A look back at...some classic kids' TV

Again due to lockdown, I have had the chance to relive my youth a tad, and re-watch some of my favourite childhood TV shows, to see if they still pass mustard and to see if they still hold my interest today... 

POKÉMON 

I am fully aware that the Pokémon TV series is in now way ended, even today. This particular anime phenomenon is soon approaching a quarter of a century old, with countless revamps and new look series in the can ( a la Power Rangers and the like - another classic bit of kids TV). However, mine was the generation of the original episodes, and it is those that I have glanced over and watched quite a few of again recently via Pokémon TV online.

The first two seasons I have re-watched to be exact (that's the Indigo League and the Orange Island episodes for you Poké - fans). Not all of the episodes have had a second look as some I just found fluff, but the broad strokes and main episodes I have re-watched: showing the journey of Ash Ketchum and his friends on their quest to catch and see every pocket monster (get it) and to "catch 'em all". This really is as much as my childhood self could take before becoming bored of the format - though that's still hundreds of episodes!

That really is the main problem looking back, yes there was enough appealing colour, variety and adventure (and an actually quite kick ass soundtrack I newly re-discover) to keep one entertained for a while, but a lot of it seemed like filler and too geared towards the ever growing trend from the 90s onward, where children's TV was geared towards branding and merchandising rather than quality stories. 

For the many still devoted fans, this original run is vital in the mythology, and for nostalgia is worth another watch, but new fans watching the 25th season may not be missing that much if they do not watch what has gone on before.

GARGOYLES

Witty, dark, gritty, powerful, well-animated with an awesome cast and genuinely clever scripts; Gargoyles really is a lost gem from a forgotten age. An age where the makers of children's TV did not patronise them, knew they could handle slightly deeper, slightly more meaningful, and perhaps even slightly scarier stories, as well as the action and the adventure. 

Focusing on a group of Gargoyles from the age of the Vikings, brought into the modern (mid-90s Manhattan) world and are forced to adapt to a world where magic and myth is forgotten but where heroes are needed more than ever, this series was and actually remains a highlight for me.

OK, if I'm being picky the series went on for a tad too long and a few of the episodes suffered for it, but on the other hand I would have been happy to see it go on for a few more seasons too. It was that good - genuinely intelligent scripts for children to digest, brought to wonderful life by a cast who many a Star Trek fan would recognise, this truly was a classic.

X-MEN: EVOLUTION

Before Marvel stories and media were the stuff of multi-billion dollar industries, there were a lot of attempts to keep the characters firmly grounded in the world of kids' TV, and understandably the wonderful world of the multi-layered, multi-powered mutants that were the X-Men were especially popular. Following the now iconic 1990s technicolor series, there came X-Men: Evolution, and early noughties attempt to re-vamp and portray an edgier and slicker side to the X-Men for children.

Broadly speaking, I feel it worked. Over 4 seasons, with scripts that more or less followed the classic comic stories and gave them a new interpretation fans old and new of Marvel got to enjoy this one. Again very occasionally the episodes got slightly silly, but mostly the series was quite grown up in its approach and the results responded to that. My only other criticism is that there wasn't quite enough grit and darkness in some of the action and drama created, although that may be the result of a lot more adult and mature visions of Marvel characters we have been treated to since.

Regrettably this show was cancelled before it was ready to bow out, and I am still in retrospect rather dismayed at that.

ANIMALS OF FARTHING WOOD

Ah...now...what can I say? This is pure classic, and pure class. For me, from when I was very young indeed, probably only 4 or 5. And it is still I think, one of the best pieces of children's TV ever made.

Based on some equally classic novels by Colin Dann, a beautifully enchanting and clever concept - namely that of following a group of animals who have sworn to protect each other when they have to flee their home in search of another, and the trials they face when they get there. But again, this is by no means a series that shies away from showing children tough subjects, death in various and often grizzly forms regularly occur, as do violence, vengeance, old age, war, famine, terror and peril - all are part and parcel of each episode - rather realistically, if dramatically portraying animal's daily struggle for survival. However, in each episode there also lies truth, love, beauty, harmony, humour and uplift.

A great cast, lovely animation, and a stirring soundtrack to boot. If I were to pick a favourite from my childhood this would be it. A true classic that I don't think I will ever get tired of re-visiting again and again.

RIP Chadwick Boseman

 

RIP Chadwick Boseman

1976 - 2020 

"Wakanda forever!"

