Rainbow Fish (HBO Family)

There's no real point in making these characters fish, unless it's an attempt to rope in fans of Disney's Nemo, and there's no connection to the original book other than the title character's appearance. The book provides a lesson on friendship, and those are ostensibly the lessons provided within the show, too, but they're not particularly well done.

The audience for the book will be mystified by characters doing math, discussing grades, and participating in undersea sports. And the older kids who might understand the stories will be bored by the lack of real conflict or characters. So there's really nothing to hold a kid's attention here, and certainly nothing for a grown-up watching along. Only the biggest fans of the book will want to tune in.