Editing Teletubbies (section)

===Critical reception===
[[Common Sense Media]]'s Emily Ashby found that "while the show's examples of cooperative play, wonder, and simple joys are gentle and pleasing, the creatures can still be a little grating to parents watching along."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/teletubbies-2016|title=Teletubbies TV Review – Common Sense Media|work=[[Common Sense Media]]|last=Ashby|first=Emily|date=17 May 2016|access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> Caryn James of ''[[The New York Times]]'' stated in her review that the episodes "offer a genuinely appealing combination: cute and slightly surreal."<ref>{{cite news| title=TELEVISION REVIEW; Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh, And Others Say Uh-Oh|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/arts/television-review-teletubbies-say-eh-oh-and-others-say-uh-oh.html|date=6 April 1998|access-date=5 June 2014|last=James|first=Caryn|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Upon the show's release, some critics feared that the characters' use of babbling in place of complete sentences would negatively affect young viewers' ability to communicate. The ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' reported in 1997 that many parents objected to its "goo-goo style" and "said the show was a bad influence on their children."<ref>{{cite news|title=TELETUBBIES: Are They Harmless Fun or Bad for Our Children?|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-61096732|work=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=23 May 1997}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref> Marina Krcmar, a professor of communication at the [[Wake Forest University]], told interviewers in 2007 that "toddlers learn more from an adult speaker than they do from a program such as ''Teletubbies''."<ref>{{cite news| title=Teletubbies can't beat people in teaching first words|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-education-toddlers-teletubbies-idUSL2889488920070701|date=1 July 2007|access-date=27 May 2016|publisher=[[Thomson Reuters]]|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> However, Paul McCann of ''[[The Independent]]'' defended this aspect of the show, stating that "''Teletubbies'' upsets those who automatically assume that progressive and creative learning is trendy nonsense. Those who believe that education should be strictly disciplined and functional, even when you're 18 months old. Thankfully ''Teletubbies'' isn't for them. It's for kids."<ref name="Tegna" />

The programme's magical event that features a cut-out [[lion]] chasing a cut-out [[bear]] was deemed inappropriate for children by parents for its unsettling tone, cinematography, and music. It was subsequently banned in several countries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Scott |title=The 'Teletubbies' episode that was banned in several countries |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-teletubbies-episode-that-was-banned-in-several-countries/ |website=[[Far Out (website)|Far Out]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |date=February 3, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ingle |first1=Rhiannon |title=Teletubbies scene was so creepy episode was banned in 1999 |url=https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-creepy-banned-142614-20230224 |website=[[LADbible Group|LADbible]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225160527/https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-creepy-banned-142614-20230224 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |date=February 24, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> A revised version of the sketch was aired several years later with adjusted editing and voice acting.<ref>{{cite web |title=Teletubbies scene so terrifying it was banned around the world re-emerges |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-so-terrifying-it-was-banned-around-the-world-re-emerges/MS6NNXRXUDQLPTPFFG6YPFG264/ |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814230209/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-so-terrifying-it-was-banned-around-the-world-re-emerges/MS6NNXRXUDQLPTPFFG6YPFG264/ |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |date=August 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Vickers-Green |first1=Laura |title=7 Times the Teletubbies Made TV a Much Weirder Place |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/times-teletubbies-made-tv-weirder/ |website=[[Den of Geek]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908155813/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/times-teletubbies-made-tv-weirder/ |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |date=September 8, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Although the programme is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it had a substantial [[cult following]] with older generations, mainly [[university]] and [[college]] [[student]]s.<ref name="Company2012"/><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Gutenko |first=Gregory |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED419257 |title=Deconstructing Teletubbies: Differences between UK and US college students' reading of the children's television programme. |date=1998 |publisher=College of Arts & Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City |location=Kansas City, Missouri, USA |pages=1 |quote=(The campus activities calendar at Imperial College in London includes the airtimes and episode highlights for each show) [parentheses in original quotation].}}</ref><ref name="Brewer2010">{{cite book|author=Susan Brewer|title=Collecting Classic Girls' Toys|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J92wBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|date=19 July 2010|publisher=Remember When|isbn=978-1-78337-521-9|pages=153–}}</ref> The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to many who perceived the programme as having [[psychedelic experience|psychedelic]] qualities.<ref>{{cite news| title=Uh-Oh! The 'Teletubbies' Are Making A Psychedelic Comeback|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/16/teletubbies-bbc-_n_5499988.html|date=16 June 2014|access-date=27 May 2016|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|last=Toomer|first=Jessica|publisher=[[Verizon Communications]]}}</ref> Shortly after the premiere of the show, at [[Imperial College London]], the campus activities calendar included airtimes and episode highlights.<ref name=":0" />