#jelly ben & pogo

[serendertothesquad]

I see Tim McKeon has not lost the diversity touch with Tiny Time Travel, and honestly, good for him.

[favepbskidsshowrematch]

Favorite PBS Kids Show Tournament: Round 1 Part A

Reblog for a bigger sample size!

[ramblingandpie]

ODD SQUAD!!!!

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

[diversetechgeek]

A look at PBS Kids' "Jelly, Ben & Pogo," a series of animated shorts about two Filipino-American siblings and their sea monster pal.

[girl-who-writes-world]

Here we go, as promised:

Diego Hargreeves Headcanons

🔪 Diego was obsessed with legos as a kid, I’m talking lego cities covered his floor, can’t walk into his room without risking impalement in your foot

🎸 Learned electric guitar as his instrument when their father made them learn one. First song he played on it was Judas by Lady Gaga at Klaus’ request

⚾ Baseball was one of his favorite pastimes and his team always won Thanks telekinesis He would also play catch and mini games with his kids.

🔪 Cried when he first read Charlotte's Web

🎸His walmart brand Batman self allowed Klaus to practice eyeliner on him and would often keep it on all day. He got the technique down as an early teen and would do his kid’s eyeliner for them when they were teens themselves. (It reminded him of his own teenage years with his brother)

⚾ That man wore platforms. (He literally wore all leather to his father’s funeral, platforms and eyeliner are not far fetched)

🔪 He had those ceiling star night lights

🎸He got really into astronomy with Ben. His favorite constellation was Perseus. (When Ben died he kept all of his books and notes. He also made grace tell him about all the constellations and planets)

⚾ He learned spanish very early on and picked up a little accent from his tutors. (Of course reggie would hire actual native Spanish speakers, only the best for his superhero adopties.)

🔪 Diego puts Ben, Stanley, Grace, Pogo, and Patch on his alter for Día de Muertos

🎸He is very close to his heritage when Lila and him actually get their own place. He celebrates all Mexican holidays and goes all out.

⚾ His house always smells like food and his siblings get a package of meals, pastries, and bread at least once a month

🔪 He hosts family dinners during holidays and he spends the whole day (and the days before) preparing for his entire family. His kids are all very involved with the baking and cooking and he helps Lila make her own dishes. (She is not allowed near his cookies though, because he swears she is the reason they always burn when she helps him) His siblings all rave over his churros.

🎸 He makes his own guacamole and salsa, his and the kids are always spicy while Lila’s must be medium heat. He has multiple flavors and spice levels at all times.

⚾ When he was a teen he and Grace would make Pan de Muerto for Día de Muertos. He would get up early with her so he could help out.

🔪 He runs his house on Disney and shows from his childhood. He’s one of those people who believes newer kid shows to encourage tantrums and bad behavior. I’m talking his kids were raised on Little Einsteins, Sid the Science Kid, Sofia the First, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, and Team Umizoomi

🎸He is a big couples costumes fan, but specifically the dorky costumes. Peanut Butter and jelly, eggs and toast, Fred and Daphne, ect.

⚾ Soup cures all illnesses, tea is also a great remedy.

🔪 This man gardens all his own vegetables, fruits, and herbs

🎸He lets his daughters paint his nails and shows them off “Oh you like them?! Thanks! My little girls did them! They are getting so good at designs!”

⚾He is the kind of person to really love his smile lines and wrinkles, they’re proof he is happy and fulfilled.

🔪 Rock music blaring when he picks up his kids from school

🎸He and Lila are at every parent teacher conference and every school activity.

⚾ He doesn’t mind scary movies but any scary doctor movies are off limits.

🔪 There will be no ouija boards in his house, he doesn’t want any evil spirits. Klaus scared him once by pretending to be possessed, he now sages the house when he “feels something evil”

🎸He made sure every one of his kids felt special, he refused to let his kids end up like Viktor almost did.

⚾ His fashion taste when he’s not in leather is very 70’s. Flared pants and button up shirts. Oranges, blues, purples, and browns. He’d loved the 70’s ever since he was a kid.

🔪 He has brotherly outing with all his brothers and makes sure to spend time with his sisters as well, in-law or not they’re family.

[annieandro]

Annieandro: Hi There! It's Me Annieandro, With A Big Glass Of Milk! Yep I Drink A Glass Of Milk Every Day! Milk Makes You Grow Big and Strong, and Makes Your Teeth Nice and Bright Too! But Most Of All It's Delicious, and Look I Have A Milk Mustache! Up Next It's Milo! Right Here On PBS Kids Video! Brr-Brr-Brr! Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!

