Childrens' TV of the 90s

Here is a run down of just a few of my favourite television shows as a child. Some of them have come and gone without notice, others have lived on to legendary status with those of us in our mid to early twenties, hope you enjoy it!

Animals of Farthing Wood

This was a rather bleak cartoon of the 90s, but was immensely popular during its airing. Not just a drama about a bundle of cute cuddly creatures but a severly cruel stab about the realities of being a woodland creature; death, death and more death! Some scenes haunted me as a child, like the death of pheasant, who is so scared hiding from hunters she flies off and is instantly killed by gunshot. The series had a grim outlook on life, but it also had a degree of intelligence, it didn't patronize kids and showed the need for diplomacy and leadership in small societies a la Watership Down and Animal Farm. My favourite characters were Badger, a wise elderly creature and the weepy, clingy Mole who spent the majority of his journeys on top of Badger's head. Aesthetically, the cartoon stood out with its quality artistry and colourful landscapes, a feature which was slowly dying out as commissioners realised sketchy japanese imports were much cheaper to air on UK television.

Noah's Island

By the same people who made Animals of Farthing Wood, Noah's Island was similar in design and messages of teamwork and relationships, except with a much lighter tone. The Badger-Mole relationship was recreated with polar bear Noah and Sacha, a Russian Desman (type of mole) who perched on Noah's head, ending each sentence with 'ski!' much to the other animals' annoyance. Unlike Farthing Wood where each and every animal knew their place, Noah's Island was comprised of a mix of exotic animals, all striving to be of great importance on the island. The series was amusing, thoughtful and poignant in parts, I miss it so!





The Moomins

This cartoon both mesmerised and terrified me as a kid. Strange plump hippo creatures living in a picturesque Nordic land. The cartoon series was developed by Dutch and Japanese companies which gives the series an odd blend of stylistics and cultural references. The stories include many Finnish folktales including the creepy Groke, a silent aubergine like monster which hovers plants and living things, killing them with its frost. One very irritating character was Little My, a small human girl adopted by the Moomins and although not intentionally scary, her horrible giant angry eyes haunt me to this day.

Power Rangers

The epitony of the 90s kid. Watching Power Rangers on CITV and trying to recreate battle scenes with friends. The bizarre ranking of colours, like a caste system for the infantile race meant as a child I fought tooth and claw to play the pink power ranger(the pretty one) or the yellow one (token ethnic female minority. For the lads, if you were not the red power ranger, or the ultimate white one (aka 'Tommy') you might as well live at the slimy end of the gene pool.





The Demon Headmaster

The story: an evil non human entity in the shape of a headmaster posesses pupils through the art of hypnosis do to his wicked bidding. The series had an overall Doctor Who-ishness where one minute the kids were normal happy gurgling urchins and the next, souless human husks. I never knew the exact reasoning for the headmaster's motives (take over the world one child at a time?) but his character was played with demonic perfection by Terrence Hardiman, possibly the most creepy looking man on British television. Years after the children's series, whenever I see Hardiman's expressionless face and cold pale eyes on TV I stagger back from the set, exclaiming 'Christ, it's him!'

Hey Arnold

Purely brilliant, and totally watchable even as a 22 year old. Set in a run down neighbourhood in New York, Arnold and the rest of his cartoon pals help solve dilemmas and personal problems of others within the tight knit community. Almost every minority is shown and the series deals with some adult issues such as immigration and depression. I loved the character of Helga, a blonde girl in a pink dress, but with the face, voice and soul of a rabid monkey. Helga is a girl with issues, shes in love with Arnold but is so scared of rejection she hides her feelings behind a constant explosion of abuse. Everytime Arnold is out of earshot, she grabs a heart shaped photo of him and whispers sweet nothings to it, heck the girl even has a shrine for Arnold hidden in her bedroom. I loved her because she's so easy to associate with, she doesn't act like a little girl should, shes mouthy, angry and resents her older sister for being a picture of perfection in her parents eyes. Hey Arnold is riveting stuff.





Come Outside

A delightful educational programme involving apple-faced Lynda Baron as cheery Aunt Mabel and her scruffy mutt Pippin. The duo go on mini adventures in a spotty aeroplane whilst learning at the same time! Ok so its stretching it a bit calling them 'adventures', 'Come Outside' is more like a school trip around the faltering, rather mundane side of British production. For example, Mabel and Pippin visit the Golden Wonder Crisp factory (gasp!), The Council is called out after Mabel spots a broken street lamp (wha?!) and a fruit salad is made, minus the apples (No way!). However the show is charming in a truely British way that celebrates drugery, only an English kid can get excited to find out how a teapot is made. A favourite episode of mine is 'Sewage', where predictably mabel and Pippin find out what happens to poo once it's been flushed away - cut to plump jolly lady strolling along in delight and awe within a shit infested sewer - only in Britain!

So many programmes worth a mention, but I doubt I will ever get this blog done if I continue to list every single show of my childhood! I hope it floods back oodles of nostalgia to those who read it.