An Open Letter to CITV

Dear CITV,

We (that is everyone who grew up throughout the 80's and 90's) would like to share our united thanks for your fantastic Old Skool weekend on the 6th and 7th of January. It was without doubt the best way to celebrate your 30th anniversary by broadcasting the best of the best - a perfect blend of animation, comedy, game shows and drama, all of which were lovely to have seen again on the small screen after so long. I can say with complete satisfaction that I enjoyed each and every one to its fullest, all with good reason.

These are the viewing rates for the entire weekend;

(Source: Digital Spy / 'Sooty, Sweep and Soo' Facebook Page)

CITV - SATURDAY

09:25 - Mike and Angelo: 150k (2.3%)

09:50 - Super Gran: 203k (2.9%)

10:15 - Wizadora: 240k (3.1%)

10:30 - T-Bag: 304k (3.8%)

10:50 - Engie Benjy: 234k (3.0%)

11:05 - The Raggy Dolls: 308k (3.9%)

11:15 - Puddle Lane: 297k (3.8%)

11:35 - Count Duckula: 349k (4.4%)

12:00 - The Sooty Show: 396k (4.6%)

12:25 - Art Attack: 377k (4.2%)

12:40 - The Big Bang: 345k (3.5%)

13:00 - Finders Keepers: 411k (4.0%)

13:30 - Fun House: 403k (3.7%)

14:00 - Knightmare: 361k (3.2%)

14:30 - Fraggle Rock: 324k (3.0%)

15:00 - The Worst Witch: 199k (1.7%)

15:30 - Woof!: 247k (2.0%)

16:00 - Dramarama: 145k (1.0%)

16:30 - Press Gang: 163k (1.0%)

17:00 - The Tomorrow People: 134k (0.7%)

17:30 - Children's Ward: 83.5k (0.4%)

CITV - SUNDAY

09:25 - Mike and Angelo - 209k

09:50 - Spatz - 270k

10:15 - Huxley Pig - 297k

10:30 - Rainbow - 369k

10:50 - Button Moon - 448k

11:05 - The Riddlers - 453k

11:15 - Rosie and Jim - 457k

11:35 - Dangermouse - 544k

12:00 - Sooty and Co - 448k

12:25 - How 2 - 439k

12:40 - Finger Tips - 280k

13:00 - Jungle Run - 323k

13:30 - Fun House - 407k

14:00 - Knightmare - 325k

14:30 - Fraggle Rock - 226k

15:00 - My Parents Are Aliens - 154k

15:30 - Woof! - 79k

16:00 - Dramarama - 38k

16:30 - Press Gang - 71k

17:00 - The Tomorrow People - 65k

17:30 - Children's Ward - 28

The Top 10 Highest Ratings Shows (SATURDAY)

01 - Finders Keepers

02 - Fun House

03 - The Sooty Show

04 - Art Attack

05 - Knightmare

06 - Count Duckula

07 - The Big Bang

08 - Fraggle Rock

09 - The Raggy Dolls

10 - T-Bag

The Top 10 Highest Ratings Shows (SUNDAY)

01 - Dangermouse

02 - Rosie and Jim

03 - The Riddlers

04 - Sooty and Co

05 - Button Moon

06 - How 2

07 - Fun House

08 - Rainbow

09 - Jungle Run

10 - Knightmare

Still the Greatest after all this time!

To put this into perspective, the highest-rated programme on your digital channel is "Horrid Henry" with just 269k. In less than two days, Danger Mouse had broken the record for the highest ratings ever with 544k. Not just because of the nostalgic factor, but because this series - as with many of Cosgrove Hall's shows - has upheld against the tests of time, undoubtedly the best of British Animation. With humour that is clever and not vulgar, characters that are solidified but not exaggerated, and acting that is genuine and not forced.

The same also applies for the pre-school shows that were aired. Even aimed at a younger audience, the likes of Button Moon and The Riddlers were smart enough not to talk down to their viewers, whether they were teaching them basic lessons or simply to entertain them for 5 to 10 minutes. The Raggy Dolls' message of being different is still relevant to today's generation (where physical appearance has become more apparent than ever) but cleverly disguised with imaginative storytelling.

Wizadora - you'll adore her...and so would today's kids!

In fact, comparing Wizadora with the odd choice of Engie Benjy, I found the former to be much more interesting than the latter. Wizadora managed to give us a string of witty one-liners as characters interacted with one another, which resulted in a valuable yet subtle moral of friendship. Engie Benjy, on the other hand, downplayed and over-explained everything as if in fear that their audience might not understand the story entirely. And while Wizadora did break the "fourth wall" by interacting with the viewers, it wasn't as constant as Engie Benjy, which in this fashion quickly became tiresome and distracted attention from the episode.

