Why did RTE show so many Australian kids shows in the mid to late 90's???

HavingCrack

I just got thinking about this the other day and I remember a massive amount- Thunderstone, Girl From Tomorrow, Ocean Girl, Spellbinder, Round the Twist, the Tribe-tonnes of them.

Does anyone have any idea why RTE bought so much Australian programming? They were actually all great shows even if you look back at them now.

gabria

Pugwall and Pugwalls summer.....

Pugwall, Orfah, Bazza, Stringbean and Jenny....the Orange Organics

slum dog

they foretold the recession

sweetie

they were probably cheap

afatbollix

Anyone remember a program where all the adults were killed and just the kids were left?

As a 10 year old that was class. living with out parents seemed so cool. Until they started killing each other.

I even remember one girl was pregnant and not knowing how she would of gotten pregnant.. They were the days.

slum dog

afatbollix wrote: »

Anyone remember a program where all the adults were killed and just the kids were left?

As a 10 year old that was class. living with out parents seemed so cool. Until they started killing each other.

I even remember one girl was pregnant and not knowing how she would of gotten pregnant.. They were the days.

what are you talking about,, lord of the flies?

BlaasForRafa

sweetie wrote: »

they were probably cheap

This. Its why they always showed a load of aussie soap operas too, The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters, Prisoner etc. The aussies do a lot of episodes per season which makes them perfect for stripping in syndication and they didn't cost as much as american shows.

They're still making kids shows, H2O: Just add Water is the latest one that I can recall. Theres a few more on nickelodeon at the moment from what I recall.

falan

Aussie kids movie rather than a series...BMX bandits...Its was class.

False Prophet

afatbollix wrote: »

Anyone remember a program where all the adults were killed and just the kids were left?

As a 10 year old that was class. living with out parents seemed so cool. Until they started killing each other.

I even remember one girl was pregnant and not knowing how she would of gotten pregnant.. They were the days.

The Tribe.
Id forgotten about that program.
Looks like a book came out to explain what happened after the series was cancelled(actors were getting too old!)

Augmerson

Probably because they were English language programs and maybe cheap to buy? Otherwise you'd have had to have made programs yourself or buy from American, Canadian and English networks. Not knocking the quality of Australian programming, but it would have been cheaper to buy back in the 90s than the alternative North American and UK output. Nowadays however the opposite is probably true. Round the Twist!

Fuinseog

HavingCrack wrote: »

I just got thinking about this the other day and I remember a massive amount- Thunderstone, Girl From Tomorrow, Ocean Girl, Spellbinder, Round the Twist, the Tribe-tonnes of them.

Does anyone have any idea why RTE bought so much Australian programming? They were actually all great shows even if you look back at them now.

cos it brought a bit of sunshine into our dreary lives. coming from a windswept town where it rained every second day it gave me hope to see a land where the sun always shines.

L1011

The price chain for imported English-language content seems to go UK-USA-Canada-Australia-New Zealand-South Africa.

The last option is absolutely dreadful, the second last isn't great either (there are satellite channels full of NZ DIY shows, police shows, etc) so RTE went for the cheapest on the list that seemed suitable.

icdg

Children's television is heavily state funded in Australia, at one stage the ABC's daytime TV schedule was almost entirely composed of children's programming (in similar manner to RTÉ Two here). It isn't any more, because they have two entire channels for kids now.

darkdubh

Anyone remember an Aussie series called Henrys Leg about this weirdo of a kid who used to collect dead hedgehogs from the side of the road and keep them in the fridge?

meoklmrk91

False Prophet wrote: »

The Tribe.
Id forgotten about that program.
Looks like a book came out to explain what happened after the series was cancelled(actors were getting too old!)

That show scared the living daylights out of me as a kid!

citytillidie

I think it was to prepare those moving there in 15 - 20 years time

rainbowtrout

HavingCrack wrote: »

I just got thinking about this the other day and I remember a massive amount- Thunderstone, Girl From Tomorrow, Ocean Girl, Spellbinder, Round the Twist, the Tribe-tonnes of them.

