Recess! Media

Here’s Karen Stembridge on the Internet to tell us about a new generation – “Generation O.”

One of my happiest childhood memories is of curling up in the big chair in the living room Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. Armed with a bowl of dry Cheerios, I’d settle in to watch the Superfriends, Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, and Bugs Bunny.

As an adult, I’ve loved watching the Simpsons, King of the Hill, and yes, I confess, South Park. But these aren’t shows I’d watch with young children. So as an about-to-be-mom, I’ve been searching the networks for programs that are today’s counterparts t the cartoon shows I loved as a kid.

There’s a wonderful new animated series airing on Fridays at 4L30 on the WB Network. It’s called “Generation O!” The series main character is an 8-year old girl named Molly O, who happens to be the lead singer of an internationally famous rock band. Rounding out the cast of characters are Molly’s mother, the assistant fire chief, her father, a cheese taster at the Fond Du Lac Cheese Factory, her annoying older brother Buzz, and her best friend Chadd.

In an episode called “Girls Rule”, Molly’s brother Buzz rudely sabotages her website. To work out some of her anger toward her brother, Molly writes a song called “Girls Rule, Boys Drool”. When she plays it for her family, her father cautions her that the lyrics may hurt some of her boy friends’ feelings. This warning is overheard by Buzz, and unfortunately it gives him an idea. He steals a tape of the song, takes it to the creepy local radio personality and has him play it, and before Molly knows it, every boy in her class hates her, including her friend Chadd.

Ah, yes, it’s moral of the story time, time for Molly to find a way to make things right. And she does. But Generation O’s style is not cloying, annoying, or patronizing. Just matter of fact. And the fact that Molly has rational, involved, aware parents to guide her makes this show stand out from so many of the other cartoon offerings where authority figures are mocked, ridiculed, or simply absent.

There are many things that are refreshing about Generation O and one of them is the music. The show’s creators took a pretty big risk by promising a full-length, original song to further the plot of each episode. But the music, written and performed by the Boston band, Letters to Cleo, is really great. In fact, if you didn’t listen carefully to the lyrics, you’d think this music was emanating from the stereo system of a passing Volkswagen Jetta filled with high schoolers, not from a TV show for little kids.

Fans are also invited to log on to the Generation O website, which is kind of fun because it’s tied into the show. What I mean is that Molly O’s best friend Chadd is also her webmaster. When Chadd makes a change to Molly’s website during the course of the TV episode, fans can log on to the actual Internet site to see the updates. It’s an interesting gimmick, and one I hop the producers will continue to develop.

Friday afternoon, check out this week’s episode of Generation O with your kids. If you are a cartoon aficionada, or if you just want to tune in to a decent show for kids, this is one program that will get the whole family’s toes tapping.

Generation O: www.generationo.com