Saturday 1 March 2014

The Popples

Next up we have a show based upon a plush cuddly toyline of pompom tailed bear/rabbit/marsupial creatures known as Popples!



Like the toys they're based on, the Popples resemble colorful teddy bears or rabbits with long, pompom-tipped tails, and they have pouches on their backs that can be everted so they resemble fuzzy balls. The name "Popple" is a reference to the popping sound they make when unfolding themselves from such a ball, or pulling objects from their pouches.
In the cartoon, Popples commonly pull large items from their pouches that couldn't possibly fit inside, which come from hammerspace; in "Popples Alley", one of the Popples' human friends looks inside one of their pouches and sees numerous objects floating in a void.
Nine of the Popples live with a human brother and sister, Billy and Bonnie Wagner. Billy and Bonnie think they are the only kids who have Popples until a neighbor family moves in and they have their own Popples — the Rock Stars, Pufflings, and Babies. The Popples tend to come around and mess up whatever the kids are trying to do; e.g., if the kids are trying to brush their teeth, the Popples end up spilling water, toothpaste and soap all over the bathroom. If the kids are trying to clean their rooms, the Popples come along, mess up the room even worse and then help them get everything back to normal just in the nick of time. The plot revolved around the children's efforts to hide the existence of the Popples from the adults around them.

Robotix

Saturday mornings were all about big explosions, lots of adventure and action for many kids growing, so why should today be any different?

Today I give you the complete mini series of Robotix!


An Earthling crew of astronauts lose control, and crash land onto the warring planet of Skallor, housing alien races known as the "Protectons" and "Terracores." Huge war robots, the Robotix, are used to re-animate the souls of the deceased alien races. As several of the astronaut crew stray towards evil-doing, the good members use the help of the Robotix to help them get back to Earth.

Friday 28 February 2014

The Clangers

Another true classic joins the BCC, this time it's those alien planet dwelling Clangers!



The Clangers were small creatures living in peace and harmony on – and inside – a small, hollow planet, far, far away, nourished by Blue String Pudding, and Green Soup harvested from the planet's volcanic soup wells by the Soup Dragon. The word "Clanger" is said to derive from the sound made by opening the metal cover of one of the creatures' crater-like burrows, each of which was covered with a door made from an old metal dustbin lid, to protect against meteorite impacts. In each episode, there would be some problem to solve, something invented or discovered, or perhaps some new visitor to meet. Music Trees, with note-shaped fruit, grew on the planet's surface, and music would often be an integral feature in the simple but amusing plots.


Wizadora

Today's first show is a request from a BCC fan, it's Wizadora!



Wizadora is a trainee wizard who is always trying to solve problems using magic. She is  the most sensible out of all of her friends and it's usually Wizadora who saves the day with a spell to put things right. In every episode the character would break the "fourth wall" and address the viewers.

Thursday 27 February 2014

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

I think I've made you wait long enough, so here is an episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe!



The show takes place on the fictional planet of Eternia, a planet of magic, myth and fantasy. The show's lead character is Prince Adam, the young son of Eternia's rulers, King Randor and Queen Marlena. Whenever Prince Adam uses the Sword of Power, and when he holds it aloft and says the magic words "By the Power of Grayskull, I HAVE THE POWER" he is endowed with fabulous secret powers and transformed into He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe. Together with his close allies, Battle Cat (who undergoes a similar transformation from being Adam's cowardly pet tiger Cringer), The Sorceress, Teela, Man-At-Arms and Orko, He-Man uses his powers to defend Eternia from the evil forces of Skeletor. Skeletor's main goal is to conquer the mysterious fortress of Castle Grayskull, from which He-Man draws his powers. If he succeeds, Skeletor would rule Eternia and possibly the whole universe.

Back To The Future

It's time for another cartoon made as a spinoff of a popular 80's movie franchise, this time it's Back To The Future!



Following the conclusion of Back to the Future Part III, "Doc" Brown settled in 1991 in Hill Valley with his new wife Clara, their sons Jules and Verne, and the family dog, Einstein. As with the films, time travel was achieved through the use of a modified DeLorean, which had apparently been replaced following the original's destruction at the end of the trilogy. The new DeLorean had voice-activated "time circuits" and can also travel instantaneously to different locations in space and time, in addition to folding into a suitcase. The characters also traveled through time using the steam engine time machine Doc invented at the end of the third movie.
Although Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer Parker made occasional appearances, the show focused primarily on the Brown family, whereas the movies focused on the McFly family. The film's villain, Biff Tannen, also appeared from time to time. In addition, relatives of both the McFly and Tannen families were plentiful in the past or future parallel time zones visited. Unlike the films, which took place entirely in Hill Valley and the surrounding area, the series frequently took the characters to exotic locations.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Cockleshell Bay

Time for a trip to Cockleshell Bay!





