As if by magic the shopkeeper appeared.. (Top Ten Children's Programmes)

Member Name: kerrypanda

Product:	Top Ten Children's Programmes
Date:	05/08/09 (142 review reads)
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I initially found this a bit difficult to write as an opinion piece (as you will already know if you clicked on this review last night when it consisted merely of a long list of programme names!) I was not exactly discerning as a child, I would watch whatever was on the TV screen - I even remember avidly watching court TV as a toddler - and a lot of the fond memories I had associated with these programmes were actually nothing to do with the content of the shows themselves, and some I loved just because of the theme tunes, etc. So I did manage to get the list down from 50 to 10 in the end!

In descending order... (or is it ascending? I always get them mixed up)

10. Superted
I think I watched this because my younger brothers did, but it's stayed with me anyway. It was about a reject teddy bear who was discovered by a spotty man from outer space ' who brought him to life with his cosmic dust'. I couldn't stand Spotty's voice and the way he called Superted 'S-y-uperted', but the teddy bear superhero had really cute little paws, and I kept watching to see if he would ever say his secret 'special word' out loud (I don't think he ever did.)

9. Mighty Mouse
I loved this, but it was only on TV sporadically so I didn't get to see much of it. It's older than I thought actually, the cartoon dates from the 50s. Mighty Mouse was a rodent parody of Superman, with lots of super powers. The music was very 50s too, there was theatrical singing all the way through the cartoons. MM has a girlfriend called Pearl Pureheart who very often found herself tied to train tracks or in some other peril at the hands of Oil Can Harry the evil cat. He always saved her just in the nick of time, and struck a triumphant pose as the final credits came on.

8. Mr Benn
When I bought 'The Complete Mr Benn' on dvd for my son to watch it surprised me to discover only 13 episodes were ever made of this show. I remember watching it over and over again. Every episode, Mr Benn would leave 52 Festive Road and head straight for a fancy dress costume shop, to try on an outfit and walk through the door that always led to adventures! So simple, and a little bit odd!

7. Morph
Recently I was shopping in a branch of Hawkins Bazaar, where I saw a make-your-own-Morph kit for sale, and it brought the memories flooding back. Morph was a plasticine man made up by Tony Hart, an artist and long time television presenter. Morph was able to change shape and move through solid objects. He later acquired some friends - Chas (my favourite), Grandmorph, Delilah, Gillespie, a girl made from foil, and a pet nailbrush. They all spoke complete nonsense, so Tony Hart helpfully translated.

6. She-Ra
I have to admit to a bit of girl crush on She-Ra/Princess Adora, but I wonder now if it was mainly a gratitude crush? All my young male relatives watched He-Man and had a series of seemingly endless action figures to play with, while, if I remember correctly, all girls had was the choice of three or four sickly-smelling Strawberry Shortcake dolls or Barbie/Cindy. Then all of a sudden He-Man had a sister. She was very much the female version of him, and I realise now, had a rather bad hairstyle! She-Ra was only around for two years but is still a convention favourite. I never got my hands on any of the action figures, though my male relatives did!

5. Jem and the Holograms
Did Jem pre-date or post-date She-Ra? This cartoon was a real craze among my friends at primary school. I don't think we had seen anything like this before, a cartoon about a girl band, we were all smitten! Jem was a pink haired pop star, the night-time alias of mild-mannered Jerrica Benton, the front woman for Jem and the Holograms which consisted of her sister red-haired Kimber on keyboards ( the only line I recall from the show is Kimber flouncing off yelling 'You can get some other flunky to plunk keys for you!') Aja was on bass, and purple afro'd Shana on drums. Their rivals were a punky group called the Misfits who looked like they were out of the cast of Cats. The episodes often centered around a Battle of the Bands between the two. I had the (oddly masculine) dolls, music cassette tapes - the songs were dreadful, my parents were saints to put up with it - and the VHS tape which I wore out from watching too much.

4. Muppets
The Muppets was a family show. My family never sat down to watch it together, but I was aware it wasn't just a kids show by the star guests that appeared every week. I never recognised a single one though obviously some were very famous. The show followed the same format every week; that fantastic opening song, then a series of skits (Pigs in Space, Fozzies stand-up, the newsflash) interspersed with the Muppets running around backstage trying to put on the show. Kermit was the star, with his paramour Miss Piggy, and dogsbodies Gonzo and Scooter, but there was a cast of dozens. I loved the grumpy old men who complained all the way through the show, and the Muppet band, with mad Animal on drums.

3. Garfield
Garfield must be the most successful fictional cat ever. He started off as a comic strip character, and became a massive merchandising success in the 80s. Everyone knew someone with a toy Garfield suckered to their car window. I loved the comic books, I remember throwing a tantrum in a bookshop when my uncle suggested a Sindy annual might be more appropriate for a girl! (What was he thinking?) The original cartoons were charming and Garfield was voiced by a Bill Murray soundalike. Garfield liked sleeping and lasagnas, he hated Mondays and his owners other pets Odie the dog, and later Nermal the kitten. The cartoon I remember most clearly is the Christmas episode (as I re-watch it every December!)

2. Snoopy
I have a real soft spot for Snoopy and the other Peanuts characters. My mum had a Woodstock (Snoopys best friend the little yellow bird) on her dressing table. Snoopy was owned by the hapless Charlie Brown, and the cartoons featured Charlie, his little sister Sally and his friends bossy Lucy, Linus and his comfort blanket, Scroeder and his mini piano, and the little red headed girl he has a crush on. Again, I like to watch the Christmas episode every December, it's a family tradition now!

1. Spongebob
I think Spongebob Squarepants is the best cartoon to have emerged in the last ten years, in spite of it having the most irritating theme tune! Spongebob is a charming talking sponge who lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, and works at the Krusty Krab restaurant as a fry cook with his cantankerous neighbour Squidward Tentacles. His best friends are Patrick the starfish and Sandy Cheeks the underwater squirrel. They all live in the saucily named Bikin Bottom. He likes jelly fishing and attending boat driving school. it's a very funny cartoon, and can be appreciated by viewers of all ages. The reason I like this cartoon the most is because it's the only one apart from The Simpsons that I can watch it with my son without one of us getting bored and going off to do something else. In fact my son has taken his Spongebob dvds to my brothers house, and when I called round to pick him up a whole roomful of 20-somethings was sitting in silence watching Spongebob!

Summary: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?