Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.: Michael Galeota - Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries

Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. aired from January until May 1997 on CBS.

This comedy ran on CBS for 13 episodes and was about a young kid living in his parent's house who secretly rigged up a sophisticated computer system that would video record happenings all around his house through the use of eyeball-shaped hidden cameras. He was supplied equipment by his father who worked at a TV station, though was unaware of what he did with it. Bailey Kipper would provide commentary about his family and his life throughout the show with both wit and insight.

An article on Children's Programming for the fall of 1996 from The New York Times

Fattening Up the Menu for Children's TV
By LAWRIE MIFFLIN
Published: November 3, 1996

CHILDREN'S television keeps growing like Topsy, as networks see more dollars to be made, parents pay closer attention to what their children are watching and children make their own opinions heard. But while new shows keep appearing and a few good ones manage to take root, the sturdiest and strongest competitor in the field, Nickelodeon, just goes on relentlessly taking over more territory.

Even though, as a cable network, Nickelodeon is available in only about 70 percent of American homes, it drew more children to its programs last summer than any of the broadcast networks. The pattern has continued into the fall.

In self-defense, the WB network changed its entire Saturday morning schedule in mid-October. Jamie Kellner, the network's programming chief, said he was doing so largely in response to Nickelodeon's having grabbed audiences away from the broadcast networks. His idea was to reverse the traditional scheduling pattern and put shows geared for older children on early in the morning and shows for younger ones later.

All the maneuvering to compete for children's attention means that there are lots of shows out there. Some are educational, some sheer entertainment, some a mix. To help parents steer a path through that thicket, here are some highlights.

It's a rare show that appeals to both preschoolers and pre-teen-agers. Alas, Big Bird isn't that sort of rara avis, although Tweety Pie may be. Children of school age quickly learn from peers that ''Sesame Street'' is for little kids, while cartoons -- from ''The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries'' to ''The X-Men'' -- are cool.

Most parents of preschoolers still want them to be steeped in ''Sesame Street,'' which each year manages to sprout fresh ideas without losing its charm. But for parents craving a change, or perhaps a supplement to that perennial, two new shows have earned praise from educators and viewers.

Both are on cable: ''Big Bag,'' a co-production of the Children's Television Workshop (creator of ''Sesame Street'') and the Cartoon Network, and ''Blue's Clues,'' a Nickelodeon production shown weekdays at 12:30 P.M. Both make a point of encouraging children to play along with the characters.

''Big Bag'' had such success attracting young children (and parents?) on Sundays at 9 A.M. during the summer that the Cartoon Network added two more showings, on Wednesdays at 11 A.M. and Sundays at 7 A.M. Educational short cartoons, many from other countries, alternate with segments featuring two Muppet-like characters -- Chelli, a dog made of patchwork cloth, and Bag, a cloth bag, who does not speak -- and a human host named Molly. Young viewers are invited to get simple objects like spoons, a paper-towel tube or socks and to join in various imaginative games using the props.

''Blue's Clues'' has the same wide-eyed and delighted tone. Everything is computer-animated except for the host, a young man named Steve. Blue, Steve's mischievous dog, leaves blue paw prints -- Blue's clues -- around their house to help Steve find things. In his ''handy-dandy notebook,'' Steve writes clues: not words, of course, but pictures.

The show presents shape matching, color and counting puzzles much like those on ''Sesame Street,'' but with a twist. The same show is repeated each day for a week, appealing to preschoolers' fondness for watching videos over and over again, and reinforcing the educational concepts and the child's sense of mastery.

For children past the preschool stage but not yet pining to think of themselves as teen-agers, the most popular show on television is still Fox's live-action series ''Goosebumps,'' based on the R. L. Stine horror books.

For those who find ''Goosebumps'' too scary, three engaging shows from last year are back with new episodes: the zany cartoons ''Animaniacs'' and ''Pinky and the Brain,'' on WB on Saturday mornings, and PBS's imaginative weekday afternoon series, ''Wishbone,'' in which a stage-struck Jack Russell terrier plays roles from classic plays and novels.

