Welcome to Cereal Viewing, where we look back at children's television from the 70's, 80's and 90's.
We venture in to lands of fantasy this week as we join the Ranger, Cavalier, Acrobat, Magician, Thief and Barbarian in Dungeons & Dragons! We learn that the best place to leave the winch for the drawbridge is outside the castle, the bad guy is not that scary and the dragon has a fat backside. Tiamat rules!
Dance your cares away, troubles for another day! We are in Fraggle Rock this week with Mokey, Boober, Wembley, Gobo and Red in this Jim Henson classic (aren't they all though?). We learn that trash can be wise, friends will support you while you risk your life but won't actually do anything to help and talking about your feelings is good. Doozers rule!
Conan the Barbarian! Conan the Destroyer! Conan the Babysitter! Join us this week for this early '90s re-imagining of the legendary warrior, thief, philanderer and killer as a gentler, kinder, nurturing kind of barbarian. We learn that some magic powers are dumb, swords aren't for killing people, and you should never trust old friends you reunite with after they have just stolen all of your money. Conans sword still rules!
If you whistle like the Clangers do at any British person of a certain age, they will invariable either whistle back at you or say "Soup Dragon!". You can tell this one is old as it was shown before Henry was born! Join us as we travel to a nobbly little planet in outer space to visit the Clangers, a pink mouse-like family living in a weird symbiotic relationship with a soup producing dragon. We learn that patriarchs are gumpy and the kids should not be left unsupervised in this stop motion animation from the late 60s/early 70s. The Soup Dragon rules! (literally, they would die without it...)
We get to hang out with the king of the elephants this week in a shocking episode, actual deaths occur! In a childrens show! Based on books written in 1931 and broadcast around the world, this is a much beloved franchise that is not without its share of controversy! Babar rules! Literally, he is the king of the elephants...
Another staple of British television that launched the acting careers of far too many people as we visit the Byker Grove youth club! We learn that leather jacket wearing boys are bad boys, you're never too young for a side hustle and nobody is impressed with you lifting weights Gill!! What the hell is a Spuggy?
This is the voice of Cereal Viewing. We are going to explain our cunning plan in a slow intimidating voice. Another Gerry Anderson creation this week (Henry was very excited) as we watch Captain Scarlet. Rendered immortal, he must do battle with agents of the very deep voiced aliens from Mars. We learn that in the 60's they thought there would be very little traffic, no one would walk anywhere and everything would be S.I.G.! The Angels rule!
A mysterious dog! Overly trusting park rangers! Vacant vets! We are in 1970s Canada this week for The Littlest Hobo as we learn that the wrong guy got blamed, leaving raw meat on the doorstep is an ok thing to do and park rangers in Canada were the manliest thing in the 70s. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get that theme tune out of our heads. Extra manly park ranger rules!
We can see the year 2062 from the sofa this week! A much beloved classic from Hanna-Barbera Productions, we follow the antics of the Jetsons Family as they deal with the troubles of the future, like pushing buttons and having to do domestic chores themselves. We learn that 1960s family stereotypes are alive and well a hundred tears later, the theme tune reminds us all of another long running animated series, and maybe the Flintstones should have stayed in the past. Rosie rules!
Welcome to the opulant and over the top world of the Beverly Hills Teens. We learn that greed is good, being spoiled is not a character flaw and obnoxiuosly rich teen role models are just as horny as regular teens. Join us we discover that the super rich have installed wave machines in the ocean and the most popular girl in teen club shows us how to punch a shark.
Welcome to Little Tokyo and one of the most off the wall, self-referential, wacky pieces of entertainment to have passed in front of the sofa. 4th wall breaks abound as we listen to the crazy cats and see how may 90s references we can catch! Polly Ester rules!
Another long running classic as we head to Greendale and join a Postman Pat, a postal worker who possibly has too much time on his hands and surprisingly not the only phallic nose in the area. We take a look at the gentle village that Pat delivers to, and are fairly sure there is a darker side to this rural utopia than meets the eye. Jess rules!
Who you going to call? The Real Ghostbusters! The 80s classic that teaches us the people on the streets of New York are more terrifying than the ghosts, Bill Murrey is one of a kind and theme tune still rocks. Ecto-1 rules!
A flashback inducing episode this week as Henry and Jenny are transported back to their school days in this very British, very 70s look at a first day of school. Embracing a more realistic, gritty view of school when compared to other shows, we learn that both kids and teachers can be little shits, first day of school can be confusing and the late 70s where not kind to childrens haircuts! Tucker rules!
