me: "I'll just watch this cute video about puppets, that'll help keep my anxiety down."

Kevin: " On april 29th, 1992..."

The show would frustrate me whenever characters who meant well would get in trouble for something they didn't think about, because I had to deal with that all the time as a barely-lived child. I still watched the show because I liked the characters, but later on, I did appreciate how it made me think outside the box in terms of being a nice person. For instance, preschool taught me that you needed to say "please" if you want something, while Puzzle Place taught me that you shouldn't expect others to do what you want just because you said "please".

It frustrates me that all these first rate shows that cost millions to produce somehow end up losing half their episodes to time. I hope they are recovered someday.

Shoutout to the " Boy Bullies Girl " storyline not ending in "He must just like you."
So many kids shows do that. It's often not reality.

If only I had an option four, where I could call Sinbad and everything works out.

Okay, extra large kudos on the handling of Ben putting Jodie's menorah on the Christmas tree. It's one thing to try to show kids that they should be inclusive of other cultures, but it's a step above  that to go "Sometimes you attempts at making people feel included will end up upsetting them, and you have to take that seriously and  not just assume that it should be okay just because you had good intentions."

"oh boy a new defunctland about a wacky comedic puppet show I wonder how this will start"
Rodney King riots
oh

I was watching this show as a kid when my dad walked in and saw a male character discuss feeling sad. He immediately changed the channel, saying he didn't want me watching "that kind of garbage". It took me a long time to figure out what he meant by that. There was an attitude of "you can express joy or nothing, so don't even learn about anything else." I'm so happy to see the newer generations not tolerating that crap, in part thanks to growing up with shows like this one.

The moment I heard the voice of Leon, I knew instantly it was Noel. He’s got such a distinct voice. Plus, it’s hard not to hear Bear when he talks.

There should be a Defunct TV episode that starts 30,000 years ago with some of the first evidence of stories in caves and keeps narrowing down to whatever Childrens Show he's talking about

Please don’t ever change the DefunctTV theme song, it’s straight jammies.

Sesame Street in 2021: Hey everyone! We have our very first Asian American puppet!
The Puzzle Place in 1994: Am I a joke to you?

Why are puppets so in touch with their feelings?

They're felt!


I'll see myself out, thanks

"They often featured conflicts on a personal level"

Oh, I guess the writers must've tiptoed around more serious and blatant racism adults can display sometimes-

"In another episode Leon is invited to Jimmy's Birthday party, but Jimmy's mother does not want him to come"

Spits out water

When I was a kid, I loved this show because I saw a Jewish kid being represented, furthermore, she spoke about very real situations. I loved that the show gave kids real, subtle examples of prejudice and how to have a respectful conversation about race/identity. While many 90's shows embraced multiculturalism, I think The Puzzle Place was one of the few that hit the mark.

Wow, I literally never would have assumed Rodney King’s beating and the L.A. riots were somehow connected to a PBS children’s show, but here we are…..

Wow, didn’t expect this episode to open with the Rodney King trials!

I vividly remember the episode where they briefly meet Earth Wind and Fire, which lead me to ask my dad to learn more about classic rock - this lead to my lifelong love of music that we both share.

This show had a personal impact on me as a kid, Kiki's character in particular. I grew up with a speech impediment and the issues her character explained about being harassed for her accent was the closest example I had to seeing my own issues being represented on TV as a kid. I loved this show, I wish I could remember it better than I do now

This was such a good, gentle, very real show. It breaks my heart that episodes have been lost and that the rights are such a mess that they can't be released. It was really just so shockingly good and ahead of its time.