The Wiggles
I am deeply ashamed to admit this, trust me, but the Wiggles have become a big part of my life over the last 4 years. For those of you who have older children or no kids, the Wiggles are a disturbing group of 4 men, from their 30s to, someone told me the Asian guy is in his 50s but I have not verified it, who formed in the early 90s and are the hugest thing in kids entertainment and were last year's highest earning entertainer in Australia (they are from Australia), over Nicole Kidman and AC/DC. They sing and dance and play with other imaginary creatures and even have their own amusement park. They tour the world and kids hold up lighters at the end of their concert so they will come out and play more songs filled with ridiculous lyrics that adults of small kids find themselves humming while sitting in traffic. The four guys wear very basic outfits and each one is color coded - Greg in yellow, a handsome man in his thirties is sort of the leader of this band, Murray in red who my wife calls Ken Garee, a friend of mine, Murray is also fairly young I think and is kind of the timid one, Jeff in purple, the Asian guy who someone told me is like 50 and his shtick on the show is that he is always sleeping, something that is a reality in my life but more because Patti and I are up every night with one of three kids being the reason, and finally Anthony in blue, a step child sort of guy who has no real place in the group other than a fill in. It's all very sad.
So I have come to know and loathe this wacky troop of mischief because my kids, and millions of other kids, love them. Their show has pirates with feather swords and a talking octopus and a big dog and a convertible and a boat and all of that crap. Kids go nuts over them.
Well, things are coming to an end. Greg, the leader I mentioned, is leaving the group. It's actually pretty sad because he is dropping out for health reasons. I'm not sure of the details but he has some kind of rare disorder that has made it impossible for him to continue. He did not go on their last tour and his understudy, yes, they each have an understudy, is going to fill in. Kind of like the Beatles without Lennon or the Stones without Jagger, the group is centered in Greg. He sings most of their songs and leads most of the skits. Now, others have faired well with a new leader. The AC/DC group I mentioned had to get a new lead singer after their very successful one past on and they continue to be very successful. But more times than not the new front man is just filling in until the group or TV show or whatever entertainment act just dies a slow death.
I make fun of this group but they have to be given their due respect. Their show hits on the right things for kids I guess, simple lyrics and the right message and funny songs and ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Four adults doing this is strange, no matter how much kids love them. As an adult with normal interests (global economics, politics, sports, movies, James Taylor, ideas for a nicer kitchen) I want to drill holes in my skull when the show is on. It bugs me and I find it slow and lacking depth. There are some kid’s shows that I don'tt mind but this is not one of them.
But getting back to the respect thing. So they did the right thing and built an empire out of the very true fact that parents will spend an insane amount of money to make a 3 year old happy when that three year old will never ever remember what their parents did for them. Sure, they will remember by exhibiting traits that we all want in our kids, happiness and respect for others and discipline and being well adjusted, but the truth is we, as parents, spend the money so that we sleep better at night because basic human nature allows people to get satisfaction when others are made happy by our actions and that is multiplied by a thousand times when its your own kids. So the Wiggles did this and built a very successful business. The other more serious side is that this guy might have an ailment so very bad that he is risking the future of his empire by dropping out because of it. That is no joking matter and I hope that everything works out for him. As much as I might not like the Wiggles, Greg Page is married with two little children of his own and a life changing health issue is something that affects not just him but all those affected by him. I hope it works out well.
So my guess is reruns will play more on TV and kids will have no idea that a new leader is fronting the band. The premise of the group will stay the same and unlike adults who might not like the new Bewitched husband or daughter in Roseanne or doctor in Northern Exposure, kids will just care about laughing and dancing.