NEWS: Children\'s Television Sexwork

CULTURE: Children's Television Sexwork

Whenever I watch a movie or a television show meant for children, I speculate about the adult minds behind it. It's a confounding exercise, with more questions than answers. What sort of hideous Phantom of the Opera face does the poor doomed soul inside the Barney suit have? What brand of sadist writes those infernal songs he sings? Are the Teletubbies writers kept in a pen somewhere with an MDMA IV drip?



So when the news broke that Melanie Martinez, the host of some god-awful-sounding PBS children's program The Good Night Show was revealed to have once participated in adult oriented material, my head fairly reeled.



Evidently, in 1999, Martinez starred in a commercial parody for now defunct website technicalvirgin.com. The short ads hit the comedy trifecta of prudery, sex toys and doing it in the butt.



Despite how Martinez made the videos seven years ago, PBS canned her. PBS, which has come under increased Republican scrutiny over the last couple of years, said they feared the video would "undermine her character's credibility with our audience."



This is bullshit of the highest sort. After all, Blue's Clues survived the urban legend about its original host dying from heroin. I'm sure The Good Night Show could have handled a good old fashioned sodomy gag.

would the kids watching her show be watching that commercial....

Now this will just force the parents to explain to them why a beloved character is suddenly off their favourite show, and THEN is when they'll have to teach their kids about porno. Way to go, Republicans!

Shel Silverstein actually produced a lot of "Adult" material, some of which was published in Playboy, but that didn't seem to affect sales of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, or Where the Sidewalk Ends.

she's cute =)

It's Pee Wee all over again. Sometimes I still wish we had internet back then, so Paul could have easily satiated his carnal needs in private rather than ruin an awesome career.

We did have VHS players and dirty magazines. He didn't want to do it in private.

Have you all watched Death to Smootchie? Pretty much the same concept. All those children hosts have the same agenda, too keep their ratings up. I for one cant believe that one woman cant even keep a job just cause she made fun of getting her back door poked at. Infact Paul Ruben did stand up comedy as the character Pee Wee Herman, it was funny as hell. Granted I saw it when I was fifteen and got the refferences he used, also they where of the adult nature, but still none the less. If there is going to be a witch hunt against people in the industry of entertaining children, then I think we should just get rid of them all, and I do mean ALL childrens programs and send the little ones to play outside, get them little obiese crumb grinders out of the house and out doing something. Thats my whole take on it

Anal sex is the answer.

Here I thought this was going to be a Meet the Feebles thread.....

"Sodomy ... give it a chance and you'll follow me"

Ha! That's funny, but kind of sad. My kids like "The Good Night Show"...I wonder if they'll ask where Miss Melanie went.

And editing it after actually watching the video, it's quite hilarious to hear the same voice I hear introducing "Bob the Builder" and singing nursery rhymes...talking about vibrators.