Welcome to the My Kids TV Advent Calendar 2009. Behind the first door is a video unleashed on the world only a week or so ago, but has become an instant classic because of the sheer number of Kids TV icons that appear in it. I am, of course, talking about the Children In Need 2009 Medley.

Mastermind by Peter Kay, the four-and-a-half-minute video features over 100 animated children’s television characters from both sides of the Atlantic. Big Chris (voiced by Kay) from Roary The Racing Car leads the singing and the medley features a total of seven songs:

1. Can You Feel It – The Jacksons (0.00 – 1.08)
2. Don’t Stop – Fleetwood Mac (1.08 – 2.12)
3. Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny) – A.R. Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls (2.12 – 2.41)
4. Tubthumping – Chumbawamba (2.41 – 2.59)
5. Never Forget – Take That (2.59 – 3.18)
6. Hey Jude – The Beatles (3.18 – 3.37)
7. One Day Like This – Elbow (3.37 – 4.30)

The cover of the single (pictured above) is a parody of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, featuring the stars of the video. The single only reached no 18 in the first week of release (most people were initially just downloading the video), but it reached number one on Sunday. If you would like to buy the single (another great stocking filler) it’s available on DVD for £3.98 from Amazon (with free delivery). Each sales means another donation to Children In Need.

And just in case you’re wondering, here’s a list of all the characters in the video (thanks Wikipedia!)

Jenny Woodentop
Bill
Ben
Andy Pandy
Looby Loo
Teddy
Pudsey Bear
Paddington Bear
Alderney
Orinoco
Bungo
Great Uncle Bulgaria*
Wellington
Engie Benjy
Jollop the Dog
Tinky Winky
Dipsy
Laa-Laa
Po
Igglepiggle
Upsy Daisy
Makka Pakka
Tombliboos
Pinky Ponk
Peppa Pig
George
Virgil Tracy
John Tracy
Scott Tracy
Brains
Parker
Lady Penelope
Zippy
George
Bagpuss
Scooby Doo
Shaggy
Ben Tennyson
SpongeBob SquarePants
Roobarb
Custard
Paolo the Cat
Mavis the Pony
Small Green Thing
Sooty
Sweep
Soo
Windy Miller
Chippy Minton
Miss Lovelace
Frank the koala
Buster the koala

Spinning off from the box office mega hit- Ghostbusters, the animated series The Real Ghostbusters debuted in 1986 to tremendous ratings, critical acclaim, and an audience that ranged from kids to adults. Take a ride in Ecto-1 and get ready to bust some ghosts.

Contains 13 episodes of The Real Ghostbusters.

The Real Ghostbusters Series 1 DVD – Buy Now from Amazon UK

Wizbit is to return as an animated series, and Mr Daniels has been kind enough to fill us in on some of the details…
I remember watching Wizbit when I was younger and loved the interesting characters, the world they lived in and the puzzles in the program. How did Wizbit come about?
Barry Murray (formerly Mungo Jerry’s record producer – Ed) was trying to find a way of linking tracks on an LP of magic tricks and had the idea of a ‘man’ coming from out of space to do the intros. I had read a story about people who were so tiny their voice frequency was different to ours, much faster and higher. I created the sound of Wizbit (a Bit of a Wizard).

The series is now coming back in animated form.  What was the thinking behind the change from live action to cartoon?
The original live action series really did cost a fortune. We even built the town of Puzzleopolis. Using the latest animation techniques allows us much more scope at a fraction of the price.

Were there any changes you had to make to Puzzleopolis and its inhabitants?
No, if anything more characters will appear and we may even be going back to the planet of WOW (World Of Wizards).

Is there a release date yet or news of which channel/network it will be on?
No, we have had great difficulty getting a channel to ‘bite’. One channel wants the stories to be simpler (I don’t think children are so stupid that they can’t follow the original plotlines) so we have been working on satisfying that demand and another statement thought that Wizbit was too close to a children’s magic school programme – despite Wizbit NEVER teaching a magic trick and being pure fantasy. Justine, the publisher/producer, is working SO hard at creating a product that will satisfy all requirements.

There are also a series of Wizbit books being published – did you have any involvement in these?  Is there any more merchandising in the pipeline?  A Wizbit computer game would be great!
The first four ‘easy reader’ books about Wizbit, for the very young, are already on the market and Borders, for example, are devoting their stores to ‘magic days’ throughout the coming months. Justine is already in negotiation about other ranges of books, toys, DVDs and so on. My involvement? I sit like a kind of overseeing guru, proofreading and editing, suggesting, nagging…..
 
TV magic in it’s purest form, such as the shows you used to make, is a rare treat nowadays.  Do you see a time when it will make a comeback?  Do you think “psychological magicians” like David Blaine and Derren Brown are entertaining?
Of course it will come back because it has been around since the beginning of history. It still exists in the top cabaret and show rooms of the world and on TV everything goes round and round.  I am not too keen on David Blaine ‘cos I have yet to see him do an unedited show, so I don’t know if he can really do a magic show.  Derren is much more straightforward and is the latest in a long line of TV ‘mentalists.
 
I don’t know if you get to see any Kids TV nowadays – if so, do you think it is too full of imported programs, or do you think these are necessary as a form of cross-cultural education?
I think that for too long the children have been brainwashed that pop music is the be all and end all of entertainment, and it isn’t. It is, however, something that promoters can make a lot of money out of and so… they promote it! A lot of children’s entertainment is also too childish and I know the kids in my family have avoided a lot of that kind of stuff. Kids aren’t stupid, they aren’t daft, and they don’t want to watch adults acting that way. It would also be nice to watch presenters who weren’t shouting all the time.

Finally, is the famous theme tune coming back for the new series?
No. Sadly we could not get the rights to it, so we can’t broadcast it.  I do think you will like the new tune though.

Click here to but the new Wizbit books or click here to go to the new Wizbit website.

Mysterious Cities of Gold 6 DVD box set – was £54.99, now only £17.99 from HMV

Contents:

• A3 Poster
• Booklet
• 6 Collectors Postcards
• All 39 Episodes With Fully Restored Picture And Sound

Here Jamie and Wordsworth meet some strange characters. Mr Boo, an absent-minded old gentleman, Jo-Jo the ‘odd job man’ and many more. Together they have lots of adventures and Jamie’s magical torch often helps to save the day, and all this before Jamie’s mum discovers he is missing from his bed! With thirteen fantastic stories to watch, take a ride on the helter-skelter and join Jamie and Wordsworth on their exciting adventures in the magical world of Cuckoo Land. Includes the episodes Mr Boo Loses a Mountain, Nutmegs House, Let There be Music, Nutmegs Box, The Runaway Trombonium, The Hair Stack, Sym-phoney, The Flying Rabbit, The Magician’s Hat, The Wicked Wand, The House of Wellibob, National Wellibob Day and Spade Work.

Was £9.99, now only £3.88 delivered from selectcheaper.com

Amazingly, only 13 episodes of Bagpuss were ever made back in 1974, and are available on DVD – Amazon currently has the complete series of Bagpuss on DVD for only £2.98! For those of you who have memories worse than a “saggy old, baggy old cloth cat”, here’s the opening credits: