9 January 1967 (1967-01-09)– 29 March 2004 (2004-03-29)
Look and Read is a BBC Televisionprogramme for primary schools, aimed at improving children's literacy skills.[1] The programme presents fictional stories in a serial format, the first of which was broadcast in 1967 and the most recent in 2004, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast programme for schools in the United Kingdom. The series remains popular among school children. Episodes of Look and Read were sometimes repeated on the CBBC Channel.
The first programmes for schools in Britain were broadcast in 1957. Early material was mostly aimed at secondary school pupils and seen as a convenient method of demonstration in subjects such as science and geography. In the early 1960s, there was a lot of interest in the medium as a way of educating children with certain learning difficulties, and in 1962, the BBC produced Television Club which presented stories in a drama serial format. The success of this format made some look into the possibilities of using the technique on programmes for primary school children.
The Merry-Go-Round serials
Claire Chovil, a former teacher and children's radio producer, began to research the possibility of bringing stories to television which would meet teachers' requirements to assist them in providing children with word recognition skills. She persuaded the BBC to allow her to produce two experimental serials for their schools programme Merry-Go-Round. Each episode of the serials would contain a limited vocabulary allowing teachers, who were given notes for the series, to present specific lessons with each episode in mind. The story in each episode was divided into two instalments by a teaching segment which gave the children material to read and animated instructions on how to read it. Following the success of the two serials, "Fishing For Fivers" (1965) and "Tom, Pat and Friday" (1966), Look and Read began production in 1966.
Programme format
Although originally produced for the series Merry-Go-Round, "Bob and Carol Look for Treasure" was broadcast as the first Look and Read story in the spring of 1967. The serial took the format, which the programme would continue for many years, of each episode's story being divided into two instalments with an educational section in the middle to teach children the relevant material. Teachers were also provided with story books, or "pupil pamphlets", for each serial, from which they could provide their pupils the story as well as exercises and games. The plots of the stories were written to appeal to children, initially inspired by adventure serials, and often featured puzzles for the characters to solve using their reading skills, which was also reflected in the material given to pupils. Each serial was also written with a limited vocabulary in mind, each of the keywords paced through the piece a certain number of times so they held a certain relevance above other words. They used Alphakids mostly when words appeared.
During the 1970s the programme began to bring in many new elements for a new generation of viewers. Popular new educational songs were introduced which would remain until into the 90s as well as the character Wordy (see below). In the 1980s and early 1990s the plots also started to contain contemporary issues such as pollution. Towards the latter part of the 1990s the programme began to steer away from some of the elements of the past by, in some cases, removing songs and combining teaching elements with the story segment of the programme. The producers also began making use of the internet as a teaching aid for the programme, allowing children to access games and material through a dedicated website, although the BBC have since removed the sites due to dwindling use, to the dismay of some teachers.[2]
Wordy
For the 1974 serial "Cloud Burst", the new producer Sue Weeks created the character Wordy. A large orange character, vaguely resembling a 'golfball' type element from a contemporary typewriter of the age, with letters on his body, the character featured in the teaching section of the programme, introducing himself as Mr. Watchword, or "Wordy" for short. The character, voiced by actor Charles Collingwood, knew all about grammar and words and taught how to use and recognise them. With a high-pitched voice and distinctive appearance the character has since become one of the most remembered aspects of the programme, and last appeared in the 1992 story "Sky Hunter II".
Eyes, is a spellit who looks at the words to see what they are spelled like.
Ears, is a spellit who hears the words especially the vowel sounds, and she is good at singing.
Brain, is a spellit and he's smart and wise and sometimes greedy.
Control, She is the Boss of the three main spellits, she works very hard and very busy.
Cogs, He is a Robot, sometimes when someone asks him for the word, he gives them the thing but not the word.
Mouth, She is a chef which cooks them tasty food at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Trainee Brainy, is a younger version of Brain, which still being educated on spelling skills.
Babies, They are younger versions of the three main spellits with high pitched voices.
Songs
Some of the most memorable moments of the programme were its educational songs. Each story had its own individual theme tune, many of which are well remembered among fans of the programme. Each teaching segment also featured many songs with animations, featuring characters like Dog Detective, which were used regularly over the show's history. Many of the lyrics, such as the 'Clue Song' with Dog Detective, the Karate Chopper and 'Bill the Brickie', were written by Patricia Farrington, who also created the characters. Music for the songs were composed by Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb and Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and most of the songs were sung by Derek Griffiths. Among the most popular were:
"Bill the Brickie", which showed a bricklayer "building" words out of bricks, demonstrating the use of units of words or morphemes.
"The Punctuation Song", which featured Mr. Big, representing capital letters, and Miss Full Stop Lollypop, representing as in her name, full stops.
"I'm An Apostrophe", which demonstrated the various uses of the apostrophe. It went "I'm an apostrophe, to shorten words you say to me; I'm not a comma, I'm not a full stop, don't put me on the line – I go at the top!"
A popular song was "Magic E", originally written in the mid-70s for Words and Pictures to demonstrate the silent E and the change in pronunciation of preceding vowels – for example: "cap" becomes "cape" with me, "tap" becomes "tape" with me. The song's simple lyrics about changing the words with "magic E" were memorable and simple to learn.[3]
Cult popularity
A retro revival of the programme has made Look and Read the focus of some dedicated websites. Older serials (From "Joe and the Sheep Rustlers" onwards) were repeated on the BBC children's channel CBBC as part of the Class TV strand until 2008, when the channel's obligation to show educational programmes was dropped.
A fan account celebrating its success and nostalgic value was set up on Twitter in 2017.
Len Tanner, a young dock worker, begins to suspect that his boss and workmates are members of an infamous gang of thieves known as "The River Mob".
12
2
"The Dutch Doll"
22January1968(1968-01-22)
13
3
"The Missing Crate"
29January1968(1968-01-29)
14
4
"The Big Job"
5February1968(1968-02-05)
15
5
"Captain Grenko"
12February1968(1968-02-12)
16
6
"Is Len a Thief?"
26February1968(1968-02-26)
17
7
"This Way Up"
4March1968(1968-03-04)
18
8
"Tied and Gagged"
11March1968(1968-03-11)
19
9
"Find The S.S. Samba"
18March1968(1968-03-18)
20
10
"After Them!"
25March1968(1968-03-25)
The Boy from Space (1971)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
21
1
"The Meteorite"
21September1971(1971-09-21)
Helen and her brother Dan spot a light in the sky one night that they decide to investigate. Upon discovering a meteorite they meet a young alien child, who they name Peep-Peep. When the alien boy and his father are kidnapped it is up to the two children to follow a trail of clues to find their new friend.
22
2
"The Spinning Compass"
28September1971(1971-09-28)
23
3
"The Man in the Sand-pit"
5October1971(1971-10-05)
24
4
"In danger!"
12October1971(1971-10-12)
25
5
"The Hold-up"
19October1971(1971-10-19)
26
6
"Where is Tom?"
2November1971(1971-11-02)
27
7
"The Hunt for the Car"
9November1971(1971-11-09)
28
8
"The Lake"
16November1971(1971-11-16)
29
9
"Captured!"
23November1971(1971-11-23)
30
10
"In the Space-ship"
30November1971(1971-11-30)
Joe and the Sheep Rustlers (1973)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
31
1
"Castle Farm"
16January1973(1973-01-16)
Joe, a shepherd boy, and his friend Jill decide to investigate the theft of some sheep from Castle Farm, and discover it to be the work of the villainous Beasley brothers, Ted and Denis.
Whilst playing with a toy plane, Jenny Barber and her brother, Tim, meet a scientist, Ram Pandit, who is working on a secret invention. When Ram is kidnapped apparently by the mysterious Man on a Motor Bike who is working for rivals trying to get information on his work, it is up to the children to find them and stop his invention from falling into the wrong hands.
42
2
"Ram Pandit"
1October1974(1974-10-01)
43
3
"RAV1"
8October1974(1974-10-08)
44
4
"The Gas-gun"
15October1974(1974-10-15)
45
5
"In The Hut"
22October1974(1974-10-22)
46
6
"The Secret"
5November1974(1974-11-05)
47
7
"To The Mill!"
12November1974(1974-11-12)
48
8
"The Signal"
19November1974(1974-11-19)
49
9
"Escape"
26November1974(1974-11-26)
50
10
"Fire The Rockets!"
