Friday 15 May 2009

BOING said zebedee - Magic Roundabout

Advantages: Has the right amount of wierdness to appeal to kids

Disadvantages: none really

What can you hope to get from this children's TV show. 

Well adults of a certain age from a certain era will probably find this programme a fascinating analogy of the drug culture of the 1960s. Others might find it a fascinating insight into the mind of a creator who was just trying to get into the minds of the child audience this was intended for. 

I am clearly no longer a child, but do remember this programme. 

The programme was set in a land that seemed to consist of a carousel and wacky paper flowers. The characters were Zebedee - resembling a strawberry on a spring, Brian - a snail, Dougal - a long haired blonde dog, Ermintrude - a sugar lump eating cow, Florence - a young girl and Dylan - a hippy rabbit. There was also Mr Rusty the Roundabout operator. 

Essentially the show revolved around the adventures of these characters and there was usual some moral thrown in there, along with loads of dry humour, probably more in line with more mature thinking. 

As a child I don't recall 'getting' the dry humour, and there was no way I saw any drug references. I just found it bizarelly amusing, not in a roll-on-the-floor-laughing sort of way, but just bizarre. It was not one of those programmes I mustn't miss, just one of those ones I had to watch. 

I think perhaps the opening music was probably a little hypnotic, and maybe drew me in. The opening music has that slightly odd, and a little scarey, fairground feel to it, and is unmistakeable. 

I can't finish this review without a special mention to Zebedee. I just don't get this character he looks like a strawberry on a spring. I don't recall him doing anything useful other than appearing and disppearing with a resounding "BOING" - wierd!

Summary: Ever lasting

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