Out of the Mouths of Babes...
What did children think of children's TV in 1986?
It’s fair to say I have somewhat of an obsession with looking back at children’s television of the mid-1980s. This, of course, is not surprising, as this is the exact period where my main memories of television, and indeed life, started being recorded permanently, with the record protection tabs firmly yanked off.
But the exact nature of my memories are still vague, so it’s difficult to give a true depiction of my contemporary thoughts as I watched programmes such as Mop and Smiff and Bric-a-Brac. It’s not a major problem as, due to infantile amnesia, few people remember any details from their earliest years. In fact, my childhood memories seem to have coped with infantile amnesia alarmingly well, but they’re not perfect. Luckily, we can still find out what children thought of children's TV in 1986.
During one of my regular trawls through the archives, I noticed an intriguing article in the 19th September 1986 issue of Broadcast, released just a week after my fourth birthday. The article, entitled Out of the Mouths of Babes, had decided to look at the thoughts of the main consumer of children’s television: children. Gathering together a select panel of children, Broadcast sought to discover what ratings, critiques and articles could only ever dream of revealing.
And it makes for a fascinating read which is not only ridiculously good fun, but also insightful. As you can see, from the screenshots above (click for larger versions), it’s not surprising to see that the vast merchandising campaigns of American television have struck a real chord with the panel. He-Man and She-Ra are both named as being big favourites, and I certainly would have concurred with He-Man at the time.
The Little Vampire is also a popular choice, with all the panel agreeing on the genius of this German/Canadian production, but I have to admit to having absolutely zero recall of this being on the air. British television, however, isn’t forgotten. Bellamy’s Bugle gets namechecked and, I’m glad to say, Let’s Pretend receives unanimous approval from the young panel. Few people remember Let’s Pretend in the 21st century, and many of those who do seem to wish they’d forgotten about it (apart from myself).
They also reference, with an emphasis on enjoying the event, the episode of Coronation Street where the Rovers Return burned down. Rather nicely, this is also one of my earliest television memories, although I don’t remember enjoying poor Bet Gilroy coughing her way through the smoke filled pub. Finally, the article also mentions a children’s programme called Poparound, one which I’ve never heard of before and will have to investigate in the near future.
So, please take a few minutes to read the Broadcast article and let me know what you thought of it. Do you agree with what the panel said? Are you surprised by their healthy cynicism of advertising? And who remembers Poparound?