It has also become evident that, as with CBBC and Disney Channel, you have taken a similar interested focus on live-action comedy. And while the American Imports may save costs on creating home-made programmes, they still lack the perfect comedy timing that Mike and Angelo, Woof! and Super Gran contained that made them oh-so popular in their own times. And not all of them required a laugh-track to prompt viewers to 'join in', which was where the quality of "My Parents Are Aliens" had started to slip later in its run...

Far and away, though, the one element missing from your digital channel nowadays is a way of engaging the viewers within the action. That was what made Saturday Mornings much more interesting, where children were allowed to be part of the programme, whether in-studio or as a phone-in contestant, a time when it was great fun to get messy while earning prizes, and a time when a child used their brains and their muscles within each mad challenge ahead. Even the presenters for the Monday - Friday schedule made CITV worth watching because they had more than a disembodied voice to talk to and be greeted by every afternoon.

Back when "Saturday was Tiswas Day!"

Without these Saturday Mornings for kids, there would have been no other way technology or certain famous faces would have gotten to where they are today. Aside from being one of the first to experiment with live phone-ins, Tiswas introduced us to that common game-show ingredient known as “gunge”, Knightmare was revolutionary for introducing such technology like the blue screen chroma - and of course, a huge amount of folks in prime-time media owe their gratitude to their current careers - Ant and Dec, Matthew Kelly, Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby, Chris Tarrant - all of which first started out getting their hair washed with gunge and having a high old time with the kids!

And not just game shows, but "funducational" programmes made children want to learn the world and create amazing arts and crafts by hand - before we had Wikipedia or Photoshop, before the internet had exploded, we learnt hundreds of worldly facts from How 2, we learnt from Finger Tips what to make out of cardboard and sticky tape, and we saw how Neil Buchanan of Art Attack created a Surfboarding Santa in Barbados! If most schools had these programmes on-hand, perhaps Science and History lessons wouldn't appear so boring to many 12 - 14 year-olds.

To round off, we must make mention of the drama shows. What made CITV amazing was that, at the time, you weren't afraid to push the envelope now and again. You proved that you weren't afraid of showing a dark side as well as a light. Whether it was frightening the life out of kids with the supernatural tales of Dramarama or showing the harsh reality of Children's Ward that today's children ought to and should know about, covering difficult issues in a sensitive manner.

While it's now possible to revive several shows with today's technology, there are still many that are best left well alone to simple repeated airings (for fear that the same mistakes would be made as reviving Bernard's Watch had proved). However, in case of Sooty - who is still going on stronger than ever - a blend of the old and the new in future schedules would be lovely: showcasing Richard's latest seasons while introducing newer fans to Matthew Corbett (and, one day, a little of Harry Corbett!) in a way that everyone, old and new, is left satisfied.

The mention of that 65 year old yellow bear brings up a key point - longevity. So many of the shows highlighted in this retro feast boasted very long runs in their day, and were surely discovered and enjoyed by several different generations throughout the 80's, 90's and early 00's. Art Attack very nearly managed twenty years on the air, while Fun House and Children's Ward notched up a very respectable decade each. Aside from this obviously meaning plenty in the archive for you to repeat, can you honestly say any of your currently imported shows will still be running or even remembered in ten years?

Now is the perfect time to encourage the current generation to embrace the past alongside the present. Nostalgia is, after all, becoming ever more apparent and celebrated. These vintage programmes, however dated they may appear now, can still offer great entertainment and educational value for your newer, younger audience.

The weekend of the Old Skool has, in my opinion, been a rousing success. Though it may have been intended as a one-off event I really think you should consider another some time soon, or possibly an Old Skool slot in the schedule. If many of these shows aren't graced with DVD releases - be it due to copyright issues or lack of interest - further repeats in future would be most welcome.

When that day comes, I'm sure many others would be more than happy to suggest a great many other programmes of the 80's and 90's that ought to be given a second broadcast - in fact, I have quite a list prepared already...!

Thanks for letting us "rerun the fun".

Your fellow nostalgic viewer,

Christopher Signore

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SOOTY, SWEEP AND SOO FACEBOOK PAGE FOR VIEWING RATES AND THEKIPPERRUNSAGAIN AS CO-WRITER.

Don't forget to visit Toonhound for more Old Skool British Animation! 

