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Breakfast Serials

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Breakfast Serials
GenreChildren's anthology
Written byRussell T Davies
The Salad Pig (David Green, Stuart Smith, Andrew Wilcott, Martin Raynor, Darren Bradley)
Production
ProducerRussell T Davies
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release22 September (1990-09-22) –
29 December 1990 (1990-12-29)

Breakfast Serials is a twenty-five-minute anthology series for children that aired on BBC1 for one series in 1990.[1]

Format

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The series comprised various shorts that were based on a variety of genres such as dialogue comedy (Cheapo TV), drama (Runners and NiceChap), stand-up comedy (Zounds) and narrative (Single Tales).[2]

Each serial would be prefaced by a conversation between a puppet Teapot, a Tin can, and a Tomato (known as The Kitchen Crew). On occasion, they would interact with the serial characters. The final discussion of the overall episode would lead into a song performed by all three that would play over the end credits.

All voices and acting roles/guises in the series were performed by Caroline Berry, John Biggins, Lucy Jenkins and William Petrie.[3]

Nice Chap

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One segment of the show was Nice Chap, an adventure/drama about a cartoon strip character that is brought to life. The serial comprised three "series", each connected in continuity, but could also be viewed as stand-alone storylines

Nice Chap: "Nice Chap", a permanently positive, curious man-child who speaks in rhyme, is the creation of a depressed and lonesome female illustrator (Suzie, creator of Cozicomix). Suzie's only friends are plants, one of which is a yucca named Peter. Nice Chap is brought to life when a bolt of lightning strikes Suzie's drawing board. The two are placed in mortal danger by a rival comics company (Megacomix), managed by Joyce (nicknamed "Clench") and Norris and manned by a megalomaniacal supercomputer (It) and at least one other computer (Chuck). Clench and Norris become friends with Suzie at the end.

Nice Chap 2: Six months later the Supercomputer takes control of Norris and lays siege to a television station which is known as 'Norris Vision'. Nice Chap and Suzie foil its plans and all returns to normal.

Nice Chap 3: Another six months later on the anniversary of his first coming to life Nice Chap himself is turned evil when his creator, in a fit of anger, draws dark eyebrows on him. At the serial's conclusion, The renegade Nice Chap is killed by a doppelganger and his creator gives in to her despair, using a device called a Crash Machine to send herself into Nice Chap's dimension to be with a positive version of him forever.

Critical reaction

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TV Cream was critical, calling Cheapo TV "unfunny TV parodies" and Zounds "terrible drama school style surrealism", and criticising other strands for boredom or lack of originality.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Breakfast Serials". BFI Film and TV Database. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Breakfast Serials". TV Cream. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Raving mad puppets should rouse the kids from their beds". Evening Chronicle. 2 October 1990. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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