In Tampa, Fla., hundreds of hopefuls are vying to be the next Captain Kangaroo. The character, made famous by Bob Keeshan since 1955, is soon to make a comeback for the children of the baby-boomers.

However, like many other endeavors to recognize what was once a good idea, this may be an insult to the original Captain and his work.

If one recalls what happened when the “Dukes of Hazzard” stars “Bo” and “Luke” were replaced by two guys who couldn’t effectively fill the role, the show eventually died.

This was a good effort by those in Hollywood to make a tried and true idea work, but by that time, the new characters just weren’t good enough.

The same can be said when Larry Wilcox who starred as “John” on “CHiP’s” left the series.

The show soon became known as “Ponch and that other guy.”

Children need their heroes, but they shouldn’t be forced to view poor carbon copies of those who were there days long-passed.

Children shouldn’t have to settle for the regurgitation of old characters but be exposed to new and fresh ideas created by those in television and the movies.

What ever happened to creativity? It seems our children only see rehashed role-models with only half as much of the quality as the original one’s carried. Is the only concern here the bottom dollar?

Perhaps our society has continued to settle into spin-offs and re-runs. It shouldn’t have to.

Let’s let Captain Kangaroo’s image fade away with the respect it deserves.

Give our children something new to laugh at, look up to and talk about in the years to come.