Annieandro: Hi! It's Me Annieandro! Do You Know Why I Had A Bandage On My Tail? I Have A Bandage On My Tail Because I Have A Boo-Boo! My Boo-Boo Feels Much Better That I Have A Bandage On It, and When My Boo-Boo Gets Better, I Can Take Off My Bandage! But Right Now, I'll Leave It On! Alma's Way Is Next! Right Here On PBS Kids Video! Brr-Brr-Brr! Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm

Annieandro: Hi There, Annieandro Here, Do You Know A Cow Makes? Moo! I Have A Message For The Cows Out There Watching! Moo-Moo-Moo-Moo! That's Cow Talk For You're Watching PBS Kids Video! Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum Is Up Next! Moo! Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!

Annieandro: Hi There! Annieandro Here, and This Is My Friend The Cat In The Hat! The Cat In The Hat: Hiya! Annieandro: We Like To Play Ball Together! (The Cat In The Hat Throws The Ball To Annieandro) Annieandro: Thanks The Cat In The Hat!The Cat In The Hat: Mmm-Hmm!Annieandro: Here You Go! (Annieandro Throws The Ball To The Cat In The Hat Back) The Cat In The Hat: Again! (The Cat In The Hat Throws The Ball To Annieandro Again) Annieandro: Hmm-mmm-mmm! (Annieandro Throws The Ball Too Hard) The Cat In The Hat: Huh? Annieandro: Oops! I Love To Play Ball With My Friends and Here's My Friend The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That Coming Up Next! Right Here, On PBS Kids Video! Brr-Brr-Brr! Hmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!

Annieandro: Hi There! It's Me! Annieandro, and I'm Fishing! I Am Fishing For Some Fish! Here Fishie-Fishie-Fishie! Here Fishie-Fishie-Fishie! I Guess There Are No Fish, Woah! Wee-Hee-Hee-Hee! You Won't Get Away Fishie-Fishie-Fishie! Coming Up Next It's Jelly, Ben And Pogo! Right Here, On PBS Kids Video! Brr-Brr-Brr! Hmm-mmm-mmm-Woah!

[citrusella-flugpucker]

FWIW, none of the pictured shows have reading (love of reading OR science of reading) as a core learning objective, like the kind that they would get notes from PBS to include specific standards-aligned content on--only one I can bring to mind that gets close is actually one you slightly cut off (and Sesame Street, completely absent from screenshot):

Alma's Way is critical thinking

Arthur (which is no longer airing new episodes) is kind of a pro-social mishmosh. It's based on a book series but doesn't feature reading as a core curricular goal.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That (canceled awhile back, IIRC) has more to do with STEM and critical thinking. (Based on a book, reading not core objective)

Clifford IIRC is pro-social. (Book based, reading not core objective)

Curious George (ended) is scientific thinking (Book based, reading not core objective)

Cyberchase is The Math Show (with science sprinkled in more on later seasons)

Daniel Tiger is pro-social.

Design Squad (all versions, all of which are ended IIRC) is STEM (engineering, usually) for around 12 year olds.

Dinosaur Train (ended) is pro-social woven with some dinosaur facts

Donkey Hodie is pro-social, IIRC.

Elinor Wonders Why is scientific thinking and investigation

Hero Elementary is scientific thinking

...I have no idea about Jamming on the Job. Without looking up clips I have no idea if reading is a core goal or not.

Jelly, Ben, and Pogo is shorts that IIRC are pro-social but might be STEM?

Let's Go Luna (ended) is cultural differences and understanding (i.e. "here are some traditions some people in Mexico might do at certain times, isn't it cool we're all different and also kind of the same?")

Lyla in the Loop is problem solving and critical thinking

Molly of Denali (cut off in the picture) does feature information literacy as a core objective, which usually takes the form of "oh, we can look in the index to find where in a book to find info quickly" or "not everything on the internet is true" or "if I compile this information, other people will be able to refer to it later", that kind of thing. It's the first cartoon to feature an Alaskan Native protagonist so aspects of Alaska Native cultures and history also prominently feature.

