Roger Ramjet

Just a small post to end the day on today, Roger Ramjet!

Roger Ramjet is a patriotic and highly moral — if not very bright — hero, who is typically out to save the world, with help from his Proton Energy Pills ("PEP"), which give him "the strength of twenty atom bombs for a period of twenty seconds". The world is invariably saved by dispensing violence towards the various recurring criminals who populated the series.
On government missions assigned by General G.I. Brassbottom, Ramjet encounters various nemeses during his missions. Typically he is caught, and must be rescued by his crew of sidekicks, the American Eagles: Yank, Doodle, Dan and Dee (a play on Yankee Doodle Dandy). Although his Eagles appear to be children, each of them, except for Dee, flies his own individual ramjet aircraft expertly, and are obviously much more savvy than their leader. (taken from Wikipedia)

Chocky

Today I am bringing you what will hopefully become a regular feature on the BCC, a full mini series in one post. Today to kick off the proceedings, we have the 1984 classic, Chocky!

Based upon the novel by John Wyndham, Chocky is the tale of Matthew Gore, an intelligent boy chosen by a mysterious extraterrestrial visitor to be a source of information about life on Earth. As his schoolwork and artistic talent improve dramatically he arouses the suspicion of powerful groups who wish to tap into the amazing fund of knowledge to which he is now party.

Challenge of the GoBots

Today's second post is Challenge of the Gobots - Battle of the Rock Lords!

GoBots dealt with two opposing forces of transforming robots from the planet GoBotron: the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians were led by Leader-1 while the Renegades were led by Cy-Kill. The characters rarely had guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists. The female robots on the series, such as Crasher, were built like the males, but with some distinguishing female features. The GoBots' origin as organic beings accounted for the presence of genders among the robots.
The series generally focused on a small number of robots from each faction (Leader-1, Turbo, Small Foot and Scooter vs. Cy-Kill, Fitor, Cop-Tur and Crasher), who were virtually ever-present, with other characters seeming to rotate in "guest-star" roles. GoBots had no clear divide between the two factions.

Round the Twist

Round the Twist is an Australian children's comedy, based around the Twist family and the supernatural goings on in their town.

The Twist family are widower Tony Twist and his three children, twins Pete and Linda, and Bronson. They live in the old, and usually haunted lighthouse at Port Miranda.

How this got aired is beyond me due to the content of flatulence, defectation, urination, body odor, underwear, nudity, incest and generalis. Even though they were all done through comedy!

Still, I'm so glad it did! A great piece of kids TV!

Chorlton and the Wheelies

Time for another classic! It's Chorlton and the Wheelies!

The series takes place in "Wheelie World", which is inhabited principally by the "wheelies", a race of creatures who locomote by means of wheels. They have three wheels each: two large ones at the front, and a smaller centred one at the back. The wheels are replaceable, and suitable wheels grow on vegetation found in Wheelie World.
The wheelie society is in conflict with Fenella the Kettle Witch, who lives in Wheelie World but separately from the wheelies, in Spout Hall, an oversized kettle. She has magical capabilities, including a form of teleportation which is her main mode of transport, and enchanted assistants including a talking book (called 'Claptrap Von Spilldebeans') and O'Reilly the Telescope, which advise her on magic spells. Minions include spikers, and toadies. Fenella hates happiness, and uses her powers primarily to make the wheelies unhappy.
The wheelies have adopted into their society a "happiness dragon", Chorlton, who appears in Wheelie World at the very beginning of the series, hatching out of an egg. Chorlton is perpetually good-natured and perpetually clueless. For example, he fails to perceive Fenella as a villain, and affectionately refers to her as a "little old lady". Nevertheless, his presence negates the unhappiness magic, so the wheelies treat him as a hero.

Rude Dog and the Dweebs

Today's first post is a special request by a fan of the BCC. A classic slice of 80's cartoons, Rude Dog and the Dweebs!

