Animals On the Farm: Pigs

"Pigs' noses are made out of rubber" says a farmer matter-of-factly in this thrown-together and slightly inaccurate introduction to all things porcine. Presumably aimed at children--though the producers have gone to no lengths to make it particularly kid-friendly--Pigs is comprised of repetitive footage of pigs and piglets and commentary by the aforementioned farmer whose practical knowledge certainly outweighs his grasp of pig anatomy. The whole shebang is set to a standard bland soundtrack. Unfortunately, in addition to being bad and misinformative, the program could also be a little disturbing to smaller children: kids are shown the "notched" ears of several pigs and told that the notches are for identification. The notion that this tidbit--that pigs' ears are disfigured for business reasons--might actually bother younger kids doesn't seem to have occurred to the producers. Not recommended for any age group. (R. Pitman)