(Most of these (if it's not their core conceit) also have pro-social aspects like apologizing when you hurt someone, solving conflict, that kind of thing)

What OP is referring to is a real thing that did start occurring around when the US DOE changed its focus in regards to the best way to teach kids to read. Stuff like Reading Rainbow, Wishbone, and BtL were mostly love-of-reading focused, i.e. more like "here's a story, kids, ain't it cool?" (though BtL featured quite a lot of science of reading type instruction, i.e. teaching certain letter sounds, language rules, etc.).

At some point it became easier to get funding for shows that were far more science-of-reading focused, like WordWorld or 2009 Electric Company. Some of these tried to be like "reading is cool and fun" but they didn't really seem to garner the same interest or longevity as the older shows. (WordWorld lasted 3 years, Electric Company 5.) WordGirl was a little more focused on vocabulary (and for slightly older kids) and stayed on a bit longer (and with a bigger following), from 2007 to 2015 (8 years).

There are currently no PBS Kids shows that are still in production (other than some aspects of Sesame Street, which does... a lot of things) that specifically focus on foundational reading (either love-of-reading or rules of reading). They have reran things like WordWorld or WordGirl on their 24 hour channel, but there's not really anything more recent.

This is a little of a side thing, but: If I try to search by concept for foundational reading aimed at K-2 on PBS Learning Media (a site for teachers), most of the content is from lower production value stuff that's not aired on TV (or even on the PBS Kids app, AFAICT) or it's from a show that's over, like BtL or Electric Company. (If I search for preschool ELA specifically I do get some Sesame Street relatively early but it also gives me the non-TV stuff (though more of it is "let's read a story" focused than the K-2 search was).)

By comparison, K-2 math and science favor the same not-for-TV content package but show TV series connected content (and more recent shows at that) sooner in the results. (Engineering in particular causes Lyla in the Loop to DOMINATE the K-2 results.)

There is apparently a literacy series in the pipeline but no announced air date, though.

TL;DR: No PBS Kids shows hate reading or anything, but shows that explicitly teach it are largely absent from the schedule. There's one known series soon to come, maybe, but the specific kind of show OP refers to is noticeably absent from current PBS Kids fare.

(...I'm worried this sounds like a callout. It's not a callout. I just really like PBS lol)

We need to bring back children’s programming that focuses on reading. I’m so serious

[savannahsdrabbles]

I just started watching Jelly, Ben, & Pogo and I love it! I was wondering, how old are the characters?

Aw I’m so glad you like it!!! That show was so much fun, and holds such a special place in my heart ❤️ Ben is 6 for part of the season, and then turns 7 in one episode. I thinkkkkkk that Jelly and Pogo are both 9, but I’m not positive!

[king-minyard]

Just saw Jelly, Ben, and Pogo on PBS Kids and got really excited when I heard their Filipino accent!

Look! They're making halo halo!!

It makes me really, really happy to see people like me in kid's shows like this!!!

[hazard-symbols-that-fuck-hard]

Oh, and here a few modern standouts. (Imagine how special Jelly, Ben, & Pogo must be to a Filipino kid? Filipinos never get anything. Or a Latina kid in The Bronx seeing Alma’s Way and going “holy shit that’s actually where I live”)

And PBS Kids isn’t just made up of its shows— that’s the main part of it, sure, but it’s also home to an extensive amount of parental recourses. Many of which, again, deal with race and activism.

And the real cherry on top is that a good portion of those recourses are specifically for nonwhite families!

(Yes, I, a grown-ass white man, am excited for a show made for Black preschoolers. It looks like this one is gonna focus more heavily on the modern-day impact of American chattel slavery, and it’s gonna be very candid and explicit with it while also being completely kid-friendly. Why the hell am I pumped for this.)

Sesame Street also has a few parent-site-exclusive episodes that deal with topics too specific and too heavy to be aired on TV or made available on their child-focused site. Things like having a parent with a drug addiction, having a parent in jail, being homeless, death of a close family member, and so on.

Honestly, you could spend hours browsing sesameworkshop.org and pbskids.org/parents. There’s just an incredible amount of left-leaning articles— it’s not a side of PBS Kids that gets discussed much, but it definitely makes their values much clearer.

So yeah. You could say I’m a fan of PBS Kids.

Okay time for the PBS Kids essay

In 1968, before there was PBS Kids proper, there was Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. While it came several decades before the children’s block, it laid the foundation for the themes and values present in every facet of the network’s history.

Mr. Roger famously hated children’s programming at the time. To him, it all was droll and useless. But he didn’t dissuade the medium entirely— he saw potential. Potential that led to a few smaller television jobs, and eventually the creation of Mr. Roger’s neighborhood.