And keep the Nostalgia alive by nabbing a few retro t-shirts from TruffleShuffle!

The Story Store - Music and Moonlight

Whenever we watch a Christmas animated special, you may notice that many fall into a similar pattern - that the main character/s either have to save Christmas / Santa, or learn that Christmas doesn't come gift-wrapped. Clichéd as they may seem, there are plenty that manage to twist either format into a fresh new approach, while others become preachy as preachy can be...

This Christmas Special definitely falls into the "fresh" approach. And it's all thanks to one man.

As Brian Trueman had for many of Cosgrove Hall's shows, Joe Austen was a vital contributor to Storyland Ltd. During his time with the company he had created, written and illustrated just about everything for Storyland; some that sadly did not get enough establishment to be developed further (Bud, Atoz) while those that did became true little gems to those who remember them - these being The Magic House and The Story Store.

The company, in a desperate attempt to regain focus from today's generation, even snapped up the rights for Biker Mice From Mars...but that's another story.

The Story Store focused mainly around George and his small assistant Pip, as they managed the magical products of the Story Store to their local customers, like a charming old-fashioned corner shop - from the exemplary Granny Clump and her idiotic grandson Sammy, to Victoria Pumpkin the Dancing (and accident-prone) young hippo.

Despite having a 13-episode run in 1995 on CITV, the charm of Joe's imagination and the craftsmanship of the stop-motion models (by Mackinnon and Saunders, I believe) remains as fresh as ever. A brilliant series that ought to resurface even for a mere DVD release at least.

Even so, Joe got the chance to present a Christmas Special for 2002. While the TV Series had been narrated by the gentle Alan Bennett, Rory Bremner was called upon here when Bennett was taken ill. And thanks to everyone's efforts at Storyland Ltd, it retains all of the magic of the Story Store and more - there is a message somewhere like all Christmas Specials, but it's woven so delicately in this delightful tale that you'd hardly even notice ;-)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Joe Austen's Creative Portfolio

The Story Store on Toonhound

A Cartoon Christmas - a vast collection of every animated Christmas Special ever made!

CITV - No School like the Old Skool

This year has seen a number of anniversaries, achievements and landmarks celebrated - but for us British, this is one celebration to round off 2012!

Children's ITV - once an after-school programme block and now it's own dedicated Digital Channel - is to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a special documentary in January and an entire weekend of classic shows to air. Featuring old friends like Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, The Raggy Dolls, Children's Ward, Fun House, Huxley Pig and plenty more.

View the schedule for CITV's Old Skool schedule and see if your favourites are listed!

TBH, I'd love to see an Old Skool block become a permanent staple in CITV's schedule. As a child of the late 80's myself, so many of its programmes still hold up against all the merchandise-driven, celebrity-hyped madness of today - which while rakes in the quantity are fleeting in quality. Nostalgia is wonderful stuff that should be cherished than cashed-in or thrown out as this intriguing little article might explain.

And earlier this month, we have seen an example of history being remembered when animation veteran Brian Cosgrove was (finally!) awarded his BAFTA Special at the British Academy Children's Awards - which you can view in full coverage here:

So until January rolls in, relive further memories by viewing a wide selection of UK shows from this special - if lengthy! - little playlist =)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

ATV Today's release of CITV's Old Skool celebrations

Visit Toonhound for a full list of British Animation!

Happy Birthday, Sooty!

Though he may always be 5 years old in TV Land, in reality Sooty is 64 years old today - and still going strong thanks to Richard, Matthew and Harry :)

I'm not sure if anything is planned for his 65th next year, but for now you can view the 50th anniversary documentary (uploaded by the Sooteries Channel), which aired on ITV back in 1998 - around the time when Matthew Corbett retired from the series under the name "Sooty and Co":



And when you're done, you can either read my review on the 2011 Sooty series, or revisit a few classic episodes from the playlist below!

Bernard's Watch

There is a well-known saying: "Don't fix what isn't broken." And in recent years, where the Television / Film media is so psyched about 'rebooting' classic characters of the past (often with mixed views on their handling) this idiom has become more apparent for me. So here's another example:

Back in the mid-90's, the concept of a magic watch that could stop time had been about knocking about for a while until it was eventually picked up and developed by the very friendly Andrew Norriss (who also wrote "Matt's Million", "Aquilia", "The Brittas Empire" and "Woof!"). What began as a 15-minute one-off soon spanned into a charming TV Series known as Bernard's Watch.

