A 1980s Childhood by Michael A. Johnson Read Free Book Online

reflection.
The Moomins
    While we were still trying to make sense of The Flumps , a strange family of Fuzzy Felt, hippo-like creatures with huge round snouts called The Moomins appeared on our television screens to addle our young minds further. The Moomins was the eccentric creation of Finnish author Tove Jansson and they were a family of trolls who lived in a house in Moominvalley, deep in the forests of Finland. Moominmama and Moominpappa had a Moomin son called Moomintroll and during their many adventures they would encounter other characters such as Moomintroll’s best friend, the Snork Maiden; Snufkin, the pipe-smoking old man; Sorry-oo, the mournful dog; Little My and The Hemulen. These and the many other strange denizens of Moominvalley had a number of adventures together, as well as assisting each other against the dangers posed by various villainous creatures, including the terrifying Groke, the Hattifatteners who lived on electricity, and the bad-tempered Sand Lion.
Fraggle Rock
    Fraggle Rock was a live-action puppet show created by Jim Henson. It featured Muppet-like characters called fraggles that lived in a network of caves within Fraggle Rock which was located underneath a lighthouse. The main characters were Gobo, the leader; Mokey, a far-out hippie type; Red, an exuberant and athletic fraggle; Wembley, the indecisive one (or was he?); and Boober, a depressed and worried fraggle that enjoyed washing socks. It was certainly strange that Boober enjoyed washing socks, but it was stranger still when you realised that none of the fraggles actually wore socks.
    These peaceful and playful furry critters would spend most of their time stealing radishes from the garden of the giant Gorgs and avoiding being caught by them. Sometimes, while in the Gorgs’ garden, the fraggles would talk to Marjory the Trash Heap, a kind of wise oracle made out of garden waste who would give the fraggles advice. At other times the fraggles would eat the elaborate structures constructed by the small, green creatures called the Doozers. The only one from the real world who knew about the existence of the fraggles was the lighthouse keeper’s dog Sprocket, who would spot Gobo when he came out to collect postcards from Uncle Travelling Matt, the globe-trotting fraggle.
Jim’ll Fix It
    A shell-suited and blinged-up Jimmy Savile used to host this Saturday teatime show which featured members of the public writing in to ask for help achieving their dreams. The handwritten letter would be shown on the screen as a voice narrated: ‘Dear Jim’ll, please could you fix it for the 2nd Sutton St Mary’s Cub Scouts to have a meal in an unusual place?’ You may well remember this episode which resulted in a group of the aforementioned Cub Scouts being sent to Blackpool Pleasure Beach with a packed lunch to eat as they rode the Revolution rollercoaster, with hilarious consequences. Some of the other more memorable requests included one young viewer briefly becoming the third drummer for Adam and the Ants and a young girl ‘accidentally’ dropping a seemingly valuable vase on an episode of the Antiques Roadshow in order to enjoy the audience reaction.
    After having their wishes granted they were presented with a ‘Jim fixed it for me’ medal which Jim would produce from a secret compartment inside his magic chair.
Treasure Hunt
    Treasure Hunt was the TV show that launched jumpsuit-clad Anneka Rice into the public consciousness. The bubbly blonde would fly from location to location in a helicopter, making small talk with the camera while the studio team used maps and reference books to solve cryptic clues that would lead to the location of the treasure. In the studio, presenter Kenneth Kendal and weathergirl Wincey Willis tried to support the guest treasure hunters as best they could and kept the show on track and on time. Once the studio team had identified the correct location, the helicopter would land and Anneka Rice would bounce out and run