A Duck Is Not a Duck Without His Hat

Tonight, when Jenn asked Nate what he wanted to watch before bed and rattled off the DVR choices, I have to admit I took a rooting interest. He picked Bob the Builder, and I snuck off to the computer for a few minutes. Had he picked Peep, I would have stayed.

Peep and the Big Wide World is a quasi-educational cartoon that teaches kids about various nature and science concepts in a wide-eyed, hey-look-neato kind of way. The emphasis on discovery isn't unlike that of Oobi, except these birds conjugate verbs. But aside from that, the show's just so darn sweet and innocent, and also features one of the great comic characters in all of kids' TV: Quack, a blue-hued duck who looks absolutely nothing like a duck, yet spends his days (a) composing and crooning songs about the general awesomeness of his species, (b) entangling the trusting Peep and the skeptical Chirp in some misadventure or another, or (c) chilling out underwater with a school of fish who idolize him.

Of course, Jenn says I like Peep because Joan Cusack narrates it, but that discounts the show's sharp writing, simple-but-gorgeous animation, and neat banjo soundtrack. Now, I'm not tossing it into my top 50 or anything, because, although I'm taken with the show, it hasn't won my heart in quite the way that, say, Wonder Pets has. (Jenn today, when I mentioned two upcoming entries: "Let me get this straight. Wonder Pets is ahead of The X-Files?") I'm just saying Peep is cool and funny and heartwarming, that's all.

It's certainly better than Barney and Friends, yet another show Nate has recently discovered (thanks, hon), which imparts that everyone is equally special, and has also taught me five very important words: at least it's not Dora.