Children’s TV Drama A2 Media Studies Aimee Robinson

The History Of TV The first ever mechanical television was sold to the public in 1928. At the peak, 42 American stations were in operation. This television was not suitable for commercial use, and so during 1928 to 1935, experiments with All-Electronic television were underway. The first mechanical colour television set was put on the market for $500 in 1951, and the first All- Electric set at $1,000 three years later.

Beginning Of Children’s TV By 1941, Black and White Commercial television had begun broadcasting in the United States of America,but as World War II began in 1942, television sales and public broadcasting came to a standstill. In 1950, the BBC included dramas aimed at children in their post-war television service. These were shown live as theatre productions, using literary works such as The Railway Children and Little Women, as well as programmes like Crack-A-Jack and Billy Bunter from Greyfriars School. Also at this time, at around 1955, ITV began airing child dramas such as The Adventures Of Robin Hood. http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/what-television-programmes-did- children-watch-in-the-1950s/7030.html

1960 / 1970’s In 1962, the BBC’s children’s department was closed due to Internal Politics, and the time spots were overtaken by adults drama’s. ITV, however, had taken a step further into the literary scene and had invested into adventure serials such as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven, where location filming had increased in popularity. The BBC began airing children’s dramas once more in the early 70’s, and serials such as Carrie’s War added depth to children’s dramas by having increasing levels of emotion. During the mid-70’s, new approaches to realism created a turn in the approach of children’s dramas. Working-Class characters and Urban or Inner-City locations began to become popular in shows such as The Siege of Golden Hill.

Doctor Who (1963 - Present) Doctor Who may be one of the most debatable TV drama’s in the debate of whether it is or is not a children’s TV drama. Originally meant as a Children’s educational TV drama, the show is the longest running Science-Fiction TV drama of all time. Today, the show would not be classed as a children’s TV drama, but more as a prime-time television drama, although many people of a young audience still tune in to the show every Saturday.

Grange Hill (1978 - 2008) Grange Hill was a children’s TV drama between 1978 to 2008, created by the BBC, and was one of the longest running programmes on British Television. Grange Hill was about a school of the same name in a fictitious borough of London called Northam, following the lives of students that attend the school. Grange Hill caused controversy for it’s portrayal of school life, as the school dramas that came before it were more idealistic. Also, Grange Hill tackled many real-life storylines, such as addiction to drugs, disability, death, suicide, homosexuality and rape, upsetting parents of viewers.

1980/90’s Both BBC and ITV provided a large number of Children’s TV drama’s during this period. The BBC produced serials during the late 80‘s that helped to expand the genres of Children’s TV dramas further - adding in fantasy-styled programmes such as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Borrowers. The end of the 80’s and start of the 90’s welcomed two well-known children’s TV dramas - one of which is still active today - These being Byker Grove and ChuckleVision.

Byker Grove (1989 - 2006) Byker Grove was a popular Children’s TV Drama, similar to Grange Hill, set in a Tyneside youth club. Similar to Grange Hill, Byker Grove also tackled many controversial story lines such as drug addiction, teen pregnancy, abortion, homosexuality and homelessness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2BhES CKniw

ChuckleVision (1987 - 2009) ChuckleVision is a children’s comedy TV drama that started in 1987, starring brothers Paul and Barry Elliot (known as the Chuckle Brothers). Although the last series that was released was in 2009, the series is still running as a full feature length 3D movie of the comedy duo is set to grace our cinema screens in the future. ChuckleVision was a success because of its innocent slapstick comedy style that people of all ages could admire - and it was possibly the most child-friendly of all TV dramas aired at this time.

2011 Today, children’s TV dramas are still popular. They have developed from the age of Grange Hill and Byker Grove, including short stop-motion, drawn and CGI animation and exciting titles to go along with the narrative. This can be shown in programmes such as The Sarah Jane Adventures - a Doctor Who spin off classed as a Children’s TV drama, which uses animatronics and high amounts of technology to create the effects needed for realistic looking Aliens; or The Story Of Tracey Beaker - which is based on a popular children’s book of the same name. This includes short animated drawings to show Tracey’s thoughts - a technique used to break up the live action in the plot and offer some comedy relief to the unjustness of the narrative at the time.

Radio Advertisements When researching, I came across a radio station specifically for children; Fun Kids, on digital radio. Listening to this station helped me to understand the conventions of advertisements aimed at children, and how companies go about advertising to them. To advertise to children, it is effective to use other children describing the product, as children will be able to relate to the child on the advert, and think that they will also enjoy the product that is being sold. Also, using sound effects is effective as they help to capture the children’s attention. The adverts I have looked at have been fairly short, as to perhaps keep the children’s attention for the entirety of the advert and to leave a lasting memory.

DVD Covers DVD’s, as a video storing format, has only been around for the last 14 years. Therefore the change between the covers that were released then and now have many similarities. The differences being that DVD covers nowadays are nicer to look at, as technology has developed and as have conventions of Children’s toys. Nowadays, most children’s toys are colourful and bright. This is reflected in DVD covers for modern TV dramas to help attract the target audience.

Influences After looking at, and creating, a timeline of Children’s TV Drama, I have learned a lot about how things have developed since they started, and how conventions have adapted to fit the target audience’s preference. When creating my own Children’s TV Drama trailer, I will be influenced by ChuckleVision’s opening sequences slapstick comedy style and Tracy Beaker’s wacky titles and vivid colours. I will also be influenced by other modern day children’s TV dramas in their messages and styles – such as being educational to help children gain something from watching them, so that they can learn whilst having fun and being entertained.

Bibliography http://www.funkidslive.com/listen/listen-live/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/categories/childrens/drama http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/tracybeaker/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363378/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/sja/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862620/ http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291596/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChuckleVision http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/682920/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/articles/2008/05/20/byker_grove_f eature.shtml http://www.grangehillfans.co.uk/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075512/ http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who http://www.funkidslive.com/listen/listen-live/