Rude Dog runs an auto shop, where he is assisted by the Dweebs, a motley group of mutt minions. The team includes the stuttering Caboose, the uptight Winston, Reginald AKA Reggie, Barney, Ditzy Kibble, Satch, and a friendly Chihuahua named Tweek. Rude Dog has a girlfriend named Gloria.
Their feline foe is the vicious Seymour, and joining him in the chase is the ubiquitous dog catcher Herman (also voiced by Peter Cullen) and his dimwitted rottweiler assistant Rot. Each week, Rude Dog and company balance their auto shop duties with attempts to elude the persistent Seymour, Herman, and Rot.

Fun Fact - Rude Dog was originally created as a mascot for Sun Sportswear in the US as part of a line of surfing and skateboarding related clothing!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Everyone knows who the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are, unless you live in a cave, or are dead!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat master (or sensei) in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists. From their home in the storm sewers of New York, they battle petty criminals, evil overlords and aliens, all while remaining isolated from society-at-large.

Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom and Ireland the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT, for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have excessively violent connotations for a children's programme. Consequently, everything related to the Turtles (comic books, video games, toys, etc.) had to be renamed before being released.
The lyrics were also changed, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens". The policies also had other effects, such as editing out use of Michelangelo's nunchaku (which were at the time banned from appearing in 18 rated movies) and generally toning down the usage of all the turtles' weapons. To head this problem off, the showrunners elected to remove Michelangelo's nunchaku entirely during season three, replacing them with a grappling hook called the "Turtle Line" that served as Mikey's signature weapon for the rest of the show's run.

Luckily for everyone here, The episode I have posted is the original Ninja Turtles, not the censored Hero Turtles, after all we are all grown ups here! (hahaha!!)

Fun Fact - Shredder was voiced by James Avery who played Uncle Phil in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!!

Belle and Sebastian

Today's first post is an often forgotten gem, that was one of my favourites when it used to be on TV.

Belle and Sebastian! (not to be confused with the band of the same name!)

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 France. 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 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. They have many adventures as they elude the police and search for Sebastian's long-lost mother.

Pirates of Dark Water

Today's next post is the classic Fantasy series, The Pirates of Dark Water!

The alien world of Mer is being devoured by an evil substance known as Dark Water. Only Ren, a young prince, can stop it by finding the lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule. His loyal crew of misfits that help in his journey are an ecomancer (Tula), a monkey-bird (Niddler), and a treasure-hungry pirate (Ioz). The evil pirate lord, Bloth, will stop at nothing to get the treasures for himself and provides many obstacles for Ren and his crew.

Disappointingly, the series was never completed, ending abruptly after 21 episodes with only eight of the thirteen treasures collected. A real shame.

The Raggy Dolls

It's the Raggy Dolls, Raggy Dolls, Dolls like you and me!

The series is set in Mr. Grimes' Toy Factory where, unless the doll is perfect, it is thrown into the Reject Bin. While unobserved by human eyes, the dolls come to life and climb out of the Reject Bin to have adventures. The series was designed to encourage children to think positively about physical handicaps, as well as teaching kindness, tolerance and humility towards others.

Come now to the reject bin and join Sadsack. Back-To-Front, Dotty, Claude and the rest of the gang!

James the Cat

I thought I'd make another post before calling it a day for today. A nice little short cartoon about a cat called James.

James the Cat was a children's series created by Kate Canning. It chronicles the many events which take place at the Cornerhouse (number 104) between James and his new friends. Fellow characters include: Mrs. Lavender, a snail; Frida, a kangaroo; Citroen, a French frog; Rocky, a dimwitted rabbit; and Dennis, a pink fire-breathing Welsh-accented Chinese dragon. There is also a beehive in the garden at the Cornerhouse. Next door are Ma and Pa Rat, and their rat children.

The Space Sentinels

Another request from a fan is being fulfilled with this second post of the day, and this time it's The Space Sentinels!

