On October 10, 2010, Discover Kids became The Hub after entering a joint venture with Hasbro. I confess I had no idea this had occurred. However, since then my family and I began watching more and more shows on The Hub, not realizing we were tapping into a new channel.
Our first TiVo recording on The Hub was Family Game Night, a life-sized version of the board games and video games with competitions in Connect 4, Sorry Sliders and other Hasbro games. Next was Fraggle Rock, the puppet version; my kids and I love the animated version, and watching Boober, Gobo and Wembley in bigger softer bodies is just as fun. When I started recording My Little Pony for my daughter, I finally realized all these warm and fuzzy family shows were on The Hub. (Okay, keep your lectures about how much TV my kids watch to yourselves.)
I went to www.hubworld.com and discovered all these great characters I had loved that I can now share with my family: Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake and Pound Puppies. I don't care that a lot of the shows are based on toys. Stories about beloved characters, whether in a book, on TV or playing pretend with toys, brings that world closer.
Not all The Hub shows are based on toys, of course. Meerkat Manor is a fascinating peek into the dynamics of wildlife. Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? may be based on merchandise, but that doesn't mean the show isn't teaching a heap of geography and anthropology while watching it.
The Hub is a channel packed with kid-friendly, sometimes educational, always safe programming that I really enjoy sharing with my family.
Comments
I’m in the UK, so I’ve not got most of these shows, but I’ve been seeing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on air more recently, which I have to say would be the best cartoon of the year. There also needs to be a detailed article on it, although I don’t know how much I can do to help.
Fraggle Rock was also brilliant, though it was ages since I had watched it with my friends.