Here Come The Double Deckers [DVD] [1971]

Oh my - what a trip down 'Memory Lane' this was! Hadn't seen this since it aired originally way, way back in 1971 - almost forty years ago. Remembered it all vividly though; including the theme song, the kids names, and all of the action! Made in the American style (but still very British) this was an action-packed show for kids that was originally shown on a Saturday morning long before 'official' children's TV began - along with other shows like 'The Banana Splits' if I remember correctly.Where so many TV series take time to get off the ground; this classic kicked-off immediately with the very first episode which is one of the best and funniest when 'Tiger' falls into an invention (the 'thingy' Craft) made by 'Brains' and literally 'takes off'! This is a real tonic and will have you in stitches! Unable to control the strange 'Hoover' vehicle (as she calls it); Tiger seems to be chasing the other kids all over town - priceless stuff! May not sound very original today, but these talented kids - the slapstick, and the way things were back then makes it all work somehow.'The Case Of The Missing Doughnut' episode - and the very second, is brilliant too! Simply a masterpiece of comic slapstick! 'Doughnut' makes himself invisible via one of 'Brains'' inventions and has some fun at the expense of shopkeepers in both a Toy Shop and a Bakers. Some hilarious scenes ensue in the Toy Shop in particular, featuring comedy greats: Julian Orchard and Jack Haig as the 'taunted' shop keepers! You'll be in stitches as Jack Haig shouts at some toy guns 'don't shoot, don't shoot'! as both fight to get into a toy cupboard for safety from the seemingly attacking toys! And Get a load of those board games on the shelf above; Monopoly, Cluedo, Spy-Ring and the 'Computer Car' - they're all there and we owned them all, and what golden memories too! Only one complaint; these eps. weren't long enough, but then again; that was one of the most successful tricks of the trade years ago; it all left you wanting more...'Get A Movie On' was hilarious too - Melvyn Hayes's custard pie slapstick constantly in the mush is merciless! All so innocent, and not one of the kids was one of those that you couldn't stand like nowadays. Is it me, or our generation? But none of these kids suffered from that awful teenage 'attitude' we see so often today. We were obviously very fortunate and grew up in a golden era. We all had our favourite characters too - mine was 'Billie' played by Gillian Bailey. For some reason I remembered her best of all.I loved much of the slapstick in this which you don't see today; cars, vehicles and even people just 'speeded up' - totally hilarious! The scene with the Fork Lift Truck in 'Starstruck' is a classic example! Also, the Benny Hill type chasing that occurs in the 'Happy Haunting' episode with the late great Pat Coombes is also another fine example of this. They all begin running away from something individually - only to end up running behind one another in a long line - marvellous! Another where slapstick features highly is 'Summer Camp' starring a handsome Hugh Paddick. 'Invaders From Space' and 'Robbie The Robot' are two more of the funniest and 'Scooper Strikes Out' is extremely artistic which stars a very young Jane Seymour and is reminiscent of the tale 'Alice In Wonderland' with its very own unique 'slant' to the story! In 'The Popstar' which features 'Anthony May' - at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd tuned into an episode of 'Top Of The Pops'!The quality of most episodes in general is pretty good, though a couple are slightly 'duller' in quality - both in picture and sound. Some of the dubbing is slightly out of synch too for some reason on a couple, and there's one episode where the character 'Billie' is saying a line - and her lips don't even move at all!In reference to any 'Extras' - there's only one; namely Brinsley Ford (Spring) and Michael Audreson (Brains') reminiscing about their work on the show. Though nice to see them, it's clear that no expense went into this - or heart come to that, and from this angle, it's very disappointing... Considering how popular the show was and still is; I think it's criminal they've been so mean - in view of the fact I would have thought that most, if not all of the cast would have wished to take part - particularly since many have done little else in TV since. (with perhaps the exception of Peter Firth who played 'Scooper')'See You Next Weeeee....k' - oh those golden memories...

It's great to see the Double Deckers on DVD at last, &, as with many other reviewers on here, it brings back many happy memories from my childhood.I remember this being one of my favourite BBC children's programmes in the 70s - it's certainly an effective nostalgia trip back to more innocent times.I would imagine anyone buying this DVD would be familiar with series already, but, for anyone who isn't, it was a 17-part series of 20-minute shows (first aired in the UK in 1971) concerning seven children & their wacky adventures centred on their abandoned double-decker bus 'den' in a gadget-filled London junkyard.Joining them in many episodes was hapless street cleaner Albert (played by Melvyn Hayes, who also co-wrote the catchy theme song).The shows had quite an 'American' feel to them, with plenty of sight-gags, speeded-up scenes & overlaid, exaggerated sound effects punctuating the action (quite reminiscent of The Monkees TV series). Lots of singing & dancing too - including the lively (aforementioned) theme of the opening/closing credits.The series was repeated each year by the Beeb until 1978, unexpectedly re-surfacing one final time during the summer of 1990.It had quite a glossy look in comparison with other contemporary UK kids' shows - this was probably due it being shot on film (it was a co-production between independent company Century Films & 20th Century Fox TV), & obviously having a reasonable budget too.Being filmed at Elstree on the same sound stage that had earlier been home to The Avengers TV series (& which would later become host to the first Star Wars movie) many epiosodes are studio-based, but many are filmed on location too & good use is made of the vast studio campus itself & the surrounding areas, including one memorable episode filmed at nearby Knebworth House.The seven children were: Brain, Billie, Spring, Sticks, Doughnut, Scooper & Tiger.Being of its time, these characters are quite stereotyped (e.g. 'fat' jokes about Doughnut, the 'brainy' kid wears glasses, gender roles very fixed etc), but it feels a bit unfair to be too harsh about this, coming as we do from the more enlightened standpoint of our more PC times now.Spring (Brinsley Forde) would of course go on to fame as the lead singer of 80s band Aswad, & Scooper (Peter Firth) would carve out a respectable acting career, eventually going on to star in the TV series Spooks.Various guest-stars include many screen comedy actors of the day such as Clive Dunn, Pat Coombs, Liz Frazer, Bob Todd & Frank Thornton. We also get to see the screen debut in one episode of future-Hollywood actress Jane Seymour!All in all the shows are good fun - maybe not quite as good as I remembered them as a child, but still a great way to bathe in some nostalgia & have a little window onto the world of 1971.So, get on board & enjoy the journey!