Yo Gabba Gabba!!

I think we all know how rotten TV viewing can be for our kids, but there's no denying it's a rather affordable babysitter when the laptop or kitchen demands your attention and your toddler does too. I started to worry about our youngest because she was never interested in TV for more than a couple seconds. Autism? ADD? Bad eyesight?

Turns out it was none of the above. She just has very discerning taste, and the only "baby show" she's into is Yo Gabba Gabba! I've never seen her pay attention to any show before or after. We tried to get her into Classical Baby, but she's more Daft Punk than JS Bach.

This new live action/animated show debuted on Nick Jr. this summer and is due to pop up on Noggin in the new year. The best synopsis I can give is it's Barney with an indie sensibility. It's Sesame Street set in an 80's video game. It's a breakdancing version of the Teletubbies. It's like a Sid and Marty Kroft show for the mash-up generation.

The first scene in every episode is MC Lance Rock strutting out on a plain white backdrop with a
boombox. The graphics are all pixelfonts. The episodes are all themed and the crux of the message isn't much different than the saccharin songs of that purple dinosaur("Share","Be Nice To Animals", etc.)

Regular guests include Biz Markie, Mark Mothersbaugh, The Aquabats, and Parker Jacobs. Single-episode guests have run from Tony Hawk to Nikki Flores. Music has been provided by a slew of indie bands (Mark Kozelek, the Salteens, Low, etc.) and the "Remixes" at the end of the show have come from bands like Broken Spindles and Digital Unicorn.

So if you're one of those types that never lets the kids watch TV, turn on Yo Gabba Gabba! for yourself.. and if you can get past the cheese you'll be doing the robot in no time.