If you recognize the phrase which titles this post, then you are no doubt a fan of Jack’s Big Music Show. I assume you are a fan because you simply cannot watch this show and NOT be a fan.
My 18-month old son, E (as I call him in this blog), LOVES, LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Jack’s Big Music Show! It is the ONLY TV program which holds his attention for more than a few seconds. Before Jack, my son ignored programs. The TV was just a big shiny box which caused dad to sometimes curse about blind referees performing impossibly flexible feats.
For the uninitiated, Jack’s Big Music Show is a musical educational TV program for pre-schoolers which airs on the Noggin cable channel in the United States. ‘Jack’ centers around puppets Jack, his friend Mary and Jack’s purple and green striped drum playing dog, Mel. Most of the show takes place in their clubhouse and features loads of music and zany misadventures – and it is absolutely adorable and funny. I could write a thousand words more on all the cool things I love about the show.
Jack’s Big Music Show first caught my son’s attention a few months ago because of the music. He LOVES music and LOVES dancing. His “dancing” is also completely adorable and funny. The show is free on our cable company’s On Demand channel. We also recorded several episodes on our DVR so Jack and his pals were always ready to play.
I was originally opposed to my son watching TV at such an early age. However, he doesn’t stare mindlessly at this show. He interacts with it. The music gets him up and makes him shake his arms, feet, hands and booty.
Soon, E began requesting to watch the show by pointing at the TV remote while saying, “Ack, Ack.” Then he looks patiently at the TV and waits.
I would never have guessed how positive a child’s interaction with TV could be… or how funny.
This weekend, an episode of Jack came on in which Jack is accidentally turned into a bunny while standing in front of Mel’s magical horn when Mel blew it. Suddenly, Jack a bunnified Jack starts bouncing around the clubhouse while Mary and Mel try to catch him so they can reverse the effect. Soon the doorbell rings. It’s The Schwartzman Quartet! (a barbershop quartet of puppets) who show up, as they do every episode, to sing about what’s going on. The song they sing in this episode repeats the lyrics “Run around, Run around” as Mary and Mel chase Jack around the clubhouse in circles.
“Run, Run, Run After Bugle Bunny Baby”
My son has seen this episode 10 times (at least) but this time the show inspired him to new levels of goofiness.
When the Shwartzman Quartet started singing, “Run around, run around, run around, here we go…” my son took off running! He proceeded to circle the dining room and living room as fast as he could, his little legs pumping and arms swinging as he giggled. Each time he made his way past the couch where my wife and I sat, he turned towards us – with a big grin on his face – to make sure we were watching. He continued his route until the song ended, at which time he went back to reading.
Each night since, he has given a repeat performance, responding to the cue from the quartet. It’s almost like some subconscious Manchurian Candidate-like prompt which sends him on a running spree. We made the mistake of playing the episode during dinner (we were eating in the living room this night, though we usually eat in the dining room) and when the song came on, my son immediately began to push, pull, and flail -knocking his sippy cup to the ground in an attempt to break free from his high chair. I ran over and freed him. His legs were already pumping before he hit the ground, and off he went!
Here is video of one of his runs (though this was later, after he was a bit tired).
Even funnier – at the end of the episode, The Schwartzman Quarter (who always travel in a pack) lean backwards and sideways as they exit through the door of the clubhouse. They do this because the way they are stacked, they would be too tall to clear the door. I had never noticed this, but apparently my son had.
In recent weeks, E would mimic The Quartet’s sideways sort of walk out the door from time to time. We hadn’t put two and two together and dismissed it as him being weird. The other night, we saw that as the song wound down and the quartet left the clubhouse, my son had just finished running around the table, stopped in front of the TV to watch, then he copied their walk! My wife pointed it out and we both suddenly realized, “ah, that’s what he’s doing!”
Bye, bye Jack
Unfortunately, I am getting rid of cable tomorrow. (Yes, I know I was supposed to get rid of cable a month ago, but I was attempting to get a really cheap deal from somewhere else. That deal proved to be more expensive, so I decided to just get rid of everything other than the local channels). I spent nearly 12 hours during the past two days attempting to get my piece of crap Centrios DVD Recorder to record the shows on DVD so we could watch them. Unfortunately, the Centrios spit out 10 DVD’s, all of them blank!
I will no longer have access to Jack. My son will no longer be able to run around the house to the tunes of The Schwartzman Quartet.
My son will point to the remote and go “Ack, Ack” and his heart will break when I can’t turn it on. He will stare at the TV with a confused, sad expression.
But, Blogger Dad, surely you can buy the shows on DVD, right?
