School holiday time inspires NZ On Screen Content Director Irene Gardiner to look back at some of the classic children’s TV shows New Zealanders grew up with.
One way to establish a New Zealander's age would be to ask them which TV kids show hosts they grew up watching. Was it the wise and wonderful Olly Ohlson on After School? The young and groovy Tracy '80? Jase the Ace? Or Hinemoa Elder and Phil Keoghan on 3.45 LIVE! in the early 1990s?
And then there was Play School, which ran for many years in New Zealand with a roll-call of well-known presenters including Ray Woolf, Rawiri Paratene, Theresa Healey, Russell Smith, and many more. The show began screening here in 1972 and ran through to 1990. The format included songs, a story, craft, a calendar, a clock and a look outside Play School via the shaped windows. But the toys - Big Ted, Little Ted, Jemima, Humpty and Manu - were perhaps the biggest stars of the show. The title sequence ("Here's a house...") and music were a call to action recognised by generations of Kiwis.
Screening during some of the same years as Play School, After School was a hosted links format broadcast on weekday afternoons. Its initial host was Olly Ohlson, who was the first Maori presenter to anchor his own children's show. The show broke ground in its use of te reo Maori on screen, as well as sign language. The show and Ohlson are remembered for the catchphrase (with accompanying sign language) "keep cool till after school." After School was later hosted by Jason Gunn and Annie Roache, and was where puppet Thingee first achieved small screen fame.
You can see original host Olly Ohlson in this special "Maorimind" episode here:
While Olly Ohlson and After School were giving young viewers something with a bit of an educational bent on TV ONE, Tracy '80 was over on TV2 with a rather more entertainment based approach to children's television. The show had music from a resident band and guests, competitions and field stories. Tracy drew criticism for her Kiwi accent and lack of rounded vowels (as Karyn Hay would a few years later) and for her wriggling, but young viewers didn't seem to mind.
View Tracy '80 here:
In 1989, the Auckland-based 3.45 LIVE! afternoon kids show mixed entertainment pieces with more serious content, and hosts Fenella Bathfield and Rikki Morris. In 1990, Hinemoa Elder and Phil Keoghan (now of The Amazing Race fame) took over presenting duties on the show, which included interviews with local personalities and visiting showbiz stars.
You can see a compilation of studio interviews from the 1990 year of 3.45 LIVE! here:
Having started out on After School, Jason Gunn and his puppet sidekick Thingee got their own afternoon show in 1992, with The Son of a Gunn Show, which ran through to 1995. The energetic show took in everything from song and dance numbers and educational segments, to spoofs and impressions (often Frank Spencer). Guests included sports and show business celebrities of the day.
Watch The Son of a Gunn Show 1992 Christmas special here:
And, as an extra bonus clip, here is the show's most famous moment - when puppet Thingee's eye popped out, and created New Zealand television's most loved blooper.
