Monday 14 December 2009

Youtube Children's Sweepstake

The Fourth post in a series of "sweepstakes" to give a mini-taste of each genre of UK nostalgia TV!

Grange Hill (1989) Series 12 - Episode 1 part 1 of 3



As of now, all episodes of Grange Hill series 5-12 (1982-1989) are uploaded onto Youtube, along with a part of the 1993 series. This is great news, because only Grange Hill series 1-4 were released on DVD. There seems to be no intention of any following Grange Hill DVD releases. Now you can get to see the Gripper/Zammo/Roland era, including all the series that wig-wearing Mr. "the teacher we loved to hate" Bronson appeared in, including his farewell. Get to see other classic character like Gonch, Ziggy, Tucker (his last year), Trevor, Calley, Holloway & many more! There's the classic racism storyline involving hardman bully Gripper in 1983, and Zammo's demise into hard drugs in 1986. This season i have highlighted, is one of my favourites, a great cast and variety of characters despite no Zammo or Roland by this point, and a great ending which was really an end of an era. Most of main cast didn't appear again.

Bitsa 1992 Part 1



"Bitsa" was the BBC's secondary arts & craft programme at this time. Second only to the late-Tony Hart's "Hartbeat". Watching this again, it's actually better than what I remember! This was a great alternative to the more stuffy "Hartbeat", this was chaotic, fast-moving and the 2 presenters fit in really well with the programme. It lasted from 1991-1996, presented by Simon Pascoe and Caitlin Easterby. Heaven knows where they are now. I can imagine them bustling amongst the rubble looking for "pipe cleaners" or whatever you call those copper-cloted wiry things in some charitable community centre event. They also look like they've came from some Rock/indie band. Don't get many children presenters like this!

It was crazy, making stuff from bits and bobs of rubbish! In one part of the show, in this Willy Wonka factory setting studio, they would be given orders by schoolchildren on rubbish items to choose, and the 2 would have to think quick on their feet, to think up of something to make.

There was a freakish aspect to the show, a artificial being who lives in a box called "Hands", which was a puppeteered, artifical top half of a man, dressed ina suit. His hands were painted/spray-painted blue. You'd get close-ups of what he's creating, making some pretty surreal laughing noises in the process. Anyway, a great name for the show, as explained in the theme song. There's some freaky items being shown at the start of this specific episode.

NOTE: Simon Pascoe and Caitlin Easterby are actually a married couple now.


T Bag - Wonders in Letterland



This is the first ever episode of T-Bag in 1985, however, the first part is missing.

On the other side, CITV, was a fantasy/comedy serial called T-Bag, which was one of their flagship shows from the mid-80's to early 90's. T-Bag was something like a tea-obsessed witch, usually up to no good with her sidekick T-Shirt(John Hasler), a boy/teenage usually wearing a whipped round baseball cap. Each series was a different story, but each one was like a mission for various small girls to save the day or for T-Bag to find these hidden items to achieve great power to conquer the world. The girl would also search for the items, to be able to defeat T-Bag

The first T-Bag (Tallulah Bag) was played by Elizabeth Estensen, who left the show in 1990. This is the one that is most remembered. You can now see Elizabeth in "Emmerdale" as Diane Sugden. She was replaced by blondie Georgina Hale (Tabatha Bag), who also appeared in "Emmerdale", but no longer. For most of the time, the T-bag role was played for laugh, but she was a baddie, but a likeable one.

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