The Best of the Rest 2005:
Where Are They Now?
You may recall that, in
issue 12 of The Eye Shield, I gave details about some of my other favourite
programmes apart from Knightmare. Some of these programmes had ended long
before I wrote the article, but some were still on the TV. Here is an update
for 2005 on the status of those programmes that were still classed as “current”
in November 2001, as well as a couple more of my favourite programmes that have
come into being since then.
The
Sooty Show. (1976 –
1992.)
Sooty &
Sooty
Heights. (1999 –
2001.)
Sooty.
(2002 – present.)
Like so many children’s programmes in
recent years, Sooty has suffered from a terrific dumbing-down in his once great
show. In the days of Matthew Corbett, Sooty was guaranteed to appeal to adults
and children alike with its clever mix of simple fun and carefully written
humour. Now the show has descended into yet another
pointless, plotless romp for kids, and Richard Cadell is a poor replacement for
Matthew Corbett. Or maybe I’m just getting older…
Grange
Hill (1978 – present.)
This, too, has suffered greatly in my
opinion. For the 2003 series onwards, the filming of the show has moved from
Elstree to
Hey Arnold! (1996 – 2002.)
A great cartoon that had a good run of one
hundred episodes, and the movie was a fair way of rounding things off. However,
those of us who were interested in a certain salient plot from the show were
left feeling less than satisfied at the end of the film. This plot was supposed
to be resolved in the sequel but, unfortunately, the cartoon’s creator, Craig
Bartlett, is apparently no longer on friendly terms with the production
company, Nickelodeon, so the sequel will probably never appear. It’s one of the
greatest tragedies of our times, in my opinion.
Buffy the Vampire
Slayer (1997 - 2003.)
After seven series, Buffy finally hung up
her stake, which was a good thing in my opinion. The show was excellent, but
the concept was getting tired, and the seventh season was by far the weakest.
We have Sarah Michelle Gellar and her pursuit of movie stardom to thank for
this small mercy.
It’s getting a bit tired, but this cartoon
is still a very funny piece of satire. Although it has just finished its eighth
series in
Mona
the Vampire (2000 - present.)
Mona now has five good series behind her, but the stock of spooky ideas for plots is running a bit thin. I love Mona and her monster-busting antics, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the show wasn’t brought to a graceful end before too long.
Rugrats (1990 - 2004.)
I didn’t mention this one last time, but I had to put it in here as you’ll see in a minute. The comical and endearing antics of the cute little babies used to amuse me greatly on Saturday mornings during Live & Kicking, but after fourteen years, the concept has definitely worn thin!
All Grown Up! (2003 – present.)
This is the adventures of the Rugrats ten years later. Most of the characters translate well into young teens, and this is helped by the fact that all the voiceover artists are the same as in Rugrats. It’s good that the old show has moved aside to make way for this new one, which should have several good years left in it yet. I like Angelica in this, who has translated particularly well from a petulant three-year-old to a petulant teenager, and also Dil, whose mad antics are very funny.
Raven. (2002 – present.)
A children’s gameshow from the BBC, where groups of young teenagers complete challenges of skill and mental agility in a world of fantasy and magic. Sound familiar, does it? The show does have many similarities to Knightmare, but it’s all filmed on-location in the Scottish countryside and makes very limited use of computer graphics. It’s an enjoyable show, and some of the challenges are fun. The show is presented by Scottish actor James MacKenzie as Raven, the master of the tournament who can take the form of either a bird or a human. If you like Knightmare, you should at least be mildly amused by this programme. I think it’s the best thing CBBC has managed to produce in years.
Shoebox Zoo. (2004 – present.)
A CBBC drama full of fantasy and magic;
just the kind of thing a Knightmare fan should lap up. The first series tells
the story of Marnie McBride, an American girl living in