When I was a lad (well girl actually) ........... (Top Ten Children's Programmes)

Member Name: Coxy1974

Product:	Top Ten Children's Programmes
Date:	07/02/07 (828 review reads)
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Advantages: Endless hours of amusement

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I've enjoyed reading the reviews on here about this and some of the shows that are on peoples lists I'd forgotten even exisisted! Made me think about the shows I liked as a kid.

Thinking back to the ‘good ole days’ of my childhood – a distant memory I know! The days when all I needed was a bat and ball to keep me happy for hours on end so I could play ball against the house wall (annoyed the hell out of my mother). The days when we used to go and play rounders on the bowling green on a Saturday morning and then all scarper to someones house because CHIPS was on. Ah those were the days……

Anyway, top ten kids TV. If you are a child of the seventies and eighties then you will recognise these. When putting together the list I found that I couldn’t rank them in any order because I loved them all! So here they are

Grange Hill

With the likes of Gripper Stebson, Tucker and all of the gang. Later on you had Zammo who got hooked on drugs, Roland (the fat one who always got picked on) and Chrissie who got pregnant. This show tackled really difficult issues that we all face as teenagers. Bullying, teenage pregnancy and drugs were just some of the things that were dealt with. I loved it when the kids used to play tricks on Mr Robson – the teacher who’s most famous line was ‘Where do you think you are going boy?’ Todd Carty, Susan Tulley, Michelle Gayle, Nicola Stapleton and John Alford are some of the cast that went on to join the cast of EastEnders.

Top Cat

‘Best friends get to call him TC!’ Who could forget the brilliant Top Cat with Officer Dibble. Top Cat was a streetwise cat who had his little band of merry men (or should that be cats?), Benny being one of them. Benny was actually one of my favourites. I always found it slightly odd that TC lived in a bin, wore pyjamas to bed and kept his toothbrush in the police phone box over the bin. The whole show centred around TC and his mates getting one over on Office Dibble, something they always seemed to manage. I still watch this show if I catch a rerun on Cartoon Network.

The Muppet Show

‘It’s time to play the music, it’s time to dress up right. It’s time for us to show you what’s on the Muppet Show tonight’. I had muppet pyjamas and slippers and it was a job for my mother to get them off me to wash them! Kermit was always my favourite with Miss Piggy a close second. Fozzy Bear on the piano, Animal, Gonzo and the Hecklers who always sat in a box to the left of the stage. Quite randomly part way through the show you’d get a break for ‘Pigs in Space’ which was literally pigs in space. Brilliant!

Scooby Doo

Not the rubbish ones with Scrappy Doo or Scooby’s cousin (the white dog and I could never remember his name!) but the original one with Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy. The ‘Pesky Kids’ always solved the mystery. Shaggy always got scared with Scooby, eating the most enormous sandwiches with the most revolting fillings along the way. Daphne always got kidnapped and had to be rescued, Fred always had that smug expression on his face but the brains was always Velma who said ‘Jinkys’ at every opportunity whenever she found a clue. At work a few years back we were having a day where we dressed up as characters out of a cartoon and produced a short film. We were split into groups so we decided to make a Scooby short movie. I got cast as Velma and I got to say Jinkys! A lot. Scooby, dooby, dooooooo!!

Tiswas

Chris Tarrant, Lenny Henry and Sally James (I think!). I used to love Lenny Herny’s Trever McDoughnut impressions and when Trevor McDonald appeared behind him on one episode it was brilliant. There’d be the Phantom Flan Flinger, the people locked in a cage where Chris Tarrant would throw water at them and loads of other stuff going on. Complete zany. I did hear in a Chris Tarrant interview many years later that they were all off their heads when they sat up on a Friday night to write the script for the Saturday.

In those days you either watched Noel Edmonds on BBC1 with the Multicoloured Swapshop (yawn!) or Tiswas – I was definitely a Tiswas girl and I can still do the dying fly. If I ever got onto Who want to be a Millionaire I would tell Chris I’d donate half my winnings to his favourite charity if he’d get down on the floor and demonstrate he could still do the dying fly!

The Banana Splits

‘Tra la la, la la la la. One banana, two banana, three banana, four. Four bananas make a bunch and so do many more. Over hill and highway the banana buggies go. Coming on to bring you the Banana Splits Show’ Surreal programme with adults dressed as various creatures called Bingo, Fleagle, Drooper and Snorky. I liked Bingo the best. On a Saturday morning I would run down the stairs (yes in Muppet pyjamas) to get breakfast and then sit down to watch the Banana Splits. If I was lucky I’d get to watch whilst eating my Rice Krispies and having my milk before I went out to play. They’d break the show up in the middle to show a cartoon, one of which I seem to remember was the Arabian Nights. The furry creatures would arrive in what looked like a basement flat by odd routes such as a firemans pole or a chute before bumping into each for a while. I have fond memories of this show.

Press Gang

I seem to remember this was shown on a Thursday evening and was on later for the ‘Older kids’ on CITV. Centred around a group of sixth formers who ran the school newspaper the Junior Gazette. Julia Sawalha played the headstrong and stubborn Editor Lynda Day, Dexter (swoon!) Fletcher as Spike Thompson. This show ran from 1989 – 1993 and won a BAFTA award. 5 series of this were made but what kept people tuning in was the ‘will they, won’t they?’ relationship between Lynda and Spike. Lynda pretended she didn’t fancy Spike and he was always asking her out. She acted all aloof when he was around which we all know is a dead give away to fancying someone don’t we girls? Excellent acting all round with good mix of using all characters in different episodes.

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

Captain Caveman and the teenangels. Loosely based on Charlies Angels you have a furry caveman as ‘Charlie’ and 3 very attractive women as his ‘Teen Angels’. Originally appeared as part of Scooby’s all star laugh Olympics but soon had their own show outright. Cavey Wavey could fly by the end of his club opening up and a propeller coming out (more often than not something went wrong with this!) I seem to remember a yellow canary appearing at one stage and hitting him on the head. I don’t know the things my mother used to let me watch as a child!

Why don’t you?

Just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead? I loved this programme. A bit like a magazine programme with roving reporters who were all children which made it excellent for the young viewer. Loads of tips of things to do in the holidays but the best bit was that the things were aimed at getting kids of their backsides and get outside or create something and not aimed at parents on how to keep their kids amused.

Jim’ll Fix It

I wrote and wrote for Jim to fix it for me to sing live with George Michael. Suffice it to say that Jim didn’t fix it for me. Jimmy Saville in his tracksuits, gold chains and perma cigar. Amazing when you look back at the show now that he was ever allowed on national television around kids whilst smoking his head off! I seriously loved this show and loved seeing what Jim would fix for some lucky kid. I never thought it fair that I didn’t get my George wish and I think this may have mentally scarred me for life! My other half got on there though, complete with his suit and pudding bowl haircut! I kid you not, he’s even let me see the video which caused much amusement I can tell you. I suppose we all have to have our claims to fame and this one is much better than mine believe me. After he’d shown it me I had to sing to him ‘Your letter is only the start of it…..’

So that’s my list of top ten kids TV. Oldies I know but then I am the wrong side of 30 but who cares. You’re as old as you feel – nope not going there with that one cos I feel about 130 at the moment.

Thanks for reading folks! Looking forward to reading your lists.

Summary: Humming the theme tune to Jim'll Fix it now - Happy days.