Yo Gabba Gabba!

I've watched Yo Gabba Gabba! on Nick Jr. with my 5-year-old son. At first, I thought the show was strange and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted my son to watch it. However, now that I've seen it a few times, I feel that it's completely appropriate for him and it's message is simply not delivered traditionally. However, there's nothing wrong with thinking outside of the box and I like that it's different from other shows.

The show teaches simple life lessons like saying "please" and "thank you" and trying new foods "try it -- you'll like it" to children in a colorful, happy, musical format. It is an imaginative program and focuses on characters who are excited and behave as though they are learning along at a preschoolers' level. It's fun to watch for kids and adults.

Another amazing thing about the show is that it features adults and children of many different races and ethnicities playing together happily. This is important especially for young children who may not frequently see people of different skin tones or prominent features to understand that people are different in many ways, but that doesn't mean that we can't all be friends.

Yo Gabba Gabba -- along with the more recent addition to Nick Jr, "The Fresh Beat Band" -- also introduces children to different types of music, including hip-hop. Strong beats can be fun for children to learn rhythm and counting.

Yo Gabba Gabba isn't one of my favorites out of the Nick Jr bunch or preschool shows in general, but I still like it. I loved this show when I was a kid, and I still have a soft spot for it to this day! It is a hip, fun, quirky, educational, and "retro" show (more about that later)! When I was little, DJ Lance Rock and Toodee were the only main characters I called by their actual names. I called Plex "Flex" because I thought that was his actual name, and I've always heard his name incorrectly at the time, but I was close. "Bluto" is what I called Muno at the time, for the same reason I used to call Plex "Flex." Yes, I actually thought the latter was named after Bluto from Popeye. I called Brobee "Billy" because that's what my grandma told me his name was. And finally, Foofa was "Gabba Gabba." I didn't know her name during the first three or so times I watched the show, and I assumed one of the characters had to be named Gabba Gabba because of the show's title, Gabbaland was the main setting, and I already "knew" the rest of the characters' names. Also, I had no idea what the characters were saying whenever they said "Foofa." Now I know that Yo Gabba Gabba (also known as the Gabba Gang) is the name of the band the main characters are in.

The series has received a lot of positive reception, even from a lot of people other than the target audience, partly because of its celebrity guest stars who appear in little to no other kid's shows (Weezer, Weird Al, Jack Black, etc.). I'd have to agree that they make it worth watching! Many of these guests do a "dancey dance" and sometimes appear on the segment, The Super Music Friends Show. My favorite episode is the one where the main characters meet Jack Black. There's a segment called "Biz's Beat of the Day," starring Biz Markie (RIP), and he beatboxes a new beat in every segment. It's what taught me how to beatbox and introduced me to the concept of beatboxing in general.

There is a segment called "Mark's Magic Pictures," starring Mark Mothersbaugh. He shows his audience how to draw, and his drawings often come to life at the end of the segment. How can one go wrong with a segment like that? There's also a segment about Brobee coloring pictures. This is one of the only shows I've seen that shows how to draw or color, and that's a plus because I've enjoyed doing both of those things for all my life.

The music and songs are catchy, funky, and memorable! The music sounds like music from old video games, and that's one of the best things about YGG! In case it isn't obvious, I am a video game lover. My favorite YGG song is Brobee's song, Party in My Tummy. The dance songs encourage movement and body language, making them expressive, like many of the songs and dances from The Wiggles. There are segments with no singing where DJ Lance shows and tells the audience how to do certain dances. Many of the songs and episodes' plots teach important life lessons. Just to name a few examples, the song Don't Bite Your Friends teaches not to bite your friends (hence the title), there's a song about not taking things that don't belong to you, and a song about how to fight germs. This is one of many musical preschool shows I've seen, but it's a literal MUSIC show, and the characters don't sing to say their daily routine, unlike most of the others.

I've come across a number of shows and movies that combine live action and animation together, but none quite like Yo Gabba Gabba. The objects around the main characters are sometimes seen coming to life, like a rock from Muno Land and a cup of juice that Brobee is drinking out of. They're animated characters, and they have cartoony designs. There are also animated segments and dream sequences with the Gabba Gang as cartoon characters. I don't know how else to describe the way the show combines live action and animation. The art style in one of the main animated segments resembles old video games. In the segment, the characters jump on bricks that resemble bricks from a video game in a video game-like sky. These segments make me like the show even more, and they're another one of the best things about it!

The Gabba Gang's homes are live action and have cartoony designs, and they each represent a different season (e.g., Muno Land represents summer, Brobee Land represents fall/autumn, Foofa Land represents spring, and Toodee Land represents winter). The Gabba Gang have cartoony designs as well. I always liked their toy forms because 1. Most of them are action figures with fur, which is original and unusual, and 2. They look nearly identical to their living forms. I've never seen action figures like them before. The sets and animation are bright, colorful, and have a lot of detail. Brobee is very expressive, even though he's a costume-based character with an inanimate face. For example, somehow his face can change from smiling to frowning or the other way around, unlike most mascot/walkaround characters with inanimate faces.

The entire format somewhat reminds me of Sesame Street's format because both shows are sketch comedy shows for kids, provide brief animated segments (mostly ones about early childhood education concepts like the alphabet, numbers, etc.), start with a main plot about puppets (mostly monsters), show the segments/sketches during a break from the main plot, and later go back to the main plot.

The songs are very good. I have about 6 DVDs (or my daughter does to be slightly more accurate) and there are about 12 songs that are very, very good. Like good enough that I would listen to on my own. Very catch stuff and some are pretty sophisticated musically.

Now not every song is the children's equivalent of "Freebird". But about every other episode there is a really good song.

They have lots of original songs but I was blown away by their choice of cover songs. They covered not one, but at least two songs by an obscure group called The Free Design. I have always believed their songs would be perfect in a children's show setting and it came as quite a shock to find somebody else had the same vision as I.

Many of the original songs are good. To be frank, you have a better chance of finding a good song in this show than on the radio these days. Some of the better songs are "Listen", "Different Shapes" "Riding my Bicycle"

I am a mother of a 2 year old boy. He loves absolutely loves Yo Gabba Gabba. It is one of the only shows that he will sit and watch and actually understand the concepts in the show. I have yet to meet a child that is not loud so the show allows my son to play and dance and sing along and get out that extra energy in the morning. Parents need to understand that their child understands at different levels so what may seem boring and lame to them may not be for their child. This show is perfect for children 3 and under. I love this show and recommend the Bed time show for the parents who prefer more quieter shows. It settles my son down for nap time and bedtime. Works like a charm =)If you want a show that entertains your child and supports lessons you teach them about strangers, road danger, caring etc, then this is perfect and it will get your child involved and 'get the wiggles out.'

I started watching kids' shows recently since my son turned 1 this summer. I LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba! It's happy, interesting, brightly-colored, hip, and teaches good lessons. So far it's the only kids' show I love -- Berenstain Bears bores me, Ni-Hao Kai-Lan is a little too precious, and The Wiggles drive me to a frantic search for the remote. (I actually got into a verbal altercation recently with a 2 1/2 year-old who objected to my strong dislike of The Wiggles.) Though Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends is okay, Spiderus's jerkiness notwithstanding, nothing holds a candle to Yo Gabba Gabba. I wish it was on right now.