Among new afternoon shows, PBS's ''Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?'' stands out. This takes the popular geography game show in which the villain, Carmen Sandiego, causes trouble around the world, and transfers it to a new subject, history. The nefarious Carmen, flying her ''eraplane,'' goes back in time to steal things that alter the course of history. Child detectives become ''time pilots,'' with a mission to find Carmen, restore the artifact and put history back on course.

This fall, Nickelodeon set out to capitalize on many parents' distaste for the broadcast networks' scheduling of adult-oriented sitcoms at 8 P.M. by laying claim to another chunk of broadcast territory: the first half-hour of prime time. Pushing its Nick-at-Nite block of old sitcoms back to 8:30, Nick shows children's shows at 8, and most are wacky enough to attract older brothers and sisters and even adults.

Oddly, the one with the biggest names -- a Jim Henson production called ''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,'' and the first television series based on Dr. Seuss's books -- seems the least suited to 8 P.M., because its tone is quite young.

But pre-adolescents do find the other new 8 o'clock series on Nick appealing: ''Hey Arnold!,'' seen Mondays and Wednesdays; ''Kablam!,'' on Fridays, and ''Kenan and Kel,'' a spinoff of the Saturday night sketch comedy ''All That,'' (which still appears at 9 P.M. on Saturdays). One of Nickelodeon's most popular returning series, ''The Secret World of Alex Mack,'' about a teen-age girl with superpowers, appears Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8.

The animated ''Hey Arnold!'' chronicles the adventures of a very savvy fourth grader who lives in a realistically drawn big city, complete with crumbling front stoops, bums and buses and an aging baseball stadium that vaguely resembles Ebbets Field. Arnold, whose head is shaped like a football, and his friend Gerald, whose Afro stands straight up like a top hat, travel about in buses, subways and even taxis, which pick up youngsters sans parents. Those who loved ''Doug,'' one of Nick's most enduring shows, will find Arnold a more hip, but just as sweet, version of Doug Funnie (who has moved on to seventh grade and from Nick to ABC's Saturday morning slate).

On CBS, a new Saturday morning series called ''Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.'' may intrigue the more inquisitive and irreverent 10- to 12-year-olds. Bailey Kipper is an 11-year-old film maker, who has installed tiny secret cameras (''spy balls'')in each room of his house. At night in his attic ''studio,'' he reviews, edits and, yes, manipulates his video diary, with often witty results.

It hasn't done well in the ratings, but watching Bailey Kipper, one can't help thinking that if this show were on Nickelodeon, it would be a hit.

A Review of Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.

KOBA-TV Reviews Bailey Kipper's POV
With Joey Zimmerman
By Ann Brill White

Well, it's about time! I've been trying to catch this Saturday morning show with our favorite little Terrian King, Joey Zimmerman, since it first aired. My local CBS affiliate keeps moving it around. This morning, they managed to put it on at a time that I could actually see it!

Anyway, on with the review...

Bailey Kipper is a precocious 11-year-old who has way too much video equipment for his own good. He has secret "spyballs" mounted all over his house, and sits in his attic spying on the rest of his family. It's an interesting premise, especially since the producers have a maniac manning the video morphing. People's eyes pop out, faces turn all kinds of colors, and that type of thing. Sometimes they'll cut in clips of something else. For example, when Bailey says "The kids at school flipped...", you see a clip of two gymnasts doing flips.

Joey plays the not-too-bright younger brother, Eric. In the episode I saw, he wants to grow five inches by Monday, because it's school picture day. Eric (Joey) ties himself to a door in order to stretch himself out. When that doesn't work, he drinks three quarts of milk in one morning, with predictable results. In the meantime, Bailey's older sister gets her hair done in a purple punker 'do, and spends all episode trying to get rid of it. Bailey's mom is making him a vest, which is uglier than a Grendler's tush. (Sorry, Jeff Deist. You have a nice tush...) Anyway, everything works out in the end, except that Bailey's mom decides to make more ugly vests.

This is a cute, fast-paced kid's show that was recently rated one of the best children's shows by TV Guide. While it's a bit saccharine for adults, I can see kids really getting into it. Our little Joey continues to amaze me with his acting ability. While he doesn't get much of a chance to act like a spooky Terrian, he reminds me a lot of the manic little Ulysses Adair that we all know and love. I give it four spyballs out of five, and a recommendation to anyone with kids to check this out!

For more on Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailey_Kipper's_P.O.V.