The Big Comfy Couch

I could not agree more with the comments that say this is a great show for preschoolers and toddlers. Heck, even primary age children would learn the wonderful values of this show. And that's the key point - VALUES! The show's primary theme is VALUES! But, if you watch it with your children regularly as I do, then you would also see that it does have education with ABC's, CHECK IT OUT (science & discovery), and, most importantly) morals, manners, and values. How can you go wrong.

I was watching this with my Godchildren one day and got hooked. As a teacher and a person who has a small clown show for children in my community, this is a great resource. I gain so so many new ideas and games to share with children I work with. Thus, this show not only benefits its' viewers, but also other children who I and I'm sure other teachers and parents interact.

Regarding a comment that indicates it's creepy that an adult woman plays a child. Anyone who has children or interacts with children know that to gain and maintain young peoples' attention, you must add a child-like persona to your instruction techniques. The show is ENTERTAINMENT, not real life!

There are so many educational shows out there that deal with the academics and in an educational climate where academics is strongly emphasized, it is nice to see a show like "THE BIG COMFY COUCH" stand out and remind us and our children that morals, values, and manners are just as important as the 123's and ABC's. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK LONETTE & MOLLY! BRAVO!

I wonder why it was cancelled. Man, when I was a little girl, I loved this show..... Mollie the doll was so cute. I was always asking my mom for a Mollie doll. There were some cute puns in it, too. It was adorable. Even though I'm not 5 years old anymore, I still miss it.

Back when PBS was my personal wonderland of puppets, cartoons, and gentle chaos, The Big Comfy Couch was a warm, weird hug of a show that I couldn't resist. I watched it religiously as a kid-plopped in front of the TV with my own version of a comfy couch (which was really just a pile of pillows and a blanket fort). It was quirky, colorful, and just the right amount of nonsensical.

The show centers around Loonette the clown and her doll Molly, who live on a giant couch that seems to contain an entire universe of oddities. There were dust bunnies under the cushions, Granny Garbanzo rolling in with wisdom and soup, and the ever-iconic "clock stretch" that made me feel like I was doing yoga before I even knew what yoga was. It was silly, but it had heart-and a rhythm that felt comforting.

What I loved most was how it made everyday things feel magical. Cleaning up became a dance. Storytime was theatrical. Even the lessons-about sharing, feelings, or cleaning up your mess-were wrapped in clownish charm and gentle humor. It wasn't flashy, and it didn't try to be. It was slow-paced, sometimes too slow, but that was part of its charm. It gave you space to breathe, imagine, and giggle.

Looking back, I'd give it a 7/10. It wasn't groundbreaking, and some episodes felt like they were stitched together with leftover yarn and whimsy. But it was sincere, creative, and oddly hypnotic. The Big Comfy Couch was a soft spot in my PBS childhood lineup-equal parts goofy and grounding. And honestly, I still think about that clock stretch more often than I'd like to admit.

Upon perusing some of my, and my daughters' favourite t.v. programmes, I came upon a rather nasty review of The Big Comfy Couch, right here on IMDB. Unfortunately, the writer doesn't "get" the idea behind the show.

First of all, it is a show for TODDLERS! It seems inane to anyone over six, but then, it's not meant for older children, or adults. Do we criticize a Japanese movie for unintelligible dialogue (assuming, of course, that you don't speak Japanese)? Of course not, the film is intended for people who DO speak Japanese and can understand what is going on.

My two year-old daughter loves Big Comfy Couch. It entertains her, and that is what is important. The show's main characters are female, which was unheard of back in my day (in the 50's and 60's the only female characters were the girlfriends of the heroes and played mostly damsel-in-distress roles, like Olive Oyl, or very secondary roles, like Minnie Mouse). So Big Comfy Couch is not especially educational--does everything have to be? Can a two year-old only watch t.v. programmes that educate? Teletubbies (my daughter's favourite show) also is not really big on educating, but my daughter enjoys it anyway. Heck, how much education is in the programmes we watch? Unless you watch nothing but PBS all day, and even they run movies and concerts of questionable educational value.

So, don't worry so much about what your children are learning from a show--sometimes they just need entertainment. And, just for the record, there is plenty of educational value from Big Comfy Couch--when you are two or three years old, just socializing, cleaning up after yourself, sharing, etc. are things you need to learn. If the programme is cute, or fun, children will tune in again tomorrow, and the next day. If the show is not, then what's the point of making it if no one watches after seeing it once?

It's sad that Allison Court is going to be known more for doing the voice of Jubilee on "X-Men" (yes, that's her!) than for this show, which is one of dozens of promising and solid children's shows that never got enough of a chance to catch on. Maybe in its native Canada it gets more respect, but here on the other side of the falls, an educational show is judged more by how much merchandise it sells than how much children learn from it.

For an adult, the show may look at times silly and cheesy, but to toddlers and pre-schoolers, who these shows are aimed at, it's a show that is at the same time exciting and soothing.