Winky-Dink and You

Some of my fondest early memories was interacting with the Winky Dink Show on Saturday mornings at my grandmother's house. It's amazing how a plastic sheet the size of a TV screen, three crayons, and a cloth can be the creative tools of the first interactive TV show. But I believe my fond memories of helping Winky Dink through dangerous situations with my crayons and cloth will easily surpass the memories of today's kids with Nintendo, XBox, etc. The Winky Dink show is just one example of the clean, simple fun that makes the 50's so euphoric to those of us who were pre-teens during this time. The different between the good guys and the bad guys was clear cut. And even though Winky Dink was always getting into situations where we had to draw a bridge for him to cross a river, a tree to hide behind, etc., we were given the opportunity to be the hero with Winky Dink. I wish I still had my magic drawing screen so that I could draw the "white picket fence" of the 50's again.

Couldn't get this show in my hometown, but it was a real treat to go to my grandmother's house in Oklahoma, because Winky Dink was on there. I even had the Winky Dink kit there - green plastic to put on the screen, a couple of crayons, and a cloth towel to wipe the marks off. It was so exciting to draw a bridge for Winky Dink to escape across a river, then erase it before the villain could cross it!

The show created quite a bit of ire among some parents because kids would draw on their TVs using ordinary crayons and without using the "magic screen" (sometimes doing real damage to the TV). I remember always wanting a "magic screen" so I could participate, but then, just weeks after I got one, the show was cancelled.

I never saw the show, but Gabe Kaplan discussed it in his stand-up routine, which could be heard on his comedy album "Holes and Mello-Rolls". "Mello-Rolls" also had the stand-up bit which was later developed into "Welcome Back Kotter."

Kaplan mentioned he was a fan of the show as a kid, but like most kids, never bothered to get the "magic drawing screen" sold, and instead just drew directly on the TV screen, and did not erase his drawings. His father would be annoyed to find that Gabe had been watching Winky-Dink again, cursing the cartoon that had encouraged his kid to draw all over the TV screen.

Instead of sending in my fifty cents (which was a week's allowance) for a Winky Dink and You kit, I used a piece of Saran Wrap and a crayon. It worked just as well.