Children's Classics - Nick Knacks Episode

[@morbidsearch]

"Cy Schneider, no relation to Jack" Because that's the Schneider people were thinking of

[@Invalidcookie-bv4cx]

Was he doing a Meme 😂 I gotta google if he's related to dan now.. what are the odds

[@daelen.cclark]

Part of me was surprised Dan Schneider was a real person and not just the name of the company.

[@TheHeroOfTomorrow]

Also, thank you for the Wishbone shout-out. I loved that show as a kid.

[@unclelou4839]

What's the story?

[@only257]

TheHeroOfTomorrow 🍿

[@chrismcgovern1647]

I have a feeling whoever took Heidi out of circulation must have been an NFL fan

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

18:30 And of course in that classic British TV tradition, all exterior locations are shot on film while interior sets are show on tape! I know that was always a biggie for Americans to be confused over!

[@only257]

Christopher Sobieniak my dad never saw this in 1980 he didn’t have cable😉

[@pronkb000]

I so associate that with Monty Python. "Gentlemen, I have some disturbing news: I'm afraid this entire place is surrounded by film."

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@pronkb000 Yep, America never really had that approach with TV, besides filmed reports that would air on news programs

[@meepmoop2308]

Why is that?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@meepmoop2308 I'm sure it's a budget thing. The UK probably didn't see a need for lugging expensive video equipment around to film these shots when conventional 16mm film worked.

[@schizoidboy]

Watching this reminded me of the sorts of things that were on in our house in those days. People may not think of this but children sometimes end up watching what their parents watched, especially in the times when there were two TVs in the house or one instead of several. My mom often watched Masterpiece Theater shows on PBS and I watched PBS as well and not just Sesame Street. So there were those dull to a child British shows, but over time they stick in the memory of things, and oddly expand our views of things. In regards to these "Children's Classics" we have to keep in mind Nickelodeon was just starting out in something experimental as all cable networks were in those days so they had to look for material they could use and hope would be approved by the parents. Perhaps this is why later shows like "You Can't Do that on Television" was groundbreaking in our time.

[@mariolover2222]

11:28 honestly? I respect that he said that.

[@AnEndlessStrategy]

Really is astonishing how much you put into these. Gotta respect that.

[@snorlaxthecat8834]

For this series you deserve more subs

[@PKSandman]

A note about that 1980 ad from the Toledo (pronounced Toe-LEE-doh) Blade: The CableSystem still exists, now known as Buckeye CableSystem. For Toledoans, it is by far the most monopolistic and worst of the cable providers in the Toledo area (especially when it comes to internet- it is on the same level as Comcast and may be even worse).

[@joncarroll2040]

Pretty crazy that in 2023 the Prince/Pauper actor is the subject of jokes about how old they are on the new Frasier series.

[@KenPurchase]

Oof. The term "Children's Classics" brings to mind the kind of worthy-but-dull programming that at one time would've filled out the schedules on a Sunday evening, in fact I've just checked and the Prince and the Pauper did indeed go out on a Sunday. You're right that there was no actual show on the BBC called "Children's Classics", but in the late eighties BBC2 did run a strand of feature films under that name, which included the George Pal version of Tom Thumb, and Gulliver's Travels starring Richard Harris.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

ChasingTheBumblebee Sounds no different from any local station that would call their movie block a particular name like "Family Classic Theatre".

[@cameronmarnoch5236]

What these shows always fail to get is that the books work because they aren't just plot, they're prose. Half the fun of Charles Dickens is the mixture of details and retrospective humour. Just taking the dialogue, making a script, and filming it like its a Shakespeare production isn't going to work. I mean, the difference between these serials and the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who isn't vast, but it's very telling. That show is made to be dramatic.

[@KenPurchase]

I guess that aspect of Dickens has always been difficult to convey on screen, moreso in an era when costume dramas on TV were lit and directed like theatre.

[@DixyRae]

Wow. Was not expecting to see Barry Letts referenced in this history. Sucks that Nickelodeon ended up with this stuff instead of 70s Doctor Who.

[@TacomasterStudios]

The Jon Pertwee era Doctor Who even aired on QUBE for a while

[@TheCoolWhip]

Been waiting for this since last episode. Always a hard time waiting for these, they're so good.

[@only257]

Logan Blackburn 😇

[@devlovescolor]

I have a VHS copy of a Heidi movie, and I got all excited thinking it might be the one you want, but it turns out it was the 1968 TV movie version, rather than the 1974 BBC version.