Captain Bucky O'Hare and the crew of the Righteous Indignation fight the evil Toad empire in this short lived 90s space opera based on the comics of the same name. Join us on the sofa this week as we remember that the 90s were way too colourful, green rabbits are not normal, and anthropomorphised cats shouldn't be sexy. Jenny rules!
Woof! Classical literature but with dogs! We try and decide why this show was popular and if it really deserves a movie reboot. Join us for bad theme songs, surprisingly non-lethal sword fighting and too many doggy sounds. Yip!
We present another Watch Along episode! This week we are watching X-Men, The Animated Series, Season 1 Episode 3. We recommend that you watch along with us, you can find the episode online, just start the episode when we do. Enter Magneto!
1952 here we come! It doesn't get much more retro than this! Possessed plant pots, animate flowers and magical boots help prove that television aimed at children has always been a bit weird! Idealised English suburbia rules!
Greek mythology, in space! French writing and Japanese animation, what could go wrong? We zoom to the 31st Century to follow the adventures of Ulysses and his kids as they manage to annoy a pantheon of gods no one has heard from for thousands of years. The theme song rules!
Back to the 60s this week with this often forgotten British classic that has it all, modern architecture, talking animals, tea drinking builders, flute solos and a possibly demon-possessed young girl!
A truly, truly outrageous episode this week as we are tackled in the face by this slice of the 80s. Join us at breakneck speed for multiple costume changes, big hair and unexpected music videos in this cartoon for the kids of the MTV generation! The Misfits rule!
We dive in to the British cult classic The Tripods and experience some surprisingly good special effects, some suprisingly bad ones and terrifying alien war machines popping up like Ned Flanders from behind a tree. Post-apolacyptic living never looked so good!
Dodgy accents! Gravelly voices! Plot twists! Here on the couch this week we enjoy a healthy dose of 90s animation with the surprisingly deep Gargoyles by Disney. Now who do I talk to about getting Goliath to narrate my life? The princess sucks!
We stray in to sitcom territory this week as we watch 1986s A.L.F.! Join us and the furry brown alien as we experience bad child actors, generic 80s US teenagers and incompetent government officials!
Kee-Yah!! Welcome back to our second season on the sofa. We think Chuck Norris just might be in this short lived series of slow-assed karate moves, questionable child care and overly sincere teaching moments. Hiiiii-Yahhh!
There is more than meets the eye this week as Jeremy takes the lead for the phenomenon that is Transformers! Join us as the bad guys plan starts to make more sense, Optimus Prime lends the Decepticons a hand and a TV show hits Jeremy in the feels. Cereal viewers, roll out!
Who you gonna call? Er, Rentaghost? Join us on the couch as we drink in the '70s atmosphere, enjoy cutting edge graphics (for the '70s) and decide if jesters really are funny.
This week we are off to the Welsh town of Pontypandy as Firefighters take pointless risks and some of them porbably shouldn't be in positions of authority. We can only apologise for our attempts at accents now!
Our first Hanna-Barbera outing! Will Dastardley ruin the race? Will Penelope get her wheels dry? Does that guys stearing wheel smell of feet? Who will win? Does anyone care?!
Join us for the most Glam-Metal theme song, a surprisingly good sidekick and a whiny teenager in this extended television advert. Oon rules!
Could Henry's Cat be the British answer to Garfield? Find out as we watch a yellow cat who is lazy, snarky and likes to eat. Sound familiar? We are also very grateful for our very first caller to the show!
The classic Battle of the Planets this week, the perfect mix of flared trousers, panty shots and a musical journey through the 70's. Join us this week as we don't believe they saved the day!
We watched the classic Knightmare this week and learned that some fashion is not timeless and some shows are begging for a remake. Treguard Rules!
Join us on the Planet of New Texas as we join Marshal BraveStarr and pals as they pull some stupid faces and and save the wild west, in space! Come and watch Season 1, Episode 1 live (sort of) with us!
A show about an old man and 4 children who are naked from the waist down, we watched Disneys DuckTales!
Join us on Scatterbrook Farm for cringe inducing voices, disrespectful children and a study in abuse. It's Worzel Gummidge!
We join Dr Tiger Ninestien and the Terrahawks as they battle evil androids from outer space and their frankly stupid plans to take over the earth! Our first Gerry Anderson production, does the childhood favourite of Henrys stand the test of time?
Berk! Feed Me! For our very first episode we look back at Berk, Boni, Drutt and the thing upstairs in 1984s The Trap Door.