# Do you know this 1960s BBC TV children's show? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435 **Category:** Cafe Society **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435 "2008-10-17T19:53:58Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/1 "2008-10-17T19:53:58Z")
My sister, who watched Dr. Who with me when it first came out, šŸ†’ would like your help. She remembers a 1960s BBC TV childrenā€™s program - in black and white - that: - had a villain called ā€˜The Voiceā€™ - had heroes who were airline pilots - was broadcast on Saturday evenings at 17.15 (following the Sports Report) None of my sisterā€™s friends remember this šŸ˜• - and I have only a vague recollection myself. :o Can you help? ---
### Author: ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/2 "2008-10-17T20:32:02Z")
The only ā€œpilotā€ one that comes to mind is the [Thunderbirds.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbirds_(TV_series)) ---
### Author: ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/3 "2008-10-17T20:54:00Z")
You sure it isnā€™t Captain Scarlet, another Gerry Anderson show? _This is the voice of the Mysterons_, the baddies would intone as they brainwashed their victims. And the Angel Interceptors were flown by cute girl pilots from, IIRC, Cloudbase? Not airline pilots, exactly, I grant you. ---
### Author: ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/4 "2008-10-17T21:20:39Z")
Another vote for _Captain Scarlet_ - when the ā€˜voiceā€™ was taking people over, there would be light circles playing over the puppets faces. ---
### Author: ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/5 "2008-10-17T21:24:00Z")
_Captain Scarlet_ was in color, though. The OP said black and white. ---
### Author: ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/6 "2008-10-17T21:35:33Z")
Moving to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/7 "2008-10-17T21:43:13Z")
Thanks to all whoā€™ve had a go! My sister wants me to add that it was human actors, not puppets. ā€˜The Voiceā€™ was shown as a face giving orders. She also thinks one hero was called Garyā€¦ ---
### Author: ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal) #### Post date: [October 17, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/8 "2008-10-17T22:00:48Z")
Gary Halliday. [Link](http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/other/garryhalliday.htm) ---
### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/9 "2008-10-18T00:20:02Z")
> [@Kal](#): > > Gary Halliday. > > [Link](http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/adults/other/garryhalliday.htm) My sister had no real hope of getting an answer. ā˜¹ I told her the SDMB was special. šŸ™‚ Genius, Kal, pure genius! šŸ˜ƒ ---
### Author: ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/10 "2008-10-18T00:37:46Z")
Ach, your sisterā€™s fantastic memory of the villainā€™s name was the key. I just did a Google site search for ā€œthe voiceā€ on [tv.cream.org](http://tv.cream.org) and that got me the showā€™s title. ---
### Author: ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/11 "2008-10-18T00:44:18Z")
Too late for an edit. As stated in the linked page, the correct spelling is Garry Halliday. ---
### Author: ![Ellef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@Ellef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellef) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/12 "2008-10-18T07:10:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _Captain Scarlet_ was in color, though. The OP said black and white. Colour TVs werenā€™t all that common in the UK in the 60s though, and many of us grew up watching this sort of thing in B&W. (Iā€™ve just really dated myself, havenā€™t I?) Must add this, for anyone not familiar with the awesomeness that is Thunderbirds :D: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9RzCB3VRruE/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/9RzCB3VRruE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/13 "2008-10-18T09:17:36Z")
> [@Ellef](#): > > Colour TVs werenā€™t all that common in the UK in the 60s though, and many of us grew up watching this sort of thing in B&W. (Iā€™ve just really dated myself, havenā€™t I?) My family didnā€™t get colour TV until the mid 60s. And to show you that youā€™re not the only ā€˜datedā€™ one, how about: - Noggin the Nog (and Nogbad the Bad) - Bill + Ben, the flowerpot men - Captain Pugwash - [Stranger on the Shore](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7jZeXvpyZQ) ---
### Author: ![Surok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Surok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surok) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/14 "2008-10-18T09:39:46Z")
> [@glee](#): > > - Captain Pugwash Oh, Captain Pugwash was great. And once, when I was very very very sick, my mother wrote to the author of the books, and he sent me a lovely letter and some Captain Pugwash paper cut-outs. That goes down in my memory in the list of ā€˜nicest things someone has doneā€™. ---
### Author: ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/15 "2008-10-18T10:07:21Z")
> [@Ellef](#): > > Colour TVs werenā€™t all that common in the UK in the 60s though, and many of us grew up watching this sort of thing in B&W. (Iā€™ve just really dated myself, havenā€™t I?) We didnā€™t get colour until the 70ā€™s :(. I watched the first season of _Mork and Mindy_ in black and white. Does anyone remember \*Magic Roundabout? \*Even as a kidlet I thought the stories were surreal and it turns out they were filmed in French and instead of translating, [Eric Thompson](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144059/trivia) made up his own storyline as he went. ---
### Author: ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/16 "2008-10-18T10:14:43Z")
I had a Magic Roundabout lightshade. ---
### Author: ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/17 "2008-10-18T10:18:10Z")
I once saw an episode of _Magic Roundabout_ where Ermintrude the Cow advocated to everyone that they should be taking these amazing pills she found that made you fly. Astonishing. ---
### Author: ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/18 "2008-10-18T10:27:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I once saw an episode of _Magic Roundabout_ where Ermintrude the Cow advocated to everyone that they should be taking these amazing pills she found that made you fly. > > Astonishing. I bet she bought them off Dylan! ---
### Author: ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/19 "2008-10-18T10:33:37Z")
Dougal was the original long haired layabout. Ermintrude rocked, no way could I ever get a flower to spin from one side to the other like that. I loved Zebedee - for his name more than anything. ---
### Author: ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee) #### Post date: [October 18, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435/20 "2008-10-18T13:37:46Z")
ā€œAnd so to bedā€ said Zebedeeā€¦ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-this-1960s-bbc-tv-childrens-show/468435.md?page=2)