This show was about the adventures of three young people removed from earth, taken to an alien planet and given super human powers. They were then returned to Earth to look after it and help the people develop naturally without any interference from outside forces. Hercules was the Sentinel empowered with the strength of a hundred men. Astrea was given the ability to transform herself into any other living creature. Mercury was given the gift of speed and was so fast he could match the speed of light.

The threesome were guided by Sentinel One who was a super computer with a holographic head that appeared when it wished to communicate.

Grange Hill

Today's first post is from probably the most famous school in the UK, Grange Hill! This show has been requested by a fan of the BCC, so I dug through the history of the show and picked out one of the most well remembered and hard hitting episodes in it's 30 year history!

The drama was centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the (equally fictitious) borough of North London called "Northam", and follows the lives of the students as they progress through school.

The programme has covered many controversial storylines, ranging from students throwing benches into the swimming pool (1978; as a result of which, following letters of complaint from teachers and parents, the episode was withdrawn from the repeat season), rape (2001), heroin addiction (1986), Asperger Syndrome (2001), knife crime (1998) and attempted suicide (2005), prompting many complaints from viewers. Grange Hill broke new ground by the inclusion of a gay teacher, Mr Brisley, who was in the cast from 1992 to 1999.

The show began in 1978 and was one of the longest-running programmes on British TV when it ended its run in 2008. It was created by Phil Redmond who is also responsible for the dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks. (Text taken from Wikipedia)

Knightmare

Today's second post is a celebratory one. I made a promise that if the BCC Facebook page reached 200 likes, I would post an episode of Knightmare! Well, as you may have guessed, that target has been reached! So not only is there one episode of Knightmare, I have found the entire first season edited into one video clocking in at just under 3 hours long!!

The show features teams of four children (around 11–16 years old). On the call of "Enter, Stranger", the first member of the team (the "dungeoneer") enters Knightmare Castle via an antechamber belonging to Treguard of Dunshelm^. After giving his or her name, the dungeoneer is asked by Treguard to call three advisors, who magically appear next to the viewing apparatus (though, in Series 8, all members of the team appeared at once). Before entering the dungeon, the dungeoneer is given a knapsack to wear, in which food found along the way is to be placed, in order to replenish Life Force. In addition, the "Helmet of Justice" is put on the dungeoneer's head, blocking vision except for the area immediately around. The story is that this is to protect the dungeoneer from seeing the real danger ahead.

The dungeoneer then enters Treguard's partly computer generated, partly hand-drawn fantasy dungeonwhich was accomplished through blue screen technology - hence the need for the helmet, as the dungeoneer otherwise just sees a large blue room. The team watches the dungeoneer from a screen in the antechamber, and guides the player using hurried descriptions and shouted instructions, overcoming a variety of puzzles and traps in the dungeon. 
There are three levels in the dungeon. The object of the game is to collect various items, meeting a selection of the many inhabitants of the dungeon along the way, and get out alive after finding a specified treasure.

Fun Fact - Over the course of the series Treguard became known for his catchphrase "Ooh, nasty!", regularly used just after a dungeoneer had died. Intended only as a passing remark, this was originally an ad lib by Hugo Myatt, who played Treguard.

Sherlock Hound

There seemed to be a trend in the 80's of turning literary fiction into cartoons where all the characters are animals. Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, Around the World with Willy Fog and today's first show, Sherlock Hound!

Loosely based on the "Sherlock Holmes" series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Hound turns all the classic characters into dogs. The canine Sherlock Holmes, his assistant Watson, and housemaid Mrs. Hudson work together to solve mysteries. The culprit is usually Professor Moriarty and his gang, who use many steampunk style contraptions to steal what they want.

Fun Fact - Of the 26 episodes made for the show, 6 were directed by anime legend Hayao Miyazaki who went on to direct many of Studio Ghibli's movies, such as My Neighbour Totoro and Nausicaa of the valley of the Wind.