The show was about a boy called Bernard, who is always late for everything until he is given a magic stop-watch that could stop time. With this, he always had time to spare in his day-to-day routines (lucky chap!) and often used it to help others in need.
It featured Liza Goddard as the Storyteller, David Peachey as Bernard Beaseley and Jack McKenzie as the Postman (bearer of the Magic Watch).

The series, as with many programmes throughout the 90's, was perfectly British. Clever stories told at a smooth, calm pace, ideal for afternoon viewing after school. The show proved a great hit, running for five seasons between 1997 and 2001, and Andrew wrote a vast majority of them. Later in its original run, Bernard was joined by Granddad (Barry Jackson), friends Karen Hewitt (Phoebe Allen) and Sam Vernon (Samantha Birch) and cousin Lucy (Elizabeth Mello) for fresh storylines, who all promise to share the magic watch as long as they don't use it for selfish or unlawful deeds.


And that was how it was at the time. Until, four years later, someone in charge of the "revised" CITV format thought it would be a good idea to revive and reinvent Bernard's Watch as well...

The entire show was reworked from the ground up, with new characters, different actors and a new setting; ie, Pentup Primary School. The "new" Bernard (Ryan Watson) was not only younger, but cheekier and naughtier, and spent a majority of the show causing mischief with friend Nathan (Ezrah Roberts-Grey). The storylines you could tell straight off the bat, which consisted of putting up with - and putting down - their bullying schoolteacher Ms Savage (Kay Purcell) and 'popular girl' Nicolette (Rosie Day), whose sole purpose of their lives, it seemed, was to make Bernard's as miserable as possible.

In short, what was once a quiet series now became a flashy, annoying sitcom with lazy humour for the intended target audience (at least those on sugar rushes). No different to what one would predict from "Drake and Josh", really.
The watch concept was slowly pushed further and further into the background until the show's title lost all meaning (which saw it renamed just "Bernard"). And when the watch was used (once per episode), Bernard only used it in the tired "boy-vs-girl" or "child-vs-teacher" battle for some lame scheme or other. Oh yes, the special effects for the "stopping time" scenes were impressive on a bigger budget, but when you actually analyse the show's writing format for Seasons 6 and 7, it's just a whole lot of "shiny-shiny"...

However, Andrew Norriss had nothing to do with the reboot, which was a mercy. He left the show on a high since Season 5, 2001, due to budget costs, which meant the reboot was handled by a whole new team, including various writers. I got in touch with Andrew back in 2006, expressing my praise for his work and the despair of the new Bernard. His response revealed some answers as to why this decision was made:

"Now this is interesting, and I still don't know if I did the right thing. I was asked if I would give permission for a revised B's Watch to be made and said yes. By and large I've never thought it right to be too precious about an idea. They're only stories after all and if someone wants to earn a living using an idea like the watch then good luck to them, I thought. I didn't like the result, and completely agree with your analysis - but then I don't like a lot of stuff on tv. Can't stand the soaps, but for millions they're the best thing going on. I'm very loathe to say one item is better than another. Just that I liked it gentler and kinder."

Thankfully, the new format wasn't as well-received as Granada Kids had hoped. After only two seasons and 26 episodes, between 2004 - 2005, the revival died a slow, painful death. You can't end on a bigger downer than this, can you?



To this day, the series can still be seen in repeats on the CITV Digital Channel - although to my delight, it mainly consists of the original 1997 - 2001 episodes. Because, stories they might well be, it's the development of the characters and the ideas surrounding the watch that made it far more interesting than whatever went on in Pentup Primary. For its time (no pun intended) it was a very different and original concept to enjoy, and it's a shame that it couldn't have been left well enough alone by those who didn't have a clue.

I doubt that anyone would see sense about rebooting a classic series, especially when it removes all the qualities that made the original so memorable in the first place. In truth, I'd sooner have the originals on DVD or kept in regular viewing on the small screen than have a new series / movie made altogether - unless TLC actually plays a part so that new fans and old are both satisfied...

View the original Five Seasons below - including Andrew's favourite episode, "The Right Time"!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Andrew Norriss's website

Bernard's Watch Episode Guide

Buy some of Andrew's books from Amazon if you're interested!

Zig and Zag!

Anyone who has lived through the 90's in Britain would know who these extraordinary extraterrestrials are...

Created and performed by Irish actors Ciaran Morrison and Mick O’Hara, Zig and Zag were insane alien puppets who first started out in RTE’s Dempsey’s Den (1987). The pair didn't receive global attention until they were moved to one of Channel 4's most popular programmes (and no, Big Brother doesn't even top it in my books) - The Big Breakfast - alongside future DJ star Chris Evans.

