Square Eyes: Kids' TV of the 80s/90s

I have an unhealthy obsession with all things nostalgic (though I draw a line at mullets and jackets rolled up at the sleeves.) This, combined with a fondness for the TV of my childhood has driven me to create the Square Eyes blog. Simply an A-Z of the shows I watched, with my inimitable commentaries...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The 8.15 from Manchester


THE 8.15 FROM MANCHESTER
Made by: BBC

Shown on: BBC1

Years shown: 1990-91

Here’s an opportunity to make a lot of cheap jokes about at least one train being on time every week - but I will resist. The 8.15 was the Saturday morning kids’ marathon shown when Going Live! was having its summer break, and it was broadcast, yes folks, from BBC Manchester. It had a theme by indie songsters The Inspiral Carpets, and was presented by a bargain-basement crew of Charlotte Hindle (veteran of the similar Get Fresh!), Ross King and Diane Oxberry. All the vital ingredients were present - competitions, guest pop/soap stars, cartoons - but there was nothing of the excitement created by switching on to Going Live!…and when they ran out of ‘fillers’, they had a tendency to raid the Rentaghostarchives. ‘Highlights’ included ‘It’s Tough at the Top’, a quiz with the requisite gunge and ‘fun’, 'The Wetter the Better', where kids threw water at their teachers, ‘Rapattack’, and the nausea-inducing ‘Photoromance’ - this was one train you’d be quite happy to be late.

SQUARE EYES RATING: 3/10

(Thanks to www.martinwhale.co.uk for the borrowed pic)

3 Comments:

Blogger marsamgod said...

Notable only for the Inspiral Carpets theme tune lifted from "Something's Gonna Make You Mine" I believe

11:25 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

its "Find out why" actually :)

8:00 PM  
Blogger marsamgod said...

Well it was a long time ago!

9:21 PM  

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