I have tried to remove the influence of nostalgia from my selection as much as humanly possible. It is hard to do that with such an emotive subject but every programme that appears in this list (with a couple of exceptions) has been re-watched recently to see if they still hold up today (which is why childhood favourites such as Transformers are sadly absent).
Enough waffle, time to get on with the list:
Belle and Sebastian - The series is about the mountain-based adventures of a young boy named Sebastian and his Pyrenean Mountain Dog Belle who live in a small village in the Pyrenees. Sebastian has no friends because he is teased by the other children for not having a mother. But one day, he meets a gentle white Pyrenees dog who has been falsely accused of terrible crimes. He names her Belle and they become the best of friends. To save her from an unjust fate, Sebastian leaves his adoptive family and begins traveling with Belle and his little dog Poochie. The synopsis doesn't sound all that interesting on paper, especially when you compare it to shows around at the time, but it had the gentle charm of a Hayao Miyazaki story that drew you into the adventures of Belle and Sebastian. The series didn't last all that long and I don't think it was ever repeated (the DVD is supposedly coming soon) so my memory of the show is rather hazy, especially compared to the rest of my list, but it had such a beguiling atmosphere and wonderful animation that I think its place here is deserved. If somebody has seen it more recently I'd love to know if it has aged well (it is the sort of series I expect has aged better than most).
Pingu – As with Pocoyo this series always seemed to have more for adults than the pre-school children it supposedly targeted. The stop-frame animation was simple but full of such charm, exquisite characterisation and energy. My love for the show purely stems from the Swiss originals rather than the slightly anaemic HiT Entertainment version. Pingu is a loveable character because of his faults. It is interesting to see how far they push things because compared to most pre-school shows he could be classed as a bad influence whereas many series are suffocated in sugar coated goodness. To call it anarchic is perhaps pushing it but the show certainly had a rebellious streak that made it stand out from the crowd.
Originally I had The Clangers in the number 19 spot and I would just like to take a moment to mention the work of Postgate and Firmin as they really should have been on my list. Smallfilms were such an integral part of my childhood, as they probably were for anyone growing up in the '70s and '80s, and their shows always seemed like a constant presence in my life at the time. Today they would never even get commissioned as they wouldn't be able to meet the increased episode demands that all networks crave. For two people to create so many beloved characters is a remarkable achievement and the workload for Oliver Postgate (who wrote, animated and voiced everything they produced) must have been immense. But you can see the love up on screen in every episode. You get the impression that Oliver Postgate would have still been making these films for his children and then grandchildren even if a TV station showed no interest in airing them. Everything they did had a strong British sensibility, a great warmth and comforting humour. Their hit rate is pretty much unparalleled in UK children's television with only the likes of Anne Wood coming close. They were true pioneers, enriching the lives of a whole generation (or possibly three) and their kind are sorely missed. Thank you, Oliver and Peter.
Gargoyles – It appears that many of the shows from the early '90s have aged far better than those produced in the '80s. Of course you'd expect more recent dramas to have dated less but I think the big reason for this is that many of the shows produced during this period were actually interested in telling compelling stories rather than just shifting merchandise. A case in point is this excellent Disney show. I'm not sure if it ever aired on terrestrial television but I remember watching it on the Disney channel. It was at a time when I thought I was too old for kids cartoons but my parents had just got Sky for the first time and during my regular surfs through the endless list of channels I stumbled upon the show and was hooked. The series revolved around a group of Gargoyles, stone by day living creatures by night, who were doomed to stay as stone until a curse is lifted. They are not freed from their stone prison for centuries, not until they are placed atop a skyscraper in modern day New York. It took inspiration from Shakespeare, classic literature and even contemporary procedural dramas to create a far richer series than it first appeared (on the surface it seemed like a TMNT rip-off). The characters were interesting, stories were developed over a number of episodes and the animation was incredibly polished. It is surprising to see that Disney have not bothered repeating the show seeing as it wipes the floor with their current crop of programming and would be an ideal fit for their action branded XD channel.
Dungeons and Dragons – I'm not sure why I liked this as much as I did. I've never really been into this sort of fantasy stuff before (wizards, elves etc.) and I've never even contemplated playing a proper game of D&D. Yet this animated series was always a favourite when I was growing up (unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to see it since those days so it may well have aged badly). The thing that I found most appealing was the different abilities each character had. Every action show had characters that were good at particular skills but here they expressed it in very broad terms. That should probably be a negative but as a kid I liked the simplicity and the flaming arrow was amazingly cool to a six year old. I can't deny that some of the characters bordered on the irritating, and even as a kid I wanted the unicorn to die a horrific death, but their quests were always exciting and it quite literally transported you to a new world for twenty fun filled minutes.
