Funny you guys should mention "Black On White On Fire" actually. When I watched that episode with my boy, it was the one he asked the most questions about!
Should younger children be allowed to watch QL?
- Thread starter jmellissa
- Start date
I thought I'd weigh in as the mother of three. I agree with MJ's very thoughtful post above, regarding the history/social topic aspect of the show. My oldest is 9, a boy, and man, I can't even put in a QL DVD without him hovering over my shoulder. So I pick the ones I let him see with an eye toward (1) subject matter and (2) sexual situations. Violence is usually not an issue because it tends to be bloodless and in context on this show. Usually I'll pick the more mellow ones, like Leaping Without A Net, or How the Tess was Won, since they have exciting, tense moments that a 9-year old would enjoy. I would not let him see BoWoF yet - it's very violent, and I don't think a child that age would really get the payoff. Other ones I'd avoid for my kid would be Shock Theatre (he just wouldn't get it), and the B**man (too creepy). Seasons 4 and 5 got much more mature so, while I have those on tape, I probably wouldn't watch those with him now, except the more comedic ones like The Wrong Stuff and Leaping of the Shrew. I also use the fast-forward option if I think a scene is inappropriate (e.g., "This is a kissing scene, so I'm going to move past it, okay?" He thinks kissing is fascinatingly icky, so he doesn't mind). He lets me do the mom thing (Why do you think Sam doesn't want his sister to marry that guy? It is because the guy hits her? Do you think that's a good thing to do?) without rolling his eyes too much.
Al's comments go right over his head, and really, they're not that explicit anyway. And the language is mild, so no worries there. As you may have guessed, we're pretty strict on ratings and guidelines. PG-13 means what it means, and unless we've seen it first and decide that it's over-rated (like School of Rock), PG-13 means it ain't happening in my house. Most QL episodes are PG, and the ones that aren't get skipped or paused when the kids are in the room.
Al's comments go right over his head, and really, they're not that explicit anyway. And the language is mild, so no worries there. As you may have guessed, we're pretty strict on ratings and guidelines. PG-13 means what it means, and unless we've seen it first and decide that it's over-rated (like School of Rock), PG-13 means it ain't happening in my house. Most QL episodes are PG, and the ones that aren't get skipped or paused when the kids are in the room.
bluedana said:
You're much cooler than my mother. When I was 9 and wanted to watch Quantum Leap, she made me go to bed.
bluedana said:
Then again, if my parents hassled me like this while I was watching QL, I'd have thrown a fit. If I'd've known I could actually learn things from the show, I might have been more wary about watching it. :lol
bluedana said:
Al's comments went right over my head at that age, too. I had no idea he was a dirty-minded lech until the Sci-Fi channel began airing the show and I was able to watch it from the beginning. I was in for quite a shock... Fortunately, Al is humorous rather than disgusting. And I like him all the more now that I understand him.
Heh. So far he doesn't see it as being hassled. He asks a lot of questions during the show, too, so it's an ongoing discussion. He gets a kick out of my asking him how he thinks Sam will solve the problem, and he's often right. The pause and rewind buttons get a lot of exercise. The interesting thing is that sometimes it's days later, and he'll come up with a question or comment about an episode that he's been thinking about. It's a good thing I have most of the darned things memorized!
I think it's a superb show, and nothing could be better than it (well, except for the blood moon episode... talk about a hokey episode! LOL!) for children. ESPECIALLY "Black on White on Fire"!! That episode is about deteriorating race relations, life, death, ignorance, wisdom... it was superb! IF you go into it with an open mind!
Even thought i am able to get most of the things that AL says I get kinda imbearessed if I am watching it with say my mom and dad or my boyfriend. Most of the time I can see the hummor and over look what was really said. My mom really likes Al and she says that hes just be sassy. I do agare but I Al can still make me blush
no and again.
no and again.
jmellissa said:Even thought i am able to get most of the things that AL says I get kinda imbearessed if I am watching it with say my mom and dad or my boyfriend. Most of the time I can see the hummor and over look what was really said. My mom really likes Al and she says that hes just be sassy. I do agare but I Al can still make me blush
lol, i get kind of embarassed as well when i am watching with my mom, but she just thinks Al's silly, and likes to tease about Sam's behind as i may have described somewhere else. lol.
it was funny we were watching leap for lisa and my mom said something about his rear in the Navel uniform, and i actually said
"watch it mom, that's my man you're talking about"
and sure enough after she made a funny crack to me, she shut up.:roflmao: