Classic Childhood TV: Little-Known Gems

When it comes to the pop culture that I was exposed to, it's safe to say that I had an unusual childhood. I clearly remember my mother blaring out 70s boy band, The Osmonds, from the kitchen while I lip-synced Spice Girls, and, later, S-Club Seven, in my bedroom. Mum introduced me to The Jackson 5, while my Dad preferred Pink Floyd and The Who.

The movies and TV shows that I watched were just as broad and eclectic. I'm yet to meet anyone besides my siblings and I who spent their childhoods watching as many TV shows and films from our mother's childhood as from our own. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I watched them all and loved them as fiercely as the latest Disney film.

While some classic children's TV shows remain as well-known today as they ever did (I'm looking at you, Thunderbirds), many have long disappeared into ill-deserved obscurity.

Camberwick Green (1966)

Camberwick Green was one of a short-lived TV trilogy, known as the Trumptonshire series. Accompanying Trumpton, the two shows running simultaneously from January-March 1968, while the third in the trilogy, Chigley, arrived on screens two years later, from October-December 1969. With just thirty-nine, fifteen-minute episodes across the entire trilogy, it's unsurprising, perhaps, that this stop-motion has since disappeared into obscurity. However, as of 2012, the BBC remastered all 39 episodes, and the entire trilogy is available on DVD (and can be found on Youtube).

With a simple premise, the trilogy follows the Edwardian characters of the town of Trumpton, the village of Camberwick Green, and the village of Chigley, at the centre of which is the manor house, Winkstead Hall. Each episode focuses on a different character, each of which is introduced with their own signature song, and many of whom appear across all three series. While we are essentially watching people go about their day-to-day lives, it is this minimal premise and quaint setting which makes this show so endearing.

The Herbs (1968)

Another short-lived TV show, The Herbs originally aired from February-May 1968, producing just 13 episodes in total. Written and created by Michael Bond (of Paddington Bear fame), this stop-motion show takes place in a secret, magical herb garden, in which well-known herbs have been characterised, including Dill the dog, Sir Basil and Lady Rosemary, Sage, the owl, and, star of the show, Parsley the lion.

While each episode introduces new characters, each with their own signature song, essentially, the show follows the adventures of shy, mischievous and hilariously droll Parsley the lion (though perhaps his dry wit would have gone straight over the head of the average four-year-old), and his eclectic group of friends.

The success of the show was followed in 1970 with spin-off show, The Adventures of Parsley, consisting of thirty-two 5-minute episodes. Although many of the original characters do make cameo appearances, these mini-episodes follow predominantly Parsley the lion and Dill the dog.

While The Adventures of Parsley can be found on DVD, the original series is much more difficult to come by, though the episodes can be views in Youtube.

Bagpuss (1974)

Toys that come to life? Nope, Toy Story didn't do it first. Beloved rhubarb-and-cream fluff-ball, Bagpuss lives in a rather unusual shop, owned by a little girl named Emily. While clearly her entrepreneurial drive at such a young age is clearly a force to be reckoned with, Emily needs to work on her business model, perhaps, because her shop; Bagpuss & Co., doesn't sell anything. Instead, she displays lost items in the window, essentially running a lost-and-found collection point.

Each episode focuses on a different lost item, which, when placed in front of Bagpuss, Emily recites a verse, bringing the 'saggy old cloth cat', and his friends, to life:

Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss

Old Fat Furry Catpuss

Wake up and look at this thing that I bring

Wake up, be bright, be golden and light

Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing

Clearly, I still, twenty-three years later, remember every word. Like the Trumptonshire trilogy, Bagpuss is set in the Edwardian era. Other characters in this stop-motion show include Madeline the rag-doll, a wooden woodpecker named Professor Yaffle, a family of carved, wooden mice. While the mice would repair and clean up the lost item, someone, usually Madeline or Professor Yaffle would tell a story relating to the item, with plenty of banter between the characters in the meantime.

The entire Bagpuss series can be found on DVD, or on Youtube.