Well, you’d think so. However, there is NO Jack’s Big Music Show merchandise (other than a CD, which I bought and ONE DVD). No box sets, no tee shirts, no puppets, NOTHING! I have massive respect for Noggin to avoid the temptation to pump out tons of Jack merchandise. Given the appeal of this show which millions of children (and adults) love, Jack merchandise would be a license to print money! Yet, nothing!
So here is my plea to Noggin or the folks at Spiffy Pictures (the awesome creators of Jack’s Big Music Show) PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PLEASE RELEASE MORE VIDEOS! You wouldn’t want to be responsible for my son’s sadness, would you?
That isn’t very spiffy.
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My son loves the Backyardigans. All they do is sing and dance. I’d recommend it if he hasn’t seen them yet.
The clip is so funny and he is such a cutie (although please please take the dummy out of his mouth when he’s running – I’ve witnessed a nasty accident along those lines).
My two were addicted to Lazytown and when Sportacus invited viewers to jump up and do star jumps, there they were working out in our lounge.
I nearly fell over. A TV show that makes they want to work out? Glorious.
I write about it here http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/fromdawntillrusk/2008/04/6-reasons-why-we-love-lazytown.html (if anyone can be bothered to read it while chuffing on their chocolate muffin, because that is SO not what I am doing right now!)
Taras last blog post..The business of blogging: Happy ever after?
TV has a lot to answer for. My eldest boy (7) wants dollars, bucks and quarders for his piggy-bank.
All fine and dandy but we’re not American. We’re Briddish
Pah!
Dave Fowlers last blog post..Setting My Stall Out
DAMN that Centrios!!!
Could you possibly wait another month before unsubscribing the cable and have a friend (or reasonable facsimile of an aquaintance,) tape some for you in the meantime? (And don’t ask me ’cause we can’t record in this house.)
I have some almost identical footge of Kelly at 14 mos dancing and excite dwhen Dora the Explore came on. Gotta learn how to do YouTube.
Jannies last blog post..From a 7-year-old’s perspective
My little boy is still too young to really get into TV, but it is funny that as long as his sister is sitting there watching, he will see motionless staring at the screen. My daughter is a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, Doodlebops, and Little Einstines.
Sals last blog post..Parenting Poverty
Go E, Go!
Jack’s Big Music Show was one of our favorite shows before we canceled cable. It was in it’s first season and we DVR’d it every day.
Noggin dot com, buddy. Noggin dot com.
Writer Dads last blog post..Forty Days and Forty Nights
Bird loved that show…and so did I.
If I could figure out how to make this dang DVD burner/big expensive paperweight to work, I’d TiVo and burn the show for ya. Don’t hold your breath, but I’ll try…
Shade and Sweetwater,
K (who doesn’t consider acts of compassion to be piracy)
Kyddryns last blog post..Heh, Heh, Heh
We don’t get Noggin or I’d volunteer to TiVo it and burn a DVD for you.
If my 3yr old son didn’t get to watch Thomas and Friends he’d just die! However his Thomas obsession has turned into a Thomas-Bob the Builder-Blue’s Clues obsession.
LizPs last blog post..04/05/08 Good Advice
Having grown kids, I venture to predict he’ll move on from the loss much faster than you!
Kip de Molls last blog post..Time To Tell
That’s too adorable! Noggin rocks!
I can’t get my DVD to record anything either, maybe it’s a conspiracy?
Try bear in the Big Blue House, Blue’s Clues, or Backyardigans. Those are on DVD. Maybe they will suffice. My guys loved Thomas when they were his age. (They still do!)
Jamie Simmermans last blog post..Find Your Own Zen with Leo Babauta
Absolutely delightful! I’m not a fan of current children’s TV, I think it generally awful, but when you get something really good, it’s fantastic. My children were just like E, we practically wore out videos, once they found one they liked!
Scribble.
Scribbles last blog post..Stop Press – Desperate times.
C’mon Blogger Dad. You can’t STILL be crying over this!
Get a grip man!
Dave Fowlers last blog post..Hey, You Fuggers!
Thanks to everyone who posted. I was out of the house most of the day so I didn’t get to comment back until today. Update: I was able to get one of the videos to record (I think) and it is the Bunny one, so we might be good for now.
Matthew – He’s seen it, but it didn’t grab his interest.
Tara – LOL on the muffin. As for LazyTown, that show is super creepy. The one guy looks like Jay Leno and as we all know, Jay Leno scares children. What happened with the dummy in the mouth?
Dave – LOL. Hey, give him what he wants, American currency is weak against yours! He’ll think he’s rich and you’ll get off easy.
Jannie – I don’t know anyone locally who both a) has a recorder and b) knows how to use it. If worse comes to worse, I’ll figure something out. YouTube is very easy. If you have the file already on your computer, all you need to do is create an account and then upload it.