3December1974(1974-12-03)
The King's Dragon (1977)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
51
1
"Boy Finds Message"
11January1977(1977-01-11)
Billy West, a fisherman's grandson, discovers some threatening messages made up from newspaper cuttings. When he and a local journalist go to investigate, they discover that they are targeted at an archaeologist working at a local castle whose life is suddenly under threat because of the long lost local treasure; King Harold's golden armring known as "The King's Dragon".
When Tracy chases her dog into the mysterious Dark Towers, she becomes involved in a race to find the old house's hidden treasure.
82
2
"The Man in the Picture"
29September1981(1981-09-29)
83
3
"The Old Legend"
6October1981(1981-10-06)
84
4
"The Clue in the Book"
13October1981(1981-10-13)
85
5
"The Old Coach House"
20October1981(1981-10-20)
86
6
"The Tall Knight's Folly"
3November1981(1981-11-03)
87
7
"The Dark Tree"
10November1981(1981-11-10)
88
8
"Beware of the Bird!"
17November1981(1981-11-17)
89
9
"Who Can Help?"
24November1981(1981-11-24)
90
10
"The Last Laugh"
1December1981(1981-12-01)
Fair Ground! (1983)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
91
1
"Trouble in the Tea-Leaves"
11January1983(1983-01-11)
Ozzie Watson loves the fair that comes to town at Easter, but when a series of disturbances and crimes occur there it is up to him to solve the problem.
Three city children go on holiday to the country. Whilst there they meet various people out on the moor, some of whom are involved in pony-rustling. It is up to them to work out who is involved and how to stop it.
Richard "Spuggy" Hilton loves spending time at the local pigeon lofts. When he discovers secret messages being received by pigeon, he suspects Baz, a local pigeon trainer, of being involved in a series of local robberies. Spuggy and his friend Janie must link the clues to try to solve the case.
Three children (Jenny, Scott and Amanda) pass through a mural they have been painting and find themselves in the magical land of Pelamar.
2
"Flight to Widge"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
26September1989(1989-09-26)
Amanda, Scott, Boris, Rodey and Gorwen set off to find the lost Veetons. Gorwen the Dragon believes that the missing Veetons must have fallen beyond the mountains of Pelamar into the strange land of Widge.
3
"The First Veeton"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
3October1989(1989-10-03)
With the Widgets as their guides, the search party set off through the Woods of Widge.
4
"Word Magic"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
10October1989(1989-10-10)
The Widgets have hidden the first Veeton inside a huge book tree. Boris and Amanda manage to unlock it and enter it in search of the Veeton, while Scott and the dragon Gorwen search for Rodey, who is still missing.
5
"Clues in the Snow"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
17October1989(1989-10-17)
With the help of the veetarod, Scott and Gorwen find Boris, Amanda and the first Veeton in a gravel pit. Scott, Boris and Gorwen find that the Widgets have taken the Veeton and Boris' rucksack, and that they have kidnapped Amanda. Gorwen sets off to find them, while Boris and Scott continue to Ash Rock.
6
"Jenny's Scarf"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
31October1989(1989-10-31)
Amanda chases the Widget who stole Boris' rucksack, with the Veeton in it. She rescues it and in doing so, finds Rodey, but they find themselves lost in the snow. Boris and Scott find another clue at Ash Rock.
7
"The Waterfall of Words"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
7November1989(1989-11-07)
During the night, the search party pitch a tent and spend the night at the top of the mountains, until two troublesome Widgets sneak in and steal Boris' map of Widge. They rip the map, leaving Boris, Amanda, Scott and Rodey alone with no "map, no time and no words to help" them. Suddenly, a waterfall of words appears gushing down the mountainside, giving them a clue.
8
"The Great Battle"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
14November1989(1989-11-14)
Gorwen returns to the Veetacore House, where Charn is waiting for him. Morris tries to warn him, but is zapped by Charn. There is a great battle and Charn is eventually beaten forever; Charn had already been beaten once by Gorwen and as a result was banished from Pelamar.
