Courtesy: PBS/PBS Distribution/PBS Kids
Next Tuesday, PBS Kids and PBS Distribution will release the latest collection of episodes from PBS Kids’ family favorite series Daniel Tiger’s Neighrborhood. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Super Daniel will be released Tuesday, February 2nd. The single-disc collection is the series’ tenth to be released since the series originally premiered on PBS Kids a little more than three years ago. This September will mark the series’ fourth anniversary. Much as with its predecessors this DVD offers plenty of enjoyment for kids and adults alike beginning with its featured episodes and their stories. The stories in question are completely relatable for parents and children alike. That is because of the fact that they are just as real in Daniel Tiger’s world as they are in the real world. This will be discussed shortly. The lessons that are taught through each of the featured episodes are just as important to this DVD as the stories. The lessons presented in each of the featured episodes are not the only lessons presented in the DVD. As with most PBS Kids DVDs, this DVD also features extra lessons inside the DVD’s case. In the case of this DVD case is an extra lesson included as bonus material of sorts. It rounds out the DVD’s overall presentation to make the DVD complete. They work together with the DVD’s other noted features to make Daniel Tiger’s latest DVD a *ahem* super new collection of episodes.
PBS Kids’ latest collection of episodes from its family favorite series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is a “super” new collection. This is exhibited mainly through the episodes that make up the boy of the DVD. The stories in question continue on the series’ tradition of presenting rea world situations in a fashion that are easily accessible for children yet entertaining enough that even adults will find themselves enjoying them. “Daniel’s Friends Say No” and “Prince Wednesday Doesn’t Want To Play” are prime examples of that accessibility and entertainment offered in these episodes. Both episodes see Daniel facing the situation of his friend wanting to spend time by themselves for once. These episodes mark the first time that the show’s writers had tackled this issue as in every other episode Daniel and his friends are almost always together. The second of the two stories sees not only Daniel but O The Owl facing the prospect of not being included. This shows young audiences that such a situation happens to everyone, not just themselves. Yet it also allows Daniel and O to still play together, thus turning around something bad and making it good. In other words, it ties back in to a previous lesson taught in another episode all while keeping the main story focused. Throughout the course of both episodes, the writers pay special attention to how Daniel and O are told by their friends that they want to play alone. They are not told in a mean or forceful manner. Rather it is told in a gentle yet very childlike fashion. As minor as it seems this element is extremely important to the story’s ability to reach its young audiences. That is because it subtlely emphasizes that Daniel and O’s friends are not being mean. Rather they just want sometimes to play alone. Prince Wednesday and Prince Tuesday even come back over to Daniel and O at the end of “Prince Wednesday Doesn’t Want To Play” to invite them over for a “Friends Day” later. That simple act of kindness is something that every parent tries to instill in his and/or her child(ren). To that extent it is one more way in which the stories presented in this DVD prove to be so important to the DVD’s overall presentation.
On another note, “Daniel Is Big Enough To Help Dad” is another prime example of why the stories featured in these episodes are so important to the DVD’s overall presentation. This episode sees Daniel wanting to be like his dad as his dad works on his playhouse. He wants to use tools and paint just like his dad. Every young child reaches that point where he or she wants to emulate a parent. This critic’s own son is at that age at which he wants to be just like his dad, cooking in the kitchen. So it makes this episode’s story just as relatable especially for adults. What’s more it is an important episode for parents to watch as it shows smart ways to tackle that all important stage of life in which children model their parents. Daniel’s dad doesn’t discourage him. Rather he finds a way that Daniel can help him but do so safely at the same time. It shows just how important this series (and not just this episode) is for adults as it is for children. And it isn’t the only episode featured here that emphasizes the importance of the show’s episodes to all of its audiences. “Daniel Fixes Trolley” proves to be just as important for children and adults as does “Daniel Tries A New Food” and basically every other episode featured here.” Keeping all of this in mind, it should be clear by now just how important the stories presented in each featured episode are to the DVD’s overall presentation. They are just one element of the DVD that makes it so “super,” too. The lessons that are taught throughout the episodes are just as important as the stories featured in each episode.