Does anyone have any idea why RTE bought so much Australian programming? They were actually all great shows even if you look back at them now.

Because they were cheap and they were good.

If you could get good from USA/UK but could get good and cheap from Oz and you were commissioning programmes in RTE in 1980s/1990s Ireland you'd probably go for the cheapest option.

A whole generation of Irish people have been raised watching Home and Away.

Round the Twist was great.

bullets

Australian & New Zealand TV I watched as a kid was great.
Nobody mentioned Skippy the Bush Kangaroo yet :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skippy_the_Bush_Kangaroo
Whats that Skip? theres a bomb on the bus and its gonna go off?
tch tch tch tch tch tch really skip? Was totally weird seeing Kids
"go to school" via Ham Radio.

Children of the Dogstar was a great New Zealand mini series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_the_Dog_Star

Under the mountain another classic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Mountain_%28TV_miniseries%29

~B

9959

bullets wrote: »

Australian & New Zealand TV I watched as a kid was great.
Nobody mentioned Skippy the Bush Kangaroo yet :eek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skippy_the_Bush_Kangaroo
Whats that Skip? theres a bomb on the bus and its gonna go off?
tch tch tch tch tch tch really skip? Was totally weird seeing Kids
"go to school" via Ham Radio.

Children of the Dogstar was a great New Zealand mini series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_the_Dog_Star

Under the mountain another classic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Mountain_%28TV_miniseries%29

~B

I remember that particular episode.
Yes, Skippy did say that there was a bomb on the bus, but he never actually said that it was going to 'go off'.
Let's not put words in his mouth.

Johnson and Friends was another one.

cat_dog

Anyone remember Heartbreak High?

cat_dog

cat_dog wrote: »

Anyone remember Heartbreak High?

Yep, I remember it being on TCC in late afternoons.

clappyhappy

I know its wasn't a kids programme, but I used to love "the flying doctors". Always wanted to live in the outback, that and "a country practice" were my favourite. Would still love to live there.

Gamayun

Genie From Down Under was another one.

According to Wikipedia DVDs are available and the episodes are available on iTunes!? It must have been huge in Oz then presumably.

cat_dog

Karsini wrote: »

Yep, I remember it being on TCC in late afternoons.

Oh yeah. I loved that show

BlaasForRafa

cat_dog wrote: »

Anyone remember Heartbreak High?

iirc Leah from Home and Away was in that back when she was good looking.

cat_dog

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

iirc Leah from Home and Away was in that back when she was good looking.

her name was Katerina on the show

LowOdour

falan wrote: »

Aussie kids movie rather than a series...BMX bandits...Its was class.

Relive your youth right here!

rebel89

Karsini wrote: »

Johnson and Friends was another one.

I havent thought about that for years. Used to love it!

Thargor

The Tribe is from New Zealand and its the best of everything listed here, apart from maybe The Girl from Tomorrow, that was a very well constructed sci-fi world, with the present day/nuclear wasteland/utopian future, iirc in the wasteland the punishment for a lot of crimes was to be lobotomized and turned into a slave drone, I used to be terrified of that, the Transducer was the device that restored the Earth and boosted peoples mental powers, it could also be used as a weapon but that was frowned upon, the Time Capsule was the vehicle and I think it was Xyler or something like that that was the main baddies nickname, he was great.

gozunda

darkdubh wrote: »

Anyone remember an Aussie series called Henrys Leg about this weirdo of a kid who used to collect dead hedgehogs from the side of the road and keep them in the fridge?

Was there an old bloke living in the woods with a crow type bird as a pet? Also kid in it - was it the same?

Thargor

Actually no his name was Silverthorn, God this takes me back:

darkdubh

gozunda wrote: »

Was there an old bloke living in the woods with a crow type bird as a pet? Also kid in it - was it the same?

I only saw one or two episodes so can't remember.The storyline revolved around him finding a dummys leg and for some reason these dodgy types were trying to get it back off him.
Edit:I googled it there and I was wrong about it being Australian it was actually British.Here's episode one from Youtube.
http://youtu.be/7nT1alh2vdo

Halfway across the galaxy and turn left

Dr Turk Turkelton

cat_dog wrote: »

Anyone remember Heartbreak High?