Knives Out

One of the last movie mania crazes of last year and into the early part of this before Covid-19 ground everything to a halt was this - the self-claimed revamping and re-imagining of a classic whodunit: Knives Out.

Thing is - to my mind it actually was. Stylish, intuitive, original, genuinely twisty and turny, very cleverly conceived and executed, hilarious at times too, with an awesome cast to boot. 

There isn't really much to say here except - watch the damn thing. I'm sorry I only just got around to watching it on DVD.

Nothing is too overdone, nothing too over-pitched or executed to such a degree that it boggles the mind of the viewer and you just get tired of watching it. However that does not mean you can afford to be complacent, for this film does not treat its viewers like idiots either - you have to be on your toes with this one. Yet the feel of the action, the murder and the mystery is not pompous and grandiose like some mystery genre films of old have been, nor is it that melodramatic, though its themes and characters are colourful to say the least. However the effect is pleasantly warm and reassuring, as this film guides you with a helping hand through the action as far as you need to go to enjoy the ride of what I feel is one of the most originally done films in years.

My only criticism is that of its incredible roster of acting talent - some of them (some, but not all) are slightly and rather criminally underused. However each of them slots into their role small or large with aplomb and just the right amount of flare. Ana de Armas is a new face to me and a pleasantly brilliant one, and it is nice to see Chris Evans carving up a superb character other than Cap. America. However the star turn for me by a mile is the irrepressible Daniel Craig as the brilliantly pitched and at times hilariously eccentric "master detective" of the piece. It's worth watching it just for him in his tweed suit and Kentucky accent, and I am not at all surprised to hear rumour has it that he is returning for a potential sequel.

Frivolous, feisty, frantic and a lot of fun - Knives Out has genuinely ripped up the rule book of the classic whodunit and has set a new standard for all those who seek to try hereafter.

 

Alex Rider

 

Yet another byproduct of lockdown - another binge of a TV series. This time it was another courtesy of an Amazon Prime original, and a concept I was intrigued by.

Like many a teenager I was a big fan of the Anthony Horowitz - penned Alex Rider young adult/teen novels; the stories of an ordinary secondary schoolboy thrust unwillingly into the world of espionage. So when I heard that Amazon had given it the eight episode series treatment, I was eager to watch, if nothing else to see if it could fair any better that the ill-fated Hollywood film attempt a decade or so ago.

And in a word - yes it did. Not bad at all. The end result for me was sort of a teenage story hurled into the typical tropes of what audiences now know to be a gritty, modern Brit thriller. The first books were written many years ago now, but the series was quite adept at bringing Alex Rider's origin story bang up to date with little problem (though as the story progressed some key elements staying meant the modern themes got a little blurry) and in not sticking directly to the flow and timeline of the novels (Point Blanc - the whole thread of this series was actually the title of the second novel not the first; one assumes they kept away from the firsts' title to detract from the aforementioned non-successful film) you don't get too wound up in detail and can let the story gather pace before your eyes.

The titular character is played by relative newcomer Otto Farrant. A tad arrogant and aloof and occasionally not giving the character the depth it deserves I thought, but overall he does fit the bill for Alex Rider and draws attention as the lead pretty well throughout. Well known names such as Vicky McClure and Stephen Dillane are a welcome addition and Nyasha Hatendi I thought was an unexpected joy. Though these plus points were countered by performances from the likes of Brenock O'Connor who seemed to be using as his prime source material for a British teen some sort of "ASBO depiction" from an early noughties government self-help film, and Ronke Adekoluejo as Jack Starbright - which at first seemed like a genius concept but eventually turned out to be a pale caricature of what her character should be.

That I feel is the main problem with this series, if you look too closely. On the one hand they have done a good job of packing in the action, the scenery, the suspense, the soundtrack, the themes and broad brush strokes of what a modern 21st century spy hit should be. But that's it, it is all just what it should look like; not much in the way of depth or originality is to be found when one looks deeper, so I feel it is best to not look too much at all and enjoy the relatively high-octane ride.

So - a good adaptation? Yes certainly. A good watch? Yes again. Better than the first attempt at an adaptation? Absolutely. Worth another series? Yes, but I think a lot more depth and a lot more power needs to be added, and a lot more done with the source material if they hope to make a series out of each book.

   

RIP Sydney Lotterby

1926 - 2020