. They suck!

I also used to love The Flintstones and The Pink Panther - they were usually on around lunchtime, and I have fond memories of watching those shows and eating a grilled cheese or macaroni. Ah, the good ol' days!

I haven't even touched on the Saturday cartoons - Dennis the Menace, Inspector Gadget, My Pet Monster, The Smoggies...I could go on and on. Those were some good shows, and lately, there doesn't seem to be anything like that on TV. Maybe on that Retro Toon channel - but they don't show enough of them. Oh! And those old Bugs & Tweety shows! I used to love watching those on Saturday evenings!

Where did those days go? Seems like only yesterday.

But now I'm stuck watching Diego and Toopy and The Mole Sisters. *sigh* Kids these days just don't know what they're missing...