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Dexter's Laboratory
1996 · TV series · 7 min episodes · 4 seasons
Created by Genndy Tartakovsky
AnimationComedyScience FictionFantasy
Dexter, a boy-genius with a secret laboratory, constantly battles his sister Dee Dee, who always gains access despite his best efforts to keep her out, as well as his arch-rival and neighbor, Mandark.
1 positive4 neutralfrom 5 commenters
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5 comments on Hacker News
I really enjoy finding new ways to introduce her into how computers think, in the same time, I have to constantly level up my game, as I am competing with tiktok, instagram, youtube, netflix.. etc. So I have to come up with new incentives, and more and more interesting projects, e.g. I printed a tshirt with some of her code, or made a huge poster with one of the turtle images she made (https://github.com/jackdoe/programming-for-kids/blob/master/screenshots/game-140-2.png), or sometimes its pure bribery, like buying robux.
When I was her age, I spent hours just reading random man pages, pretty much because cartoon network was showing the same episode of dexter's laboratory for the 25th time.
The kids her age are growing in a strange era, programs will control their life, wether they want it or not, so it will be great if they can debug :)
Also see the absolutely absurd episode of Dexter's Laboratory "Dexter and Computress Get Mandark!" It was written and narrated by a six year old fan of the show and hilariously brought to life by Genndy Tartakovsky and crew.
Wonder how much of this is down to simple awareness that the game exists, and the role culture (and especially the internet) has had in promoting it?
Because in my childhood, I had no idea what Dungeons and Dragons was at all, nor that it even really existed. Hell, the only things I knew about it came from the odd TV show that featured the characters playing it in a random episode (in this case, probably Dexter's Laboratory).
And I suspect a lot of people were in that situation. They just never came across it in day to day life, perhaps because the company behind it didn't do much in the way of mainstream advertising.
The internet fixed that. Now people can easily come across forum or social media discussions about it, read up on sites and wikis about it and get a general idea what it entails from fiction based around it. Which is pretty common with webcomics now, since many use Dungeons and Dragons esque rulesets for their worlds, or apply them to other media (see the Order for the Stick for an example of the first, and DM of the Rings and Darths & Droids for examples of the latter).
TV Tropes may have had an effect too. Loads of tropes there are based on concepts from Dungeons and Dragons (like the alignment system), and works based on it are extremely popular on the site.
Oh, and to a lesser degree, it got more respect due to 'geek culture' going mainstream too. I suspect among those who had heard of it (especially in the US) people either assumed it was something only geeks/nerds/whatever would play or (if they were of the Jack Chick esque moral panic persuasion), the work of the devil.
This has obviously turned around a bit, especially when actors and other celebrities have mentioned playing the game (and other tabletop RPGs) online.
Dexter, of Dexter's Laboratory fame, thought of it (of course). See "Morning Stretch": https://youtu.be/DWU5U8NxeCA?t=33m32s
In view of all the complications he discovered, maybe a room (or house) which simply stops biological aging of those inside would be preferable... at least until the government starts taking notice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Station_(novel)
In stories connecting different worlds, time sometimes runs at different rates. A classic example would be the Chronicles of Narnia: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/94204/how-much-time-passed-between-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-and-prince-ca
Of course, to somebody living in a world where time runs fast, venturing out into the "normal" universe would be equivalent to stepping into your imagined room. This happens in one of the better Star Trek Voyager episodes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_of_an_Eye_(Star_Trek:_Voyager)
Growing up watching shows like "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius" definitely shaped me as a child into the tech freak I am today. Girls getting barbies thrown at them when they are 12 does not help put girls into the tech sector. We need television shows like "Diane's Laboratory" or "Jennifer Neutron Girl Genius" to get girls interested in tech. Hit 'em when they're young.