TresSugar

Kiddie Show: Rainbow

GiggleSugar — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:00:00 -0700

The writers of children's programming place a high priority on making their shows entertaining for adults and children alike - but this is something else. Rainbow, a '70s UK kiddie show, upped the ante on adult entertainment value. The following clip from the "Twangers" episode was a staff joke that was jam packed with innuendo. Hey, what they don't know, won't pervert them - right? Wrong. This episode never aired for the general public. (Thanks for the update, meerkat!)

What the Hell Are Kids Watching?

GiggleSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Correct me if I'm wrong, but pointing is rude, no? So why is this creepy ass puppet on The Wiggles explicitly instructing our impressionable tykes to point their fingers - up, down, every damn place? (Then there's the question of where this puppet is pointing exactly - down where?) Sesame Street may get a bad rep, but at least Big Bird and the gang aim to teach our kids a little more than how to hold their own at a rave. The Wiggles are seriously trippin'.

Indian Kids Are Pitted Against Each Other on Reality Shows

CitizenSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:00:23 -0700

A show with a name like Boogie Woogie sounds like it should be nothing but harmless fun right? For the tidal wave of kids clamoring to get onto the Indian reality TV show, perhaps not. After one young girl collapsed on the dance contest show after she lost, the pressure is starting to get noticed. Her parents blame the Simon Cowell-esque reprimanding after her performance for her collapse, while the show's producers say the parents should know the limits of their children.

Regardless of the cause its anything but a deterrent for hopeful contestants for any of India's five music and dance contest shows. Thousands of kids are signing up, and the long days, grueling criticism, and even the parents themselves are becoming a problem. One Boogie Woogie producer says, "Some parents are so ambitious that they need to be counselled. We have to tell them to let the children be. Sometimes parents push the children to wear certain clothes, practice some gyrating adult moves. At such times we ask them to change their dance."

Why are kids being pushed onto TV shows? To find out, read more.

The same reason so many things happen: money honey. One media researcher says, "The audience segment of four to 14 years is becoming important. Children are a major influence on consumer behaviour. Segments like sports, music, and pure children's channels have a viewership base which manufacturers of consumer durables, auto industries, food industry would like to tap."

Four-year-olds are the next coveted demographic?! Wow. While the dubious trend is taking off, experts counsel moderation. "As long as parents and children know that these competitions are just a part of life and not life itself, children will be able to handle the pressures."

Should kids be able to compete on reality shows, or in the words of Simon, is that "just awful?"

Source

Who's Douchier? Jon Gosselin or Richard Heene

TresSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0700

It only made sense to me to pit America's least favorite dads against each other in the battle for who's douchier.

On the one hand, there's Jon Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus Eight fame. This man had no problem parading his children around on reality television when he was still on the payroll, but now that he's getting cut out of the show, he refuses to let his wife continue on without him. (He claims it's a sudden concern for his children and not his sudden loss of income that's motivating him.)

On the other hand, there's alleged balloon hoax perp Richard Heene, who is being prosecuted along with his wife for pretending that his six-year-old son Falcon had unlatched the family's helium balloon and was flying around in danger. We already enumerated his douchey ways, but to summarize: the guy's a misogynistic, homophobic, racist jerk who is using his kids to get famous.

So now it's up to you . . .

Woman Held Captive For Eight Years as Child Gives First Interview

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Three years after she escaped from a man who abducted her at age 10 and kept her in a basement for eight and a half years, Natascha Kampusch gave her first interview to British television. She talks about how she's doing; what she thinks about fellow Austrian Elisabeth Fritzl, who'd been held captive by her father and forced to have his children; and if she thinks such stories are particular to Austria.

Kampusch was walking home from school in 1998 when Wolfgang Priklopil abducted her. He kept her in a small, soundproof cellar underneath his garage that had no windows. Although he gave her books and music, and sometimes allowed her to go to his house upstairs, it was only when she was a teenager that she was allowed to go outside, sometimes even accompanying him on trips. It was while she was cleaning his car and he was distracted on his cell phone that she was able to finally escape from him. Upon seeing that Kampusch had escaped, he committed suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Asked if she thought that these cases of young girls being abducted and held captive were particular to Austria, she replied that although they happened everywhere, in the case of Austria, it was part of the effect of World War II. “At the time of national socialism," she says in the interview, "the suppression of women was propagated and authoritarian education was very important.”

Calvin Klein Up to Old Tricks With Threesome Ad

TresSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 -0700

I doubt anyone is surprised that a Calvin Klein advertisement is causing controversy for being sexually charged. Despite the company's record, a new ad featuring one woman being "shared" by two men, while another watches, has aroused public outrage again.

Calvin Klein ironically (and predictably) uses a practically naked women to sell clothes and can only be described as pornographic. The billboard has upset families in the SoHo neighborhood in New York, where it resides. The company says the intention was to create "a very sexy campaign that speaks to our targeted demographic," which I assume doesn't include children passing by the jumbo-size threesome.

This latest ad might not be Calvin Klein's most shocking - that prize probably goes to the 1995 TV campaign that alluded to child pornography. Even so, do you think this ad should be taken down?

Sarah Haskins: The Cougar's on the Prowl

TresSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:30:00 -0700

In the past "cougar" may have been a demeaning way to describe a single woman preying on younger men, but TV Land's latest reality show, The Cougar, is reclaiming the title for all women who like to date men younger than their children. The 40-year-old star Stacy feels like Eve in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by men in their 20s who show her their abs, jump in pools, and make her cocktails. Check out these highlights from the season and Sarah Haskins's take on the ridiculousness.

Name Kate Gosselin's Haircut!

TresSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Although everyone's focusing on accusations of infidelity within the Kate and Jon Gosselin household (first Jon was accused of an affair, and now it's Kate's turn), I turn to more pressing questions.

First of all, how would reality television stars who author books and have eight children possibly have time for affairs, and - most importantly - what the hell kind of haircut is Kate sporting? Seriously, it needs a name. What should we call it?

Source

People Checks In With Polygamous Ranch Children Year Later

CitizenSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:00:47 -0700

Last April, authorities in Texas seized 439 children from their homes, thanks to suspected sexual abuse on the FLDS polygamous compound where they lived. The children were returned to their homes after the Texas Supreme Court found that the state had illegally seized the children from the FLDS ranch. One year later People magazine has checked back in with the families that captured America's attention.

The parents are still transitioning the children back into life on the compound, after the kids were kept from their families for two months and "exposed" to mysterious modern marvels like baseball, bikes, and TV.

The caretakers dressed them in mainstream clothes such as shorts(!) and introduced the children to a different way of life. One mother said her children "had so many toys thrown at them. Toys tend to teach children to be selfish. We make it real and useful to them. Gloria loves to do the dishes. If you cultivate that, then they're happy."

Will you be picking up this issue of People to learn more about life on the polygamous ranch?

Stacy Anderson Is The Cougar

TresSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:36:08 -0700

Meet Stacy Anderson, a sexy, intelligent, 40-year-old real estate agent who's done really well for herself and her four children. Married at 16 and feeling like she lived her youth for her ex-husband and children, Stacy's now ready to ~~PARTAY, mmkay?~~ find true love with a guy in his early 20s. (Wait - what?) I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but is looking for true love as a mature, accomplished woman among a pool of inexperienced horndogs with a thing for older women going to get you what you want?

This clip from the premiere episode of TV Land's The Cougar, hosted by Vivica A. Fox (!) will make you wonder if "true love" is what our gal Stacy here is really after. I'm just sayin'. . .