9
"Danger on High"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
21November1989(1989-11-21)
Rodey rescues the veetarod, which had fallen down a deep chasm in the tunnel. The veetarod leads them up to the top of the mountain. Rodey rescues the veetarod, which had fallen down a deep chasm in the tunnel. The veetarod leads them up to the top of the mountain.
10
"The Final Page"
Unknown
Christoper and Christine Russell
28November1989(1989-11-28)
Scott, with the help of the Widgets, manages to rescue the last Veeton. Meanwhile, Doris and Morris fit the penultimate piece of the Veetacore and wait for the others to return with the last Veeton.
Three children,Martin,Amina and Jenny,befriend an alien named Ollie who they must help in his task of saving the local Southbeach from being destroyed due to pollution.
142
2
"An Uninvited Guest"
18January1994(1994-01-18)
143
3
"Whoops!"
25January1994(1994-01-25)
144
4
"Code Name Charley"
1February1994(1994-02-01)
145
5
"Mystifying Magic"
8February1994(1994-02-08)
146
6
"Monster Mayhem"
22February1994(1994-02-22)
147
7
"Doctor Miracle"
1March1994(1994-03-01)
148
8
"Betrayed"
8March1994(1994-03-08)
149
9
"Hunt The Alien"
15March1994(1994-03-15)
150
10
"The Final Countdown"
22March1994(1994-03-22)
LRTV (1995)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
151
1
"Welcome to LRTV"
24April1995(1995-04-24)
A magazine style series designed to improve writing and communication skills. Set in a TV studio where the channel was run by children.
Middle-aged Norman Starkey,a former wartime evacuee,finds his old scrapbook,and decides to write a book about his experience,so he heads back to Westbourne. He recounts being sent off to Westbourne where he meets Cyril Jenkins and another evacuee,Mary Parker. Cyril drives them to Westbourne Hall,home to Phillip Grainger,and his housekeeper,Miss Millington. They refuse to take Norman,but take Mary instead. Norman is driven to nearby Wells Farm where he is taken in by kindly Amy Hobbs,who has recently taken in another evacuee named Dennis Sealey.
Norman and Dennis,both strangers to country life,are put to work on Amy's farm by Amy's granddaughter,Polly,and are both terrified when they find themselves surrounded by cows. Meanwhile,Mary is being forced to do the housework by Grainger and Millington. Grainger also pays Wells Farm a visit and tries to get Amy to move out of the farm,to which he was the landlord,but she refuses.
Amy's cows have escaped and it looks as if the fence has been cut. Norman,Dennis,and Polly suspect Grainger is to blame. Later,the whole village attends a lecture where Cyril Jenkins shows them a series of posters of people who may be spies in disguise,but one poster in particular startles Norman,Dennis and Polly;an image of a woman in half a Nazi uniform and half normal clothing stays in their minds. Meanwhile,in the present,Norman decides to track down Polly.
Luigi Balzoni,an Italian POW,arrives to help on the farm. Amy initially is untrustful of Luigi,but he soon wins her trust. Also,Miss Millington steals Mary's money and accuses Mary of stealing from her. Later,Mary writes a letter to her parents and gives it to Millington to post. However,Millington reads the letter in which Mary describes to her parents how horrible Grainger and Miss Millington are,how badly they're treating her,and begs them to come and get her. Millington throws the letter in the fire.
Norman becomes homesick after receiving a letter from his mother. He goes for a walk by the river and meets Mike Johnson,a lieutenant from the nearby U.S. Army base who shows him how to fish. Meanwhile,Mary agrees to help Polly and Dennis find out if Grainger is a spy. On the way back to the Farm,Polly and Dennis encounter a strange woman who bears a striking resemblance to the woman in the poster Cyril Jenkins showed them. When the woman asks for directions to the village,Polly,convinced she's an enemy spy,intentionally sends her the wrong way and thinks they've seen the last of her –until she turns up at the front door!
The mystery woman introduces herself as Vivienne Belling,and she claims to be a government photographer. However,the kids are suspicious of her. Meanwhile,Mary overhears an interesting conversation between Grainger and Miss Millington. Mike gives the children chocolate which is rationed. Also,Polly and Dennis spot a German plane.
