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Post by dem on Nov 19, 2009 20:41:11 GMT
Richard Lewis - Cult Childrens TV (Allison & Busby, 2002) blurb Revised and expanded to include even more shows...
Do you ever lie awake at night, wondering whether the Snorkmaiden was having an affair with Moominpappa? Have you ever drunk a bit too much, and started an argument about Button Moon? Do you find yourself drifting off during boring business meetings, trying to remember the names of the Flumps? If so, this book is for you.
The Encyclopaedia of Cult Children's TV will take you back to a better age. It will take you on a journey back to Chigley, to Moominvalley, to Toytown, high above the streets and houses, where it was all so honest and simple. Where it was perfectly ordinary for a camp man in dungarees, a big woolly bear, a fey pink hippo and a bitchy zipped-up gimp to get in bed with each other and sing a song ...Sadly, not our Richard "Spiders" Lewis (if only), but at least the book is a neat dip-in - dip-out read and would probably succeed in its ambition to trigger a million savage pub brawls if only any pubs were still in business. Can't believe Lewis is harsh on Richard Carpenter's brilliant Catweazle ("Tramp action") and The Ghosts Of Motley Hall - which he scandalously accuses of being unhilarious and to blame for Rent-A-Ghost - but at least he gets most of the important stuff right, correctly identifying The Clangers as a classic, Crystal Tipp & Alistair as "trippy" and The Singing Ringing Tree as quite possibly the most trauma-inducing children's programme ever broadcast. Anyhow; children's TV. your favourites from years gone by?
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Nov 19, 2009 20:54:16 GMT
"Favourites from years gone by?" Well, the aforementioned "Catweazle" and "The Ghosts of Motley Hall" for a start - possibly one of the reasons I got ratty with this very book when my ex-missus bought it. "Motley Hall" in particular is one of the finest examples of how childrens' telly used to be so bloody great, and didn't talk down to the audience - not something much of today's shows for kids can claim (with the possible exception of the very funny "Sorry, I've Got No Head"). And what a glorious cast of regulars and guest actors.
Other greats? The 70s "Phoenix and the Carpet", "Shadows", "The Owl Service" (does it count if I only saw it as an adult?), "Children of the Stones", "Spine Chillers" (spooky Jackanory with Freddie Jones, Michael Bryant and the like reading M.R. James, H.G. Wells and others), "Ivor the Engine", "Bagpuss"... actually, anything by Postgate and Firmin...
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Post by dem on Nov 22, 2009 12:27:39 GMT
"Favourites from years gone by?" Well, the aforementioned "Catweazle" and "The Ghosts of Motley Hall" for a start - possibly one of the reasons I got ratty with this very book when my ex-missus bought it. Now that i've spent some time with the book, i can understand how it could get a body ratty, lurks. This might be a strange one to drag into a childrens tv thread, but i recently read Mark Whitehead and Miriam Rivett's Jack The Ripper (Pocket Essentials, 2006). The section 'Ripping Yarns', while by no means comprehensive, is an often very funny critique of the books and films. Mark & Miriam are very spiky - the review of the Micheal Caine-Lewis Collins BBC drama is particularly withering - but pull it off with such great charm and a winning sense of mischief that only a Ripperologist couldn't love them for it. Children's Cult TV is, doubtless, far more exhaustively researched, and some of the longer pieces, notably the almost reverential entries on The Moomins and all things Oliver Postgate, show a man who's clearly in love with his subject matter - those bits are a joy to read. But i couldn't warm to Mr. Lewis, who seems to be attempting something with Lads Mag appeal (I know some people think of Vault like that - the fellow at the BFS whose nose spontaneously disjointed over the unmentionable mention in SJ's book, for one - so maybe i'd best shut up). That said, the only depressing thing about Cult Children's TV is the reminder that many of the recordings have been lost or wiped. i suppose if the BBC can bin footage of Pans People they can do it to anything.
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Post by ripper on Nov 23, 2009 18:00:39 GMT
Some of my favourite children's programmes are: Timeslip, The Freewheelers, Children of the Stones, The White Horses, Robert's Robots, Follyfoot, The Tomorrow People, Robinson Crusoe and The Flashing Blade to name but a few. I haven't watched any children's programmes for maybe 15-20 years and I wonder how the programmes of the 60s and 70s compare to those of today. Any thoughts anyone?
