Dynasty

Dynasty - January 1981 to May 1989

Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro, the working title for Dynasty was Oil, and the starring role originally went to George Peppard (later of The A-Team). In early drafts of the pilot script the two main families featured in the series, the Carrington and Colby families, were written as Parkhurst and Corby respectively.

Peppard, who had difficulties dealing with the somewhat unsympathetic role of Blake,was replaced with John Forsythe (who voiced Charles Townsend in another Aaron Spelling production, Charlie's Angels). In the final production drafts the names Parkhurst and Corby were changed to Carrington and Colby, and their rivalry was written to emulate the Montagues and Capulets of Romeo and Juliet, that is, crossed in love and war.

The first season, filmed in 1980, was delayed by animosity between the networks and the partnership of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which caused a strike. Many new shows were delayed for months, and Dynasty did not see the light of day on ABC until the first weeks of 1981.

The Raccoons

The Raccoons - 1985 to 1992

The Raccoons was an animated show played from 1985 to 1992 on the Canadian Broadcasting Channel (CBC) and Disney. The show started as special half hour episodes brought out each year at Christmas such as 'The Christmas Raccoons', 'The Raccoons on Ice' and 'The Raccoons: Let's Dance' which was a compilation of the previous specials. There was also an hour long special 'The raccoons and the Lost Star' that I believe was shown in two half hour parts. After the success of the specials the series was created using all the same characters, introducing new characters as the series progressed. The series played once a week rather than each year and all the episodes were 25 minutes long.

The show had the basic structure of having three environmentally aware Raccoons, Bert Ralph and Melissa, involved in various adventurous settings to stop the financially minded Cyril Sneer from destroying the forest in his pursuit of self gain. Their friends Schaeffer and Cedric Sneer help them to this end in a majority of episodes. Main storylines revolve around friendship, love and loyalty overcoming personnal gain.

These cute characters interact perfectly with one another and although the pictures may be 2D the characterisations certainly are not. Of particular note is the dual nature of Cyril Sneer, the fact that he is not a typical villain without emotion develops through the series. He feels guilt and tries to be a better father even though he doesn't always do this in the best ways.

Dallas

Dallas - April 1978 to May 1991

In the ranks of prime-time dramas, this was one of the biggest. Dallas, the saga of the Ewing Family, began as a five part mini-series in 1978. Throughout its thirteen seasons, many actors passed through the gates of Southfork.

Dallas was conceived as a show that had plenty of sex and romance for the female audiences, and a lot of cowboy posturing and business intrigue for the male viewers. The formula worked, because by the early 1980's, it was one of the most popular shows in TV history. There were magazine covers galore, a spin-off named Knots Landing about Gary, the middle Ewing son who wasn't seen or heard from much during proceedings at South Fork, and primetime serialization imitators like Dynasty and Falcon Crest.

So for the show that kicked off the nighttime drama trend that's status quo today, we tip those ten-gallon hats and breathe a secret sigh of relief that J.R. was just a fictional character who couldn't manipulate us in real life. Because let's be honest, that guy could have taken most of us down.

Grange Hill

Grange Hill - January 1978 to February 2008

Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television. It was created by Phil Redmond, who was also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks; other notable production team members down the years have included producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella. The drama is centred on the fictional comprehensive school of Grange Hill in the (equally fictitious) north London called "Northam" (although when filming moved to Liverpool in 2003, it ceased to have any specific location), and follows the lives of the students as they progress through school. It has been said that Phil Redmond based the show on his experiences of working at Grange Park High School, Thatto Heath, St Helens which is coincidentally at the top of a hill. For its first 25 years it was produced in-house by the BBC, but the show is now made independently for the corporation by Lime Pictures, the production house formerly owned by Redmond (and formerly known as Mersey Television) which is the reason for the production move.

Below are the three main intro clips to the show starting with the 1980s, then he 1990's and then the titles from 2000. It has been said that in February 2008, 30 years after the series began the show will be axed from the CBBC.

Chorlton and The Wheelies

Chorlton and The Wheelies - September 1976 to June 1979

Classic kids' stop-motion cartoon from the creators of Danger Mouse. Chorlton (a magical dragon) wakes up from an egg one day and he awakens the Wheelies and brightens up the Wheelie World. It had been a long time since Wheelie World had seen a ray of sunshine.

The evil the green kettle witch Fenella who lives in Spout Hall (between Wheelie World and the Sad Lands) is not happy about Chorlton's appearance and is determined to destroy him so that Wheelie World can stay in darkness again. Though Charlton isn't as smart as you might think, he and all his Wheelie friends always manages to beat Fenella and her servants known as the Spikers and the Toadies at their own game.

Now Jump in, take a spin and go round the Wheelie World! "By 'eck!"

Jamie and the Magic Torch

Jamie and the Magic Torch - March 1976 to September 1979

Jamie and the Magic Torch was a British children's animated television series, made by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and shown on the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. It was based around the young boy of the title and his torch, or flashlight. When shone on the floor, the torch opened up a hole into a fun dimension called Cuckoo Land.

The beginning of each episode would show Jamie's mother tucking him into bed at night and saying, "Sleep well, Jamie." Then from under his bed, his pet dog Wordsworth would appear holding the torch in his mouth. Jamie would take the torch and shine it on the floor, opening up a portal to Cuckoo Land (which Wordsworth always got stuck in). The portal manifested itself as a helter skelter.

When they reached the end of the slide they would fly out into Cuckoo Land from the bottom of a tree trunk and land on a trampoline. All of this was accompanied by a song, written by Joe Griffiths. Once in Cuckoo Land, the fun would begin. The series was written by Brian Trueman, who went on to write shows such as Dangermouse and Count Duckula for Cosgrove Hall.

Rentaghost

Rentaghost - January 1976 to November 1984

Harold and Ethel Meaker live in South Ealing and run 'Rentaghost' where they rent ghosts out to the public. Over the years many ghosts came and went but the main Rentaghost crew consisted of - Timothy Claypole - A jester at the court of Queen Matilda (The Dreaded Tyrant of the Twelfth Century) Hazel the McWitch - The ghost of a Scottish witch who was recruited during the rentapotion venture Nadia Popov - A Dutch ghost who still suffered from hayfever and had a habit of 'popping off' whenever she saw a flower Fred Mumford - Originally founded Rentaghost after becoming a ghost in a shipping accident six months previously and runs the business for a short time. Hubert Davenport - A distinguished Victorian gentleman. The Meaker's next door neighbours, Rose and Arthur Perkins, were convinced that the Meaker's were a pair of nutters and hired a private detective then tried to get a psychiatrist to convince them that they needed treatment. Harold Meaker - Originally the spooks landlord but later took over the business when Fred Mumford couldn't keep up with the rent. Ethel Meaker - Harold's wife who fancies herself as a bit of a singer.