Not a toy collector, but I did go on a bit of a nostalgia trip yesterday on YouTube, so here's a few delights from similar era British kids telly if anybody is interested.
Puppets were still big business here around this time:
Rainbow - Zippy - a loud and arrogant 'thing' with a ruby ball shaped head and a wicked sense of humour, George - a gentle and incredibly effette pink hippo and Bungle - a serious and shy bear. They're meant to represent three different types of children, and the late Geoffrey Hayes trying to maintain order.
Theme 6/10, pretty good, nice bit of jazz drumming.
Sooty - You can usually judge the age of a Brit by who they consider Sooty's rightful companion. Naturally, it's the slightly irritable Matthew Corbett. The mute titular bear with his dog companion Sweep (no, we don't find that noise annoying - Sweep is a
chad) and the proto-Karen Soo as his panda girlfriend. This dates back to the 1950s and I think they still make it.
Theme 2/10, not offensive, but utterly forgettable, wasn't consistent and sounds like it was made in fifteen minutes on a Bontempi organ in this incarnation.
Models/Claymation:
Fireman Sam (or Sam Tân natively) - Unashamedly Welsh, originating from Wales (cf.
Welsh theme) and wonderfully made. The English version still leans heavily on thick mid-Wales accents, and Pontypandy is about the most stereotypical Welsh placename imaginable. Banned in my household for reasons not worth retelling here.
[Fire] engine is British English for a 'Fire Truck' should that cause any confusion in the lyrics. 'Norrmannn' is still a common retort to hearing of a person actually called Norman.
Funky theme, the perfect fifth vocal cadence aping a welping siren, weird compound timing and a bit of distorted electric guitar, 8.5/10.
Postman Pat - Inexplicably popular, I found this dull and tedious even as an infant, it takes forever to tell usually incredibly uninspiring stories and I'm not altogether sure why a postman (especially one as viceless and dull as Pat) would have ever made it past the draft scripts. It's awarded a point for being set in the Yorkshire Dales and retaining (although mild) West Riding accents. Only the BBC could have made something so technically brilliant yet so breathsnatchingly dull.
Theme is memorable, and many like it. It goes on about as long as a standard single and it's just a little minor-key folk noodle tuned up. Controversial, but 4/10
Trap Door - Now we're talking. Bloody hilarious whether you're an adult or a child and I believe this actually won adult comedy awards. The lamented Willie Rushton's wonderful telling of these bizarre, slightly gothic but firmly tongue in cheek and knowingly stupid stories.
Theme is short, but to the point, just the series itself was there for a good time, not a long time. 7/10
Cartoons:
The American imports mentioned about were pretty big business here, He-Man was a cultural phenomenon this side of the pond too. TMNT (or TNHT here) was hacked about terribly, firstly the word 'Ninja' was deemed unacceptable for UK children (?) so was replaced, rather haphazardly with the word 'Hero' in various parts of the script and theme lyrics. Oh, massive edits had to be made due another reason.
Watch the
UK Titles and see if you notice what's been (almost deliberately badly) edited out, I'll put the answer below if you want to have a guess... The clue, it's something about the orange mask one.
UK Stuff:
Bananaman - A rather warm yet dry 'pisstake' on the standard American superhero fare, a completely pointless superhero with elements of Popeye thrown in. Narrated by The Goodies of all people on God's green earth, which I think adds to the charm and knowingly crap nature of this one.
Theme is a bit of nothing really..... Can't add much here, 3/10
I'll ignore SuperTed, it's very similar to Bananaman, just with a bear and an irritating sidekick, but similar in concept.
Count Duckula - This fights with DangerMouse for contention for probably the most fondly remembered 80s British cartoon. David 'Del Boy' Jason (a living national treasure here) on voice duty, much like Trap Door it is very tongue in cheek and not at all serious, wonderfully stylistic and the end titles make up for the slightly underhelming start titles.
Theme - Loads of Simmons drum pads and diagetics, the Vincent Price esque voice-over and overdone stabs 6/10
DangerMouse - Another Cosgrove-Hall vehicle, still with David Jason and still very tongue in cheek. Fondly remembered.
Theme is unremarkable, no opinion here, I'll give it 2/10
Then the big one
America, what on earth is this? The world thrives on ingrained American cultural references, you put a men on the moon, invented legion products and been an impossibly kind and patient ally to us Europeans, but
what the blistering bloody hell is this? -
Fun House.
Ours may be the
cover version, but I can not begin to accept that our one could ever be considered the imitation.
Consider our first episode of Fun House from the same year.
- Pat Sharp
- 'The' Mullet
- Fun Kart Grand Prix
- Recorded and edited almost as if there's some element of pride in it
- Isn't a rolling commercial (quite the opposite under UK law, downside, can't giveaway cash on children's television here)
- Pat Sharp
- Properly themed and re-enforced themes and stabs.
- A proper Fun House...
- Pat Sharp
- RE-RUN THE FUN!
Amongst others. Fun House was the end of the school week here, 1610 on Fridays was Fun House time and everything stopped up and down the UK, sorry BBC, we're all off to ITV for this.
It ran for 11 series here and was a huge part of childhoods around this time. Pat's a bit unsure here (it's the first episode) but it only got bigger, better and faster from here. Introducing full-size/power Go-Karts after this series and the bigger, messier and just crazier Fun House we all knew and loved. Also different in our version is the final question (kids often didn't get the Power Prize) and the God-Emperor Pat Sharp and his mullet of magnificence.
Theme - 10/10 - The 'Fun House Run' theme is often dropped in nightclubs here at 3am to create total unhinged mayhem amongst drunk middle-aged people, as is the main theme, or the stabs, or anything really. 80s/90s kids TV perfection to the Brits. Ran for over 500 episodes here. I know I'm not the only one to run through a deserted car was at 0330 on the way home from the pub whilst screaming 'I'm going in to the Fun House'.
The BBC tried desperately with the altogether safer, although more novel gunge-fest 'Get Your Own Back' and whilst Dave Benson Philips comes across as one of the most affable guys in British kids TV it went toe-to-toe with the wrong show, h
ere's the pair of them in 2012 briefly discussing the rivalry. Fun House I think pulled in 2:1 or similar on viewership, whereas the rest of the two children's programming threads (Children's BBC and Children's ITV) was pretty even.
Anyway, needlessly long and not especially relevant or interesting but just in case anybody was interested. I've got to write a long and dull treatise later for a client so it's a warm-up for the brain if nothing else.
*Nunchucks are a proscribed weapon under the UK Prevention of Crime Act 1953 and could not be shown in a children's television program.