"ITV Teletext Article"
From ITV Teletext ,
Thanks to John Porter for typing this up :)
SOUND OFF with Frank Fury --------------- Children's Television ---------------
Back in the good old days, school kids would rush home to catch what they could of the post-school TV scheduling. Jackanory, Runaround (with Mike Reid), even Cheggers Plays Pop!
But even the two veterans of BBC1's after-school primetime shows pale in comparison with those of days gone by.
Blue Peter is a confused mish-mash of features and pop music. And Grange Hill was never the same after Tucker Jenkins passed his O-Levels and got a job.
-------------------------------------------------------- --------------------1/3------ Clarrissa's got it right!* >>>>> -------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------
None of us are as young as we used to be, but many of the TV shows aimed at children are patronising and look as if they were thrown together with the lowest possible budget.
Good children's shows should have a universal appeal. It shows that the viewers are treated as intelligent, sentient people - not "little kids".
Take Clarissa Explains It All - an American show where the teenage girl talks to the camera about the world in her eyes - perceptive and hilarious.
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If Saturday mornings on both the BBC and ITV can have such a strong lineup for kids, why does the after show slot for the same audience look like an afterthought?
The Ant and Dec Show was just what was needed, and that ended up ruffling the wrong feathers and was scheduled into obscurity on Channel 4.
But did the BBC capitalise on what was obviously a winning formula and develop a toned down version? Why bother? They're just kids anyway...
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*BTW,'Clarrissa' was their misprint,not mine - JP.
Any comments mail me at
eric@ezz.u-net.comEric Last, 25/5/97