Rogers didn’t invent educational TV for children, but he did perfect it. He poured real heart and soul into probably the most sincere, heartfelt program in history.

Honestly, he could have his own essay. The more things you learn about the real man of Mr. Rogers, the more you’ll like him.

Anyway, the biggest thing that makes PBS different is the fact that it earns money through grants, fundraisers, and private donors— not through sponsorships and merchandise sales. This way, PBS Kids can push programming that it feels is important, rather than programming that merely sells well.

This also means PBS is less afraid of pushing social boundaries. Money doesn’t go away when their shows become subjects of debate— and Mr. Rogers took full advantage of this.

For context, this was 1969. The Jim Crow era had just barely, barely ended. Pool segregation was still very much legal.

Mr. Rogers sharing a pool and a towel with the Black Mr. Clemmons was a pretty big deal at the time— especially on a show made for children.

Rogers was far from the untouchable sacred cow of today. When he was alive, he had a large number of detractors. Let’s just say that scene didn’t fly nicely by everyone.

Just one year after the debut of Mr. Roger’s came Sesame Street.

While Mr. Roger’s was made for all children, Sesame Street had the explicit goal of supplementing the education of underserved communities— especially inner-city Black (and later Latino) children.

While it was made to be accessible to children of all races and income levels, they definitely went the extra mile to make it something special for inner-city Black and Brown kids. (Why do you think it it’s “Sesame Street” and not “Sesame Cul-de-Sac”?)

At the time, a wholesome, sweet show set in a brownstone street was practically unheard of.

Jon Stone, the casting director, deliberately sought to make the cast as rich with color as he possibly could, bringing on a huge amount of Black talent such as Loretta Long, Matt Robinson, and Kevin Clash, as well as featuring Black celebrities as guest stars. Later, the show would expand its horizons, bringing on actors from Latino, Asian, Native American, and many more backgrounds.

White actors were and still are a minority on show.

In addition to letters and numbers, the purpose of Sesame Street is clear: make kids of color know that they’re smart, beautiful, and loved.

It doesn’t get more explicit than this.

I want to point out this comment because it’s funny

You’re telling me this bitch isn’t Hispanic???

Anyway, these two were followed up by Reading Rainbow in 1983. And guess what?

That’s right. Non-white focus.

These three shows, (along with other, lesser-known programs like Lamb-Chops Play Along, Newton’s Apple, and Shining Times Station (who featured Ringo Starr himself?? seriously how did that happen and why does no one talk about it) and some other nostalgic favorites like Bill Nye the Science guy, The Magic Schoolbus, Arthur, and Thomas the Tank Engine) aired on the new PTV block, which evolved into PBS Kids in 1999, bringing along Between the Lions, Dragon Tales, and many more.

Arthur is another stand-out that I’d like to talk about— it doesn’t have the same racial focus of Sesame Street, but it does focus on different income levels. The characters have various housing situations, from apartments to mansions to no home at all.

It also takes cues from Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s in regards to talking about tough topics, though as Arthur has a slightly older target audience, it discusses things through stories rather than talking directly to the audience.

Cancer, religion, workplace discrimination, along with current (at the time) events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina are all discussed on the show.

Another big focus on Arthur is disability. For once, they don’t stick a character in a wheelchair and then pretend he’s not in a wheelchair. A striking number of major characters either develop or get diagnosed with physical disabilities and/or neurodivergences, such as asthma, severe food allergies, and dyslexia, and they deal with them in very realistic ways.

A handful of minor characters have more obvious disabilities, and THANK GOD they go beyond the trite messaging of “disabled people can do everything abled people can do! everyone clap now!”

One episode in particular has the awesome message of “holy shit stop trying to help me all the time— it’s patronizing as fuck. I can get around just fine without you stepping on eggshells and trying to be the hero all the fucking time”

There are sooo many other shows I could talk about, but I can’t write about them all. I’m definitely gonna point out some more standout ones, though.

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

Created by Chinese-American woman Amy Tang

Dragonfly TV

Features a multitude of female and non-white scientists to foster an interest in science with kids in those groups

Maya & Miguel

One of the network’s first Hispanic-led shows

SciGirls

I shouldn’t have to explain what the goal of this one was.