The stories that are presented in each of the DVD’s featured episodes are in themselves of great importance to the DVD’s overall presentation. Of course they are just one element of the whole that should be noted. The lessons that are presented in the featured episodes are just as important as the episodes’ stories. “Daniel Fixes Trolley” teaches young viewers the important lesson of self-reliance and independence at a basic level. By having Daniel fix his trolley on his own, Daniel’s mom teaches him that he doesn’t need to rely on them for everything. Sure, it’s okay to rely on his parents for somethings. But what she is doing is showing him that at his age, he needs to start doing a little bit on his own. It is an extremely important developmental lesson that audiences of all ages will appreciate and just one example of the importance of the lessons presented throughout this DVD’s featured episodes. “Daniel’s New Friend” teaches a different lesson that is just as important for young viewers as any of the others presented in these episodes. This episode sees Daniel meeting a girl who has what appears to be cerebral palsy. Because of her condition, Daniel keeps trying to help her. But she shows Daniel that she can still do things just fine for herself despite her condition. The lesson is obvious: Just because someone might have a certain condition, paying special attention to that condition is not always the best thing. This applies even when one thinks that going out of one’s way to help is the right thing. In fact sometimes doing just that only makes things worse for all involved. It’s just one more example of how the lessons presented in these episodes prove to be just as important to the DVD’s presentation as the stories presented in each episode. Even as important as they and the other featured lessons are to the DVD’s overall presentation they are not the only important lessons included in this disc. There is also an extra lesson included inside the DVD’s case as bonus material of sorts. They round out the DVD’s most notable elements.
Both the stories presented in this DVD’s episodes and their lessons are of equal importance to the DVD’s overall presentation. While both elements are of equal importance to the DVD’s overall presentation, they are not the DVD’s only notable elements. The bonus lesson included inside the DVD’s case are just as important as those elements. The lesson in question presents adults with a group of ways to encourage children’s imaginary play. At the same time it also notes the importance of imaginary play in children’s social and emotional development, thus making the lesson all the more important to the DVD’s overall presentation. Getting back on the subject at hand, the lesson is taught having children have a dress up box in which they keep capes, crowns, uniforms, jewelry, and much more depending on the situation. The box can hold the costumes and children can pick and choose their costumes of choice. They can even choose costumes to use for a show for family and friends. Another suggestion that is included in the DVD’s bonus lesson is to use familiar objects. It encourages the us of play versions of phones, kitchen tools, cash registers, and much more in conjunction with the costumes in the dress box as part of children’s imaginary play. There is also the suggestion of having parents use puppets that can be made with their children. Whether through the creation and use of said puppets, famlair objects, or for the costume box and costumes, it can be said of all three that each could easily be realistically used to help children in their imaginary play. They are pieces that can be made and used both in the classroom and the living room. And being so easy to make and use, they make the bonus lesson all the more important to the DVD’s bonus lesson. That bonus works in whole with the lessons featured in the DVD’s episodes and their associated stories to make the DVD’s overall viewing experience a truly “super” experience for audiences of all ages.
The overall viewing experience in PBS Kids’ new Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood DVD is a “super” experience to say the very least. That is thanks in large part to the stories that are presented in each of the DVD’s featured episodes. The lessons that are included in each story are just as important to the episodes as their stories. The bonus lesson that is included inside the DVD’s case rounds out the whole thing, completing the DVD’s viewing experience. Each element is important in its own right to the DVD’s overall viewing experience. Altogether, they make the DVD’s overall viewing experience and the DVD in whole simply super. It will be available in stores and online Tuesday, February 2nd. It can be pre-ordered online now direct via PBS’ online store at http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=81189156&cp=&sr=1&kw=daniel+tigers+neighborhood+super+daniel&origkw=Daniel+Tiger%27s+Neighborhood+Super+Daniel&parentPage=search. More information on this and other Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood DVDs is available online now along with all of the latest news from the series at:
Website: http://pbskids.org/daniel
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/danieltigertv
To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 