Shining Stars

Honesty, the opening volume in an eight-volume series that presents character values through lessons taught by the interactions of four furry space aliens with confusing designations such as AB1 or OG2, and their toupee-wearing teacher Commander Gordon, features a 5-minute scenario involving a stolen object, an unlikely confession and instant attitude change, and a short homily on honesty. The other 3 minutes consist of the opening bouncy theme song credits, a standard introduction, and the closing credit roll. After reading the scripts for the other episodes in the teacher's guide, it seems safe to conclude that this formula was faithfully followed for each of the other volumes (Courage, Prejudice, Patience, Responsibility, Respect, Kindness and Self-Esteem). Even though the series is aimed at a young audience, it's not fair to assume that substandard production values will slip by them (a kid watching with me commented that it looked like it had been shot in a garage), or that unrealistic skits and a quick definition of a virtue will effectively model character development. Not recommended. Aud: K, E. (E. Gieschen)