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Childrens television programmes of the past

Trainspotter

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.

  • in reply to Trogluddite

    yes to Wombles! and that "why don't you" programme - completely forgotten that!

  • in reply to Yttrium

    I know. Pity she did not write more

  • in reply to Yttrium

    Marianne Dreams! The TV show is on Youtube.  :)

  • in reply to nexus9

    I think I saw that story about the girl drawing in bed on television. It was wonderfully strange.

  • I never saw the series The Owl Service but I read the book and loved the book Elidor too. 

    I grew up on Dr Who and remember my mother getting excited to see the Daleks as it was coming on. It seems horribly overdone nowadays. Thunderbirds were definitely go, Stingray I did not understand the plot at all. Star Trek was a fave too. 

    No one has mentioned Jackanory, some of the stories were good. 

    A radio series we followed at school really intrigued me for its spookiness, about a girl who draws whilst ill in bed, she visits the drawings in her dreams and meets a boy there called Mark. She drew some evil stones with eyes and she and Mark have to escape them. They get to a lighthouse but then the following week there was no ending to the story and I felt so cheated!

    Decades later I tracked the book down on Amazon and did find out how it ended. 

    I got the impression my mother enjoyed many children's programmes more than we the kids did. Bewitched, Casey Jones, now someone mentioned it, White Horses too, most SF series, though I loved the SF too. 

    My parents were not keen on letting me watch Batman in case it gave me ideas. 

    And I was born in 1959. I envied Andy pansy's onesie. I remember the schaltzy Flipper, the song anyway. Belle and Sebastian. Robon Crusoe, Tarzan and Daktari caught my attention. Later on, Wacky Races and Top Cat likewise, and Tom and Jerry. I was nicknamed after Scooby-Doo, which I hated at the time but after all, he is quite a gothic hound. 

  • in reply to ) (

    It was only when I had a colour tv set and stingray was repeated in about 1986, that I realised that the 'in Videcolor' was positioned in a very clever cut.  After 'Standby for Action' and the water explosion came the 'in VideColor' all photographed in black and white.  After the 'Videcolor' sign appeared the titles changed to colour.

    I just thought at the first showing it was just a way of saying the programme was in black and white, since we only had black and white televisions in those days.

    Stingray was the first complete British TV series to be filmed in colour.  However, some episodes of 'Sir Lancelot' (starring William Russell of Dr Who fame) were made in colour as can be seen from the dvd set.  And apparently some episodes of Ivanhoe (starring Roger Moore) were also made in colour.

  • There was a time that my ambition in life was to become a Womble (I'm rather flabbergasted that they haven't been mentioned yet!)  I think something about them being hidden away under the noses of human beings in a little hidey hole, sneaking out to find other people's junk to tinker with, really appealed to me. Bernard Cribbins is always so good at doing that kind of multi-character narration, too - one of those voices, like Oliver Postgate, that I always enjoy to hear. The very first records I owned were the Wombles too, though I must admit, I'm not really much of a fan of that Glammy kind of sound. I wonder sometimes whether being a Wombles fan influenced my decision to take up caving when I got a bit older!

    When I got a bit older, it was mainly more factual programmes that I preferred. Blue Peter was a household favourite - my Mum's into handicrafts like me, so we were always collecting yoghurt pots so that we were prepared for Biddy Baxter's latest brainwave. I was hooked on Johnny Ball's shows (Think of a Number etc.); he played a big part in my lifelong fascination with science and history.

    And who could forget Why Don't You (Just Turn Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead?). I've no idea if the show was any good (I usually ran with their suggestion), but it wins the title for the best name!

  • The clangers,

    Bagpus

    Valley of the dinosaurs.        I loved this it only ran for about 4 or 5 months i was 7 I think at the time it was On On Sat mornings it was to my little 7 year old brain wonderful and it was in colour, don't laugh lots of people had black and white televisions in the seventies in fact lots of other people didn't have televisions at all.

