Narrated by the main character's grandmother and scored by sickeningly sweet flute riffs, this PBS Kids creation lays on the schmaltz with a steamroller. Caillou, a four-year-old Charlie Brown look-alike, explores his neighborhood, plays with friends and learns the requisite lessons about sharing and patience, often ending in heart-to-heart conversations with his parents, like this:

Dad: Caillou, I heard you made [your sister] Rosie cry today. I know you don't always want to play with Rosie, but she is your sister, so you should be kind to her.

Caillou: Okay, Daddy.

After that, they share some cookies and laugh at each other's milk mustaches. Even my two-year-old rolled his eyes at that one. Nevertheless, something about it turns him into a zombie, and our friends report the same effect on their kids. I suppose if they're going to be mesmerized by a cartoon, it might as well go down with a spoonful of sugar. — Matt Wood