Martin Handford was the evil genius who created the popular children's book series Where's Waldo? and doomed a generation of little kids to crossed eyes and premature eyesight loss.

We joke, of course, the Waldo books were fun, colorful and helped squirrely youngsters improve their concentration skills. Waldo was a skinny boy, wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a ski cap and had the most annoying habit of hiding in pictures with many details: people, animals, structures, vehicles, you name it. Waldo should have been easy to spot in his bright red and white sweater but there were hundreds of other items that camouflaged him nicely.

Waldo came to TV in his own animated series that took him out of the static world of picture books and gave him a personality. Together with his dog Woof, Waldo traveled the world solving mysteries, averting crime and helping people. With the help of his magic walking stick, the smiling boy could cross time and space, backwards and forwards, and even visit magical places.

Twice during every episode, the screen would freeze for a minute. and young viewers (and older ones, there's no shame in it) were invited to look for Waldo in the crowded scene, just like in the books. Eye strain had never been more satisfying.