Molly of Denali

When was the last time you saw a show that treated Native Americans as people? Much less a children’s show? 90% of the cast is Athabascan, and the show revolves around Athabascan culture, not shying away from topics like boarding schools and modern-day racism. Most of the writers are also Athabascan, and the show even has an official Gwich’in dub!

It’s this commitment to real, authentic social justice that makes PBS Kids so much different from its predecessors. Could you imagine the Paw Patrol dog looking at the camera and earnestly discussing what happened to George Floyd? I don’t think so— but Arthur talked specifically about it, Sesame Street did an hour long special about race in general, and the network itself made a 30 minute special.

Disney Jr. could never. (Other than trying to teach colorblindness, of course.)

I’m gonna have to cut this into two parts, since I just hit the image limit

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Tiny Time Travel And What It Takes From Odd Squad

I didn't think I'd have to write two "Odd Squad knockoff???" essays within the span of a month. But lo and behold, an announcement came, left like a Black Friday sale, and then got extended as it was heavily promoted by PBS Kids up the wazoo.

I talk, of course, about their newest short-form series, Tiny Time Travel.

You might be wondering, "Okay, I can see one resemblance to Odd Squad...but is that really enough to compare it to a decade-old franchise?" And oh. Ohhh! I would say NAY. N A Y .

Because I've seen all the episodes of it. And I'm about to lay everything down on the line when it comes to how it's Odd Squad's adopted child.

Not a knockoff, mind you. This isn't Fear and Loathing in Wordsville 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Below the break. Chop chop. Time can only keep moving forward in the real world, sadly.

Let's start with a rundown for the uninitiated, because I guarantee hardly any of you have heard of this series.

Tiny Time Travel is a short-form series created by Tim McKeon, most famous for being a co-creator of Odd Squad. Unlike Odd Squad, it's under the banners of Marobru Productions, a prodco based in New York, and Easy as Pie Productions, a prodco based in Georgia. (Tim had his own prodco in the form of Hundredth Town Productions, along with Adam Peltzman, the other co-creator of Odd Squad. He doesn't own EAPP.) The series consists of 12 episodes, with no further seasons planned.

As for the premise...see if this rings a bell, hmm?

We have two 11-year-old boys, Tyler and Tony, the former of who invents a time machine that can send them both back and forward only a few hours at a time in order to help people in their town.

You see? All it took was the one whole entire sentence and the one whole entire screencap.

The Odd Squad episode "6:00 to 6:05" was, to absolutely no one's surprise, written by Tim McKeon. Much like Tyler and Tony's time-traveling tales, it involves Olive and Otto using Oscar's Before-Now-Machine to travel backwards by 5 minutes from 6:05 PM to 6:00 PM in order to stop dinosaurs from breaking out of their room and destroying what has to be Oprah's 1,000th Headquarters.

While the tale of Tiny Time Travel runs much deeper than an episode they copied the formula from, it's safe to say that Tim likely looked at this episode for inspiration for the series, among others. Odd Squad is more abundant with time travel than Precure is with kaijus, having several episodes about it and at least one movie. Really, if you're a writer in the TV industry, it's hard to get to a point where any ideas based around a concept you love that are posed in a writers' room are shut down on sight. Tim managed to do that single-handedly and still flipped the bird as a creator by inserting time travel as a solution in the Season 3 finale. In the industry, they call that abuse of power. In the Odd Squad branch, they call that "bending the rules just this one time".

The episodes of Tiny Time Travel range greatly in terms of plot, because each episode focuses on a different client person that Tyler and Tony help. And I use the term "plot" very loosely, because while My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale can stuff lore into 5 minutes (to...varying degrees of success), Tiny Time Travel...doesn't. It's not as lore-filled as Odd Squad and isn't even half as crazy because it's purely episodic. About the craziest thing I've seen is the neurodivergent and Hmong rep, and after watching Jelly, Ben and Pogo, that surprises me next to none. (And Odd Squad, because it's got rep up and down both streets.)

There's also the matter of differing morals. While Odd Squad teaches about mathematics, and later STEM stuff, Tiny Time Travel teaches more about social language and language in general, in a way that isn't really as seamless as Odd Squad. When creating Odd Squad, there was intent to hide the lessons so kids can watch the show and not have the math be in-your-face and up-your-butt. Tiny Time Travel is far more in-your-face and up-your-butt about the lessons by a complete longshot, which I personally can't really fault it for because 5 minutes can only get you so far. (If anything, I'll fault PBS execs, because that method of delivering morals has been standard since the 90s. But I digress. I can spew about PBS later.)