Polly and Dennis narrowly avoid being killed by the German plane's bombs. Norman later spies Grainger giving a package to Vivienne Belling. Mary tries to uncover evidence to prove Grainger's a spy. Also,Norman's mother comes to visit him on his birthday. The next day,however,an even bigger surprise awaits the kids in their secret meeting place (the greenhouse at Westbourne Hall).
The kids find an injured German pilot in the greenhouse. The pilot is later arrested,and the kids suspicions of Vivienne Belling deepen when they hear her speaking German to the pilot. Also,in another attempt to get Amy to leave the farm,Grainger pulls some strings to have Luigi moved to Westbourne Hall. That night,Mary follows Grainger and Millington to try to find out what they're up to.
The kids find a tunnel leading from an abandoned quarry to Westbourne Hall. Norman and Dennis are caught by Grainger,but are saved by Luigi,who Grainger has arrested shortly afterwards for stealing from the Hall.
The children learn that Grainger and Miss Millington are simply black marketeers rather than spies. Norman and Mary try to call the police from Westbourne Hall,but are caught by Grainger and Millington and locked in a shed. Seeing them captured,Polly goes off to find a phone,only to bump into Vivienne Belling. Polly attacks her,but is stopped by Mike. Polly leads them to the quarry where Dennis has managed to free Norman and Mary,who trap Grainger and Millington in the shed. The blackmarketeers are arrested,and Vivienne Belling reveals she was investigating Grainger the whole time. Mary is moved to Wells Farm and the charges against Luigi are dropped and he returns to work on the Farm. Norman's mother arrives at the Farm to take Norman home. In the present,Norman is finally reunited with Polly.
Captain Crimson (1997)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
169
1
"Escape From The Black of Beyond"
14April1997(1997-04-14)
Jeff is a comic book artist whose most popular creation is the superhero Captain Crimson. When Jeff's son Tom and his friend Amy make up the ending to one of the comics,it causes Captain Crimson to appear in the real world,forcing the two friends to find ways of hiding the hero whilst he goes on a series of adventures.
George,Mark and Lisa begin the search for the three keys to the box. Lisa is awakened during the night by people who think her uncle has the first key.
Professor Waters retrieves the Box back from the Watchers' Headquarters,and George goes through the portal to lock the doorway into Heritron forever. The Catchers are waiting for him on the other side.
The twins find George imprisoned in a crystal cell. They manage to break him free,but can they escape from Heritron and get back home?
Zzaap and the Word Master (2001)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
187
1
"Into The Crystal Caverns"
16January2001(2001-01-16)
Josie and Peter get transported into an educational computer game at their school. Once inside they discover that the game is being controlled by the evil Victor Virus who is intent on finding a way to take over the world. The children,assisted in the real world by Simon and Frances,must stop Virus by completing the various levels of the game.
188
2
"The Castle of Gloom"
23January2001(2001-01-23)
189
3
"The Glen of the Green Man"
30January2001(2001-01-30)
190
4
"No Hope Valley"
6February2001(2001-02-06)
191
5
"The Word Master"
13February2001(2001-02-13)
192
6
"Zzaap Looks Back"
15February2001(2001-02-15)
Spelling Strategies (2002)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
193
1
"Spell It Out 1"
10January2002(2002-01-10)
194
2
"Spell It Out 2"
17January2002(2002-01-17)
195
3
"Spell It Out 3"
24January2002(2002-01-24)
Spelling with the Spellits (2002)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
196
1
"Programme One"
10September2002(2002-09-10)
197
2
"Programme Two"
17September2002(2002-09-17)
198
3
"Programme Three"
24September2002(2002-09-24)
199
4
"Programme Four"
1October2002(2002-10-01)
200
5
"Programme Five"
17January2003(2003-01-17)
201
6
"Programme Six"
24January2003(2003-01-24)
202
7
"Programme Seven (Revision)"
31January2003(2003-01-31)
203
8
"Programme Eight (Revision)"
7February2003(2003-02-07)
Shadow Play (2004)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Original release date
204
1
"A Light at the Window"
1March2004(2004-03-01)
Whilst on holiday,Ben discovers a Victorian diary written by a girl named Hester. He finds out what growing up was like in the 19th century and,as the story goes on,he becomes progressively more involved in Hester's situation.
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