Wasn’t Play School absolutely the best children’s tele program ever Brian Cant for 007

Pjon

Shrews said:

Tiswas of course, but also enjoyed Swap Shop when it arrived. Ended up flipping from one channel to another from memory. 

I had watched every episode of the 40s Flash Gordon over the summer, and my father came into the room on the Saturday of the last episode to find me watching the first episode of the new series of Swap Shop. I still remember him being utterly mystified as to why I'd given so much of my time and not watched the climactic episode. I still haven't seen it. I hope Flash was ok.  

hollywoodrox

RobDavies said:

My mum worked for the beeb for years - she’s got lots of stories.  In the 70’s and 80’s she was part of the Blue Peter correspondence team and would get invited to end of season parties etc - which I was also allowed to go to.   Didn’t really appreciate it at the time but as an 8yr old, I was sipping pop in Television Centre alongside many of the names that have been mentioned in this thread. 

Thats absolututely awesome Rob 

Philly_Q

Offset said:

'Nuff said.  Only the originals from the 1940s and 1950s however - subsequent reboots were utter rubbish.  The artwork, storylines and sublime animation of the originals have never been bettered.  I have them all on DVD :-) 

Is it really a complete collection?  I think when they first released some of them there was a bit of a furore about some being cut or edited for material which isn't PC by today's standards.  On Blu-ray, they released a Golden Collection: Volume 1, but I don't think the planned Volume 2 was ever released.

If there was a complete collection in HD, I'd certainly snap it up.  Likewise with the Tex Avery and Looney Tunes cartoons, but Warners only released them in dribs and drabs and I never got round to buying them.

Offset

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

'Nuff said.  Only the originals from the 1940s and 1950s however - subsequent reboots were utter rubbish.  The artwork, storylines and sublime animation of the originals have never been bettered.  I have them all on DVD :-) 

Is it really a complete collection?  I think when they first released some of them there was a bit of a furore about some being cut or edited for material which isn't PC by today's standards.  On Blu-ray, they released a Golden Collection: Volume 1, but I don't think the planned Volume 2 was ever released.

If there was a complete collection in HD, I'd certainly snap it up.  Likewise with the Tex Avery and Looney Tunes cartoons, but Warners only released them in dribs and drabs and I never got round to buying them.

I'd have to dig it out Phil but it was a 4-DVD box set.  I probably bought it 15 years ago - my (then) young daughter and I used to binge on them, laughing like drains as we did so.  We spent years saying "Mwah-ha-ha-ha!  In me power!" in a Spike-stylee.

Some of the content had definitely been doctored - the black maid's voice was more Gloria Foster than Hattie McDaniel and the scene where Tom stuck his head out of a chimney that collapsed on him was excised too as he was effectively in blackface.

As far as I can recall, it was pretty much complete as far as golden-era (ie, Quimby) episodes were concerned. 

Vintage65

hollywoodrox said:

Play school a haven of peace and televisual tranquillity, a safe place after a day with the sociopathic 
  5 & 6 year olds of a Grimsby Infants school.

The kids were fine where I went and the teachers were sociopathic.

boogieman

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

'Nuff said.  Only the originals from the 1940s and 1950s however - subsequent reboots were utter rubbish.  The artwork, storylines and sublime animation of the originals have never been bettered.  I have them all on DVD :-) 

Is it really a complete collection?  I think when they first released some of them there was a bit of a furore about some being cut or edited for material which isn't PC by today's standards.  On Blu-ray, they released a Golden Collection: Volume 1, but I don't think the planned Volume 2 was ever released.

If there was a complete collection in HD, I'd certainly snap it up.  Likewise with the Tex Avery and Looney Tunes cartoons, but Warners only released them in dribs and drabs and I never got round to buying them.

I had all the original episodes in a couple of box sets, but it was on VHS and is long gone sadly. It had the episodes with the black maid, Tom smoking, basically all the non PC material intact. Tom as a cowboy rolling a cigarette and blowing “Howdy” in smoke letters is one of my all time favourite Tom and Jerry scenes. (The baby duck episode is another favourite). 

The early Quimby T&J cartoons were just so much better drawn than the later more sparse and stylised ones. They really were little jewels. 

richman6100

Shrews said:

Kids morning TV in the holidays
- Casey Jones
- Champion the Wonder Horse
- Robinson Crusoe
- Tarzan with Ron Ely! 

@Shrews Good call, Sir. I loved all of these. The Flashing Blade is another one that's just clawed its way out of my hazy memory.

skullfunkerry

Anyone remember Mighty Mouse? I always enjoyed it, even though sometimes it seemed a bit weird...

hollywoodrox

skullfunkerry said:

Anyone remember Mighty Mouse? I always enjoyed it, even though sometimes it seemed a bit weird...

I thought I did but it was batfink  “your bullets can’t harm me ,my wings are like a shield of steel”
I can recall what Mighty Mouse looked like so must have seen it

Litterick

“A town is full of buildings. Some tall, some short, some wide and some narrow. The buildings are flats and houses and factories and shops. They’re built in streets. The streets have cars and buses and lorries driving along them. . . . Do you live in a town?”

Mary, Mungo and Midge.

Litterick

scrumhalf said:

The Freewheelers, which had a great theme tune.

Keith Mansfield's Teenage Carnival, from the KPM library

hollywoodrox

Litterick said:

“A town is full of buildings. Some tall, some short, some wide and some narrow. The buildings are flats and houses and factories and shops. They’re built in streets. The streets have cars and buses and lorries driving along them. . . . Do you live in a town?”

Mary, Mungo and Midge.

I loved that , especially midge standing on mugs nose pressing the elevator button 

skullfunkerry

hollywoodrox said:

skullfunkerry said:

Anyone remember Mighty Mouse? I always enjoyed it, even though sometimes it seemed a bit weird...

I thought I did but it was batfink  “your bullets can’t harm me ,my wings are like a shield of steel”
I can recall what Mighty Mouse looked like so must have seen it

Yes! My brother and I still say that to each other sometimes

hollywoodrox

skullfunkerry said:

hollywoodrox said:

skullfunkerry said:

Anyone remember Mighty Mouse? I always enjoyed it, even though sometimes it seemed a bit weird...

I thought I did but it was batfink  “your bullets can’t harm me ,my wings are like a shield of steel”
I can recall what Mighty Mouse looked like so must have seen it

Yes! My brother and I still say that to each other sometimes

It was brilliant 

ESBlonde

Sharee Lewis and Lambchop.
Another Sunday evening thing featured the Wombats with Willie Wombat but the memory is getting vague. But a great occasional favourite was Micheal Bentine and those invisible characters that just threw up dust! Enthralling stuff for us younguns at the time.

hollywoodrox

ESBlonde said:

Sharee Lewis and Lambchop.
Another Sunday evening thing featured the Wombats with Willie Wombat but the memory is getting vague. But a great occasional favourite was Micheal Bentine and those invisible characters that just threw up dust! Enthralling stuff for us younguns at the time.

Michael bentines potty time 

Offset

Oh man.  Michael Bentine's Potty Time!!!  Now you're talking!!!

swiller

scrumhalf

Offset said:

Oh man.  Michael Bentine's Potty Time!!!  Now you're talking!!!

The German prisoner of war camp - Warmditz!

Offset

scrumhalf said:

Offset said:

Oh man.  Michael Bentine's Potty Time!!!  Now you're talking!!!

The German prisoner of war camp - Warmditz!

It was the '70s equivalent of Horrible Histories.  Bentine was a genius, a war hero, a gentleman and an absolutely lovely bloke.

I wish I'd met him.