Writer reminisces about simpler time in TV

What happened to the days of kids' shows where a group of teenagers in brightly colored costumes would kick some ass and save the world on a weekly basis?

Or a puppet with a serious cookie addiction would help teach kids the alphabet while still fighting an ongoing battle with his fetish for chocolate chip and, very likely, a life-threatening case of diabetes?

When I was a kid, shows on Saturday mornings were actually good. They were good because everybody knew shows like Captain Planet and Doug were meant to educate and entertain – nothing more.

Nobody cared that Bert and Ernie lived together like a closeted gay couple. And we just overlooked the fact that Miss Piggy was constantly sexually harassing Kermit.

What happened?

Sometime in the last two decades, somebody somewhere decided kids' shows like "Looney Tunes" were more than they really are. Some parents got it in their heads these shows were teaching their children to lead lives filled with violence, hedonism or something else equally ludicrous.

What really happened is parents would let their children watch these shows without explaining to them they could not jump off of cliffs, like Wylie Coyote, and live to talk about it. They failed to tell their children they could not live a healthy lifestyle on a diet that mirrored that of the Cookie Monster's diet.

And so, because a few children got hurt and a few more got a little pudgy from bingeing on cookies, the decision was made to start making kids' shows that are "politically correct." Otherwise referred to as "PC," becoming "politically correct" meant shows would now be filtered and transformed into programs that would not be offensive to anybody regardless of race, religion, gender, etc.

Once children's shows started going "PC," they started to lose the luster that made them the shows I loved.

Today, we have shows like "Dora the Explorer," where a young Latina girl goes on admittedly nonsensical adventures with her pet monkey, talking map, and anthropomorphic backpack. While I am all for teaching children new things, the fact Dora speaks both English and Spanish to a predominantly English speaking audience is where I have an issue. Dora is Latina and her adventures take place in Central and South America. So why is it necessary for her to speak English at all? Why not just air the show on a Spanish television network in Spanish only?

The worst part is some shows that were not generated under the umbrella of "PC" are now starting to change and conform so as not to offend anybody.

"Sesame Street" is now changing fundamental elements of the fantastic educational show we grew up watching. In order to promote a more nutrition-conscious agenda, the once lovable and sweet-toothed Cookie Monster is slowly being turned into the "Vegetable Monster" armed with the maxim "cookies are a sometimes snack."

Some parents may feel better about the television their kids are watching, but that certainly does not make these poor excuses for children shows okay. Parents are happy because they are no longer required to teach their children the difference between television and reality but, as I said, this does not make "political correctness" acceptable.

The only thing "PC" television shows have done is to limit the imagination of children and tie the hands of formerly entertaining children show creators.

I think I share the sentiment of every person that grew up in the 90s when I say I now mourn the death of the good, "politically incorrect" shows of my childhood.