Winky Dink

Winky Dink

It's midnight and that marks the end of my 56th birthday. I was reminiscing and for some reason started thinking about my favorite childhood TV shows. At the top of the list was Winky Dink. Very few people remember this show from the 1950's, but it was a classic. Actually, it was the first ever, interactive TV show...the predicessor to Atari, Nintendo and Game Boy!

The deal was, for a mere 50 cents you could mail order a special kit which included a green piece of clear plastic that you placed over the television screen. Then you could draw on it with crayons and help Winky Dink get out of all kinds of predicaments! If he needed a ladder or a bridge to escape, all you had to do was draw it on the screen. If you didn't want to wait for your kit to arrive via the mail and you could talk your parents into spending $3.00 the kits were also available in stores. There were also secret code words at the bottom of the TV screen and during the show you would trace over the letters and figure out the secret word. (I can't remember what happened if you got the clue right...so someone please help me out with this.)

This was a GREAT show and one of my all time favorites. Winky Dink was broadcast in black and white in the 50's and it ran about 4-years. It was revived again in the late 60's for a short time but was taken off the air when consumer groups complained about children sitting too close to the TV and damaging their eyes!

Winky Dink was way ahead of it's time. I hope some of you will remember this show and leave your comments.