This issue is close to my heart, because when I see how much good MRN has done for my three-year-olds in just the year they've been watching it, I want to scream, "How can people say this is irrelevant?!"
People so closely associate Mr. Rogers with his "You are special" that they tend to forget that it was just one piece of what made his show so important. They also tend to misunderstand what he meant by that. "You are special" does not mean that you are better than everyone else or entitled to the best things in life. It means that the unique qualities that make you who you are are important, and conversely the things that make people different than you make them special, so everyone should be valued. You shouldn't have to reinvent who you are as a person to be who you think people want you to be. You're special just the way you are. Who doesn't want their kids to know (and believe) that?
I also think that MRN gave young children a dignity that few, if any other shows have. My children have always had a fear of the doctor and, try as I might, I couldn't explain things to them in a way that would calm them. As their three-year checkup was approaching, I decided we should watch the episode of Mr. Rogers when he goes to the pediatrician. I told the kids they would be going for their checkup soon, which got them a little riled, but I suggested they watch the little girl's checkup and see how hers went. That segment is everything today's kids TV avoids - it was slow-paced, with very little action and a lot of talking. They didn't skip over any of the awkward parts of the checkup, instead explaining everything in real time. We watched it a few times over the next couple of weeks until the kids knew everything that was going to happen before it happened. When it came time for their checkup, there were no tears. One of my sons even said to his doctor, "That's just like Dr. Breck!" It was like a miracle. This is just one example of the many times I've used MRN to teach my kids more about something they were interested in (elevators, tap dancing, graham crackers...) or to help prepare them for something. You should see the look on people's faces when a bus or truck stops and one of my kids nonchalantly says, "Airbrakes." People say, "Kids today are different", as if they were just born that way. We make them different with the things we choose to expose them to and the environments we put them in.