----------------

So I might as well address the elephant in the room: is Tiny Time Travel an Odd Squad knockoff?

Short answer: no.

There's a lot of Odd Squad influence within it, in terms of humor, characters (Samira reminds me a hell of a lot of Polly Graph, and that's not even getting into the alliterative naming of the two protags) and general vibe, which is quite common with two pieces of media that share a creator. I'd also throw in that it's made in, and features, New York as a setting, which is where the Odd Squad pilot takes place, but that's a little irrelevant.

However, it's important to note that "inspired by" and "ripping off" are two very distinct things.

Take Wordsville, just as an example. Which I'm bringing up because, y'know, Odd Squad has more knockoffs than I've had good nights of sleep, but anyway. Wordsville is, as discussed before, a complete bonafide knockoff. It bounds over "inspired by" and goes straight into "I wanna watch you bleed!" territory by basically being Odd Squad but with a coat of literacy and digitization on it. Tiny Time Travel, by contrast, has very few straight similarities to Odd Squad. There's the alliterative names of Tyler and Tony, the inclusion of time travel (with limitations), similar music (thanks to Paul Buckley coming back on board), and a specific brand of humor that is pulled off well. But they are very few and far between, and there are far more differences. Tim looked to Odd Squad for inspiration, but he didn't seek to create a whole entire ripoff of Odd Squad. (Knowing PBS, though...maybe an Odd Squad ripoff was what they wanted originally. Wouldn't be the first time network execs made a request to Tim only for him to find a compromise.)

Likewise, another thing that sets Triple-T apart is how it was made. You're gonna wanna sit down for this one if you aren't sittin' already, because the amount of irony could probably level the planet.

If you're one of the old-timers of the Odd Squad fandom who qualifies for a senior's discount and Medicare, you're probably well-aware of Tim McKeon's absolute adoration for time travel, something that leaks into Odd Squad just as much as it leaks into his personal media preferences. Like I said, the franchise has had a ton of time-travel-related material, so much so that any ideas involving it were barred from the writers' room. All of it pretty much came from Tim McKeon's love of the concept. (And his love of pies. That too. Though whether that came from the prodco or from Tim himself remains up in the air. And yes, Triple-T does mention pie in one episode. And toast, believe it or not!)

Tiny Time Travel is basically what would happen if Tim flipped both birds at whatever writer bopped him with a newspaper and said "no more time travel episodes", and he made an entire series out of it with both government money and our money. It's like if you had a fanseries idea, money, enough passion, money, good connections, and money, and you turned it into a show. That's what Tiny Time Travel is. It's purely, unequivocally, a passion project for Tim.

Of course, there's also the underlying, less moral side to its making, in that it was made in order to fill a quota of PBS to get at least 25 new shows out by end of year. But this is one of the ones that's definitely filled with more quality. Let's be honest, the question of "am I gonna grow up to be a rebel leader and save humanity" is not something you'd find in typical PBS Kids fare. (And it also somehow passed S&P. But Odd Squad has over 70 questionable moments in the series alone -- and yes, I've counted -- so it's clear the rules of S&P don't apply to the god that is Tim McKeon. He flips the bird at that too.)

----------------------------

So overall, Tiny Time Travel is one hell of a short-form series. City Island threw me for a loop a couple years back based on the object show comparisons alone (and when you get Adam Katz himself to recognize that shit, you're nigh-unstoppable), and this series threw me for a loop similarly just due to the sheer premise and near-immaculate quality.

Odd Squad was, on all accounts, a major influence in Triple-T's making, to such an extent where there's a cameo of two agents walking in the background that someone managed to spot long before I got to the "Tennis Talk" episode that featured the cameo to begin with. The show's cute, it's sweet, it's got hella good rep, and it's short enough to please attention spans around the world. (Or at least in 'Murica. And maybe some parts of Canada.) It wholeheartedly has the Seren seal of approval, and if you're tired of waiting for Odd Squad UK in 8 months like I am, this will tide you over in the meantime.

As for whether it'll get a Season 2...after "Surprise Party", I can't see that happening. Unlike with Odd Squad, which is constantly under the threat of cancellation, Tim had a chance to end the show on his own terms without PBS giving it the sharpest axe in the shed, and he wrapped it up beautifully. It doesn't need a second season. It's beautiful as it is. Keep it as a one-hit wonder. (And preserve it, because otherwise it'll become lost media by the time half the century is up.)

