Kids' TV shows.

[Jusenkyo no Pikachu]

I enjoy kids' TV. Not that I want to sacrifice valuable hours getting my intelligence reduced to that of a rock, but I do enjoy sitting down in front of the box every once in a while and watching Play School or Blue Water High or even Mr Rogers (although that, sadly, never received wide distribution down here--it was only ever shown on a now-defunct cable channel). So show your poor taste in TV shows here!

Spellbinder
I actually bought this on DVD yesterday. The DVD sucked, but the show was almost exactly as I remembered it. The series itself was an Australian/Polish co-production about a teenage boy named Paul (Zbych Trofmiuk), who finds himself in a parallel world when a prank at a school camp goes horribly wrong. This world is vastly different from ours--a Darkness destroyed the land many years ago, and as a result, the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions never happened and the inhabitants live under the rule of the terrifying and mysterious Spellbinders, and in fear of the criminal Marauders. Despite the lack of technological advancement over the many years, the Spellbinders manage electromagnetically-powered Flying Ships, can communicate through Eyestones (which are just radios) and appear in public wearing neat electromagnetic Power Suits. Paul is befriended by village girl Riana (Gosia Pietrowska), who decided to help him get to the Spellbinders. Most of the Spellbinders want to help Paul get back to his world, for fear that some--like Spellbinder Ashka (Heather Mitchell) and her idiot Apprentice Gryvon (Rafal Zwierz)--would use Paul's knowledge to rule the world.

One thing I have to say about the show is that it looks like some money was spent on the look. Certainly it isn't hard to believe that the Flying Ships are actually flying, despite the fact that they're not at all aerodynamic. The series was filmed on location in both Australia and Poland, and the set construction for the interiors had me believing that Riana's world could exist (episodes not on this DVD will also introduce us to the inside of Paul's father's lab and the concept of Ashka flying--also both believable). Also, Mitchell was convincing as Ashka--a job which requires us to believe she's not only Polish but also evil. She certainly has a lot of fun with the role.

All in all, a brilliant kiddie show. It ran for 26 episodes, but was later followed by a sequel, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord.

Play School
Any kid born in Australia during the past forty years will have grown up on this show. Based on a (shorter-lived) British TV show of the same name, this show features two hosts--one male, one female--talking to kids, singing songs, playing games, playing with toys and reading stories. Every episode contains a glance at the clock (which will then reveal the subject of the day's story), a glance at the "calendar" (actually a printing of the day's name--these days on an elaborate set-up), and a look through "the windows", a set of propped-up windows of different shapes (square, circle, round and more recently diamond) through which the hosts narrate things happening in the real world. The show has grown so popular that hosting it is an honour given to famous Australian actors like Deborah Mailman (Rabbit Proof Fence), Philip Quast (who acts largely in theatre) and Jay Laga'aia (Star Wars episode 2 and 3). Also, Aussie entertainer Don Spencer has hosted the British version--becoming the only person to host both versions of the show.

Post your favs!