Here Come The Double Deckers [DVD] [1971]

Oh my - what a trip down 'Memory Lane' this was! Hadn't seen this since it aired originally way, way back in 1971 - almost forty years ago. Remembered it all vividly though; including the theme song, the kids names, and all of the action! Made in the American style (but still very British) this was an action-packed show for kids that was originally shown on a Saturday morning long before 'official' children's TV began - along with other shows like 'The Banana Splits' if I remember correctly.Where so many TV series take time to get off the ground; this classic kicked-off immediately with the very first episode which is one of the best and funniest when 'Tiger' falls into an invention (the 'thingy' Craft) made by 'Brains' and literally 'takes off'! This is a real tonic and will have you in stitches! Unable to control the strange 'Hoover' vehicle (as she calls it); Tiger seems to be chasing the other kids all over town - priceless stuff! May not sound very original today, but these talented kids - the slapstick, and the way things were back then makes it all work somehow.'The Case Of The Missing Doughnut' episode - and the very second, is brilliant too! Simply a masterpiece of comic slapstick! 'Doughnut' makes himself invisible via one of 'Brains'' inventions and has some fun at the expense of shopkeepers in both a Toy Shop and a Bakers. Some hilarious scenes ensue in the Toy Shop in particular, featuring comedy greats: Julian Orchard and Jack Haig as the 'taunted' shop keepers! You'll be in stitches as Jack Haig shouts at some toy guns 'don't shoot, don't shoot'! as both fight to get into a toy cupboard for safety from the seemingly attacking toys! And Get a load of those board games on the shelf above; Monopoly, Cluedo, Spy-Ring and the 'Computer Car' - they're all there and we owned them all, and what golden memories too! Only one complaint; these eps. weren't long enough, but then again; that was one of the most successful tricks of the trade years ago; it all left you wanting more...'Get A Movie On' was hilarious too - Melvyn Hayes's custard pie slapstick constantly in the mush is merciless! All so innocent, and not one of the kids was one of those that you couldn't stand like nowadays. Is it me, or our generation? But none of these kids suffered from that awful teenage 'attitude' we see so often today. We were obviously very fortunate and grew up in a golden era. We all had our favourite characters too - mine was 'Billie' played by Gillian Bailey. For some reason I remembered her best of all.I loved much of the slapstick in this which you don't see today; cars, vehicles and even people just 'speeded up' - totally hilarious! The scene with the Fork Lift Truck in 'Starstruck' is a classic example! Also, the Benny Hill type chasing that occurs in the 'Happy Haunting' episode with the late great Pat Coombes is also another fine example of this. They all begin running away from something individually - only to end up running behind one another in a long line - marvellous! Another where slapstick features highly is 'Summer Camp' starring a handsome Hugh Paddick. 'Invaders From Space' and 'Robbie The Robot' are two more of the funniest and 'Scooper Strikes Out' is extremely artistic which stars a very young Jane Seymour and is reminiscent of the tale 'Alice In Wonderland' with its very own unique 'slant' to the story! In 'The Popstar' which features 'Anthony May' - at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd tuned into an episode of 'Top Of The Pops'!The quality of most episodes in general is pretty good, though a couple are slightly 'duller' in quality - both in picture and sound. Some of the dubbing is slightly out of synch too for some reason on a couple, and there's one episode where the character 'Billie' is saying a line - and her lips don't even move at all!In reference to any 'Extras' - there's only one; namely Brinsley Ford (Spring) and Michael Audreson (Brains') reminiscing about their work on the show. Though nice to see them, it's clear that no expense went into this - or heart come to that, and from this angle, it's very disappointing... Considering how popular the show was and still is; I think it's criminal they've been so mean - in view of the fact I would have thought that most, if not all of the cast would have wished to take part - particularly since many have done little else in TV since. (with perhaps the exception of Peter Firth who played 'Scooper')'See You Next Weeeee....k' - oh those golden memories...

