Figure 1.--Roger playd by Calum Worthyand and his new family is seen here from the 2001 BBC serial "I Was a Rat". Roger wears early 20th century clothing here.
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Figure 1.--Roger playd by Calum Worthyand and his new family is seen here from the 2001 BBC serial "I Was a Rat". Roger wears early 20th century clothing here. |
HBC will list TV series alphabetically here to make them easier to find. TV shows, except for American TV shows, are generally not well know in countries other than in the countries in which they were made. They are also much more current than movies. Almost all TV shows date from the 1950s at the earliest. Costume dramas have the same problems as in the movies, but a great deal of useful information is avialible from TV shows set in contemporary periods. As non-American TV shows are not as widely distributed as movies, often little information is available on these shows outside each country. Movies are often widely distributed in foreign countries. TV shows, with the exceptiion of American programs, are generally not. As an American, we have, for example, never seen German, French, and Italian TV shows. Thus the TV pages provide a much-needed source of information on foreign programing.
Nicely done series on the Roman emperor. The entire
series is worth watching, asit is an excellent production full of information about Roman history. The first episode is the most appropiate for HBC as it includes many Roman children in tunics. The tunic was a long garment. The children wore short tunics. I think they had a special name, but am unsure at this time just what they were called. I do not recall now if the boys n girls had different outfits. We believe the costuming is quite accurate.
The BBC for Christmas 2001 released to an entertaining new serial, I Was a Rat. The series is set in the early 20th century and the main character is convinced he was once a rat. The boy is costumed in a page boy costume. He is found dressed like this, wandering the streets and bedraggled after a heavy storm, by a lonely couple who take him in. It's really a take on Cinderella: the boy was indeed a rat, who failed to change back to his animal form at midnight.
Newcomer Calum Worthy plays the boy.
There's an "I Dream of Jeannie" episode (the late '60's series) where Jeannie (played by Barbara Eden) "blinks" her master, Maj. Nelson (Larry Hagman), into a Lord Fauntleroy suit, complete with above the knee shorts, white kneesocks, massive curls, and an oversized hat with ribbon. To complete his return to juvenilia, he finds himself holding an all-day lollipop!
A HBC contributor reports that "somewhere in the archives I call a home I have a color card from the "I Love Lucy" series of Little Ricky with Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel. Little Ricky is wearing a gray sports coat with gray shorts, dark socks (crew length) and a bow tie. It came as part of box full of cards of still shots from the "Lucy" series. I've tried to find it, will yet come across it, but I have a book by Richard Keith, or Keith
Thibodeaux, his real name, that describes his years on that show, and later as Opie's sidekick, on the Andy Griffith Show. That book has a B&W of the same photo, but I am trying to find for HBC color when possible. Keith Thibodeaux today lives in the town where I spent
most of my growing up years, Jackson, Mississippi, and is a very strong Christian." Interestingly, many early TV shows in the late 1940s and early 1950s had family sitcoms where the boys wore short pants. I Love Lucy was the last of these shows. After Little Rickie, all American family sitcoms always dressed the boys in long pants, no matter what his age. (The only exception was the cut-offs the boys in Flipper wore.
A Salvadoran maid marries the widower she work for so that she will not be deported. I never watch this, but the cast include a boy about 11. Jason Host
A kind of Television remake of "To Kill A Mockingbird." It doesn't match up of course, but has some attributes. There are three children in the family. The younger boy is John-Morgan
Bedford who is 6-years old and played by John Bennett. He is a engaging little guy and with his black nanny/housemaid turns in a creditable performance. Even though the show is set in the South during the 1950s, he only wears longs. This strikes HBC as not very historically accurate, especially for a boy from an affluent family. I'm not sure why as some thought is given to his clothes. He is often in dressy clothes worn with penny loafers.
Interesting, but poorly done, kids show that
pits siblings against each other. Sort of the juvenile version of the
"Newlywed Game." It is TVs answer to the declining ratings that
cartoons are achieving. Apparently some TV executive decided that kids
might respond to the increasing popularity of adult game shows with one
especially designed for kids. The best pairs are little brothers and
big sisters. Often the little brothers will tell embarrassing details
about their big brothers and sisters. Sometimes the little ones are
embarrassed by relevations they have girl friends or other details. The questions are designed to probe gently for interesting little details. One little sister gleefully explained how her brother, a boy about 13, liked to dress their dog in dresses. I wonder how he made out at school the next day. The announcer quickly changed subjects. He establishes absolutely no rapor with them. His comments are totally unsympathetic and really talks down to the kids. The children dress casually. A few of the boys appeared in shorts. It was interestin because the kids actually get to talk and you learn a bit about their likes and dislikes. The announcer was a poor choice for the show. They needed to select someone like Art Linkletter or Alan Funk. Instead it all comes out as a rather crass, commercial exploitation of the contestants.
A reader had mentioned this program, but we know very little about it as this time. It was apparently filmed on the isle of Mann.
Starred the older son in Valerie when he was younger. He played a young conniver who was always trying to out fox his mother's boy friends. It usually came out a draw.
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