Rocko's Modern Life – Following the success of John Kricfalusi's Ren & Stimpy most American children's networks seemed to be clamouring for something similar: anarchic tone, extreme art direction and everything turned up to 11. I never really got into Ren & Stimpy as I found the series too in your face to be enjoyable for any length of time. Most of the knock-offs weren't much better apart from one: Rocko's Modern Life. It had the same elements as Ren & Stimpy but seemed much more palatable. The jokes worked on levels both children and adults could enjoy and the animation had a great squash and stretch energy. Interestingly it is Rocko's art direction that seems to have influenced a lot of the current animated shows whereas the extreme nature of Ren & Stimpy has subsided. RML had one of the best roster of characters in any show of its kind, every single one of them was memorable and, most importantly, funny. The show ran for 52 episodes which was probably the right time to bow out as the final season, which had no involvement from series creator Joe Murray, was appearing to wear a little thin. However, at the shows height it was one of the best things on TV, period.
Pocoyo – Produced in Spain in 2005, Pocoyo is a bright and simple CGI pre-school show about a boy and his three friends; a duck, elephant and dog. The English version is narrated brilliantly by Stephen Fry who is a perfect fit for the material. Most CGI pre-school shows look ugly, even the half decent ones normally have poor art direction compared to their traditionally animated rivals. Yet the simplicity of Pocoyo – white background, primary colours and simple shapes – is quite beautiful at times and affords so much expression that it reminds me a little of Pingu. The cast of characters are brilliant, the stories are unsurprisingly simple but there is always a pay-off or a moment in every episode that borders on greatness. Despite having run for more than one hundred episodes the show has never felt stale or repetitive which is a real achievement.
The Storyteller – It was only right for Jim Henson to be the only person to get two series on my list. Whilst this is probably not as popular as Fragglerock or the other series they helped bring to life it was always one that left a big impression on me. I've always been interested in folk lore and fairy tales, the more macabre the better, and this brought together stories from all over the world. It was only years later that I discovered they were all written by Anthony Minghella and despite all his success I still think they are the best thing he has produced. John Hurt played the titular Storyteller and his voice worked beautifully with the stories. Each episode looked expensive and was dark and unsettling. The cast of actors was very impressive too with the likes of Sean Bean and Miranda Richardson appearing (not that I knew who they were at the time). The second season wasn't quite as successful but it was still excellent viewing. This time story telling duties fell to Michael Gambon but the same faithful puppet dog remained. Season two also saw a change in the stories with Greek mythology providing the inspiration. The production values remained and I can only assume it didn't quite have the same appeal because the stories were much more familiar this time around. I bought the series on DVD a couple of years ago and was pleased to see they are as fresh as the day they were originally transmitted and was doubly pleased that my nieces and nephews enjoyed the series too.
Samurai Pizza Cats – This was pretty much the only decent thing on ITV's Saturday morning show, Motormouth. It never seems to be as fondly remembered as other shows on at the time which is a shame as it always felt very different to the cookie-cutter action series that populated the scheduling. I guess the closest show would be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and not just because of the pizza connection. But it had a stronger comedic, bordering on parody, element that ran through the series. What was impressive that the comedy and action was balanced pretty well and whilst the stories were never particularly memorable they were always entertaining. The programme had a great theme tune (why do so few shows now get this element right when practically every show from the '80s always nailed it?) and I still love the character designs.
Ulysses 31 – This show is responsible for me getting into Greek mythology. Ulysses 31 is hardly the most faithful of adaptation of Homer's classic tale but it does take the best bits and combine them brilliantly with a vibrant space setting to create a fantastic adventure series. It had the epic quest that I so loved to watch as a child and an interesting sci-fi setting that was pretty much unlike anything else on at the time. The animation was polished and the music was fantastic (in fact it was the first time I really noticed the use of music in drama beyond just singing along to a catchy theme tune). Fox repeated the entire series a few years ago (along with M.A.S.K which has aged poorly) and it may even be better than I remembered. Some of the characters were a little irritating but the stories and atmosphere were fantastic.
The Moomins – Tove Jannson's classic stories have been adapted for the small screen many times but the one I am discussing here is the fuzzy felt version from the late '70s and early '80s. None of the adaptations have quite created the mood of the illustrated stories but this is the one that has come the closest and, if truth be told, I actually prefer it to the original source. The stories have always been magical and the combination of the strange and beautiful felt animation seemed to be a perfect fit. No series has ever looked quite like it and when you put it side-by-side with the '90s anime version you realise how bland the more recent adaptation looks. But it wasn't just the art direction that was stronger, everything from the characterisation to the stories themselves were stronger and more faithful. There is a dark edge to much of Jannson's story-telling and this comes across in this version but has been ironed out to create a diluted approximation. I'm just disappointed I never took the opportunity to pick up the series on DVD whilst it was still reasonably priced.
Programmes 10-1 will be posted tomorrow. In the meantime please suggest your own favourite programmes.
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