Yep remember this one alright.
Best bit was the "bad boy" called Rivers getting it on with the hot biker teacher!

Ha none of my teachers looked like her!

Aglomerado

Round the Twist was brilliant. I spotted the box set on Amazon for around £11stg. hmmm...early Christmas present for me, methinks!

the purple tin

I really hated that goofy looking arse Pugwall. btw did he ever get a guitar amp?

gabria

Gosh I thought they had taken care of getting that basic stuff, sure the band had got to point of being producers of Pugwalls sisters rap band (Marmalodians - got that from Wiki, the auld memory fails me to this point )

seanmacc

the purple tin wrote: »

I really hated that goofy looking arse Pugwall. btw did he ever get a guitar amp?

Yes he did. Then they did a few gigs, made an album and became famous.

I don't know how. Yer woman in the band couldn't sing for s*** and was a bit minging.

Truley

I always had flashbacks of watching a programme in the 90s but the memories were so vague I often wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. A doll without a face, children hanging out with an interactive lift, plants with eyes... with a bit of research I discovered I hadn't actually imagined it. It was a show called 'Lift Off' Anyone remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9VvBTiAss

The Mulk

seanmacc wrote: »

Yes he did. Then they did a few gigs, made an album and became famous.

I don't know how. Yer woman in the band couldn't sing for s*** and was a bit minging.

I always thought it was mad he had a sliding patio door in his bedroom and could just get up and stroll out in the middle of the night if he wanted.
He called his parents soups and hero head as well i think.

freddiek

anyone remember the name of the australian show set in a school from the early 90s? was a few years before heartbreak high, that was mid-to late 90s . i think there were mostly working class kids and had a tougher edge to it than other shows

and no, im not mixing it up with neighbours/home & away

Stinicker

The show spellbinders was class loved that as a child. 4 of us visited Australia in 2010 and top of the itinerary for the females was a trip up to Palm Beach north of Sydney to see where Home and Away is filmed. I also watched that show beach girl as a kid and remember it too.

Tchaikovsky

Thousands of those Irish youngsters who would have watched those shows are now living in Australia.
Coincidence?

Andrewf20

I remember this from 1991, I actually love the theme tune...

Faith

Remember Sweat? Heath Ledger got his start as a gay cyclist in it

RainMaker

I spent years trying to remember the name of this one!
Just in case anyone else has too... The Nargun and the Stars (featuring the Potkoorok)

George White

falan wrote: »

Aussie kids movie rather than a series...BMX bandits...Its was class.

With a young Nicole kidman, but directed by the legendary Australian B-Movie making legend that is Brian Trenchard Smith, director of such films as the post-Bond George Lazenby versus Chinese cop in Sydney kung fu co-production The Man from Hong Kong, the indescribable Stunt Rock, the brilliant Turkey Shoot aka Blood Camp Thatcher which resembles a co-ed episode of Prisoner Cell Block H set in a semi-post-apocalyptic wasteland and Dead End Drive In, among others....
I'm facebook friends with BTS. He's had an odd career as a director, for one thing.

Sephiroth_dude

Faith wrote: »

Remember Sweat? Heath Ledger got his start as a gay cyclist in it

Holy crap I remember watching that on rte 2 on Thursdays

whisky_galore

darkdubh wrote: »

Anyone remember an Aussie series called Henrys Leg about this weirdo of a kid who used to collect dead hedgehogs from the side of the road and keep them in the fridge?

Don't think hedgehogs are native to Australia?

Capt'n Midnight

MYOB wrote: »

The price chain for imported English-language content seems to go UK-USA-Canada-Australia-New Zealand-South Africa.

The last option is absolutely dreadful, the second last isn't great either (there are satellite channels full of NZ DIY shows, police shows, etc) so RTE went for the cheapest on the list that seemed suitable.

Anyone else remember the "moving wallpaper" from National Film Board of Canada ?

or even the Eastern European stuff


there was way worse than the stuff from Oz