(editor's note: a full review of the TV series is available here)
In my review of the television series Timmy Time, I wrote that "while the show may be imparting positive messages to youngsters and doing so in a way they will enjoy, it does little to convince an adult audience that they at all want to sit down with their offspring…and watch with them." Timmy Time, a spinoff of Shaun the Sheep which in turn is a spinoff of Wallace & Gromit takes the youngest member of Shaun's flock, Timmy, and sends him off to preschool where he learns important lessons about right and wrong. A good idea? Certainly, it's just that the execution leaves something to be desired.
After watching the five episodes that are included on the DVD Timmy Time: Timmy Steals the Show, I can confirm that the impressions
from the episodes I watched on the screener are in fact accurate — the show is so relentlessly geared towards a younger audience that parents are going to tune out the entire affair before the opening song finishes. Everything about it is cloyingly sweet, overly simplistic, and relatively dull.
It really is a shame that this is the case as Timmy Time is done with Aardman's usual attention to detail and certainly an attempt is made to make the show amusing, it's just that it's only meant to be amusing for those barely starting to be aware of television. One can't deny the amount of effort that has gone into not just the stop-motion work, but also in conceiving of plots that might be relatable to the youngest members of any television audience, but it really is done at the exclusion of those who watch with that audience.
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Article comments
1 - Jack
Whereas the Shaun the Sheep DVDs are great, the Timmy Time shows are down with a lot of computer generated backgrounds, which really diminishes the appeal of the show. It watches like an ordinary saturday morning cartoon instead of the entertaining-for-the-whole-family Shaun shows. I have my doubts as to whether many of the Shaun the Sheep creators are really involved with the Timmy shows.
2 - Teacherandmother
I completely disagree with this review. As a working mother of a 19 month old, I try to make every moment I spend with my child count. One of our favorite past times is to sit down and watch an episode of Timmy Time on Netflix. I can safely say we've seen the same ten episodes about 100 times and it still remains fresh not only for me, but for my daughter. I think the story telling is ingenious, that it leaves much to the imagination and challenges my child to read the behavioral cues of the characters to make inferences about what is actually going on. Of the TV shows that are available to children today Timmy Time is one of those few programs that encourage the child to think.