Because we're ON VACATION, we're watching far more TV than I normally allow

[conuly]

Two or three episodes a day. Well, it won't kill them, and everybody in the house BUT them and me sleeps in, so they need to be contained.

In the past, I've watched Dora. God is that an obnoxious show. If you have to cajole children into participating, you're doing it wrong. It's insulting to everybody to be asked an already insultingly simple question, and then be nagged into giving the reply, or have to sit through several seconds of silence before the answer is given.

But you know what really annoys me about this show? What really, really annoys me?

Nobody on that show seems to understand that the possessive of Boots is not Boots, but Boots'. Maybe it's just me, but if I were refering to Boots' boots, or his books, or his birthday, I'd say "Boots-iz such-and-fuch" not merely "Boots such-and-fuch".

Drives me batty.

Comments

[conuly]

Name of a character, because he likes to wear boots. So, as far as I'm concerned, it should possess (you know what I mean) like James or Chris.

[l33tminion]

The way I learned it, possessive forms of a singular noun (including proper nouns) are always apostrophe-s, plural nouns are apostrophe-s or just apostrophe depending on final letter. (Although, a little Googling reveals several sources that note that just apostrophe for singular nouns ending in s is common usage. I still think it's wrong, though.)

[conuly]

Nom de Dieu! One does not criticize my first grade teacher!

[l33tminion]

What would you accept as an authoritative source, then? If your answer is "my first grade teacher", we'll have to just agree to disagree.

(By the way, I agree that modern children's television is appalling. Don't know much about Dora, although I know that Barney is insipid and Blue's Clues is basically heroin for pre-schoolers. How I miss Mr. Rodgers...)

[conuly]

1. Don't know. Never really considered it. My first grade teacher was pretty old, though.

2. Oh, I miss Mr. Rogers!

Though some modern kids TV is okay. Backyardigans is *my* heroin.

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Backyardigans is *my* heroin.

Ditto that. GOD I love that show!

You know...for the kids...

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Backyardigans is just about the most annoying kids show I've seen. >:O

[conuly]

Says the woman who loves loves loves Dora.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Is old-school children's television programming really better, or just what you watched before you started being too old for it?

[l33tminion]

Well, I admit my perceptions my be colored by nostalgia, although I stand by my opinion of Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood. (Just compare how Mr. Rodger's deals with imagination compared to the treatment of imaginative play in Barney. Or note the lack of hyperactive scene changes and incessant repetition. Or the quality of Mr. Rodgers as a role model.) Still, I can't help but feel educational television has become less education-focused and more commercialized. I think long-running classics like Sesame Street have gone down hill as well, although some would suggest that the old Sesame Street "may not suit the needs of today's preschool child".

(Criticism based on that last point seems to be a variation on the "everything was more hardcore back in the day" mantra... still may be valid, though.)

[conuly]

Depends on the specific examples.

Nothing beats Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

However, I don't have a rabid hate for Blues Clues (although I prefer the earlier episodes - from what I've seen of later ones, they seem to have gone headlong down the hyperactive tv mode).

Backyardigans, as I've said, is really great.

Dora, the best I can say about that show is that it's only half an hour long - it's the worst on all points, it's condescending, it's hyperactive, it spends too much time on cut scenes for various characters, and the newer episodes are worse yet.

Barney is an older show, and it's crap.

[conuly]

At any rate, what I meant is that when we speak (not when we write), we should say "iz" at the end to indicate a possessive, not just leave the noun more or less uninflected.

[l33tminion]

I disagree. I don't think apostrophe on it's own should be pronounced "iz". For one thing, when does punctuation on it's own have voiced pronunciation? For another, "my parents-iz car" or "the midwest states-iz cities" sounds wrong compared to "my parents' car" or "the midwest states' cities" (with the apostrophe unvoiced).

(IMO, adding "iz" to the end of plural words ending in "s" should be reserved for its proper grammatically function of indicating that the speaker is Gollum.)

Edit: Changed the second example to actually make sense.

[conuly]

Except Boots, as a proper name, is not a plural noun anymore, unless there happens to be more than one of that annoying character.

Besides, it's not punctuation until you learn to read. Prior to that, it's just speech.

[l33tminion]

Ah, indeed. You're quite correct, I'm getting confused.

[conuly]

Yeah, I think we both got caught up on the orthography. I have no idea how the writers of Dora spell Boots + possessive, I just know how they expect the characters to say it, and it drives me up the wall.