Say No to Flipper!

Who could possibly object to Flipper?

The fine folks at NAFBRAT, that’s who.

NAFBRAT is the acronym for one of the do-gooder groups that declared what kids should and shouldn’t watch. We’ve had a couple of posts about them on this blog before. The fact they found Pat Boone objectionable may indicate how much credibility they deserved.

The group’s biggest concern seems to have been violence. Roy Rogers came under the ire of tongue-cluckers because he fired a gun (would they be praising him under the Second Amendment today?). At the end of the decade, other activists were aghast that cereal box mascots were starring in a half-hour cartoon show, but that didn’t bother NAFBRAT in 1965.

Here is the group’s report for that year, as reported in the Miami Herald of March 17, 1965.

What a Survey Says of Children’s Shows
By JACK ANDERSON
Herald Radio-TV Editor
PARENTS who care what their moppets are viewing on television may be interested in some of the evaluations made by the National Association for Better Radio and Television of kids’ show in its just issued manual, “Television for the Family.”
NAFBRAT, headquartered in Los Angeles, has been riding herd on TV programming for some 16 years.
The latest survey contains 76 pages of evaluations of 344 network and syndicated programs—current, in rerun or just recently deceased.

NAFBRAT devotes attention to the viewing fare for every age level of the family but it’s particularly concerned with suitable for children. And what it considers suitable—and vice versa—may surprise you.
For example, NBC’s Flipper, contrary to what you might expect, is not, in NAFBRAT’s opinion, recommended for younger children.
The committee says its evaluation “is made reluctantly because Flipper has several qualities which intrigue and delight children for whom it is primarily intended.”
But, the committee says sternly, “the program is unacceptable for children because of the inclusion of crime elements and the dangers to which the youngsters in the cast are subjected.”
This writer isn’t a constant Flipper viewer but I’d have to side with Producer Ivan Tors in this case. He would be hard put to turn out a batch of episodes with its little heroes doing nothing but tossing their dolphin a fish.
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NAFBRAT’s evaluations of two new shows at the teen level are rather interestingly disparate. It loves ABC’s Shindig but hates NBC’s Hullabaloo.
Shindig is described as “a very fast-moving show with rarely a dragging moment” and is recommended for family and teens. But “highly objectionable” is Hullabaloo, the rival NBC show of the same general format, says NAFBRAT.
“This is a vulgar and brazen ‘musical’ show. A TV disgrace,” is its description of this one.
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CBS EMERGES with the greatest number of NAFBRAT-approved shows for the kiddies. The Alvin Cartoon series [right], Capt. Kangaroo, Jeff’s Collies (Lassie reruns) and the current Lassie series, and Linus the Lion-hearted [above, left] are all recommended for children. Its My Friend Flicka and Tennessee Tuxedo are at least acceptable.
The NBC inventory of children's shows (or all-family shows) is praised for its Exploring, Kentucky Jones, Watch Mr. Wizard and Wild Kingdom—all recommended for youngsters. But NAFBRAT puts its “objectionable for children” stamp on such NBC properties as Fireball XL 5, Fury, Hector Heathcote, Underdog and—as aforementioned—Flipper.
NAFBRAT commends to viewing such ABC shows as Bullwinkle, the Casper Cartoons and the Magic Land of Allakazam and Discovery, and finds Beany and Cecil and Bugs Bunny at least acceptable.
It puts the Indian sign on such ABC entries as Hoppity Hooper, Porky Pig and Jonny Quest, the latter classified as "highly objectionable.”
Among the non-network-affiliated or syndicated shows, Romper Room, Deputy Dawg, Huckleberry Hound, Mickey Mouse Club (or the Mouseketeers) and Yogi Bear all have NAFBRAT's blessings.
But the organization is still gunning for such old relics still being programmed for children as Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Superman, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, and Popeye—all of them classified as or for children.

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. But, for some, opinion wasn’t enough. “Action for Children’s Television” wanted just that—action. It succeeded in imposing their views on others and, basically, parenting other people’s children.

For a time, anyway. ACT is gone, but Space Ghost lives on, thanks to DVD. NAFBRAT’s finger-wagging hasn’t stopped fans today from binge-watching the finger-jabbing Three Stooges. Now, if they could only bring back locally-produced kids TV shows with funny hosts.