‘Starrland’: Local show has fun teaching health and safety tips

Kimberley McGee

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000 | 9:48 a.m.

With a giant pink flamingo, a talking guitar with an attitude and guest speakers, Jim and Christina Starr whisk children to a magical place where scary things are explained away, and singing is the official language.

The newlywed couple have pooled their decades of experience educating children about safety and health issues to create what they say is the first Saturday morning children's show to be produced in Las Vegas.

Airing at 8 a.m. on KTVY Channel 63 (Cox cable 61), the month-old "Starrland" is an old-fashioned children's show modeled after the '50s' "Howdy Doody" variety show for the lunchbox crowd.

"Starrland" is their version of an idyllic community where children can go -- in their imagination -- to feel secure.

"It's not utopia, but it's a place where kids are safe and healthy," Starr said.

Amid the songs, dance moves and banter between Jim and Miss Christina (as she is called on the show) and characters Dr. Flamingo and Magic the Guitar, the half-hour show features guests such as Tim Szymanski of the Las Vegas Fire Department.

On a recent evening at KTVY's studios on Spring Mountain Road, where the show is taped twice a month, Szymanski was dressed in his thick, dirty, yellow fireman's outfit complete with an oxygen tank and bulging mask.

When Jim Starr called him over to discuss fire safety with the boys and girls (who will be watching at home), Szymanski was escorted onto the pink-and-blue set by the gentle Dr. Flamingo, played by Chris Helleis.

"Sometimes kids get scared when they see us in our gear, they think we are monsters and they run away," Szymanski told Starr. "But we are the good guys and they shouldn't run away. We help them get out of a fire."

Starr and Miss Christina marveled at Szymanski's suit and sang a song about fire safety while three cameras rolled.

Later in the show, Magic the Guitar teased Dr. Flamingo about his clothes, and Miss Christina corrected his bad manners before they all joined in singing about the benefits of exercise.

It was a full day in "Starrland."

"This is really neat for the kids," Szymanski said, as he readjusted his fire suit. He stayed to watch the rest of the taping.

The Starrs have, individually, created songs and educational skits for children for more than two decades. Their desire to reach out to children, especially those in at-risk schools, stems from their own childhood experiences.

"Children seem to have an innocence about them that is so refreshing and fun for adults who have seen a lot of tough things in life," Christina Starr said. "It's inspirational in a way to see the hope of the world is in our kids."

Scooping up needy children and feeding them a dose of security mixed with fun is what brought Christina and Jim Starr together.

She met Jim in the early '90s, but fell in love with him as the two discovered they were both working toward the same goal -- educating children.

She was working on a children's show in Los Angeles that she had created called "Goobie Bop," which featured the Dr. Flamingo character.

"I wanted kids to know how to exercise and that it's important that we take care of our bodies," she said.

As a young girl, Starr had debilitating asthma. The childhood asthma became manageable as she grew older, but those bedridden memories stayed with her.

"It made such a difference in my life to be healthy, and I wanted to make that available to everybody," she said. "With Jim, it just came together."

Jim Starr had grown up with the classic little-boy dream of becoming a policeman, just like his dad.

Once in the force his mother's musical background influenced Starr to pick up a guitar and play for youngsters at Los Angeles-area schools.

The glow on the children's faces from his simple songs, and the creative endeavor of writing catchy little ditties, became a passion for Starr, who had little ones of his own at home.

"I was in the schools to show a different side of police officers, a personal side, someone they shouldn't be afraid of," Starr said. "I saw how that impacted kids through the music and I wanted to perform."

Magic, his star-shaped guitar featuring 244 red lights, "talks" to children about safety issues such as crossing the street, and topics that might be hard for little ones to talk about, such as nightmares or playground teasing.

Starr said children tend to open up more to his white five-string Fender than his 6-foot self.

"Magic seems to think he can speak on his own at times," Starr said. "Magic is a guitar that never grew up and the kids seem to be awed by (it)."

The couple plan to "interview" local police, doctors and other people on the show so that children can learn more about the people in their community.

"When we go out to children locally, we find they need to put a face to the uniform," Starr said. "Rather than making them a symbol they can think of the person behind that uniform."

The Starrs sing about everything from benefits of eating your veggies to the perils of handling matches, as well as more serious subjects such as strangers with bad intentions.

"Stranger danger -- it's a scary kind of issue, so we put it in a way that hopefully is not as threatening but still sends a message," Christina Starr said.

The Starrs plan to eventually include children at their tapings to add a live element to the show, but also to get back a little of why they are doing this in the first place.

"The performing aspect is great because you see right away what the reaction is," Christina Starr said. "When you are performing for kids, they are so honest, you know if you've touched something within them."

The characters, songs and skits the Starrs have created to fill 30 minutes on Saturday mornings serve an important purpose -- to teach children.

"If one child learns something about being safe or healthier from us, well, that's it, that's great," Christina Starr said.

"Mac Davis once said music is the universal language and love is the key," Jim Starr said. "We are reaching these kids with our music. If you are serious about kids and get them involved instead of just lecturing, learning takes place."