Calvin was traumatized by Madame de Pompadour

[csberry]

Sci-Fi did a replay of Doctor Who - "Girl in the Fireplace" (one of my favs) the other day. After watching it for the 1001st time, I thought I'd screen the episode w/ Calvin. I figured it was one of the least scary episodes and I'd be able to skip all the romantic scenes between the Doctor and Reinette.

What I didn't account for was Calvin becoming DEVASTATED about Reinette not getting to travel with the Doctor and dying before he could return for her. I completely understand his sadness. I was just shocked that it hit him so hard when we skipped most of the scenes of them making googly-eyes at each other. For a couple of hours afterward, the boy is very fragile. No more stories with sad endings any time in the near future for Calvin.

Comments

[outherelistenin.livejournal.com]

He's how old, now? Six?

I remember being young enough that "devastatingly sad" was too much to handle; I think of it as the Bambi's Mom response. "Electric Grandmother" was absurdly sad, and also "Velveteen Rabbit".

"Mildly scary but freakishly strange" was another problem category. I remember being traumatized by a David Copperfield act in which the assistant was "flattened", and what was left was a record with a picture of her looking distressed on it.

Then again, I was also terrified after hearing Hall & Oates' "Maneater".

[csberry.livejournal.com]

Calvin (yes, 6) has always been very sensitive about "bad guys" in stories. The boy is scared to DEATH of nearly the whole collection of Disney classics. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and even The Little Mermaid fill him with fear and sorrow.

And this is the same boy that has been watching the Jurassic Park movies w/ JD this past week and cheering when he got to see folks snatched up by dinosaurs.

[outherelistenin.livejournal.com]

Being a parent must be fascinating. And it doesn't sound like Nigel has the same fear issues that Calvin does.

I totally can't grasp how death-dealing dinosours - or Clockwork Men - are less scary than Ursula or Maleficent. Then again, the poor boy is just six.

It's funny: every adult has been a child at one point; you'd think that raising new ones wouldn't be such a guessing game. I was very frightened of practically everything when I was young, and I haven't any idea how I got over it.

Well, except the totally innocuous things that still scare the crap out of me...