I'll see you all in the next essay. Seren out!

[kish-go-squish]

*quitely drops Jelly, Ben, and pogo as a show recommendation and scurries off* :}

[littlerit]

For the fanfic ask game, F and S 💓💓💓

Thanks for the ask 🧡 and apologies for being so goddamn slow to answer!

F: share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you've written and explain why you are proud of it?

Wheeee so I already answered this [here] but let's have another!

This one is.... Taking snippet liberally and giving you more of an excerpt but it really like this one as it's not often I end up with an ensemble cast to bounce off, as I tend to write more solitary protagonists. And I think this one shows a good example of how their relationship changed as teenagers and the barrier between obedience-cursed Vanya and her unknowing siblings.

From Obedience Suite (in A minor)

Except, as she left her door, turning to head towards the stairs, she came face to face with her startled siblings — all sneaking out of Klaus’ room in single file, their wet shoes clutched in their hands, and their knee high socks splattered with the spray from dirty puddles. Every single one of them, even Five and Ben, who Vanya had thought were her friends. “Oh,” she said, somehow still remembering to stay quiet despite her shock, because it was not worth drawing their father’s ire. Vanya can still remember how much it had hurt, and how her hands had shaken as she clenched the glass, when despite the dim light, she still managed to see the powdered sugar at the corner of Ben’s lips, and the smudge of jelly on Five’s collar. “You’ve been sneaking out, without me.” “Vanya—” Ben started with a wince. “Where did you go?” “It’s none of your business, Vanya,” Luther hissed from Klaus’ doorway, stuck at the back of the pack and glaring at her from over Allison’s head, “and don’t you go telling Dad that you’ve seen us either!” And, well, even if Vanya had wanted to tell on them, that would have put an end to it. “Yeah, you’re always a tattle-tale Vanya,” Diego whispered with barely a stutter. More surprising to Vanya was the fact that he was backing up Luther for once, instead of arguing. “You’re always telling Pogo and Dad what we’ve been doing and getting us into trouble— so why would we invite you to come with us? Anyway, it’s a team bonding exercise.” At this point, Klaus’ order from years before was still in effect. So, no matter how much Vanya’s heart hurt, her chest felt tight, her eyes stung or her hands shook with anger, she could at least be grateful that she knew she wouldn’t cry about being left behind. That at least her own body wouldn’t betray her in this instance. “I don’t mean too,” she whispered, voice trembling, “I don’t! I’m not a tattle-tale.” But she saw when even Five gave a slight shrug, as if to agree with Diego. And that hurt. She hadn’t meant to tell their father that Five broke the vase when he was practising his jumps in the house. She wouldn’t have told anyone, it was an accident. He hadn’t meant to break it. She hadn’t meant to break his trust. But all it took was a simple command. She tried to hold her tongue, until her cheeks went red from the effort and her father’s foot tapped with annoyance, but it soon burst out of her, the truth spilling out along with her breath. Five had winced every time he sat down for three days straight. It had been quite a rare and valuable vase. “You kind of, well, are, Vanya,” Ben said quietly, looking down at the floor, “and, well, we didn’t want Dad to catch us. So—” “Guys! What’s the hold up?” Klaus stage whispered as he ducked out of his bedroom door with a wild grin, which wilted as soon as he saw her. “Oh. Shit.” “Well, don’t worry,” Vanya shot back, her chin trembling. She hunched her shoulders and tried to duck through her pack of brothers, “I won’t ruin your fun. Goodnight!” “Oh, go cry all you want Vanya,” Diego hissed after her, “but don’t you dare tell Dad!” The tears that had been stinging at her eyes had instantly spilled over and began to run down her cheeks. With a gasp, she had broken into a run to get away from her siblings, her footsteps thankfully muffled by the thick socks she had pulled on before she left her room.

S: any fandom tropes you can't resist?

Oh. Welllll. I did go through a period of being unable to resist a fic where the siblings went back to childhood and Reggie would kill Klaus over and over for training/experimentations/distraction as they trained Vanya. I'm also a bit of a sucker for Klaus dying and the siblings being forced to watch, or alternatively they don't realise/know. Right look, we could be here all day. I see angst as an advertisement. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Rit loves angst 🤣 let's call angst my irresistible trope!