Cockleshell Bay is an 80’s children’s TV animated show, which followed the adventures of Robin and Rosie, who are two young children that live by the sea in a village called Cockleshell bay. They live with their parents in the 'Bucket and Spade' Guest House. They are twins and dress nearly identical to each other, which is normally a striped jumper and dungarees / jeans. Mr Ship owns the boatyard next door to the 'Bucket and Spade' and Robin and Rosie love visiting him. His boats always seem to be half finished, but this doesn't stop Robin and Rosie imagining loads of stories that they can act out.

Mr Benn

Today we have an absolute classic to whisk you off on magical adventures, so let's take a step through the magic door at the back of costume shop, with Mr Benn!




Mr Benn, a man wearing a black suit and bowler hat, leaves his house at 52 Festive Road and visits a fancy-dress costume shop where he is invited by the moustachioed, fez-wearing shopkeeper to try on a particular outfit. He leaves the shop through a magic door at the back of the changing room and enters a world appropriate to his costume, where he has an adventure (which usually contains a moral) before the shopkeeper reappears to lead him back to the changing room, and the story comes to an end. Mr Benn returns to his normal life, but is left with a small souvenir of his magical adventure. Additionally, scenes before and after his adventure usually have some connection to it, such as the games the children are playing in the street as he passes.

Tuesday 25 February 2014

G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero

Known in the UK as Action Force, here is an episode of G.I Joe!


Based on the successful toy series by Hasbro, GI Joe is the code name for an elite strike force comprising of personnel from all branches of the United States military. Their primary purpose is be a counterforce to the huge terrorist organization called Cobra which is gunning for world domination.

Fangface

Time for another mystery solving bunch of teenagers, hot on the heels of another nefarious criminal, but this time, the main character is a werewolf! Yup, it's Faceface!




Highly derivative of Scooby-Doo (which was also created by Ruby and Spears) with a bit of the Tasmanian Devil and I Was A Teenage Werewolf thrown in, Fangface features four teenagers — buff and handsome leader Biff, his brainy and beautiful dusky-skinned girlfriend Kim, short, stocky and pugnacious Puggsy and tall, skinny simpleton Sherman "Fangs" Fangsworth, the latter of whom transforms into a wildly whirling werewolf named Fangface whenever he sees the moon, a picture of the moon, or anything resembling the moon. Fangface has one large fang in the middle of his upper jaw which protrudes over his lower lip, and he has brown fur with tan paws, muzzle, and lupine tail tip. The four kids drive around in a sleek convertible dune buggy called the Wolf-Buggy and catch crooks and solve crimes involving monsters and evil masterminds. Fangs sits in the backseat next to Puggsy, while Fangface rides on Puggsy's shoulders.

Despite the temporary difficulty of Fangface always attacking Puggsy after he first transforms, the gang never hesitates to initiate the transformation to take advantage of the werewolf's power to cope with any danger. Indeed, they often refer to Fangface as their "secret weapon", even though very few people are afraid of him. Fangface and Fangs are unaware of each other, but Fangface lives in the moment, so he never seems to question why he's suddenly in a new place, whereas Fangs is always bewildered upon reversion.

Monday 24 February 2014

Speed Racer

Time for some racing action with the classic Speed Racer!



One of the most complex early anime series to be dubbed for English speaking audiences. Speed Racer is the teenaged son of a car designer, whose Mach 5 can jump, go underwater, clear a path of trees and do other tricks. Besides winning various races, Speed and his family (girlfriend Trixie, kid brother Spritle and pet monkey Chim-Chim) run into spies, saboteurs, criminals and other bad-guy types.
What raises the show above simple adventure is the family background. Speed's brother Rex, suffering dishonor and shame, adopts the identity of Racer X, secretly aiding his brother and goading him into becoming the world's best racer.


Sunday 23 February 2014

Pinky and the Brain

One is a genius, the other's insane! The spinoff cartoon from Animaniacs!




Pinky and Brain are genetically enhanced laboratory mice who reside in a cage in the Acme Labs research facility. Brain is self-centered and scheming; Pinky is good-natured but feebleminded. In each episode, Brain devises a new plan to take over the world, which ultimately ends in failure, usually due to Pinky's idiocy, the impossibility of Brain's plan, Brain's own arrogance, or just circumstances beyond their control. In common with many other Animaniacs shorts, many episodes are in some way a parody of something else, usually a film or novel.

The opening song is preceded by the following dialogue:
Pinky: "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?"
The Brain: "The same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world!"

Starchaser - The Legend of Orin

Welcome to the BCC's 200th video post! As this is a bit of a benchmark, I wanted to post something a little bit special, so I have found a great movie from 1985 to share with you all.

Starchaser - The Legend of Orin!



Set on the subterranean Mine-World, a band of human workers are treated like slaves under the power of the evil overlord Zygon until one, Orin, unearths the hilt of a mythical sword that only he can master. Escaping the planet, he runs into the rogue smuggler Dagg and a pair of helpful droids and the princess, who all team up to return to the Mine-World with a plan to defeat Zygon and free Orin's enslaved people.