arh-51749 I know that everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I just have to say something. I loved Between the Lions when I was little, even though I can barely remember it. My favorite episodes were "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain" and "Rumpelstiltskin" (aka "The Miller's Daughter"). And that Cliffhanger song is catchy. And besides teaching children how to read, it also teaches about literature. It has Greek myths, fairy tales, folk tales, children's books, and even a true story. And literacy is important. Also, Sesame Street, Sagwa, and the Bearstein Bears are good shows. And you do realize South Park is a cartoon, right?*I don't know if there are any spoilers, but this being my first review, I just want to be safe.

nielej I think heavenseeker has been listening to Fox too long and has let Fox's venom creep into their comments. Go watch FCO. I'm sure Davey and Goliath have all your answers.The good news is my 2 year-old will be smarter than their kids because he watches and enjoys BTL. Just as everyone else has said the quick humor (obviously lost on the naysayers) and intelligent instruction make it a must watch each morning at 6:30a. I love that they bring stories from many cultures and historical texts to the attention of children. My only complaint at this point is the fact that WETA seems to only have about 10 episodes.

JuneDesmond When I was a kid all I ever wanted to watch was Electric Company. Seeing past episodes of it now, I kind of laugh and think it is silly, but it served its purpose. The whole reason behind the show is to teach pre-reading skills. The best way for most children to learn initially when they are pre-school age is through repetition. The characters are lovable, children will attach easily to them, which will also help to increase pre-reading skills. In this day and age reading starts so much earlier in school systems it's nice to have a show that is trying to help specifically with this task. Sesame Street is up there too it just isn't focused solely on reading. Some of my favorite Muppet voices are in this show: Moakley from Fraggle Rock among them. I love this show and think that it is a must to have in the household and my children both love it. Including Cliffhanger. However, their favorite is Chicken Jane. It's a FUN show.

david-345 Between the Lions is one of those shows where it appears that you are not allowed to have an opinion about it or it's content. The series has gotten almost universal acclaim and anyone attempting to voice a differing opinion gets shouted down as someone who is against literacy. I'm not against literacy, far from it, but I am against bad television and Between the Lions is about as bad as it gets. Have the critics who praise this series actually taken the time to watch it? How on Earth can this thing teach children how to read? It might have a noble goal, but that goal is buried under tons of obnoxious characters and bad skits that really, really grate on one's nerves almost from the get go. And people wanted to drive Barney the Dinosaur off the air and leave this thing on?PBS would be better suited to keep repeating Reading Rainbow ad nauseum as it is far superior to Between the Lions, for that matter why don't they repeat the Electric Company, a show that was both educational and very funny? These lions should be put on the endangered species list.