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

Things I Think Were In Reginald's House Of Childhood Traumas I Mean Umbrella Academy

WARNING: child abuse, mental/physical torture, all of the usual shit that comes with Reginald "No I'm Not An Asshole I'm Saving The World" "Oh Shut Up You Heartless Fuckwad" Hargreeves, etc.

He starts calling Klaus “it” when he finds out about his drug habit

He misgenders Five constantly no matter how much he insists he’s a boy

He works to drive Luther and Allison and Diego and Klaus apart

He puts all of them through conversion and suppression therapy

He takes detailed and cold-hearted notes about the tortures he puts them through

Luther:

A room full of mirrors to “help him get over” his body dysmorphia

How much strength it takes to kill someone doing normal things like hugging (he uses junkies off the streets and blindfolds Luther so he always has this inherent fear that maybe he’s killing Klaus)

Isolation from his siblings to urge him into hero-worshipping Reginald

Repeatedly has him punch things until he pukes, sometimes even beyond that (he’s never told if they’re bags or bodies; he learns to tell by the feeling beneath his hands)

Diego:

Locking him in the tank for hours (sometimes he gets hypothermia and Klaus refuses to leave his side for days; it’s one of the only times he directly disobeys Reginald)

Forcing him to practice his knife skills with human targets, usually Klaus, Five, or Ben, so if he missed things could go seriously wrong

Shooting at him randomly throughout the day to force him to use his powers

Keeping him away from Grace for days and sometimes weeks until he could master something to the point where he could do it in his sleep

Allison:

Forcing her to use her powers on random people for his benefit or on strangers off the street to test the scope of them, usually “innocuous” things: I heard a rumor…

… you were sad. (They got depression and never recovered; she learned later they committed suicide when nothing worked.)

… your shirt was red. (They stole a red shirt from the shop next to them and spent time in jail which completely derailed their life.)

… you ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (They were allergic to peanut butter; they nearly died from the reaction they had to an entire sandwich they just couldn’t stop eating.)

Forcing her to use her powers on her siblings to make them behave under pain of having to use her powers on herself if she didn’t

Forcing her to use her powers on her siblings to make them fight and hurt each other

Forcing her to use her powers on herself and her siblings to make them treat Vanya (and eventually Klaus) like shit

Klaus:

Locking him in the mausoleum

Making him conjure ghosts of really shitty people like Hitler

Refusing him blankets and heating even when the ghosts gave him hypothermia

Telling him that if he didn’t stay in the mausoleum or refused to go in at all that Diego, Ben, Five, and all the others would pay for it

Kicking him out for his identity and drug use

Starving him for weeks on end without any contact with anyone

Five:

Locked in isolation for days until he learned to pop out wherever he wanted

Forced to do Reginald’s bidding under pain of his siblings being hurt or punished in his place

Refused history books so he wouldn’t be tempted to time travel

Treated as a girl in a girl’s uniform by a girl’s name (something like Sophie, something he couldn’t twist into a boy’s name even though gendered names are bullshit and you should be able to go by whatever you want no matter what you identify as or look like)

Forced to practice his powers to the point where his body would forget how to walk (his legs would lock, fall asleep, crumble beneath him, etc.) because he was expected to move by use of his powers and by no other means

Ben:

Having to use the Monster on his siblings when they misbehave

Having to let go of the Monster and allow it to control him

Having to watch constant videos of octopi, read H.P. Lovecraft, and interact with the Monster constantly in isolation

Being told Klaus or Diego was dead and being shown forged video of it any time Reginald wanted the Monster released and couldn’t get Ben to bend

Forcing him to release and retract the Monster over and over for hours and hours on end, which ripped his chest open and hurt beyond agony every time

Vanya:

Taking her violin away if she misbehaves

Isolating her from the others

Forcing her powers under control with pills

Punishing both her and the others for interacting with her

Not allowing her music (other than her violin), TV, or movies so as to restrict her access to sound

Put her in places where there was absolutely NO sound, and sometimes even putting headphones and duct tape on her so she couldn’t even hear or make her own noise

He has incredibly strict dress codes

His punishments are cruel and harsh

He sometimes starves them when they behave badly

He keeps trying to dismantle Grace but she’s always up and at em the next day anyway (he finds out later Five’s been fixing her)

He’s condescending to Pogo

He kicks Klaus out and calls him useless

He’s entirely unsympathetic when Ben dies and Five disappears

He puts them through psychological, physical, verbal, and emotional horror every damn day

Oh wait this is just canon my bad

(not actually but let's be honest all of this is completely plausible the asshole)