"Play School" (1966) TV series 1966-????

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Writer:

Henrietta Clark (1970's-1999)

Genre:

Family

Plot Keywords:

Kids And Family

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jolene Anderson	...	Herself
Christine Anu	...	Herself (2004-
Lorraine Bayly	...	Herself (1966-1978)
Penny Biggins	...	Herself (?)
Colin Buchanan	...	Himself (1991-1999)
Liz Burch	...	Herself (?)
Simon Burke	...	Himself (1988-20??)
Glenn Butcher	...	Himself (1997-2000)
Sarah Chadwick	...	Herself (1991)
Justine Clarke	...	Herself (2000-)
Liddy Clark	...	Herself (?)
Benita Collings	...	Herself (1969-1999)
Ruth Cracknell	...	Herself (1960's)
Dianne Dorgan	...	Herself (1966- ?)
Merridy Eastman	...	Herself (1986-1989)
Kerry Francis	...	Himself (1966- ?)
Barbara Frawley	...	Herself (?-1980's)
Colin Friels	...	Himself (1980)
Teo Gebert	...	Himself (2003 -
Trisha Goddard	...	Herself (1987-1999)
Sofya Gollan	...	Herself (1991-)
Anne Haddy	...	Herself (1966-19??)
John Hamblin	...	Himself (1970-1999)
Noni Hazlehurst	...	Herself (1978-2001)
Joyce Hopwood	...	Herself (1995-1997) (as Joy Hopwood)
Elaine Hudson	...	Herself (1980's)
David James	...	Himself (1994-2000)
Darlene Johnson	...	Herself (1968- ?)
Janet Kingsbury	...	Herself (1969-1986) (as Jan Kingsbury)
Jay Laga'aia	...	Himself (2000-)
Carlton Lamb	...	Himself (1992-1993)
Jennifer Ludlam	...	Herself (?-1987)
Donald MacDonald	...	Himself (1966- ?)
Deborah Mailman	...	Herself (1998-2001)
David McCubbin	...	Himself (1991-1995)
Andrew McFarlane	...	Himself (2000-)
Angela Moore	...	Herself (1994-2000)
Tara Morice	...	Herself (1989 & 1993)
Rhys Muldoon	...	Himself (2000-)
Tom Oliver	...	Himself (19??-19??)
Nicholas Opolski	...	Himself (1994)
Mark Owen-Taylor	...	Himself (2000)
Jamie Oxenbould	...	Himself (1997)
Karen Pang	...	Herself (1998-)
Alex Papps	...	Himself (2005 -)
Georgie Parker	...	Herself (2005 -
Matt Passmore	...	Himself (2002-
Philip Quast	...	Himself (1981-1996)
Dasi Ruz	...	Herself (2001) (as Ingrid Ruz)
Brooke Satchwell	...	Herself (2005 -
Jeremy Scrivener	...	Himself (1994)
Ken Shorter	...	Himself (1969- ?)
Alister Smart	...	Himself (1966-1993)
George Spartels	...	Himself (1985-1999)
Don Spencer	...	Himself (1968-1999)
Peter Sumner	...	Himself (1974-198?)
Monica Trapaga	...	Herself (1990-1998)
James Valentine	...	Himself (1989 & 1992)
Leah Vandenberg	...	Herself (2000-)
John Waters	...	Himself (1972-1991)
David Whitney	...	Himself (2002)

Runtime:

Australia:28 min (1966-2000) | Australia:25 min (2000- )

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (-1972) | Color (1973-)

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Trivia:

One of the original "Ted's" is missing, presumed stolen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bad Eggs (2003)

Simple, gentle, imaginative

This show is beautiful in its repetitive simplicity and its understanding of the importance of imagination. The ABC deserves credit for sticking with the same, proved formula for decades, while keeping the content up to date.

(Since I'm a musician, this review focuses on the sound and music. The visual and educational elements are also worthy of comment, but I'm not the guy for that.)

The live sound is clear and the dynamic range is uncompressed, so it doesn't always sound like people are shouting. (Some of this must also be due to the ABC's compressor/limiter settings on their transmitter audio feed, which is not pumped up, aurally excited, and hard limited like the commercial stations like to do.) As a result, viewers have to be quiet to hear the small sounds, like sticky tape being torn off or scissors cutting, and this encourages paying attention. The presenters don't talk all the time. Sometimes the only sound is the shuffle of feet or paper or whatever activity is in progress. The pace of speaking and the progression of activities in general is gentle and unhurried. There is a lot of repetition, but often subtle, so it doesn't seem repetitive.

The principal musical component is a simple, off-screen, improvised piano accompaniment, like from the silent movie days, but reassuring, not dramatic. Other music is the songs (always with actions) sung by the presenters, and the background music chosen for the "through the window" segment, which is usually either more improvised piano or some classical music. There are also canned bits of music like the one used for the "clock" or "through the window" segments, and their familiarity no doubt contributes to a feeling of comfort and helps children orient themselves.

All this makes Play School is a welcome antidote for the hyped up, overstimulating shows found on the commercial channels (and most of TV in general).