It's great to see the Double Deckers on DVD at last, &, as with many other reviewers on here, it brings back many happy memories from my childhood.I remember this being one of my favourite BBC children's programmes in the 70s - it's certainly an effective nostalgia trip back to more innocent times.I would imagine anyone buying this DVD would be familiar with series already, but, for anyone who isn't, it was a 17-part series of 20-minute shows (first aired in the UK in 1971) concerning seven children & their wacky adventures centred on their abandoned double-decker bus 'den' in a gadget-filled London junkyard.Joining them in many episodes was hapless street cleaner Albert (played by Melvyn Hayes, who also co-wrote the catchy theme song).The shows had quite an 'American' feel to them, with plenty of sight-gags, speeded-up scenes & overlaid, exaggerated sound effects punctuating the action (quite reminiscent of The Monkees TV series). Lots of singing & dancing too - including the lively (aforementioned) theme of the opening/closing credits.The series was repeated each year by the Beeb until 1978, unexpectedly re-surfacing one final time during the summer of 1990.It had quite a glossy look in comparison with other contemporary UK kids' shows - this was probably due it being shot on film (it was a co-production between independent company Century Films & 20th Century Fox TV), & obviously having a reasonable budget too.Being filmed at Elstree on the same sound stage that had earlier been home to The Avengers TV series (& which would later become host to the first Star Wars movie) many epiosodes are studio-based, but many are filmed on location too & good use is made of the vast studio campus itself & the surrounding areas, including one memorable episode filmed at nearby Knebworth House.The seven children were: Brain, Billie, Spring, Sticks, Doughnut, Scooper & Tiger.Being of its time, these characters are quite stereotyped (e.g. 'fat' jokes about Doughnut, the 'brainy' kid wears glasses, gender roles very fixed etc), but it feels a bit unfair to be too harsh about this, coming as we do from the more enlightened standpoint of our more PC times now.Spring (Brinsley Forde) would of course go on to fame as the lead singer of 80s band Aswad, & Scooper (Peter Firth) would carve out a respectable acting career, eventually going on to star in the TV series Spooks.Various guest-stars include many screen comedy actors of the day such as Clive Dunn, Pat Coombs, Liz Frazer, Bob Todd & Frank Thornton. We also get to see the screen debut in one episode of future-Hollywood actress Jane Seymour!All in all the shows are good fun - maybe not quite as good as I remembered them as a child, but still a great way to bathe in some nostalgia & have a little window onto the world of 1971.So, get on board & enjoy the journey!

Talk about a retro trip; here is a DVD release worth bragging about. "Here Come The Double Deckers" was a 17-part British children's TV series from 1970-71 revolving around the adventures of seven children whose den was an old red double-decker London bus in an unused works (junk) yard. A co-production between British independent film company Century Films and American TV company 20th Century Fox, it was a children's comedy adventure sitcom. The shows (without adverts) were about 21 minutes long. The programme made its debut on September 12, 1970 at 10:30 am ET in the US on ABC, and at 4:55 pm on 1 January 1971 in Britain on BBC One. In the US, the series was rerun on Sunday mornings during the 1971-72 TV season on ABC from September 12, 1971 to September 3, 1972, in the same time slot. Each week saw the gang in a separate adventure including episodes based around a runaway home made hovercraft, a chocolate factory and invading 'Martians' with guns that shot out chocolate candy, a disastrous camping holiday, collecting tin foil for a guide dog, becoming pop moguls with their protégé 'The Cool Cavalier' and a haunted stately home. The cast were unknowns apart from Melvyn Hayes, an established adult actor, and Gillian Bailey, fairly experienced for a child actor. Melvyn Hayes also wrote the episode "Man's Best Friend", co-wrote the episode "Get a Movie On!", co-wrote the series' theme song, and acted as a dialogue coach for the series. Bailey is now head of the drama department at Royal Holloway University. Peter Firth has gone on to a prominent acting career, appearing in "Equus" (for which he recieved a 1977 Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor), "The Hunt for Red October", "Tess", "Pearl Harbor", and "Spooks (MI-5)". Co-star Brinsley Forde (the only black cast member) later became the lead singer in Aswad. Bruce Clark was the only American-born member of the cast. Debbie Russ played Tiger, the youngest member of the group, who also had a stuffed tiger called "Tiger". Michael Audreson was a British child actor who appeared in many films and T.V. shows in the 1960s. He appeared in 12 children's films called "The Magnificent Six And A Half" before playing the bespectacled "Brains" in "Here Come The Double Deckers" in 1970. He played Winston Churchill as a schoolboy in the film "Young Winston" in 1971. Douglas Simmonds suffered a fatal heart attack on March 15, 2011. The series was originally scheduled for 26 episodes (as well as a second series of 26 additional episodes), but production ceased after the 17th. Released at a time when events such as the Vietnam war was all over the news and the killings at Kent State in Ohio shocked the nation, "Here Come The Double Deckers" was a much-welcomed relief on the weekend airwaves that brought fun onto the small screen. The adventures of this group of youngsters truly was a lot of enjoyment for young people everywhere. All 17 episodes are included in this 2-disc DVD set. A great way to relive a time-gone-by, and to once again put a smile on your face.

