The test is can you finish what you start - take heart!

February 26, 2022 6:02 PM

As Doubles Jubilee nears its end, let us return to the wonderfully cheesy 1980's educational children's TV fantasies of Through the Dragon's Eye and Storylords (bonus - article about the latter and footage of a school visit from its villain). Below the fold, the vast majority of the former show's other seasons (now with updated links for #13 and #18 and cassette audio versions of #12, #14 and some of #18 - the only incomplete thing of the lot).

#1: Bob and Coral Look for Treasure: The Lost Treasure/The Stolen Treasure (1967) - Originally intended to be aired as part of another series, Merry-Go-Round.

#2: Len and the River Mob (1968) - clip - A young dock worker comes to suspect he may be surrounded by criminals.

#3: The Boy From Space (1971) - clip 1, clip 2, complete vinyl record - Two children meet an alien child and must save him and his father when they are kidnapped.

#4: Joe and the Sheep Rustlers (1973) - all episodes - A shepherd boy and his friend must thwart the ruthless Beasley Brothers.

#5: Cloud Burst (1974) - all episodes, song compilation - Two children must rescue a kidnapped scientist. First appearance in the educational segments of Wordy Watchword, the greenscreened mascot who would remain a mainstay for the following seven stories.

#6: The King's Dragon (1977) - all episodes, song compilation - A fisherman's grandson stumbles upon mysterious threatening messages connected to an archeologist and a lost treasure.

#7: Sky Hunter (1978) - all episodes, song compilation - A boating holiday turns into a struggle against bird poachers.

#8: The Boy From Space (1980) - Re-release of the original with added educational segments. This is the only serial in the series to have been released on DVD.

#9: Dark Towers (1981) - all episodes, song compilation - When a girl chases her dog into an old house, she become entangled in a race for its hidden treasure.

#10: Fair Ground! (1983) - all episodes, song compilation - Ozzie Watson must solve the problems that have suddenly begun plaguing the Easter fair he loves.

#11: Badger Girl (1984) - all episodes plus audio cassette version, song compilation - Three city children on holiday in the country must figure out which of the locals are involved in pony rustling.

#12: Geordie Racer (1988) - all episodes, audio cassette version, song compilation- "Spuggy" Hilton discovers secret messages attached to pigeons' legs and suspects a local pigeon breeder of being behind recent robberies.

#13: Through the Dragon's Eye (1989) - all episodes, audio cassette version - Three children enter the world depicted in a mural they painted as seek the lost pieces of the artifact that gives the world magic and life. This was the first serial to fold the educational segments into the story.

#14: Sky Hunter II (1992) - all episodes plus audio cassette version - Re-release of the 1978 original with new educational segments. Last appearance of Wordy.

#15: Earth Warp (1994) - all episodes (note: first episode is at bottom of list), audio cassette version - Three children fight pollution with the help of an alien. First instance of CGI, via a new educational sequence mascot.

#16: Spywatch (1996) - all episodes, audio cassette version - A man returns to the village he was evacuated to during WWII and reminisces about how he and his friends became self-anointed spy hunters.

#17: Captain Crimson (1997) - all episodes - Hijinks ensue when a comic book artist's son and his best friend accidentally bring the artist's greatest creation to life - a fish out of place, time and genre. (Note, the titles for the first and last episodes are not as terrible as they seem; at least, not deliberately so - they refer to the plot-important black holes that appear in those episodes.)

#18: The Legend of the Lost Keys (1998) - all episodes, audio cassette version (partial), - A pair of twins must get their grandfather's ancient artifact from the scientists who stole it, as the evil leaders of the world to which it is a portal pose a far greater threat.

#19: Zzaap and the Word Master (2001) - all episodes - Two kids become trapped in an educational computer game and, added by a CGI insect, must battle a megalomaniacal virus.

#20: Shadow Play (2004) - all episodes - A boy discovers, and becomes negrossed in, a diary written by a young girl in the Victorian era.

posted by BiggerJ (2 comments total)

Thanks for all of these, bookmarking and downloading them to give to child-having friends of mine. They’re American, but maybe they want their kids to have accents!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:31 AM on February 27, 2022

For more British children's television, see the saga of T-Bag.
posted by BiggerJ at 10:31 PM on February 28, 2022 [1 favorite]