Thought I'd start a little place you can post the TV shows, music videos, celebs, products etc that were once a part of your life, but have now been lost in the ether. Or sumfin.

The Double Deckers

I only know a few people who remember this, and I can only remember one episode (Doughnut becomes invisible), but I do know I loved it and Tiger was probably my first crush.

Look out for a member of Aswad and a "Spook" in the cast.

I remember the theme tune but because of a cartoon I once saw I can only think of the lyrics being "Get on board, get on board the anti-everything, love bus".

Ooh look, The Red Hand Gang is one of the related videos. I don't remember it being so old.

I vaugly remember The Double Deckers, I think they may have shown it at my local cinema before the main feature one Saturday afternoon.

The Double Deckers was repeated on Saturday afternoons in the mid 80s. I had to watch it because I'd usually be stuck at my gran's.

I saw this the other day, lol the daughter gets attacked on her date.

Now I have the theme stuck in my head. My sister wanted to be Tiger.

Christ we are old!

That's a strong possibility. It was made by The Children's Film Foundation.




That show was well ahead of it's time. An animated sit-com. Normal setting. Normal people. Not a talking animal in sight.



I have the soundtrack. It's boss.

As well as the Double Deckers, does anyone else remember the sort of rip-off version, 'The Chiffy Kids'? I only remember seeing the show during Saturday morning cinema kids shows, along side Chico The Rain Maker and various Childrens' Film Foundation flicks. Still, I can remember a snatch of the theme tune:

'The Chiffy kids, the Chiffy Kids,
The merry-weather, now-or-never Chiffy kids'.

I think the 'Tiger' rip off was called 'Magpie'. There clubhouse was through a flap in a bill board.

Post-Raiders, on a Friday night, you were either a Bring 'Em Back Alive kid or a Tales Of The Gold Monkey kid. I sided with the monkey. And right choice too. BEBA's hero was big game "trapper" and his friend is described as his "No.1 Boy"!



Well I'll be damned if it ain't true. Look at the cast list and see which familiar face played "Snow White". Was she actually playing Snow White or is it just very un PC?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257299/fullcredits#cast

Yep, I used to hate them as a kid; makers of boring, sanctimonious, Enid-Blyton-inspired, insipid, TOSH! When's Raiders going to start?!



And bastards all!



Tales of the Golden Monkey was Monday night fare! (at least it was in the South West!).

I've posted it before, but: Knightmare.

The best and most difficult kid's (dare I say adult, even) game show ever. Only 8 teams beat the dungeon in 8 series.

I have no recollection of the Chiffy Kids.

What's it all about Chiffy?

Do you remember Spangles?

I miss Henry Krinkle

Oh yes, and one of my all time favs, the good ole Texan bar.

(Fruit Gums used to be better when they were all knobbly as well).

That reminds me of Professor Poopsnagle.
(I used to love that show... Though I honestly couldn't remember it's title until now.)
This was a spin of from another favourite of mine at the time Secret Valley.

Nostalgia's brilliant. Remember stuff?
I liked The Battle of Hastings best.

Except that isn't what "nostalgia" means.

Yes it's all about feelings & the longing for things, isn't it?

...& the clouding of judgement, mainly.


...& The A Team.

Yup, realising a lot of it was really crap when looking at it on YouTube

It's a Stewart Lee quote.

I remember when people smoked in the cinema and you could get on the bus for 50p.

When I was wee, I was given a teddy bear (aww) and we named it after a current event. Some of the celebs of SO weren't even born. Just put me out on the ice flow, now.

Still - I don't look it. Do I?

That's something I certainly don't miss!

Hell yeah. I absolutely adored Tales Of The Golden Monkey. I seem to recall one of the subplots becoming the main focus by the end of the season - Jack's dog Jake (the Jack Russell)'s false eye - wasn't it stolen at one point? And wasn't it a valuable jewel or something like that?


I believe it was shown on Friday nights up here in Norfolk.

eta: interesting - I always vividly remembered it as 'Golden' Monkey, and yet the credit sequence blatantly says 'Gold'. How strange.



I also have fond recollections of watching 'Harold Lloyd' and 'Laurel & Hardy' shorts on BBC2 on weekdays around teatime-ish. That and the first series of 'Allo 'Allo. I used to (and still do on occasion) get goosebumps when I heard the theme tune.

Explain this.

Hmmm, it's a little hard to quantify. Probably more from nostalgia now (thread-appropriate-ly enough), but I think at the time it was more through chronological association with having started learning French at high school (particularly as the curriculum included appreciation of the French culture aside from just learning the language). The accordion in 'Allo 'Allo's theme music became the essence of 'France' for me at that point in time, at a subconscious level I suppose. A school trip to Dieppe the following year set the seal on it I think. It's probably where my love of France, and for Paris in particular first began. That, and I just really liked the theme tune; the string section harmonies just hit me where I live - good choons make Ade go all multi-pimple.



In other news, perhaps a year or two prior to that (circa 1980/1981 I think), I was utterly beguiled by the Richard Chamberlain mini-series Shogun. I found it a thoroughly fascinating insight into the Japanese culture and history. Looks a little dated now, but I'd still recommend checking it out in favour of something like, say, Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai. Toshiro Mifune fans in particular might find it of interest too.

Yes, yes and yes. Knightmare was proper difficult and brills.

Nope, it was Mondays (and, latterly, Tuesdays). The air dates are listed here.

American air dates, yeah.


eta: Ignore that. I can't be arsed to scroll, obviously. I'm tired.


'Fridays' still sounds better in my mind.

etaa: well I'm damned, they finally released it on DVD, then. Damned If I'm paying £47 for it though, Mr Findprice.

£36 at HMV.

Still pricey.


Ahhh, I remember those days, when I would could afford to happily splash out for the full price of a new DVD... [/nostalgic]

We liked that at my school too. The decapitation scene was much discussed and imitated, and Neil Hutchinson was known as 'Ajin-San' as his hair looked like Richard Chamberlain's.

Ajin-San. Heheh, I like it.


I seem to recall another scene that created quite a hoo-hah at the time was where a Japanese noble pisses on John Blackthorne (Richard Chamberlain)'s back. A reprisal for Blackthorne's refusal to bow to said noble, having also stated the words "I piss on you and your country", prompting the reluctant translator the relay the message. Silly Blackthorne.


eta: Interestingly, having just done a quick web search on it, it was apparently the first network show allowed to use the word "piss" in the dialogue, and indeed show the act of urination itself. It also proved to be quite the taboo-breaker in terms of its depiction of violence and sexuality as well. It's funny - given that my Mum never allowed me to watch something as harmless as Monkey barely a few years later, I'm really quite surprised in retrospect that my folks allowed me to watch Sho-Gun at all.

I've been tempted to read Shogun, but every time I remember to buy a copy the only ones I can find have been damaged.

Could someone be touring the country deliberately vandalising the works of James Clavell?

Anyone remember Knyacki?

It's a Japanese stop-motion show about a little worm, and it was on TV in the UK a while back.

It's really sweet, I'd highly recommend it. YouTube comes up with practically nothing, sadly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHPpaNpqMnI

Street pays tribute to Mr Benn

I've always maintained that Mr Benn was the inspiration for Quantum Leap.

I don't remember Mr Benn at all.

They say if you remember Mr Benn, you weren't really there.

Tales of the Gold Monkey - HMV Exclusive.

I very nearly bought this yesterday!