Boohbah

Those of you (and I used to think like you about boobah) who think negatively of this show are looking at it through the eyes of a 15, 17, 22 or however old you are. I've yet to hear a 4 year old say this show sucks. Hehehe well you know what I mean. I have not heard any parent say their kids cry when watching boobah. Why?? Because it's not intended for grown minds. It's intended for growing minds. These children have not been exposed to geometry books, chalkboards, calculators...it's just teaching them things the way they see things. Repetition, colors, sounds, shapes things like that.

Another thing...this is not like Mr Rogers...this show doesn't TELL kids what to think. It just makes them think. (No offense to anyone, I loved Mr. Rogers)

I started an account just to share how much these lumps of foreskin haunted my childhood. The first time I watched the show (I was around two or four) I cried. Even as a child these furry scrotums petrified me. Everytime my mom would turn it on I cried and screamed for the boohbahs to be put away. My mom thought it was funny I was so scared of the show but luckily she stopped putting it on.

Not long after she bought a small pink boohbah doll. I was so petrified by these creatured that she would use them as a form of discipline. I distinctly remember her saying "if you dont behave I'll take boohbah out of the closet!" Which was enough for me to start doing whatever I was supposed to do.

Boohbah is the third series from the British children's TV production outfit Ragdoll to be imported to America. "Tots TV" and the ever famous "Teletubbies" were the first shows to imported to the States.

Boohbah is targeted towards the graduates of Teletubbies (ages 3-6), and focuses on movement along with leaning math, science, and problem solving. However the learning is for the most part is visual and numbers are not seen on the screen at all. The show breaks down into these segments.

Opening Titles: Shows different children around the world playing with the Boohball which travel constantly around the world responding to the call of Boohbah. The opening is different from show to show with different children.

Warm Up: Here we meet the Boohbah's (the show producers call them "atoms of light"), who come out of their "Pods" and like children are hyperactive. However when called by their names (Humbah, Zumbah, Zing Zing Zingbah, Jumbah, Jingbah), the Boohbah do a simple movement for children to follow. After awhile the Boohbah lose control again but "freeze" when their names are called.

Storyworld: To set up the segment. Children move a big wrapped present into the rainbow colored spiral. Once in place the children actually blow the present into Storyworld. As they blow the package dissolves and the shape of the present appears but not identified until the package appears in storyworld. The storypeople have names like Mr. Man, Mrs. Lady, Grandmamma appear. These people don't speak at all and are like game board pieces. The story themselves are basically puzzles in which the children help the storypeople solve a problem. The children can shout "Boohbah" to freeze the story, and blow additional gifts to the storypeople. They shout Boohbah to continue the story and a solution of some sort comes to pass.

Boohbah Dance: The Boohbah's come back to do a slightly complicated dance. The dance is inspired by the day's storyworld segment.

Look What I/We Can Do: A child or a group of children appears in an area of green and perform a simple dance on a transparent rainbow spiral. Three different dances are featured.

A few quick dances from the Boohbah's are seen before the show comes to close.

With the exception of the storyworld segment, their is very little narration in this show. The Boohbah's sole purpose is to make children happy unlike their distance cousins their is no individual personality in any of the Boohbah's. To help children learn from Boohbah the parents truly to need to watch this show with them.

Boohbah might scare certain parents away, but for those who enjoy movement might find it a decent show for kids.

I sat with my two year old son to watch some TV, and was appalled to run across "Boohbah", the LSD-induced offspring of the Teletubbies. Teletubbies was bad enough, but this show is a load of crap! Literally! The Boohbah's look like they are being excreted from someone at the beginning of the show and it gets worse from there. Are they sure this is for kids? It seems like something a bunch of drug addled frat boys would watch for "the colors, man". I forbid my son from ever watching this brain killing useless slop ever again. This shows lacks everything that a kids show should have: a plot, educational value, a lesson or two, and English! They don't speak, they sort of whine or moan depending on what it is they are trying to do (don't ask me - I don't speak Boohbah). If this is what the Brits are exporting to us, then I'd say they're still mad at us for that whole Revolutionary War thing. Ugh! Mr. Rogers, why'd you have to go away??

This show is pretty great. When I first saw it I caught the ending and when I first saw those things, I was just dumbfounded. They are kinda creepy looking, but at the same time oddly cute. I really like the funny way their eyes shift, especially when they do it together in sync. Supposedly this is an exercise show for babies, it's more like an acid trip for kids and adults! I can't imagine any kid doing the stuff the boohbahs or those kids in the show do. Another cool thing about this show is these great segments featuring this odd family. There's Grandma, Granpapa, Auntie, Ms. Lady, Mr. Man, Brother and Sister, and little dog Fido. I really, really love these segments because not only are they also oddly entertaining and totally unpredictable, they also teach children a strong message that color isn't important. There is one problem though, I really don't like the segments that feature real kids at all. From what I've seen, this looks like some kind of cheap localization gimmick PBS added to the show when they got it from the original UK creators. I'd much rather see more of the Boohbahs interacting and learning in their free time than seeing those segments. The kids seemed to be pretty unamused too as we often turn when those parts start. One other complaint is I really miss that motherly voice from the Teletubbies, I think they should bring that voice actress back, those kid screams are pretty obnoxious.

All in all, this is one great show, at least the first 20 mins at least.