[@poparena]

Yeah, there were a LOT of Heidi adaptations. Thanks though!

[@MrMatteNWk]

Was it taped over a football game?

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

18:25 someone should put the music from Monty Python and the Holy Grail over that scene

[@Tasarlin]

I loved watching you book hunt and I will never not get a kick out of your Visser 3 joke

[@MarkStevens-fh3wb]

I think I may know a possible source for these shows. During the 70's and 80's BBC Television had a program called "The Sunday Classic Serial" which as you can guess featured serialized versions of classic pieces of literature. Given what else I've seen on your channel you may find it of interest that around 1976 the producer of this show became Barry Letts, who was later succeeded by Terrance Dicks, the team behind early 70's Doctor Who. Also this same program's production of Dracula in 1977 affected the production of two Doctor Who stories, Horror at Fang Rock and State of Decay.

[@iangraham9988]

There was possible successful version, that being PBS’ Wonderworks that premiered four years later. The difference between it and Children’s Classic, is that they were serializing actual books that were aimed for kids and young adults.

[@KinseySwartz]

I used to watch Once Upon a Classic when I was a little kid. I don't even remember Robin Hood and The Prince and the Pauper, but I definitely remember Heidi. So Heidi probably was significantly better than the first two. (I also recall recall that later seasons of Once Upon a Classic would sometimes air stories that were not classics at all. There was one episode all about an extraterrestrial metal ball that some kids befriended and helped to escape from Earth. I don't think that was even based on a book.)

[@thaabstrakt]

Its very interesting that someone who grew up in California would not know how to pronounce Toledo. The city isn’t the largest, but it’s not unknown.

[@JeffLandryComedy]

I have been binge watching this over the past few hours and thus have seen a lot of coverage of Pinwheel and it wasn't until I saw their inclusion in the promotional video to sell Nickelodeon to other cable providers did I notice that Ebenezer's voice is basically prototypical Roger Klotz. Which makes sense seeing as Jim Jenkins worked on the show (and I assume was Ebenezer's puppeteer).

[@daelen.cclark]

I’m amazed to learn of Nickelodeon’s first big boss being the originator of “mommy, buy me that!” style of TV!

[@patteroast]

Fascinating as always!

[@alannamcfall7887]

I love any shout out to Wishbone, that show was such a great part of my childhood :)

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Alanna McFall Any acknowledgement of Matty Mattel is enough for me!

[@tyeishaleisure]

Alanna McFall same hwre. I watched it every time it was on.

[@Chiggins_]

At the Prince and the Pauper clip, I thought "Holy shit, is that Nick Lyndhurst?" but I couldn't place it, since his voice hadn't dropped. I waited with baited breath for you to reveal who it was, and clenched my fist in triumph. I'd recommend Only Fools and Horses, since it's England's most lauded and popular comedy, but I don't know if the humour would translate well. EDIT: On that topic, your final comment about turning up in the wrong attire for a party, the example you use is the opposite of what happens in an episode, funnily enough. The two main characters are invited to a fancy dress party, however after they're invited, the host dies and they don't receive the memo, so they turn up to his funeral as Batman and Robin. It's a classic episode

[@jenniferschillig3768]

I look forward to you covering Against the Odds (as I guessed from your Bixby reference) and Standby: Lights, Camera, Action. (You Can't Do That On Television is a given, but I'd like to see you tackle Dangermouse as well.)

[@taotwinkleamv257]

6:47 hay wait did't that show have a remake in the 90s?

[@eileenkane4247]

HEDEI HAD JUST BEEN FOUND IT ON KZbin

[@Moxiegirlsophie]

My sister was born in 1980 same day as John Lennon died. Same city too...

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

The programs featured on "Children's Classics" alone would've been something the Nickelodeon of post-1984 would redicule in their promos spear-headed by a certain pal I'm sure we'll get to eventually!

[@MichaelBoothofOz2009]

There were adaptations of The Secret Garden, and E. Nesbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet made around the same time as these four. I wonder if they were shown on this series.

[@turnonmyaxel]

I was like "that kid actor seems quite grown, strikingly similar to another actor" and its bloody Nicholas Lyndhurst. Those some Americans in the audience probably wont recognise someone from british sitcoms.

