A whole generation of forty-somethings remembers this show with fondness, and rightly so. Boasting an insufferably jaunty theme tune by Syd Dale, and the chipper Michael Rodd as host, it tested schoolchildren's powers of observation by making them answer questions on film clips ( some general knowledge questions were thrown in. In reply to "which General got killed at Little Big Horn?", a boy said: "General Custard!" ).
Some of the films featured were brand new; I remember being excited to get a glimpse of 'Star Wars' before its British release, while others such as 'Dr.Who & The Daleks' were then under licence by the B.B.C. The Children's Film Foundation got some of their works on the show too.
There was also 'Young Filmmakers Of The Year', in which short films made by young people were shown, many of them astonishingly imaginative and well-made ( one was an incredibly creepy story about a boy who had drowned while swimming in a lake only to come back as a ghost ), and a section devoted to exclusive 'behind-the-scenes' material. 'Space:1999' was featured in a 1973 edition. Clips from the episode 'Black Sun' whetted one's appetite for the series which was still a good two years away.
Rodd left in 1978 ( replaced firstly by Brian Trueman and then Mark Curry ), and I lost interest in it soon afterwards. Perhaps B.B.C.-1 should consider reviving the format?
Some of the films featured were brand new; I remember being excited to get a glimpse of 'Star Wars' before its British release, while others such as 'Dr.Who & The Daleks' were then under licence by the B.B.C. The Children's Film Foundation got some of their works on the show too.
There was also 'Young Filmmakers Of The Year', in which short films made by young people were shown, many of them astonishingly imaginative and well-made ( one was an incredibly creepy story about a boy who had drowned while swimming in a lake only to come back as a ghost ), and a section devoted to exclusive 'behind-the-scenes' material. 'Space:1999' was featured in a 1973 edition. Clips from the episode 'Black Sun' whetted one's appetite for the series which was still a good two years away.
Rodd left in 1978 ( replaced firstly by Brian Trueman and then Mark Curry ), and I lost interest in it soon afterwards. Perhaps B.B.C.-1 should consider reviving the format?