Sal – E was the same way as your son… until Jack!
Writer Dad – Computer is not a viewing option, because when he sees a computer, he wants to beat on the keys!
Kyddryn – Thank you for your offer, I appreciate it. I THINK I was able to get one of the 12 shows I had on the DVR to record last night and it was the bunny one! I haven’t had a chance to check the DVD on another player yet to see if it will play.
LizP – Thank you, I appreciate the thought.
Kip de Moll – Perhaps, but my son has an INCREDIBLY long memory! He remembered where he had hidden a crayon two days ago and went right to it when he wanted to color.
Jamie – Conspiracy, hmmm… looks like I’ll have another revolution on my hands!
Scribble – Yeah, video tapes are not made for the long haul for kids. Need something which will survive thousands of replays!
Dave – Why, yes, yes I was, you fugger.
Your son is hilarious! I used to say that our kids weren’t going to watch much TV either. But there are some great educational shows and programs on that help them in their developmental stages. I also used to say that none of our daughters were going to play with Barbies. Well, I had to swallow that one too. But you know what? Our girls do play with Barbies and I’m in full support because it encourages their imaginative skills, keeps their attention and is a social event as they play Barbies with other girls. I used to have all the parenting answers – before I had kids. I’ve had to swallow a lot of things I once said.
As for the plea for Jack DVDs, I’m thinking that you should figure out how much you would spend on these DVDs if they were available. Who knows, the total amount might get you close to what you spend on cable. Maybe you should reconsider keeping it. Stick with me and I’ll help you come up with a way to rationalize it.
B. Wildes last blog post..Brief Encounters with Miss Addie
Too funny. I have two boys, 1.5 and 2.5 and they are both obsessed with different things. The littlest is into Wall-E, he walks around going “EEEEVA!EEEVA!” in a perfect imitation of Wall-E. The older one is big into TV shows and does the dancing thing, too. His favorites are Backyardigans and Barney (gag) . . . but he doesn`t get why we can`t make them come on on command. :S Good luck with the DVDs!
Expat Moms last blog post..Happy Thanksgiving!
My two year old loves Noggin. Well, most of it. (Does Yo Gabba Gabba creep anyone else out?)
She started out enjoying Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, of which we have about 40 episodes recorded. Then it was Handy Manny, which she still enjoys.
Lately, it’s been Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, but most of all, it’s Oswald. She. Loves. That. Show. She tells me she doesn’t want to watch Jack, but then she’s glued to it while it’s on. I love that Laurie Berkner performs on there. As a grown woman, I absolutely love her CDs. They’re so much fun.
But her TV watching has become excessive, so we are cutting back. She’ll get over it.
tjwriters last blog post..Some Gut-Wrenching, Soul-Spilling Truth
I have the same love/hate relationship with the TV and my kids. Sometimes you just have to have TV. Well at least, we do.
Jen, buried with childrens last blog post..What There are Only Two?
Blogger Dad,
I’m sorry…the “ack, ack” is going to be heartbreaking for a while.
My big one grew up on Sesame Street, but Nickelodeon was just starting as she “outgrew” Sesame Street. Hence, my little one, by default, grew up on Nickelodeon.
Never has a parent been happier to hear a child say “Rugrats is getting boring” than my husband and me. (Though we DID love Ren and Stempy -that was our “family time.” Don’t pee on the Electric Fenccccce!)
Rita
Ritas last blog post..Average Children, Mean Parents
My 10 month old also loves Jack’s Big Music Show. He’s so engaged when he watches and always claps along to the music. It cracks me up. Anyway, it seems like the Schwartzman Quartet always comes in to point out the bright side of things. I noticed this last night while watching the Snow Day episode. I’ve decided that I’m going to hire them to come to my office to pop in whenever I have an employee who is whining about something trivial. They’ll come into my office and barbershop about ‘At least you have a job, even though you’re a total knob…” These are the things I fantasize about.
I agree 100000000000000%! My just turned 1 yr old daughter loves “dack” I would love to get her a “Dack” puppet to play with(instead my dad is crocheting a look alike) I was surprised when I found NOTHINg, but then also glad that there were 23409835 pages of options for Jack tshirts, back packs, underwear, socks, you name they got it nicnacks. So rock on JBMS but could we get just a few things?
“Even funnier – at the end of the episode, The Schwartzman Quarter (who always travel in a pack) lean backwards and sideways as they exit through the door of the clubhouse. They do this because the way they are stacked, they would be too tall to clear the door. I had never noticed this, but apparently my son had.”
Actually they did fit through the door without being “stacked”, and there were many episodes in which they exited normally.