Teletubbies

Teletubbies is a British preschool show that aired from 1997 to 2001, created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport. In 2015, a revival premiered, but it went on hiatus in 2018.

Plot
The program takes place in a grassy, floral landscape populated by rabbits with bird calls audible in the background. The main shelter of the four Teletubbies is an earth house known as the "Tubbytronic Superdome" implanted in the ground and accessed through a hole at the top or an especially large semicircular door at the dome's foot. The Teletubbies co-exist with a number of strange contraptions such as the Voice Trumpets and the group's anthropomorphic blue vacuum cleaner ("Noo-Noo"). The show's colourful psychedelic setting was designed specifically to appeal to the attention spans of infants and unlock different sections of the mind while also educating young children of transitions that can be expected in life.

Why It Won't Deserve A Big Hug

 * 1) Unlike most other preschool shows from that era Teletubbies has barely any educational value. While the show does try to show kids cooperative play, wonder, and simple joys, it mostly turns down to the Teletubbies just doing random things, that are either stupid, senseless, annoying and unfunny.
 * 2) *Other preschool shows like Boohbah and Baby Einstein''' also suffer from this issue.
 * 3) While most of the side characters and the narrator speak proper English, the Teletubbies just babble nonsense, which can get annoying and stupid, not to mention it could negatively affect children with them making the inability not to talk properly.
 * 4) * On October 15, 2021, it was no narrator, and the Teletubbies just babble English (which lacks the following other languages) due to the quartet's new album Ready Steady Go! and onwards for their 25th Anniversary.
 * 5) The show can get uncannily disturbing for younger viewers, the examples include that the faces of the Teletubbies can look creepy and unsettling for some viewers, the puppet that appears in one episode, the CGI effects used on the Animal Parade, the Magic Tree, the Ships and the Dancing Bear and (of course) The infamous sketch featuring a cut-out bear and a cut-out Lion chasing each other (Which became extremely controversial, infact the episode containing the sketch was banned in a lot of regions, while it did get an edited version the damage was already done).
 * 6) The side characters aren't any better either:
 * 7) * The Baby Sun that appears throughout the episodes, along with the opening and closing just laughs. (It CAN be creepy at times)
 * 8) * The Bunnies in the background don't do anything at all.
 * 9) * Noo-Noo (The sentient vacuum the Teletubbies have in their home) is just there to clean the mess and serves no other purpose.
 * 10) * The characters that only appear in one sketch are also pretty bland.
 * 11) The show's humor is unfunny, annoying and cringes or even inappropriate, such as one scene where Laa-Laa blows a toter to Tinky-Winky's butt, then Tinky-Winky does it to Dipsy.
 * 12) Most of the special effects are poorly made such as the Dancing Bear that appears in one episode, the Animal Parade, the Magic Tree, and the Ships as well that are obviously cheap CGI effects, that may look like an old mh:crappygames:3DO Interactive Multiplayer, mh:crappygames:Atari Jaguar, mh:awesomegames:Sega Saturn, PlayStation or a mh:awesomegames:Nintendo 64 video game, and also looks similar to mh:awfulmovies:Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, Whacked! or mh:greatestmovies:Hoodwinked!, even for 1997 standards.
 * 13) The music, such as the theme song, can get annoying.
 * 14) * In 2015/2016, the lines were only sung once again before they say hello with a smile and a big hug in the revived version.
 * 15) The show can often show kids bad morals:
 * 16) * Wasting food.
 * 17) * Annoying each other.
 * 18) * Making big messes.
 * 19) The segments that the televisions that are on the Teletubbies’ stomachs serve no purpose at all. Not only do they play the segments twice with no difference whatsoever, but also some of the live-action segments such as the Jazz players in one episode, with the weirdest part the singer, while he does sing in English, it sounds so weird and it’s hard to even understand what he’s singing.
 * 20) The new characters introduced in the reboot, The Tiddlytubbies, feel more like an excuse to sell more toys and merchandise.
 * 21) Annoying voice acting and dialogue, especially from Tinky-Winky ( purple ), Dipsy ( green ), Laa-Laa ( yellow ), and Po ( red ).
 * 22) The American dub makes the original British version even worse, making the character voices slightly different.
 * 23) Quantity Over Quality: While this is a bad show, 389 episodes were aired for four years, which was rushed.
 * 24) They may be seen as creepy and known to hypnotize children. They also treat their young viewers poorly by doing all the things said here.
 * 25) The show and its characters will often talk down to the audience and treat them like Dora from Dora the Explorer would.

Good Qualities

 * 1) The sets for the home of the Teletubbies look creative and well done.
 * 2) The show does at least try to show kids about cooperative play.
 * 3) While the Teletubbies babble, most of the other characters (Including the Narrator) speak proper English.
 * 4) The "uh-oh" line can be funny. (However this depends on your point of view)
 * 5) The show can be colorful.

Reception
Despite the popularity the show got, the show received mixed to negative reviews from critics and a lot of adult viewers.

Common Sense Media's Emily Ashby found that "while the show's examples of cooperative play, wonder, and simple joys are gentle and pleasing, the creatures can still be a little grating to parents watching along." Caryn James of The New York Times stated in her review that the episodes "offer a genuinely appealing combination: cute and slightly surreal."

Upon the show's release, some critics feared that the characters' use of babbling in place of complete sentences would negatively affect young viewers' ability to communicate. The Daily Mirror reported in 1997 that many parents objected to its "goo-goo style" and "said the show was a bad influence on their children." Marina Krcmar, a professor of communication at the Wake Forest University, told interviewers in 2007 that "toddlers learn more from an adult speaker than they do from a program such as Teletubbies." However, Paul McCann of The Independent defended this aspect of the show, stating that "Teletubbies upsets those who automatically assume that progressive and creative learning is trendy nonsense. Those who believe that education should be strictly disciplined and functional, even when you're 18 months old. Thankfully Teletubbies isn't for them. It's for kids."

On IMDB, The original series has a 3.7/10 while the revival has a 4.8/10.

Tinky Winky Controversy
In 1999 a Controversy was made on the character Tinky Winky, as he was believed to be a g-- a role model for kids due to the fact he wore a Handbag which looked like a Ladies Handbag, and also for the fact he was purple (The G-- Pride color) and that his antenna was shaped like a triangle (The G-- Pride symbol).

BBC Later responded that he is not g-- he is not straight, He is simply a sweet child with a magic handbag.

The Lion and the Bear Controversy
In 1997 an episode called See-Saw had a sketch featuring a cutout bear and a cutout lion chasing each other, The sketch was banned in a lot of regions and was panned for its Unsettling cinematography, Creepy music, and terrifying Character designs, It was considered to be inappropriate and terrifying for kids.

An edited version of the sketch was made with different voice acting, music and removed several shots.