‘Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop’ Tries to Help Kids Cope

Pint-sized 1984 Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton is still a diminutive, ferociously perky dynamo. She still does the splits with ease too, and proves it as host and co-executive producer of a new, feel-good children’s show, “Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop,” launching Sunday on KCET.

With her trademark wide and toothy grin ever at the ready, Retton leads song-and-dance numbers, a la Barney, on a colorful, cartoony set, and interacts with a cast of real kids and goofy costumed characters--a shaggy orange critter named LZ Bones; Jumpy, a green monkey; Flip Flop custodian Miss Warble; and bizarrely wigged deliveryman Mr. Bump, who seems to be channeling Charles Nelson Reilly.

With grins and yuks galore, many musical numbers and characters, nutrition and exercise segments, and an overriding, self-conscious zaniness, the show feels overstuffed. Its core, though, is serious: helping children understand and deal with emotions when their world seems to “flip flop.”

In each episode, someone has a problem--insecure Jumpy causes bad feelings when she wants to be first in all the games; one of the kids’ best friends is moving away; another is discouraged over his chances of making the neighborhood swim team; Mr. Bump feels left out, not knowing his surprise birthday party is being planned.

Retton, with help from wise owl Professor Blinky (a puppet), offers perspective, encouragement and solutions appropriate for the show’s target audience: ages 4 to 7.

It’s keeping the worthy messages from getting lost in the circus atmosphere that’s the challenge.

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“Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop” can be seen Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on KCET.