On BBC 4 this week there is a whole sked devoted to Children's TV of the past, last night they were going thru the decades and showing clips of the CBBC - Watch With Mother type shows to a group of 10 years to see which they thought was the best decade. Showing shows like Andy Pandy, Sooty with Harry Corbett, Johnny Ball, Animal Magic, Oliver Postgate's Clangers, Captain Pugwash, Children's Newsreal and Blue Peter (showing clips of the sad death of their parrot Joey - i thought this was unintentionally funny when they mentioned it made the national newspapers!!! Front page i hope!!!! :lol: also i couldnt stop laughing at the Chuckle Brothers mullets from the 1980s however slightly scary otherwise as they seem to be exactly the same as today :w00t: )

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38039000/jpg/_38039692_flowerpot52.jpg

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Clangers-album.jpg

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Chucklevision.JPG

 

so what do you think was the golden age of children's television?? what were the best shows???

Surely this is a silly question, because chances are most people will say the shows from their childhood are the best? Considering those are the shows they watched when they were little, and based their little lives around for so many years :lol:

 

Personally, I'd say 1990s. (See :lol:) Pre-Teletubbies though, shows like Wizadora, Thomas the Tank Engine, Animals of Farthing Wood...

Surely this is a silly question, because chances are most people will say the shows from their childhood are the best? Considering those are the shows they watched when they were little, and based their little lives around for so many years :lol:

 

well actaully i'm hoping that in this area there might be people who will be able to analyse all the decades (have knowledge of the most of the shows from the era from clip shows, dvd reissues etc) to decide what is the golden age rather than just be a personal choice.

 

then they can post whatever shows they have liked (from 1936 to 1997/1955 to 1997/1982 to 1997 etc etc)

obviously as slick says people will rate progs from their childhood..

 

personally i thought that oliver postgate was the greatest ever creator of kids progs, using kids imaginations and drawing from the past. eg noggin the nog, pogles, bagpus, and clangers were all inspired.

 

after postgate id rate gerry anderson, again playing on childrens imaginations but this time drawing from the future... supercar, fireball xl5, stingray and thunderbirds were superb. (not keen on joe 90 etc)

 

apart from him, 'grange hill', 'tiswas', 'tales from europe', 'double deckers', 'robinson crusoe', were all very good. and spanned most decades.

 

so i think there was no one decade that was better then others, just good and bad depending upon taste... abit like music really!

I'd go for 70s and 80s for me.

 

Grange Hill is my fav kids show, and its best episodes were in the 80s.

 

70s gave us some classics like TISWAS which started in 1974, then went national in 1976 when Chris Tarrant took over.

Swap Shop also started and there was many debates over who was the best show.

 

TISWAS was viewed as more anarchic, while Swap Shop was viewed as 'rather stuffy and laidback'.

I liked a bit of both to be honest, but i my vote goes to TISWAS.

 

70s also gave us many great Hanna Barbera cartoons like Hair Bear Bunch, Top Cat, etc.

Lunchtime shows included Pipkins, Rupert The Bear, Hectors House, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Jamie and

the Magic Torch, Rainbow, Animal Kwackers (anyone remember the chocolate biscuits?), and that was ITV.

 

The BBC gave us classic shows like Vision On which later involved into Take Hart, Animal Magic, John Craven's Newsround, Record Breakers,

Mr Benn, The Wombles, Ivor The Engine, Think Of A Number with Johnny Ball, Play Away.

 

Into the 80s, Johnny Ball came back with Think Again, Grange Hill just got better and better, Swap Shop and Tiswas continued on opposite channels until 1982, when new shows came about. Saturday Superstore and later Going Live on the BBC, and Saturday Starship, The Saturday Show, No.73 and Get Fresh on ITV.

 

One show which was on since the late 50s and still going strong is Blue Peter, and back in the 70s it had an rival on ITV - Magpie which was

presented by Mick Robertson, Tommy Boyd and Jenny Hanley, and a few others before that but that is the often remembered line-up from the 70s.

 

Many, many other shows appeared in the 70s and 80s but that was just a few.

 

Oh and some people consider Doctor Who a kid's show. But it's something that can be enjoyed by adults as well.

 

obviously as slick says people will rate progs from their childhood..

 

however for the decades you could try to think of it as in brands and in format terms?

It's the cartoons of the 1980's that were best !

 

Transformers (Spielberg is making this into a film as we speak!)

 

He-Man

 

M.A.S.K

 

that kinda thing !

tonight Children's TV on Trial is in the 1960s (bbc 4 9pm, 12.35am & 3.05am)

Yup, enjoying BBC4 at the moment. Best era was definitely the 70s and 80s - not only did you have the very best of the 60s still being shown (and none of the guff) but you had a run where nearly every show was well-remembered and repeated for years.

 

But, of course, my age dictates that time period ;)

 

Well, ok, I was still partial to a little Byka Grove in the early 90s...

 

I'd go for 70s and 80s for me.

 

Grange Hill is my fav kids show, and its best episodes were in the 80s.

 

70s gave us some classics like TISWAS which started in 1974, then went national in 1976 when Chris Tarrant took over.

Swap Shop also started and there was many debates over who was the best show.

 

TISWAS was viewed as more anarchic, while Swap Shop was viewed as 'rather stuffy and laidback'.

I liked a bit of both to be honest, but i my vote goes to TISWAS.

 

Swap Shop and Tiswas continued on opposite channels until 1982, when new shows came about. Saturday Superstore and later Going Live on the BBC, and Saturday Starship, The Saturday Show, No.73

 

Was No 73 just like a childrens version of the young ones? the clips on BBC 4 gave that opinion (btw Iggy Pop humping the bear on live TV was funny)

 

Oh and some people consider Doctor Who a kid's show. But it's something that can be enjoyed by adults as well.

 

well its like The Simpsons innit and esp The Flintstones which was an adult show (a pisstake of the honeymooners) but i suppose as its a cartoon by HB people will think its not aimed at that market.

 

http://www.topthat.net/webrock/images/Flintstones_family.jpg

 

 

btw this is kinda scary (even tho it DOES look like Lady Sov :lol: in that Q pic)

 

http://www.classickidstv.co.uk/wiki/images/thumb/3/3a/Pob_logo.jpg/260px-Pob_logo.jpg

gotta be the 1980s. Roland Rat the saviour of TV AM

gotta be the 1980s. Roland Rat the saviour of TV AM

 

yeah man! that was on to, with the stranglers not wanting to perform on his show.

I'd have to say the 80's. :dance:

70s for me - classic.

http://www.classickidstv.co.uk/wiki/images/thumb/3/3a/Pob_logo.jpg/260px-Pob_logo.jpg

 

got round to watching the 1980s childrens tv on trail, and (the limihl headed teletubby lady) anne wood stated that this puppet cost £1000 and was shipped in from underneath the iron current from somewhere in eastern europe (so know wonders it looks like Verka Serduchka then :lol: )