Michael Bentine's Potty Time was a long-running British children's show, starring Michael Bentine, and directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television on ITV. It ran from 1973 to 1980. The episodes consisted largely of distinctive, bearded puppets, comically re-enacting famous historical situations. The Potties' faces were always obscured by facial hair, with only their noses protruding. They were operated from beneath and had two distinct sizes - approximately two feet and one foot tall. All of the Potty characters were designed by Bentine, who also provided all of their voices. Their operators were from The Barry Smith Theatre of Puppets.
In 2001, it was voted into 71st place in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows poll. Several Region 2 DVDs of the series have been released by Network DVD.
Chris Packham takes us to the scene of some of the weirdest natural phenomena on the planet, telling the real story of the events behind the headlines.
Nature can be cute, scary and stunning, but as Chris Packham discovers in these two packed programs, it can also provide the most awesome, amazing and astonishing sights you’ll ever see – including a car cocooned by caterpillars in Holland; exploding toads in Germany; fish falling from the sky and a storm that turned Sydney crimson.
Watching original footage and consulting eyewitnesses and scientists, Chris unravels the facts behind some of the most bizarre and mysterious natural wonders to ever appear on the planet – and explains what on earth was going on.
Griff Rhys Jones explores Africa the unhurried way, as he takes to the continent’s railways to immerse himself in the joy and sometimes the frustration of travelling through a beautiful and beguiling continent, using the most romantic method of transportation. Travelling a total of 7000 miles over five journeys, he explores fascinating landscapes, encounters unforgettable wildlife and meets extraordinary people. Stunning aerial photography combines with observational travelogue to produce a fresh portrait of Africa through Griff’s experiences on and off the train. On each epic trip across five episodes, he discovers how the railway reveals a great deal about the places he travels through. Griff uses the train to get to unexpected places in deserts and forests, villages and cities, learning stories of their past and finding out how they are used today. Griff travels th
Mariloup Wolfe meets up with families who moved to remote areas to improve their quality of life. She reveals the questions, doubts and decisions behind these moves, as she profiles one family per episode.
Zokko was a BBC television programme for children that ran on Saturday mornings between 1968 and 1970. It was devised by veteran children's TV producer Molly Cox, and featured a mixture of animations, film clips, magic and narrated cartoons. The show was named after its "presenter", a talking pinball machine which introduced the clips and then scored them in its robotic voice e.g. "Zokko, Score 7". The programme is regarded as "the first televised children's comic". Apart from a compilation of highlights, only one complete episode remains in the BBC's archives.