farewell neighbor

PBS is cutting Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

See this in the Chicago Tribune.

Two things:

-1-

Ware wants his daughter Clara, 3, to be able to watch the show because, while it may seem peculiar to adults, it was a carefully calibrated work of art that taught children about real life, he said.

"The show is fundamentally about clumsy, awkward, uncomfortable real life, and it's one of the last places on television where children can see it honestly reflected (regardless of the 1980s clothing and 1970s cars, which young kids don't notice, anyway)," he wrote. "With very little camera editing on the program, it also 'feels' more real."

Brilliant.

and

-2-
The article also includes:

One actor, David Newell, who played the Speedy Delivery carrier Mr. McFeely, said he's touched that people still want to see a show that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Um...yeah. Today, there could never be a character named "McFeely" who "touches" people.

Except maybe on Grey's Anatomy.