Children's temporal comprehension was assessed after viewing a television program containing flashbacks that shifted the events to much earlier times. Flashbacks were marked or not marked with sound effects, and time relations were represented with either dreamy dissolves or abrupt camera cuts. A total of 64 children, equally distributed by sex and by grades kindergarten and first versus fourth and fifth, participated in individual viewing sessions. After viewing, children sequenced picture sets to assess temporal integration of the plot line and answered questions to assess comprehension of the flashbacks. Results indicated that young children understood temporal concepts best after viewing camera dissolves, but older boys understood concepts of real time best after viewing camera cuts. The results suggest that formal features differentially activate mental skills, depending on children's age and the complexity of the comprehension task. (Author/RH)