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Post by shonokin on Dec 3, 2009 21:22:03 GMT
Speaking of which, the 1972 mini series Escape Into Night has finally been released on DVD. This is based on the book Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr. Later it was made into the movie Paperhouse.
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Post by lemming13 on Aug 9, 2010 18:21:49 GMT
I agree with ALL of you; I have the Ghosts of Motley Hall on my shelves, and my kids love it as much as I did. And Children of the Stones, Ace Of Wands, The Feathered Serpent, The Georgian House, The Guardians, and The Doombolt Chase have all entertained us either on rental or purchase. Some of it dates - wobbly sets, tatty costumes, the odd bit of crap acting - but generally the quality is much higher. Given the choice between whatever's on the twenty or so kids' channels I pay for, and wheeling out the Sapphire and Steel dvds, Joanna and David get the vote every time from us all, at ages 11, 17 and 48.
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Post by dem on Aug 9, 2010 20:09:10 GMT
I have the Ghosts of Motley Hall on my shelves, and my kids love it as much as I did. And Children of the Stones, Ace Of Wands, The Feathered Serpent, The Georgian House, The Guardians, and The Doombolt Chase have all entertained us either on rental or purchase. Surely the highest praise you can pay to any show? Took me a while to find it, but we've a woefully malnourished Richard Carpenter thread. For some reason, i didn't really get on with his Catweazle novel - probably built it up too much in my head beforehand - but The Ghosts Of Motley Hall is bang on the money. Personally, i never noticed "the wobbly sets, tatty costumes, the odd bit of crap acting" as a kid, and, as with much '70's TV, there's a 'live' feel to the proceedings which only adds to the charm. Maybe that's what's "wrong" with contemporary TV - it has to look slick and professional at all costs, so the guts get left on the cutting room floor? Bear Behaving Badly is the bollocks, mind. |
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Post by valdemar on Jul 3, 2012 3:57:38 GMT
A good read, but Mr Lewis does make the mistake that Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds, appeared in Stingray. Not on the telly, she didn't. There is the possibility that she featured in the Stingray comic strip in the utterly wonderful TV Century 21 comic, where ingeniously, all the disparate Anderson shows were placed in a cohesive future [all except Supercar, as that was set in the near future of the 1970's-80's,]. Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, and Zero-X were set in 2065. Captain Scarlet, which was added to the roster later, was set in 2067. This meant that you could have characters from different shows meeting in the various comic strips. Coincidentally, Lady Penelope had her own story in the comic, some months before Gerry Anderson's new show, Thunderbirds aired on TV. Furthermore, 'guest' hardware from Thunderbirds ie. the 'Fireflash' airliner, and the 'Sidewinder' Jungle Cat appeared on the covers and in non- Thunderbirds strips long before they were shown on TV. By the way, I never liked Thunderbirds' main bad guy, The Hood. The way his eyes lit up when he forced his will on someone, was damn scary. It's surprising, but watching the shows recently, it is startling just what a nasty bastard he was. Yes, he always loses, usually due to hubris, but he's a real sadist, possibly a psychopath. The 'phone call he makes in the first episode 'Trapped in the sky': ''Hello? Is that the control tower? I thought that you'd like to know that a bomb has been placed in the Fireflash that just took off for Tokyo.'' No emotion, just chillingly cool details. And this just to get International Rescue on the scene so he can do a bit of industrial espionage. They just don't make children's TV shows like that anymore!  |
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Post by pulphack on Jul 3, 2012 7:10:03 GMT
That was one of the great things about Anderson - the idea that all these worlds could be connected and referenced in some way, rather than existing outside of each other. Imagine if all the ITC shows had been like that - Jason King being bitchy to the Champions while Randall and Hopkirk hop in Adam Strange's taxi. Well, that's the world I live in...
Coming back to reality, was very sad to read over the weekend that Gerry Anderson has the early stages of Alzheimers, which he was talking about as he's doing some fund raising and publicity. That gentleman MADE the childhoods of many genre fans and put them on a long road, I'm sure. He certainly has a lot to answer for in my case (I still have a Thunderbirds handkerchief given to me in 1967).
