Flipper

FLIPPER
Made by: MGM/Ivan Tors
Shown on: ITV
Years shown: 1966-69 and repeated in the mid-80s
Theme tune: “They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning/No-one you see is smarter than he/And we know Flipper, Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder/Flying there-under, under the sea!”

The classic sixties series about two brothers and their aquatic friend was shown as part of Wide Awake Club in the mid eighties, but was based on a 1963 film starring Chuck Connors and Luke Halpin. Halpin returned in the series, as 15 year old Sandy Ricks, who lived with his 10 year old brother, Bud (Tommy Norden), and their father, Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly), the Chief Ranger at Coral Key Park in Florida.

The motherless family lived in a waterside condo, where the boys got into all kinds of scrapes with Flipper, the ultra-intelligent dolphin they nursed back from injury. Like Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Black Beauty or Lassie, Flipper seemed to be able to make himself understood by humans with just a flick of his head and ten seconds of dolphin-chatter. He would rescue the boys when they fell overboard (Bud was, inexplicably, allowed to pilot a boat by himself), foil the plans of evil restaurateurs with designs on dolphin fish-cakes, and even play match-maker for Sandy, whenever a cute young thing would appear at the Keys for a holiday. Romance was also sort of in the air for Porter, in the form of the beautiful, and unlikely, Scandinavian biochemist, Ulla Norstrand (Ulla Stromstedt.)

There was usually an important lesson to be learned, about friendship, obeying your parents, not straying too far from the land, or working together; but there was cheesy comic relief from Spray the Labrador, Pete the Pelican, and Flipper himself, usually soaking the bad guy with a well-timed flip. Most wholesome shows about the great American way of life have some kind of dark underbelly, and in this case, there was a deep, dark secret…Flipper was, in fact, a girl dolphin called Mitzi, who eventually died in 1972.

SQUARE EYES RATING: 6/10

(Thanks to www.tvacres.com for the pic)

Fingermouse

FINGERMOUSE
Made by: BBC
Shown on: BBC1 and BBC2
Years shown: 1985 onwards

Theme tune: “I’m the mouse called Fingermouse/Fingermouse that’s me/I’m a musical paper mouse/As anyone can see/I can play the drums - look/I can play keys/I’m the mouse called Fingermouse/Fingermouse that’s me/I can play woodwind/I can play strings/I can play just about anything/I can play this/I can play that/Anything at the drop of a hat - see!/Oh, I’m the mouse called Fingermouse/Fingermouse, that’s me!”

Fingerbobs was a programme in early seventies, presented by Yoffy (actually ex-Playschool presenter, Rick Jones), and a selection of paper finger-puppets shaped into a variety of woodland animals. Jones actually killed off the mouse - the star puppet - by dunking him in a cold cup of coffee while the cameras were still rolling at the end of the series, but someone had the bright idea of resurrecting him for the children of the eighties.

The BBC probably needed to make something quickly and with a weekly budget of 17p. Anyway, Fingermouse was presented by Iain Lachlan (also of Playschool, and Pie in the Sky), who would ‘operate’ the mouse so that the creature was ‘playing’ various musical instruments, such as a trumpet or piano. When the programme makers had some spare sugar-paper, the mouse was joined by his friends, a badger, a butterfly, a fox, an owl and a rat, who all looked a little more complicated to make. In fact, the real selling point of the programme was that parents and children could send away for a ‘fact sheet’, to make their very own Fingermouse, an activity which would be mildly diverting for five minutes before you remembered the ‘Light and Sound’ Lego next door. Much like Fingermouse itself, really.

SQUARE EYES RATING: 2/10

First Class

FIRST CLASS
Made by: BBC
Shown on: BBC1
Years shown: 1986-88

First Class was hosted by Debbie Greenwood and – like all the worst programmes of the 80s – she co-hosted with a computer, called Eugene. The main thing I can remember about this uninspiring quiz for school kids was the round that involved the contestants playing very retro BBC computer games, including Paperboy and different rounds from Track & Field. I have memories, in particular, of the frustration on their faces when, despite giving the joystick a good bashing, they failed to get the gymnast over the spring and vault. There was also a geography quiz based around Hangman and a music round of some description, which involved trying to guess the pop star behind the Spinning Gold Disc (wow, a CD!) – usually Matt Bianco, Brother Beyond and the like. The two teams were made up of children of different of different ages from the same school, from the 2nd, 4th and 6th forms - which was just asking for bullying to commence as soon as the cameras were switched off. The star prize for the series' winning team was - you've guessed it - a BBC computer for your school, plus the dubious honour of playing a special game against a 'celebrity' team. Dreary stuff.

SQUARE EYES RATING: 4/10

(Thanks to www.tvradiobits.co.uk for the borrowed pic of Debbie)

Finders Keepers

FINDERS KEEPERS
Made by: BBC?
Shown on: BBC1
Years shown: 1981-5

Yet another schools quiz that tried to make use of ‘state of the art’ BBC computer technology (see First Class) but this one, as far as I can remember, also featured presenter Richard Stilgoe (who looked like a maths teacher and wore a Finders Keepers knitted jumper) playing the theme tune on a piano. So the whole thing was a messy combination of a music hall sing-along and a jumped-up version of battleships. Instantly forgettable, and with crap prizes (possibly a lunch box.)

SQUARE EYES RATING: 2/10

(Thanks to www.tvradiobits.co.uk for the Stilgoe pic)