[@starpetalarts6668]

I really like Robin Hood's origins when its the other way around. The Russell Crowe one: He's a commoner who inherits the Lockesly estate by pretending to be Robin of Lockesly for the sole reason that the seizure of the estate by Prince John would put the sickly Lord's daughter and widow of the real Robin of Lockesly (maid Marian) out of their inheritance. Such an indepth, yet in character story for Robin Hood. He never gets found out because the Lord is too old to see that he isn't his son. So when the real Robin of Lockesly dies in war his war buddy the real Robin Hood (a lowly commoner/archer for the army) comes to the Lockesly estate, falls in love with the Lockesly Widow (maid Marian) and she in dire need of a male inheritor due to the misoginistic system of the time not allowing for females to receive inheritances. They then pretend to be wed. I've forgotten most of the movie (it became dry)... but that beginning impressed me. iirc Lockesly fakes his death to escape the sheriff of Nottingham, and the estate was seized with Marian being given proper ladyship treatment by someone in the Nottingham court (Sir Guy of Gisborne). Which leads to him hiding in the forest of Sherwood, figuring out that Gisborne and the Sheriff set him up. Which I think they were trying to set up for a sequel.

[@meyerj75]

No stranger on why "Children's Classics" left. Where's the fun side? Nickelodeon started off with 6 shows, dropped half that much by the following year and added 7 more including this one. I guess that the network could afford to lose at least one show as Pinwheel wasn't going to go away. Compare this with Livewire and now you know exactly the direction that was going to keep the network going. Pinwheel reject packaged shows like this wasn't the answer.

[@PositionLight]

You pronounce things like those German infiltration soldiers in World War 2 :-P Toledo is Toe-leet-o

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Jersey Mike's Rail Videos No, it's "Toll-Lee-Do!", I should know, I live here!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I will say though I'm glad my town had it that early at all (we got it around Xmas of '79). My earliest memories of it probably go back to '81 or '82. I remember it's commercial-free days. It was basically PBS your folks paid extra for!

[@only257]

Never heard of this 😊

[@carlosflores-gaytan1589]

You say no kid considers David Copperfield a must read- and the point you're making is absolutely correct, but I'm sharing this because it's amusing to me- I am the exception to that. At some point in elementary school I for some reason decided to I wanted to read David Copperfield, and then I somehow made it through the entire book. I certainly didn't understand the whole thing, but it did end up leaving a big impression on me because the +1000 page novel you read as a little kid is going to make a big impression on you-... Which is a long path to me saying that, when you played that clip from the BBC adaption- it was ironically the first thing in the series to give me a sudden huge nostalgia wave? Like, I was actually getting mildly teary eyed watching it, thinking about what I had felt about those characters? Since I'm probably never going to read the whole book again I might see that adaption out just to experience the thing again.

[@madmonkee6757]

Fascinating. Fro your accent, you must be American (estadounidense) but you pronounce Toledo like the city in Spain, no the city in Ohio (which everyone pronounces /tə li' do/).

[@Mwolf55]

Toledo is pronounced Tow-Lead-O, just an FYI.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Can you please maintain the original aspect ratio? Seeing shows in 144p zoomed in and cropped makes them look worse.

[@CNFunnyJon]

Casper Wednesdays?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

CNFunnyJon Probably. However way they went about presenting the Paramount cartoons in this fashion.

[@stephenholloway6893]

Though by then Harvey Comics bought all the rights to Casper, and the other original Paramount shorts up to that time. Same year Matty' s Funday Funnies began airing on ABC in fact (1959).

[@chrisjt86]

Confession time: I hated Wishbone :/

[@Furore2323]

Nicholas Lyndhurst got pretty consistent TV roles for a lot of years, including some very popular comedies, but he was always bad. Just, such a lifeless actor. Awful. Maybe people thought he was pretty?

[@Furore2323]

Oh, and there's Paul Darrow, the driest ham on the shelf!

[@Lovehandels]

Yeah this looks boring af holy crap...maybe if you grow up amish this was very exciting stuff

[@LethalBubbles]

This show's values look terrible. That witch's message on aesthetics is absolutely toxic. The dated feminism on some of these shows are pretty anti-feminist today. How dare a woman think she's pretty? It's worth noting though that in 1980, the patriarchal control mechanisms around aesthetics were very much still in recent memory, so it's a bit understandable, still though ugh. I feel bad for kids who heard that message.