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Revision as of 15:21, 18 November 2005 by Pete3194 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Adventure Island was a popular Australian television series for children which screened on the ABC from 1967 to 1972 (repeats of the 1969-1972 episodes ran from 1973-1976).
The show was a pantomime-style series set in the kingdom of Diddley-Dum-Diddley. Characters included Liza (Liz Harris), Clown (John Michael Howson), Mrs Flower Potts (Brian Crossley), Percy Panda (Jack Manuel), Dodo Panda (1967-1969) (Marion Edward), Betty Bruin (Carole Walker), with baddies including Fester Fumble (Ernie Bourne), Miser Meanie (Colin McEwan/Robert Essex), Captain Crook (Ernie Bourne) and Squire Squeezum (Burt Cooper). Other characters were played by Vivean Gray, Brian Hannan, Mary Hardy and Lindsay Edwards
The show's first hostess was Nancy Cato (not the noted author) (1967-1969). When Nancy unexpectedly left the show she was replaced by Sue Donovan (1969-1972). The show typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.
During the Nancy Cato era, Nancy would open the show from an enchanted wood where she would first banter with puppets Gussie Galah (Colin McEwan), Crispian Cockatoo (Ernie Bourne) and Matilda Mouse (Marion Edward). Nancy would then start reading from the "Adventure Island" book - the story then being played out for viewers by the actual characters. At the conclusion of the chapter, Nancy would talk to a cat puppet (Ernie Bourne) which was named Samson in a viewer competition early in the show's run. All the show's puppets were superbly constructed by Axel Axelrad.
When Sue Donovan took over the hosting role, the structure remained the same but each episode began with a conversation with a house (Mister House, later named Serendipity House in a viewer competition - voiced by Jack Manuel and sometimes Ernie Bourne). Sue would walk into the house where she would ad lib with Crispian Cockatoo (Ernie Bourne) and Gracie Galah (Brian Crossley) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and with Maxie Mouse (Ernie Bourne) and a vertical waveform called Chi on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each show would close with Sue talking to Samson the cat, but on Fridays she would transport herself to Diddley-Dum-Diddley for a sitdown chat with all the characters.
The scripted part of the show - the serialised story - usually involved the inhabitants of Diddley-Dum-Diddley being set upon or tricked in some way by one or more of the "baddies". On many occasions the dimwitted Clown (with sawdust for a brain and an appalling memory) would save the day with his uncanny ability to see through disguises. The show was highly moralistic with a strong "good over evil" motif in every story.
A notable feature of the show was the music. Each episode contained two songs, written by Musical director Bruce Rowland, who later found great fame and respect in the field of movie soundtracks,
Creation of the show was credited to John-Michael Howson and Godfrey Philipp, although it is believed Howson invented the entire setting and characters during a short aeroplane trip in mid-1967. He certainly wrote most of the scripts, with others contributed by Peter Homewood. It was a joint production of Godfrey Philipp's Godfrey Productions and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, produced on videotape at the ABC's studios in Ripponlea, Melbourne.
Godfrey Philipp had studied television abroad and his main influences in the format of Adventure Island had been The Mickey Mouse Club, with its part-adlib, part-scripted presentation.
The show's axing, announced in mid-1972, was highly controversial and a flood of public protest ensued. A group of MPs headed a "Save Adventure Island" campaign during which questions were asked in Parliament. However the campaign was unsuccessful and the final episode, number 1175, aired on December 22, 1972.
Godfrey Philipp, Nancy Cato, John-Michael Howson and Liz Harris had all been involved in a similar program called The Magic Circle Club which screened on ATV0 from 1965 to 1967. When the channel axed the show after 555 episodes for cost reasons in July 1967, the ABC expressed interest in continuing production of the show, however this was nixed by Austarama Television's refusal to relinquish the rights, so a lookalike programme was devised.
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