episode #03, segment 2: Children's Zoo

#3b: CHILDREN'S ZOO
-- written by Chris Hubbell, Gerrit Graham; Directed by Robert Downey

This short segment (under 10m.) features a couple of loud, awful parents (Steven Keats, Lorna Luft) who end up being led to a special zoo by their little girl. Some of this should be a little painful to watch; the parents are not overly abusive (not much could have been depicted on TV back then anyway), but their obnoxious, oblivious behavior does remind of real life situations where cute innocent kids (like the girl here) are saddled with terrible parents. It's a reminder of the injustices of the world where not much can be done unless some social service or other relative really gets involved. Usually, the kids remain the victims in such situations.
The comeuppance of the parents here is not that satisfactory; they do not seem to be facing actual punishment here - it's rather vague. I wrote above that it "should" have been painful to watch, but the little girl never seemed pained by her parents' behavior, mostly just ignoring them. This is a kind of wish-fulfillment story that lacks punch. And, some of it actually comes off as a weird joke. Co-writer Graham is better known as an actor. BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10