Here in Britain, people of my generation had to endure some pretty ropy children's television when we were little. Even so, we were enthralled by the limited menu - all in black and white of course. I guess that as children we had a better capacity than most adults for making allowances for the amateurishness of it all.
This is a "down memory lane" kind of blogpost. I thought that visitors from foreign lands might be interested in getting a taste of what British children lapped up in the late 1950s through to the early sixties.
Here's "Andy Pandy"...
Here are "The Woodentops"...
And here are Bill and Ben "The Flowerpot Men"...
Of course there was no catch-up TV back then. No videos. And these shows were screened only once a week. If you missed "Andy Pandy" you would have to wait till next week to see another episode.
Looking back, it is easy to deduce that the programmes I have flagged up were crude foundation stones from which later, much more sophisticated children's television could evolve. Everything has to start somewhere.
Sorry, professor, I couldn't bring myself to watch them. My childhood t.v. watching (which didn't begin until I was 12 or 13) centered on Buck Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy! Ever heard of them?
ReplyDeleteSure old timer! My very first wristwatch was a Hopalong Cassidy one.
DeleteStuff has to start somewhere and the limitations are from the development of the technology at the time. I was in the Arctic from 63 to 69. I missed that era of television.
ReplyDeleteHow splendid to have spent a chunk of your adult life without television!
DeleteMy childhood Canadian TV fare was "The Friendly Giant" (to cultivate an appreciation of books and music in kids), "Chez Helene" (lessons in speaking basic French words) and "The Forest Rangers" (gripping excitement in the boreal forest with kids, park rangers and Mounties -- oh dear, that doesn't sound quite right, does it?).
ReplyDeleteWhile we are on the subject of Canadian children's TV, at a slightly older age than the target age of the programs YP is talking about I had a bit of a crush on Jack Straw in "H.R.Pufnstuff."
DeleteThankfully, I was never tainted by "H.R. Pufnstuf" as I had grown up by then. I am not even sure that it figured on British TV. Jack Straw was a senior Labour politician.... Also what exactly did the park rangers and Mounties get up to with the kids in the forest? I hope they were arrested for it.
DeleteI grew up in England too.... but we didn't get electricity (and consequently a telly a year later) until I was about 10 or 11, so I missed all those very juvenile programmes. But I definitely remember the Flowerpot Men. Weeeeed!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing that you didn't have electricity until you were 10 or 11. Did you grow up before World War One?
DeleteI clearly remember and loved them all. I didnt think them basic at all. It was after all post wartime and television was in its infancy. I think there's far too much on TV for children these days and they spend far too much watching screens of all sorts rather than playing and getting fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of them as basic either but now, looking back, you can see how rough and ready they were.
DeleteThose crude black and white programs of the 50's and 60's gave space for our imagination.
ReplyDeleteAt the time we never realised how awful they really were.
DeleteDid Postman Pat come later?
ReplyDeleteEvery day he came in his van.
DeleteMuch of what we got to watch in my childhood in the 1970s and early 80s was cartoons, some Japanese Manga, some American - all with German voices, of course. There were three channels on TV in total, and "Kinderstunde" (children's hour) really WAS just an hour, not more - at least to begin with, gradually increasing. More often than not, when my sister and I were out playing with our friends, we didn't bother going in to watch our favourite programs.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time, we only had one small black & white TV set in our house, and that was alright - although I found large colour TVs impressive (grandparents had one). When I was about 4 years old, my sister and I were watching a cartoon about a little fish and its adventures. I insisted that this fish was red. In my mind it was, in spite of me only having access to B&W back then.
For today's children, TV can be so addictive and with YouTube for example, a child can watch multiple episodes of a favoured programme - all in a row. Our Phoebe has to be prised away sometimes or she would be Peppa Pigged out!
Delete