As you may tell from the playlist below, it's evident why these two are so remembered by fans alike:


When The Big Breakfast aired for the last time, the pair gained their own series for ITV, and continued their fame with a wide selection of merchandise and further insanity - including a top UK single "Them Girls Them Girls".

In recent years, the pair appear to be making a gradual comeback. They've appeared on Big Brother's Little Brother to interview past contestants and, more surprisingly, plans are afoot for an animated series set to air come 2013, courtesy of Dublin-based Double Z Productions and Co. and animation house Flickerpix.

So watch this space...!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Zig and Zag's Wiki page!

A sneak peek of the animated series right here!

From Here to Timbuctoo

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to many new, exciting things to come in 2012 for all of us =)

In honour of Ronnie Corbett (one half of UK double act The Two Ronnies) receiving his New Year's Honour, here's another notable series many may remember him from.

Following his success with the Mr. Men and Little Miss series, Roger Hargreaves also wrote another little series called Timbuctoo in the late 70's. The books tell the stories of a group of animals, each named after the sound they make - like Woof (a sort of Dog), Buzz (a sort of Bee), Squeak (a sort of Mouse), and so on. Each book follows a similar patten: some of them have odd little problems that they eventually overcome by even odder methods.

The books were later reprinted in the 90's (and re-illustrated by Roger's son, Adam) when an animated series was created by Flicks Films, who also worked on all the animated Mr. Men animated shows of the 70's and 80's respectively (although Terry Ward did have a hand to play with the 90's series by Marina Productions) as well as Bananaman in the 80's.

In comparison to the Mr. Men / Little Miss books, the original Timbuctoo stories were a little more simpler and didn't quite have the same spark of imagination. Luckily, when it came to adapting them for the animated series, writer Richard Everett (Busy Buses, Nellie the Elephant) was able to give them a much-needed boost in terms of story and character.

And of course, the narration and voices were provided by "Little Ronnie" himself, which is bit as charming as its rather unique theme tune...!

ALTERNATIVE LINK TO PLAYLIST (Click Here)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Toonhound's Timbuctoo Page

More Timbuctoo on Richard Everett's official page!

Olly the Little White Van

As I've said before, though I'm still a nostalgic chap at heart - whether for the 50's Golden Age to the 90's Silver Age, or the surrealism of the 80's - there are times when a modern-day show still manages to get my attention by achieving in two vital areas: namely animation and scripting.

And this little pre-school series seems to be another runaway success from what I can make out!

Olly the Little White Van tells of a cheery, helpful van, and his Driver Stan, who is "always glad to lend a hand" to his friends in the cheery town of Bumpton. With a mixture of vehicle and human characters, there's plenty of friends for Olly to help - including best mate Bazza, Jethro the Tractor, Royston the Fire Engine, Miss Florette the Greengrocers, and many more!

 

The characters' voices are all brought to life by Justin Fletcher - already famed over on CBeebies for developing and starring in Tikkabilla, Something Special, Gigglebiz and the Tweenies, to name but a few.

Created by Ideas At Work, the series aired on the CITV Channel sometime in early May, and apparently has gained quite a fanbase from viewers since. Having eventually got round to watching several episodes from ITV Player, I can see many reasons why!

The stories maybe short, running just over five minutes, but the writers clearly pack in a lot of energy and fun dialogue to keep the kiddies' interest, and don't shove lessons down the throats of their viewers. From that, you can tell that this is a wholly British Product to be sure of!!

Each episode contains a brief song to drive (no pun intended) the story along, with everyone bouncing and bobbing like a black and white "rubber hose" 'toon from the 1930's.

Mind you, in the vehicles' case, they literally do just that - swaying and rolling and jumping like mad, giving the series a true "animated" feel from your average pre-schooler show. The team behind the superb CGI quality seem to have been inspired by Pixar's popular Cars movies - with perhaps a touch of Chuggington to boot - in terms of adding more character to their...erm...characters. The vehicles may not appear or move very realistic, but the animation team at Birmingham are clearly having fun all the same! ;-)

In short, I'd recommend Olly to anyone looking for a suitable series for youngsters. It's fun and colourful with likeable characters, and an amazing look and style that you simply can't help but grin at. It's another series that you can watch with your kids without being bored by it!

Check out the official Olly Web Site for clips and games!

Olly on YouTube!

An interview with "Mr Tumble" himself, Justin Fletcher, about entering the world of Olly!

And keep an eye out for Olly Merchandise from Hornby Hobbies, coming in Spring 2012!