    Born in 1967

  • in reply to Yttrium

    Yes, I was rather shocked that I had to read so far down the thread before I saw the Clangers mentioned! Something about the way that they 'talked' without words has always entranced me. I find Oliver Postgate's voice incredibly soothing too. I was a fan of almost anything that he narrated - his imitations of stream trains for Ivor the Engine still bring me out in a big grin.

  • Star Trek: The Animated Series

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hseFdKcCD4

    I remember first seeing it on "Going Live!" back in the early 90's and loving it.


    Once Upon A Time: Life

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imP2MZxoM-s

    This used to be on at a stupidly early time like 0600 on Channel 4 when I was very young - the way it represented biology was pretty cool at the time


    Reboot
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQh_V8T2op0

    The first all CGI cartoon series released in 1994 that was set inside a computer system. I LOVED this as a 13 year old.

  • in reply to Disambiguating Cynosure

    .. .and Wacky Races was a cartoon version of The Great Race.

    Star Trek was a space version of westerns such as Rawhide or Wagon Train. Thinderbirds was like Bonanza or any number of similar family group programmes. 

  • in reply to Disambiguating Cynosure

    ...I Almost forgot to add something else I have always wanted to say in Public... About HANNA BARBERA Cartoons; This Studio seems to have forgotten its heritage, and if I were ever (allowed) to get into the business, I would pick up the Baton/Gauntlet from which they left off, and make "Cartoony parodies" of popular live action TV Series. Why is no-one doing this anymore??
    e.g. Top Cat = Sergeant Bilko, Flintstones = The Honeymooners, Hey Hey It's The King = Happy Days.
    ...Get in there. That is all from myself for now, I think.

  • Greetings from myself... (This Thread has dropped away already?) Not posting so much what I watched as a Child but rather something(s) I have always wanted to Post upon a Public Forum about this topic if ever given oppertunity. I think that "old" programs are remembered "most fondly" since we are basically learning how to speak (English) from them, and so they become a part of ourselves - Yes, even including "The Clangers" or "Tom And Jerry"...

    The main thing I want to say in public, though is about "Rainbow" - Y'know, The TV Programme with Geoffrey, George, Zippy, Bungle, 'Rod-Jane&Freddy'... that one. ZIPPY was my favourite character and so I recall this, that he was supposed to be a FROG/TOAD, hence the brown skin, big eyes, huge mouth, grating voice, and so on! But like George and Bungle, none of them acted like the "animals" they were supposed to be. (I hated Bungle because he looked like a Bear with an imploded face.)

    To end this Post I shall change subject and try asking... Does anyone recall, during the Eighties, a live action Programme called "The Album"? I do not recall the content, but the Theme Tune was *FAN-TAS-TIC* (Rock Music)...!?

  • in reply to Yttrium

    That's my only showbiz anecdote btw.

  • Years ago I wandered into a poorly attended Comic shop grand opening and noticed a very embarrassed Sophie Aldred dressed as Ace from Dr Who. I said "hello" and she seemed really grateful to have a "fan" to talk to. I got a bit flustered after a few minutes and had to leave the shop but she was very nice to me and I only wish those Dr Who episodes she appeared in hadn't been so dreadful. She's a lovely person and deserves better scripts.  <3

  • in reply to Yttrium

    What time is it Eccles? - Aspie logic all the way....!

  • in reply to Trainspotter

    I got a bit obsessed with the goons and then the telegoons. Not at the time they first came out, of course. I even bought a complete set of photocopies of the Telegoons comic strip taken from TV Comic!

  • in reply to Yttrium

    The sound Clangers make when they push a heavy object up a hill is just wonderful.

  • in reply to grendalsbane

    Fraggle Rock was very clever - lots of 'in jokes'. I liked Sprocket the dog.

  • Really enjoyed reading everybody's faves but I'm amazed that no one has mentioned The Clangers. I love The Clangers even more now than I did when I was young. Clangers DVDs should be available on prescription.   <3