Published on 12, July, 2020
Being born in the fifties, and having my formative years in the sixties and seventies, I believe some of the best television programmes were those made for children. I am a great fan of programmes made for children, and even now think there is some quality work there.But some of the programmes of rhe past excelled in real quality.
For starting this thread I will include one or two of my favourites from the sixties to the eighties.
I will come back to this later with others, I think my avatar would indicate one of my favourites so that goes without saying, for the moment.
The Owl service, a programme made in the late sixties, a mystery about a tea service and the remote.locarion it was set in.
Follyfoot, with its theme tune about a farm for retired horses, the characer of Dora every lad in my year fell in love with
Children of the Stones, a very creepy tale set in Avebury, with similarities to the Wicker Man
The Witches and the Grinnygog, a tale of a gargoyle with a seemingly strange power.
Worzel Gummidge, with Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs at their best.
Others to come, but opening up to reminiscences from other people.
I was born in the very late 70's.
There are a few here that I thought would remember Chocky. Chocky was sort of a strange show. There were kids who were "strange" and "gifted". I only thought of it reading this thread. I have them all as AVI's on my computer. It has a very Autistic theme, in my opinion. "Chocky" is Matthew's imaginary friend but he augments and sometimes over-affects Matthew. He has strange sensory experiences, he has an amazing memory and aptitude for logic. He will also muse on things that are normally not really mentioned, some strangely Autistic-like comments. The third series was *** though.
I read the book too. It was written by John Wyndham, who wrote the Day of the Triffids. The book spoke to me too. The sensory stuff and some of the things as I describe as "knowing before knowing", not like in a psychic way, but like the pattern makes sense, are really described in a profound way. I don't know if Wyndham was Autistic or was drawing on inspiration from Autistic kids. I just think that it was too much of a coincidence. Matthew has "overloads" a few times and becomes withdrawn. It spoke to me as a kid.
I won't put too many spoilers here but if you take away what "Chocky" was, and look at certain aspects, it's ******* eerie!
never saw the TV but the book is great