Shows for teenagers hold many places in the Lycos 50, but we don't often see many searches for shows aimed at preschool kids. That's because the kids can't search for themselves; for a preschool show to be popular, parents need to be searching for it.
That's why we think big things are in store for a new show coming to us from the United Kingdom: Bob the Builder.
Bob the Builder is a stop-motion animation program developed in Manchester, England that tells the story of Bob, his partner Wendy and five anthropomorphized vehicles that are his friends and colleagues. Each show teaches teamwork and cooperation as Bob and the gang -- well -- build a lot of stuff.
Bob debuted on the BBC 18 months ago and his show has become the number one preschool program in the U.K., as well as Australia, Germany, and Japan. Perhaps the most incredible showing of Bob's popularity is that prior to Christmas, the Bob the Builder theme song "Can We Fix It" kicked Eminem out of the number one slot on the British singles charts. Whoa.
We've actually been watching Bob since his searches first began to grow eight weeks ago, thanks to his pre-Christmas popularity in his home country. Since the first week of December, searches for Bob the Builder have grown steadily and are now triple what they were then.
Bob the Builder finally arrived in America last Monday, where he appears on Nickelodeon at 10am weekdays. Searches went up some more this week as his new American fans started looking for him online. This week Bob the Builder received as many searches as actor Mel Gibson or guitarist Eric Clapton.
Bob's production company has a huge amount of products planned, including deals with Lego, Hasbro, and Goldenbooks. Soon, parents will have their choice of Bob videos, Bob books, Bob toys, and Bob clothing for their children. At least parents can take heart that, thanks to lessons learned from Bob the Builder, their kindergartners may soon be able to help them re-landscape the house.
