What the heck is Barbapapa you're asking? Well who knows! When I tried to describe just what it was, I got laughed at...or more like, I couldn't stop laughing myself at just thinking it. The best way to put it is, they are a family of blobs. Yes, you read right, it was a cheesy show based on an 9 member blob family that had the amazing ability to transform themselves into all sorts of shapes. Who would have though blobs could change shapes, huh?

Anyways, it provided a good half hour, I think, of entertainment for me growing up. And yes, there were times when I wished I was a member of the Barbapapa family...ok, stop laughing!

Their names are as follows: Barbapapa, Barbamama, Barbalala, Barbazoo, Barbalib, Barbabeau, Barbabelle, Barbabright and Barbabravo.

Ah, Hammy Hamster...one of my favourite shows of all time. I was recently reminded of this wonderful show by the Hamster Dance song, and when I heard it was still showing, I had to check it out. I frantically flipped through the TV Guide, trying to find it, but I couldn't. I started feeling like it was all a hoax...sadness set in. Wanting to see my little buddy once again, I had the idea of searching online for him. To my surprise, I came across a number of sites that had him. The icing on the cake came when one of those sites happened to be YTV, a station that still aired the show! But why didn't I see it in the TV Guide!? Well it's simple, the show is no longer called "Hammy Hamster", it's now "Once Upon A Hamster." There was joy in Mudville once again! The hard part now is to wake up at 6:30am just to watch the show, ugh!

Here's a brief description of the show:

Main Characters: Hammy himself, GP the Guinea Pig, Martha Mouse, Turtle the Tortoise, the Wise Old Frog, Granny Rabbit and Storyman

Residence: The Riverbank...a quiet little place full of adventure and mystery

Character Bios:

• Hammy- the most curious of the bunch; lives in an old boot that came floating downstream. Had help from his friends converting it into a cozy little home
• GP the Guinea Pig- the most inventive little guinea pig I've ever seen. He's one of those that likes to boast about himself, but that doesn't stop others from liking him, mainly because he has an inventive little mind has led him to create such things as his own aeroplane, car, hot air balloon, recyclamobile and his own winchamabob
• Martha Mouse- She's the Joey Potter of the Riverbank, and happens to be Hammy's best friend. She likes to pay Hammy visits in her little motorboat. As the case with all guys, Hammy is no different...he seems attracted to her for her boat because he always seems like he wants to go for a ride. I guess there could be more to it than that though. Afterall, she is a cute little mouse...I guess?
• Turtle the Tortoise- He's as slow as turtles get, but he's not your ordinary turtle, he's a smart turtle! He's the one you want around when there are tough problems to be solved. He's usually the first one to solve them, proving that turtles may be slow, but they come through in the crunch
• The Wise Old Frog- A grumpy old character, but once you get to know him, he's nothing more than harmless creature, full of knowledge. He's the one you want to go to for advice on anything
• Granny Rabbit- She's the granny to everybody. She does all the nice things granny's are supposed to do for their "grandchildren", such as baking pies, cakes and cookies, she teaches her grandbunnies how to sing and she's the Riverbank's greatest storyteller. If you thought that was quite a bit, you haven't seen her play the organ! Yes, it's true, Granny can play a mean organ
• Storyman- We can't leave out Storyman now, he's the only human around the area, sort of bringing everything together. He likes to sit and watch all that's happening at the Riverbank and tell us all the little stories, hence his name. Now if I could only get a job like that!

Mr. Dressup...talk about a show that had everything! The best part of this show for me was his constant arts and crafts segments. I use to have my construction paper all ready with me, just so I could follow along and make things as he did them. I tried to draw like him, though my sketches ended up looking like a log cabin after a major fire ripped through it. Ah well, we all can't be Ernie Coombs now, can we!

For those that don't know, Mr. Dressup is Ernie Coombs, if that wasn't obvious enough. His sidekicks were the ever talkative Casey and Finnegan the non-speaking dog (my favourite character), yet he would whisper to everyone and they could hear him. There were some side characters such as Alligator Al and Aunt Bird, but they weren't impressive to me.

You always knew when it was dressup time the moment you saw them head over to the Tickle Trunk...how I so wanted his magician's cape and wand everytime he put it on! Once they were all decked out in their costumes, they would have their little storybook adventure for us all to see...ah yes, the good ol' days!

Casey and Finnegan both lived in a treehouse in the backyard, while Mr. Dressup lived in the house, or so we assume. There were never any shots of other rooms in there, so we're not sure where he lived. Oh well, I didn't care and I'm sure none of you do either.

I wasn't the only person to think this show was quality, the people that matter also did, and so the show received the prestigious Earle Grey Award for excellence in television in 1994 from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. In 1996, Ernie Coombs was given the highest award a citizen in this country could get, the Order of Canada for his outstanding contribution to Canada and for being an upstanding Canadian. He also received the First Annual Children's Award for Excellence...all I have to say is that I'm sad he retired, but the show lives on in syndication...all hail Mr. Dressup!

Who doesn't love a German Shepherd? Once you see this show, you'll just love all of them, I promise you that!
This little guy was the main character and went by the name "Hobo". The general idea of the show was about a dog that wandered the countryside, briefly entering people's lives, helping them in their time of need, then moving on to the next town to do his next good deed.

You wouldn't believe how fascinated I was about this show, I wanted a dog just like that. I would have even named him London, after Hobo's real name. But instead, I had to settle for watching him right after school, everyday and putting up with comments like "you're watching that again?", "haven't you gotten enough of that yet?" or "didn't that episode air last week?". I didn't care, it was me and Hobo, and my peanut butter sandwich.

The theme song was also a catchy little thing, I could still remember every line of it...yes, I'm weird, but so what!

Here it is, for those of you that have never heard it:

There's a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road. That's where I'll always be
Oh, every stop I make, I make a new friend
Can't stay for long. Just turn around, and I'm gone again
Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep movin' on
So, if you want to join me for awhile
Just grab your hat, and we'll travel light. That's hobo style
Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep movin' on
Until tomorrow, the whole world is my home

This wasn't one show that I saw too much of because I never knew when it would show, but it was one that I enjoyed. It reminds me of Dawson's Creek, but without any plot...oh wait, that's what Creek is all about...nevermind!

This was basically about twins, Annie and Tom, who keep getting into trouble. To save their bacon, and have another episode the following week, they figured their way out of these jams by using scientific methods. Only they would be able to figure that out. I would just sit there and go "ok, that's what you have to do? How am I supposed to remember that! I'm going to be in trouble if I'm stuck in a situation like that! Oh man!"

Wish I had pictures to show you of them, but unfortunately there weren't any last time I looked. Ah well, I'll just leave you with the actor names, incase you're interested...Annie Edison was played by Marnie McPhail and Tom Edison was played by Andrew Sabiston.