While they may run around the house and scream incoherent babble every now and then, children are good at noticing changes. My kids know when I use a different kind of peanut butter on their sandwich or replace their favorite blanket for a night, so it can be washed.
I guess children’s television executives either don’t realize this observational talent of children or simply don’t care.
My oldest son loves the Fresh Beat Band on Nickelodeon. It’s about a group of four cohabiting musicians that sing and dance their way around problems in the Up With People way that nauseates adults and enthralls children.
Recently, the show replaced the actress who played Marina with another actress. They did their best to keep the change hush hush and hire someone with a similar look about her, but within seconds of seeing the first commercial on television, my son blurts out “Hey, that’s not Marina.”
Apparently, the old Marina is getting hitched and the producers thought the best and easiest thing to do would be simply switch one out for the other. Instead of giving her a grand send off and introducing a new character, they just hired a not-so-carbon copy. The act of changing characters in the midst of a television show is common practice. It happens all the time on soap operas, and who could possibly forget the great Darren debacle on Bewitched or good ole Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?
Most of these are geared towards adults, or at least older teens, and we do a double take, but then move on. Children, not so much. They really want to know what happened to the old character and when the show does nothing to address it, the kids become frustrated. I had to find out what happened to Marina and sit down with my son to talk to him about it.
He was fine after I explained the situation, and he’s slowly getting used to the new Marina, but television execs need to understand that their audience isn’t sitting there slack-jawed, but actually watching and observing what’s on the screen. Why don’t you try treating children with a little respect next time?
It’s one thing to take out a minor character, but switching a primary character for the show is a big deal and should be treated as such. You wouldn’t simply switch out one of the Desperate Housewives without some kind of back story. Kids aren’t stupid, but all too often, adults — especially those with little interaction with children — treat them as simpletons. Big mistake.
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