In the 1970s children’s TV was cheap and that is before inflation kicked in during the second half of the decade and reduced budgets to pittances.
Those retrospective programs on TV shows (so popular on Saturday nights) use clips from things like Animal Magic, where Johnny Morris did fake voices over animals doing ordinary activities. Or the relentlessly upbeat Blue Peter or even strange shows like Screen Test. A show where opposing teams of school children answered questions about film clips – mostly made by the Children’s Film Foundation. It was so odd as I had no idea where anyone ever saw these films. As for Rainbow, I’m sure I’ve Bungle as an adult more as an adult than as a child.
There was Pipkins – which featured a very camp Hartley Hare and a monkey called Topov. Fingerbobs, a craft show, where the characters were on the fingers of the presenter.
(Pipkins)
(Fingerbobs)
There was Sky about a Time Traveller who came to Earth, but was rejected by the Earth’s immune system. Like most of these shows the acting of the children is more wooden than an oak table, that is something has advanced as much as mobile phone technology since then. Now even very young actors turn in excellent performances.
The Changes was a dystopian story about how humanity hates technology and regresses to an agrarian society. The first episode as society breaks down was genuinely chilling and then there was an episode that had huge sections in Guajarati. (Later in the decade the adult show The Survivors has society breaking down and regressing due to a flu pandemic – a bit close to the mark now).
The Children of the Stones was like a Dennis Wheatley horror story for children. Standing stones, black magic and evil from space. The most amazing thing was that lead adult character, played by Gareth Thomas years before Blake’s 7, is a physicist who totally accepts ley lines and astrology as facts without a query.
Yet none of these were the most bonkers. That was The Tomorrow People. Created as ITV’s Doctor Who, but on a budget a fraction of the size (and Doctor Who’s budget was not big enough anyway). It does have a brilliant title sequence. The real sequence starts with the opening fist – the first part was for the TV channel, there was a teaser and then the main sequence.
A lot can be forgiven as it featured various people of colour as regulars for most of its run, as well as a Traveller character. The first story I saw had them trying to change back history after it had been altered so the Roman Empire never fell. I only saw episodes 2 & 3 the first two times it was on – I could not see how they managed to reset time back to normal when I was young. Of course it appealed to children – it was a show based on the fact that we were homo superior and would develop superpowers.
It could run to comedy with Peter Davison playing a man from a wild west society where women ruled. Yet it could jump to a scary drama where the Tomorrow People are being hunted by British Intelligence, with several of them shot. It ended with them winning but leaving Earth (of course they were back the following year). On a rewatch it lost some of the tension as the evil General was played by Mr Lucas from Are You Being Served.
Children’s TV has a lot more money these days, but nothing as mad or quite as scary as this stuff.
This is the most self-congratulating hippie song ever.
All the Young Dudes
Five Miles Out 