Shari Lewis explained her goal for the audience is "participation, not passive observance". She said: "our goal is, don't just sit there - come play with me". She wanted to "attack the shorter attention span of today's children with a fast-paced show using colorful electronic effects". She said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I know that when children watch TV, they go into a stupor. Parents think (their children) are interested, but what they really are is bored". Lewis testified that making smart content for children was not that hard to produce and should be done with increasing frequency. She explained that if children are challenged, they will be productive members of society. She said, "I don't care if you tack a prosocial message at the end of the show. You have not done a quality show".
At the end of each show, Charlie Horse would try to sing The Song That Doesn't End, much to the annoyance of Shari.