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Post by valdemar on Jul 4, 2012 14:29:28 GMT
I'm so sad to hear about Gerry Anderson. For me, his shows, and all the splendid paraphernalia that went with them, were my early life. It's difficult to explain to a younger person just how much of an impact his shows had. The thrill of seeing the 'APF' device, and latterly the 'Century21' ident at he beginning of a show has still not diminished, and still raises goosebumps. About 1980/81, Stingray was re-shown on our local TV station. I was in sixth form doing my O levels. On the day of the week that Stingray was shown, there was a mass exodus of sixth formers to watch it. I was one. Eventually, we were allowed to watch it on a set in the school youthclub. This meant some teachers could also indulge - it was the first time we were able to watch it in colour, you see. And what a great quote on the intro: "Anything can happen in the next half hour!". As I sit here, I can see my diecast Stingray and Fireball XL5 models on the fireplace. Some things never leave you, and my admiration for all things Century 21 is one of them.  |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jul 4, 2012 16:46:35 GMT
I'm so sad to hear about Gerry Anderson. For me, his shows, and all the splendid paraphenalia that went with them, were my early life. It's difficult to explain to a younger person just how much of an impact his shows had. The thrill of seeing the 'APF' device, and latterly the 'Century21' ident at he beginning of a show has still not diminished, and still raises goosebumps. About 1980/81, Stingray was re-shown on our local TV station. I was in sixth form doing my O levels. On the day of the week that Stingray was shown, there was a mass exodus of sixth formers to watch it. I was one. Eventually, we were allowed to watch it on a set in the school youthclub. This meant some teachers could also indulge - it was the first time we were able to watch it in colour, you see. And what a great quote on the intro: "Anything can happen in the next half hour!". As I sit here, I can see my diecast Stingray and Fireball XL5 models on the fireplace. Some things never leave you, and my admiration for all things Century 21 is one of them. I had a soft spot for those little puppets - Fireball XL5 shaped my life. |
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Post by andydecker on Jul 4, 2012 17:54:17 GMT
Most of the Anderson productions never came across the channel back then. Programm execs had sometimes weird ideas what was suitable for children and what not. So Stingray and Thunderbirds were first broadcast in the 90s, I think. But there was UFO. Which was broadcast first at 9 p.m. It took some real effort to convince the parents to allow to watch this on a school night. Video recorders were still unthought of.
Of course I still have the Dinky Toys Interceptor and the Mobile.
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Post by ripper on Oct 30, 2015 10:13:11 GMT
Just reading through this thread again brought back such nice memories of childhood.
A previous poster mentioned a Thunderbirds handkerchief. I had a Captain Scarlet one c.1967 and also a Tarzan one--probably to tie into the Ron Ely TV series. As far as toys go, I remember owning the following...
Captain Scarlet: Spectrum Patrol car )the red one), the SPV and a Zero-X. I seem to remember a Captain Scarlet outfit for my Action Man as well.
Thunderbirds: Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 3. I also had Action Man-sized figures of Parker and John. There was a Thunderbirds costume I had for many years and after it was thrown out due to being too worn, we kept our Xmas decorations in the box.
Joe 90: the flying car and Sam Hoover's car (the silver one with big rear spoiler).
I think I had a plastic model of Stingray but that is rather hazy.
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Post by helrunar on Jun 15, 2016 21:20:33 GMT
I actually remember watching Stingray at my Granny's house (in suburban Maryland) back sometime around 1964 or 1965. Decades later when I stumbled upon it again, it was a surprising memory for me.
I don't have time to look up details of the distribution. It may have only run in a few markets over here.
I remember when I worked at a university library in Connecticut in the 1990s, there were a couple of co-workers who knew about Thunderbird. I think one of them watched it when stationed on a sub in the military and I think that would have been in the early 1970s or so.
Did Captain Scarlet air in the US? I have a teasing memory somehow that it may have done.
H.
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Post by ripper on Aug 1, 2016 7:23:48 GMT
I was a tad too young to see Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds when they were first broadcast, but I remember seeing Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service on their first runs, all in B+W, of course, as we didn't have a colour TV until late 1973.
I also used to really enjoy a children's comedy series called The Kids from 47A, about siblings left to fend for themselves when their mom has to go into hospital and trying to avoid nosey neighbours and social services. It was made around 1973.
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