The first "girls' cartoon" to appear on the show since She-Ra, and Martyn's something of an expert for some reason. Don't let appearances fool you though - this show is full of curiously adult themes and mild peril, including child abduction, rohypnol-laced beverages and a terrifying brainwashing cult of rainbow-coloured bears. How exactly do you "stare" out of your stomach anyway...?
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
A young Philip Schofield talks to a young Kylie Minogue and an even younger Dannii Minogue, a young Trevor and Simon do a singing sketch, and a young Gordon the Gopher squeaks at a young Philip Schofield. Meanwhile, Sarah Green and Mike Smith are in hospital. Live tv has never been this boring. Apart from a weird editing surprise that caught us off guard...
Mark and Martyn watch as much of Going Live as they can stand whilst reminiscing about other (better) Saturday morning shows. Shows that had moments like this - http://youtu.be/ftJu5YOHD88
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Moira Stuart as a shape-shifting crystal-stealing alien, and Fred Harris being threatened with getting vaporised. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Hold onto that imagined excitement and pray it gets you through the mind-numbing puzzles that make the questions on 3-2-1 seem simple.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Irish Robot Pirates! Sex Doll Robot Pirates! Kenneth Williams as a computer! Unnecessary exclamation marks! Galloping Galaxies(!) has it all! Shame nobody else remembers it. Are we really scraping the barrel already?
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"It's a real crazy show where anything goes..." Anything involving balloons, confetti and slime at any rate... Yes, Mark and Martyn have watched the first episode of Fun House, and it's exactly as you remember it. Except the go-karts look slower. And so do the twins.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"We're called Jossy's Giants, football's just a branch of science..."
A failing children's football team and their unconventional new manager fall under the scrutiny of Mark and Martyn in the first episode of Jossy's Giants, which paints a bleak tracksuited picture of 1980s England. Or "Eng-er-lund" to use its correct football pronunciation.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Children of the sun, see your time has just begun..." And it's not likely to end for a long time. A really long time...
Mark and Martyn watch the first episode of the eternal saga that was The Mysterious Cities Of Gold, and marvel at the sinister undertones of child slavery and ritual sacrifice that seem to go hand in hand with the 80s. I'm starting to wonder how we made it out alive...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Everybody knows, Badger loves..." an incompetent ventriloquist's hand up its arse.
Mark and Martyn watch the baffling kids' series about a traveller and his badger-shaped mashed potato-obsessed sock that somehow lasted ten years.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Mark and Martyn watch another pre-school classic, where simple sounds and bright colours designed to entertain toddlers are tasked with keeping the attention of two men in their thirties. Still, at least there's a double entendre thrown in by a production crew and presenter who knew exactly what they were doing. So listen out for that.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"If you lived in Pigeon Street, here are the people you could meet..."
It may sound like a Channel 4 documentary about vermin-infested council flats, but it's actually a charming pre-school animation (about vermin-infested council flats). Mark and Martyn take a trip to Pigeon Street to listen to the funky theme song and be disappointed by everything else.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Early in the morning, just as day is dawning..." Mark and Martyn rewatch the first episode of Postman Pat, and confirm that every village has its dark secrets, and Greendale is no exception... A postman who delivers almost no mail but hangs around school playgrounds and children's parties, evidence of a thriving swinging scene and some very unsavoury discoveries. How did the doll get there? It's really not worth thinking about...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Mark and Martyn celebrate the landmark 25th episode of the podcast that watches kids TV from the 80s by watching a show that's a) not from the 80s and b) not for kids. Adults in tracksuits play games for crystals in order to gain time to grab shiny pieces of paper in a claustrophobic vertical wind tunnel. Still, at least there's no Ed Tudor-Pole in this one.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/whenwagonwheelswerebigger - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"There's Somebody At The Door... There's Somebody At The Door..."
Mark and Martyn settle down to watch a man in a pink suit with a fake arm trying to control a pretend bird with a thirst for human pain. On live TV. For children. Nostalgia is a funny thing isn't it...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"When I wake up in the morning, an alarm gives out a warning, I don't think I'm gonna make it on time..."
Smug Zack and smug Slater hit on vacuous Kelly in the pilot episode of Saved By The Bell, the flagship high school-based sitcom of the late eighties. Will Mark and Martyn avoid the obvious Dustin Diamond remarks? Pphhh, no.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Nobody tells me what to do, no not me..."
Ah Pugwall, Australia's own rebel without a plot. Mark and Martyn revisit the summer holiday time slot filler about a 13 year old boy and his boring family and friends. There's a barbecue and disappointment - this is the most Australian TV show ever made.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Challenge of the Gobots - the biggest challenge being can Mark and Martyn make it through an entire episode without mentioning how much better Transformers was.They fail.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Not another Spider-Man episode like you thought, prompted by a throwaway comment in episode 18, Mark and Martyn sit through the only sitcom Bruce Forsythe ever made. For good reason...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
On the forest moon of Endor, the Ewoks play forbidden games and stop magic-based forest fires. Meanwhile Mark and Martyn discuss other Star Wars-related things, learn some Ewokese and end up on tumblr. What I'm saying is, the Ewoks cartoon is boring.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
And why not go to http://georgelucasneck.tumblr.com/ as well. We did.
"Bertha, lovely Bertha, you are a lovely machine..."
Mark and Martyn visit an overstaffed toy factory in Spottiswood where the sentient machinery is forced to make jigsaws very slowly, and both mild racism and sexism runs rampant. It was acceptable in the 80s...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Having watched He-Man last week, Mark and Martyn settle down for the companion series She-Ra. It has a better theme song, better animation and a more interesting pilot. But it's for girls...? Blecch, girls are yucky!
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"By the Power of Grayskull..."
Here it is, He-Man finally comes under the scrutiny of Mark and Martyn's mockery. A powerhouse in physique and merchandising, if not disguises...
We also learn more about the boys' toy collections and traumas that made them the men(?) they are today.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Well Excuuuuuse Me, Princess!"
Mark and Martyn settle down to watch the animated adventures of Link, the pervert with a bad attitude that you won't remember from the excellent Legend of Zelda video games.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
"Stand back Superman, Iceman, Spider-Man, Batman and Robin too..."
Mark and Martyn witness the incredible powers of Supergran, which mostly involve jumping, moving at the speed of a normal person and extra sensory perception... Or something...? The Scunner Campbell had better watch out. He is in Newcastle after all.
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.
Mark and Martyn examine the difficult second album of Spider-Man's animated career. It doesn't have the iconic theme song, it doesn't have good animation, but it does have Iceman. And Firestar. So there's that...
Questions, comments or recommendations for future episodes? Why not tweet us using our shared Twitter feed @spreadthewhimsy, or reach us at facebook.com/toomuch.jam - why not indeed?
W4B theme composed by John Croudy.