Tout dans cette série sent l’anglais : le décor, l’attitude des personnages, les histoires, la musique… C’est un parfum délicieux quand on sait à quel point l’humour britannique peut réunir tous les talents : musique, arrangements, interprétation, chorégraphie, lumière, cadrages, montage, réalisation... et doublage français ! La voix zozotante de Roland Demongeot est remarquable, le jeune acteur s'étant fait remarqué l'année précédente dans « Les risques du métier » avec Jacques Brel et surtout deux ans plus tôt pour son interprétation de Tom Sawyer - Huckleberry Finn dans un feuilleton l'associant à Marc di Napoli que l'on retrouvera, lui, dans « Deux ans de vacances ». Bref, quelques épisodes de « L'autobus à impériale » sont doublés par nos cousins canadiens et malheureusement, l'intérêt pour le scénario chute lourdement. La musique du générique donne pourtant le ton : entraînante, très dynamique, elle est bien servie par une chorale d’enfants motivés chantant à l'unisson ; rien d’étonnant à ce que la série, curieusement oubliée dans la longue liste des rediffusions estivales françaises, soit devenue si célèbre auprès du jeune téléspectateur des années 70. Certes de qualité variable avec des histoires parfois insipides, certains épisodes déclenchent inévitablement une franche hilarité ; celui qui se déroule dans un château soit disant hanté est franchement tordant : le succès de la technique utilisée, la capture « image après image » amènera d’ailleurs une partie de l’équipe à continuer dans la réalisation des « Benny Hill » avec leurs scènes saccadées. Tous les épisodes prévus de « L'autobus à impériale » n'ont pas été tourné, une démarche inaboutie fréquente chez les producteurs américains versatiles, dépendants des taux d'écoute et assez peu ouvert à la culture européenne fortement présente dans la série. Sans entrer dans le détail, la chorégraphie des jeunes, par exemple : Arnold Taraborrelli, l'artiste âgé aujourd'hui de 80 ans et toujours installé à Madrid depuis le début des années 60, aura beaucoup fait répéter les enfants pour un résultat bien surprenant : les scènes dansées sont superbes à la fois par leur originalité et leur fluidité. Ce danseur chorégraphe aura contribué à la réussite de Marilyn Monroë et de Franck Sinatra en leur apprenant à bien se mouvoir mais aussi à celle de Michael Jackson et de Madonna, c'est dire le niveau... Même talent, donc, côté musique : les chansons qui ponctuent les épisodes sont assurément mélodiques et très mélodieuses, les refrains donnent envie de s’y mettre : pourquoi n’a-t-on jamais proposé de les enregistrer ? Voici le drame qui caractérise le travail du compositeur Ivor Slaney : de ses centaines d’œuvres entendues à la télévision, à la radio et dans une bibliothèque sonore qui permettait aux réalisateurs d’y puiser leurs musiques de films à défaut de pouvoir financer des compositions dédiées, il ne reste aucune trace ou très peu d'archives sonores. Né en 1921 à 8 kms de Birmingham (une très bonne année de naissances de futurs vedettes, voir ci-dessous) dans les Midlans au cœur de l’île, Ivor Slaney se fera connaître par ses multiples prestations dans le domaine dit de la « musique légère » après ses études musicales classiques au Royal college of music de Londres, une musique instrumentale de genre qui n’intéresse plus grand monde au XXIe siècle. Son épouse Dolores Ventura, pianiste et chanteuse de variété, saura utiliser les capacités de création mélodique d’Ivor Slaney et ses arrangements qui élèveront le niveau des chansons de « L’autobus à impériale » pourtant prévues sans aucune prétention. Le succès ne prévient jamais ! La prédilection du compositeur pour la musique exotique pourrait trouver une explication dans la forte immigration provenant des Caraïbes dans les années 50 et 60 dans sa région de naissance mais aussi dans le genre très prisé de la « musique exotique de charme » dont Gloria Lasso en fera son « fond de répertoire » en France. Hautboïste confirmé, Ivor Slaney participera à de très nombreux enregistrements y compris pour les compositions de ses collègues, par exemple celles de Tristam Cary plus spécialisé dans la musique électronique aux sons mêlée à l’orchestre, un phénomène acoustique qui autorisait toute les expérimentations à l'époque avec un résultat évidemment heureux et parfois malheureux. À noter que deux chansons entendues dans les épisodes sont des reprises de compositions des français Jean-Claude Petit et Jack Arel ; quant à Jane Seymour alors jeune débutante, elle apparaît dans un épisode magique...

J ai regardé ce feuilleton ds ma jeunesse et j en était fan alors je l ai retrouvé et je vais le regarder de nouveau

This was my husband's childhood favorite show, although short lived. The DVD is perfect and plays with no problems. It is European format though, you'll need a region free DVD player to watch it.

Que de souvenirs avec cette série