Letter to TVO
Hello, my name is Derek Bontreger and I have always been a fan of quality television programming, especially quality programming for children.
I was influenced by this early on in life with one TVO show in particular: "Today's Special."
Thinking back on my childhood, I was very influenced by outlets that helped me to expand my creativity and form who I am today. I was a child who was very interested in the mysterious; I loved the magic and intrigue. I loved inviting Jeff, Jodie, Muffy and Sam into my life on a daily basis.
I see that, more clearly now than ever, the show appealed to me because I was seeing the world through Jeff's eyes, especially because he was seeing the world through ours. Jeff, although he appeared like a grown man, was actually about as old as we were--probably younger. He was a mannequin awakened through a magic spell; he knew nothing of the world he found himself in. The world he saw, the questions he had, the feelings he encountered were ours as well. He could not speak down to us because we were sharing the same experience. This is why "Today's Special" spoke so well to our generation.
Although the episodes were fantastical, although magic spells were cast and broken, the lessons we learned were anything but otherworldly. "Today's Special" didn't tiptoe around tough subjects. "Butterflies" taught us about death and "Phil's Visit" taught us about something that most U.S. children's shows would be too nervous to attempt to teach us about: alcoholism. This was an episode that I was especially impressed with, because it let us know what alcoholism is--a disease; it still treated the victim with respect.
It also introduced us to a world of song and dance--definitely one of my favorite aspects of the show. A massive amount of talent and energy went into writing multiple songs and choreographing impressive dance sequences for every episode. As I searched through a fan site the other week, I decided to download a clip from the episode, "Tears." Although it had been over a decade since I had last seen it, I found I still had every word to "The Magical Bird," a song featured in that episode, memorized. This show has an endurability that is not often found.
Yes, this show still has fan sites because it still has an incredibly loyal fan base. Every day a few more people sign my "Today's Special" petition to bring it to DVD and I often get e-mails from fans wanting to know the latest developments. I have even gotten two signatures from stars of the show (Nina Keogh and Bob Dermer). I have also been lucky enough to be in semi-regular contact with people who work at TVOntario (past and present) who want this to happen. This show deserves to be passed down to the next generation of viewers.
I thank you for your time.
- Derek Bontreger, a humble fan
P.S. Check out my petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/derekb27
P.P.S. And my blog: http://www.alimagocus.blogspot.com/
I was influenced by this early on in life with one TVO show in particular: "Today's Special."
Thinking back on my childhood, I was very influenced by outlets that helped me to expand my creativity and form who I am today. I was a child who was very interested in the mysterious; I loved the magic and intrigue. I loved inviting Jeff, Jodie, Muffy and Sam into my life on a daily basis.
I see that, more clearly now than ever, the show appealed to me because I was seeing the world through Jeff's eyes, especially because he was seeing the world through ours. Jeff, although he appeared like a grown man, was actually about as old as we were--probably younger. He was a mannequin awakened through a magic spell; he knew nothing of the world he found himself in. The world he saw, the questions he had, the feelings he encountered were ours as well. He could not speak down to us because we were sharing the same experience. This is why "Today's Special" spoke so well to our generation.
Although the episodes were fantastical, although magic spells were cast and broken, the lessons we learned were anything but otherworldly. "Today's Special" didn't tiptoe around tough subjects. "Butterflies" taught us about death and "Phil's Visit" taught us about something that most U.S. children's shows would be too nervous to attempt to teach us about: alcoholism. This was an episode that I was especially impressed with, because it let us know what alcoholism is--a disease; it still treated the victim with respect.
It also introduced us to a world of song and dance--definitely one of my favorite aspects of the show. A massive amount of talent and energy went into writing multiple songs and choreographing impressive dance sequences for every episode. As I searched through a fan site the other week, I decided to download a clip from the episode, "Tears." Although it had been over a decade since I had last seen it, I found I still had every word to "The Magical Bird," a song featured in that episode, memorized. This show has an endurability that is not often found.
Yes, this show still has fan sites because it still has an incredibly loyal fan base. Every day a few more people sign my "Today's Special" petition to bring it to DVD and I often get e-mails from fans wanting to know the latest developments. I have even gotten two signatures from stars of the show (Nina Keogh and Bob Dermer). I have also been lucky enough to be in semi-regular contact with people who work at TVOntario (past and present) who want this to happen. This show deserves to be passed down to the next generation of viewers.
I thank you for your time.
- Derek Bontreger, a humble fan
P.S. Check out my petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/derekb27
P.P.S. And my blog: http://www.alimagocus.blogspot.com/
posted by D-Bo at 6:31 PM
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