Hot on the heels of their success in Do Not Adjust Your Set, David Jason and Denise Coffey's next move was to star in Thames' Two D's and a Dog whilst a number of their pals from DNAYS went on to star in a little TV show called Monty Python's Flying Circus. Perhaps inspiring the televisual stomachs of the Teletubbies, the Telebugs were designed by Professor Brainstrain to have TVs for faces - a design which made them just perfect to be TV reporters for the local TV station ran by Mr McStarch. The short and sweet five minute episodes found CHIP (Coordinated Hexidecimal Information Processor), SAMANTHA (Solar Activated Micro Automated Non-inTerference Hearing Apparatus) and BUG (Binary Unmanned Gamma camera) creating not just a mouthful with their names, but also plenty of adventures as they battled Angel Brain, Magna, Baron Bullybyte and the Telebug turned evil ZUDO (Zero-failure Universal Data Optimizer). Mills and Elphin Lloyd Jones, The Telebugs was produced by Telemagination for Television South in the mid 1980s and chalked up 85 episodes over the course of three series. Accordingly, it's no surprise that kids love them, so that's why The Telebugs were perfectly poised to capture the attentions of young viewers. Who doesn't love a good robot? Packed full of technological wonder, they offer a glimpse of the future and, you know, the fact that some of them can fly around and even change into lorries is pretty damn cool. Over the Moon doesn't just succeed in entertaining and teaching young children, but also ticks the same boxes for any adults watching. Helping to maximise the fun content, Over the Moon couples all this scientific know-how with accompanying animations provided by such luminaries as Pigeon Street's Alan Rogers and Mr Benn's Leo Beltoft whilst they are soundtracked by a host of stars including Jasper Carrott, Don Spencer and Barbara Courtney King. Over the Moon is so keen to explain the scientific world that it tackles gravity, the difference in gas densities and why the static generated by a balloon rubbed on a jumper can be so much fun. And, thanks to the tutorial friendliness of presenter Sam Dale, the under fives of the late 1970s were able to learn about all manner of scientific concepts. In fact, they perhaps need to get to grips with the world around us more than anyone else on the planet. Science is highly important for us to understand this crazy world we live in and preschoolers are no exception. Together they investigate the wonders of Windfall Land and learn how dock leaves could soothe nettle stings and how rainbows form, but they all agree it's probably best to stay away from Shady Wood where Bella Donna lurks with her poisonous berries. The short five minute stories - produced by Central Television and written by Jenny Kenna - are fronted by Berry, Butterbur and Rosebay, but they are also joined by countless other botanical friends such as Uncle Onion, Evening Primrose and Cornflower. However, it's not impossible as Windmills demonstrated through it's inimitable aesthetics - provided by the legendary FilmFair - which helped to teach children about the natural world lurking beneath our feet and it's accompanying joys and dangers. Stop motion animation is a painstaking task at the best of times, but when you're trying to achieve this with all-natural, fragile materials such as pressed flowers, petals and even onion skins, it's a monumental task. And, of course, there's plenty of time for Len, safely back in a studio, to go through the words on offer (and their phonics) to tie everything up in a bundle of learning. In order to uncover the crimes taking place, Len risks kidnap and, well, he dreads to think what else. It turns out that the 'River Mob' have been up to no good and Len's boss, Mr Moon (Kenneth Colley) is deeply involved with them. Saddened by this, Len heads down to his job at the docks and discovers a box of dolls. Len Tanner (George Layton - yes, him of Doctor at Large, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Minder) wants to buy his friend Pat a doll, but the local shop has been robbe. Written by Roy Brown, Len and the River Mob was a 10 part series which aired on BBC1. And, in 1968, Len and the River Mob landed on our screens as part of the Look and Read series to help boost and enhance the reading skills of British youngsters. Accordingly, television has been doing its best to encourage reading ever since its very early days. Children need to know how to read as it's an essential skill for navigating their way through life and enjoying the simple, yet timeless wonder of the written word.
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