Children's Television That Parent's Actually Can Watch Without Dying of Boredom

I have been noticing that my kids seem to like a lot of shows that I do not fine vile and annoying. I am not sure if this is due to their inherent good taste, or if it is due to some subtle brainwashing over the years from their mother. We do love many PBS shows, but let's start with our favorite, not educational, favorites. So for my friends with kids, here are a few television suggestions for your kids that you might actually not mind watching:

(1) Pucca (http://disney.go.com/disneyxd/#/disneyxd/shows/pucca/) - This is one funny show from Jetix on Disney Channel. Pucca is a little girl who doesn't talk but is in love with Garu, a ninja boy. The show revolves around Pucca chasing Garu. Sounds a bit weird, but it is so funny. The characters are fantastic, from Santa, to Pucca's uncle's who run a noodle house, to the ninja who is always hunting Garu, to so many more. Some of the humor comes from the things spoofed in different shows. For example, in Sooga Size Me, a Texas couple comes to Sooga Village in their huge motorhome and with their horrible American tourist way, insult the culture and then build a restaurant to serve super-sized American versions of Japanese food. Lot's of good sarcastic fun for adults.

(2) Ben 10 and Ben 10: Alien Force (http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/promotion_landing_page/ben10/index.html): My daughter's love Ben 10 of any kind. It is always the first show they request from any backlog of DVR'd episodes. These are shows on Cartoon Network and Ben accidentally becomes the owner of the Omnitrix at age 10 which allows him to turn into 10 different aliens. Helped by his cousin Gwen and his grandfather, they fight evil and have a lot of fun. Ben and Gwen fight like siblings. Grandpa is a smart alien-fighting expert. Interesting aliens, fun, and plenty of sarcasm. Ben 10: Alien Force is a kind of sequel with Ben and Gwen older and still fighting bad guys as teenagers. Thanks to their friend Kevin, lots more sarcastic fun and fighting of bad guys.

(3) Johnny Test (http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/johnnytest/index.html): Another Cartoon Network show, Johnny Test is about a boy who always seems to get in trouble but almost always ends up saving the day too. Johnny is hyper and self-centered, and has two older genius sisters who can invent anything. Everything is against type. Mom works, dad stays-at-home. The sisters are brilliant. Johnny and his talking dog Dukey are lots of snarky fun.

True Blood Revisited

So I have been trying to catch up on my DVR'd episodes of True Blood. It is not for lack of interest. It is just a bit difficult to find time to watch when you really can't have your kids in the room.

I still find myself intrigued by the show. I want to hate it. So many of the characters are depraved. But again, everyone is so decidedly complex. The vampires are pretty horrific except for Bill, but then most of the humans are pretty sadistic too. I think I like it for the complex characters and the unpredictability. I can usually anticipate most shows' story lines. I like being surprised. I have to say most of the episode ending cliff hangers surprise me and keep me anticipating the next episode.

I was thinking that the series had a lot in common with the Twilight vampire books. They do have some superficial similarities, but the characters seem drastically different. Although I heard True Blood is also based on a series of books and I wonder how close the television series is to the books. I am not convinced the upcoming Twilight movie will do the book justice. They never do. Perhaps True Blood is more influenced by HBO than the books? I guess I might have to check out the books.