Who really raised us? Shan Ray's hilarious take on the 'Cool Catz' vs 'Barney' debate

Ah, the good old days. My primary school afternoons were simple, messy and glorious.

The weird-looking bus would drop me off, I’d kick off my school shoes, wash my socks and shirts for the next day (because yes, we actually had to), and grab my egg and tomato sauce sandwich.

Then it was straight to the TV to catch my favourite shows, one of them being "Cool Catz".

However, comedian Shan Ray doesn’t seem to agree. Ray clearly woke up and chose nostalgia and chaos when he decided to reignite one of the most random yet emotionally charged debates of our childhood: "Cool Catz" versus "Barney".

For those who don’t know, Ray is a Joburg-based stand-up comedian whose style is all about sharp social commentary mixed with that lekker Mzansi humour, the type that hits close to home and still makes you snort with laughter.

His comedy often dives into everyday South African life, and this time, he took us straight back to our school-shoes-and-peanut-butter-sandwich era.

Now, if you grew up in the 90s or early 2000s, "Cool Catz" and "Barney & Friends" were practically part of your daily routine.

Ray hit a nerve when he said he just came back from a comment section that “angered” him. Why? Someone dared to say "Cool Catz" was better than "Barney". And for him, that was pure blasphemy.

“The person said wild things,” he said. “He said 'Cool Catz' was better than 'Barney'. What did 'Cool Catz' teach us? Nothing. It was just individualism. One guy wanted to sleep, the other wanted to dance; you had to wake him.

"One guy was just sleeping the whole time; it reminded me of living with a drug addict.”

Now, that might sound dramatic, but if you think back, he’s not entirely wrong.

"Cool Catz" had vibes, yes, but a life lesson? Questionable. It was four cat puppets doing their own thing, and somehow that was supposed to count as children’s programming. But for most of us, that “Cool Catz! Catz! Catz!” jingle still lives rent-free in our heads.

And then there was "Barney". The purple dinosaur who somehow made us believe that love, friendship, and cleaning up were Olympic sports.

Ray captured that energy perfectly when he said, “Barney was the greatest show. After watching Barney, I was sharing my last chips or last sweets. I just wanted to clean up and share love. And after 'Barney', 'Care Bears' played - do you understand the amount of care we had after watching 'Barney'?”

Yes, "Barney" made you want to hug everything in sight, but come on, sharing chips because a dinosaur told you to? That’s not life prep, that’s brainwashing with glitter and song.

"Cool Catz" at least taught us patience, negotiation, and how to survive a living room full of dancing cats doing their own thing while you just wanted to sit.

We also have to remember that most of us didn’t have M-Net or DStv back then. Watching "Barney" wasn’t as simple as flipping a channel. If you wanted your dinosaur fix, it was probably through Mr Video, renting tapes and rushing home to catch every single episode. 

Of course, not everyone agreed with Ray. Social media quickly turned into a generational war. Some stood firmly behind Barney, the dinosaur who taught us to love, share, and sing off-key with confidence.

Others defended "Cool Catz", arguing it was proudly South African and way cooler (pun intended) than an oversized purple reptile from America.

@londwa.sibisi commented: "We learned dance moves from cool cat."

@mrgregory also commented: "Put some respect on cool katz"

"Nah, cool Katz was better than Barney😂🤣😂," l@owrain_lefophane commented.

Either way, the debate reminded us of something beautiful, a time when afternoons were about sandwiches, cartoons and vibing with whichever character made you feel seen.