Zokko - was i imagining it?

[airbolt]

I remember watching a children's programme in the late 1960's or early 70's called Zokko. Does anyone remember it ?

[thecooler]

Zokko, score 4 - Felix. Yup, 1969 IIRC. Long gone into the ether, apart from a few clips...

[thecooler]

Have a look here: http://www.panatropic.net/Yak/yak1/yak1.html

[smithy]

is that the one that had an arabian nights cartoon thing in where a bloke says "size of a mouse" and goes little?

[airbolt]

I remember the Cartoon , Smithy! He also went " Size of an Elephant! " . There was also a cartoon about the Count of Monte Cristo , though that could have been on during the Banana Splits?

[warpig]

Was the Arabian nights not on The Banana Splits programme???.

[smithy]

your probably right about banana splits and the arabian nights, I do remember the name zokko though

[airbolt]

Yep , Arabian Nights was on the Banana Splits ! http://www.dfcom.freeserve.co.uk/hbw/banana/toons.htm . It's worth noting that the Shape Changers name was Bez , not to be confused with the " Dancer " from Happy Mondays!

[airwalk]

wasn't it a talking pinball machine?

[tfb62]

Yep. I remember Zokko. It was a talking pinball machine and I could never really undertand what it was saying. On BBC1 as I recall.

[thejuggler]

Zokko? I remember it with affection. My long departed best mate and I were the only ones at school who had any idea what we were talking about and now when I mention it, people think I have either been taking something, or I should be taking something. Forget Swapshop (crap), you can even forget Tiswas (brilliant)too , Zokko was the forerunner of all Saturday morning shows and the standard by which all Saturday morning shows will be judge for time immemorial. Amateurish? Yes, but with a certain quality that has and will remain unsurpassed. Once seen who could forget the cartoon capers of the astronaut's astronaut, Skayn? And what about those immortal lines, "Skayn! Skayn! Auden's dead Skayn!" No not your imagination, just your membership to a small and very exclusive club of televisual connoisseurs. Zokko - Score 10.

[kentishmale]

fondly remembered for the pinball and that apocalyptic serial cartoon that had me gripped ( I was very young) machine . I think arabian knights was on both Zokko and banana splits but it was a long time ago.

[KEV MAC]

Remember a bit!The pinball machine compared the programme of small puppet sketches, Fergus the fish whos Mum was always telling him to stop biting his tail. And an African witch doctor called Bones often in trouble with the Big Chief. Each character had their own theme tune his starting something like "Poor old Bones is in a stew trying to think just what to do" There was also a snake called Samantha whos song went"Samantha the sweet talking snake lives in a pool by the lake, she glides through the trees with the greatest of ease, Samantha the sweet talking snake" Cant remember much else for the minute but it may come to me!

[johannkloos]

Hi no you were not imagining it. I keep trying to explain to my friends about this programme. I particularly remember Skayn, the sci-fi serial. That show was part of my childhood and I'm glad some people still remember it, even though our memories are not clear. Was Banana Splits in it? It was crazy a bit ahead of its time whilst completely of it too. Anyone remember Don Quick? or a 60's drama that featured a murderous snowman? I thought it was Sexton Blake.. something like that.. Help! Start running!

[al1961]

You're not imagining it. It was a pinball machine, and it used to start all of it's announcements with "zokko. Ho ho ..." then whatever was on. At the end of the program it used to say "Zokko, ho ho, game over" and fade to black. I'm glad someone else remembers it. Whenever I mention programmess like Zokko or Sir Prancelot, I get blank looks as if I'm making it up.

[Dave of Mort]

Great to find others who remember Zokko. I, too, suffered all the blank looks etc. Didn't the Banana Splits start out as a 'slot' in Zokko and then get their own show? I seem also to remember that there was a character in some adventure series and people used to say 'Oh-oh, Chungo!'and he used to appear or something, a kind of half-mad character who often ended up saving the day. Anyone remember him? I also think that, in the last series of Zokko, the pinball machine had been 'retired' and was just replaced by the word 'Zokko' in that pop-art kind of font which appeared on the screen with a loud pop...or am I now imgaining things that never happened?

[TOK60]

I thought I was the only one to remember this show!It was nothing to do with the Banana Splits to my memory. It was just clips,jokes and Skayn. 'Oh oh Chongo!' was from 'Danger Island', which was on Banana Splits along with Arabian Nights cartoon. To Kev Mac, I think the 'witch dr' puppet show you refer to may have been 'Sugarball' the adventures of a jungle native boy also featuring 'big chief Bilbo'. Now here's one for you all, who remembers a short lived show called 'WHOOSH! All I remember is a canal bank, a cottage interior and a man with a beard! Good luck!

[Boogs]

I seem to remember the pinball machine saying "score sixteen serial" then it went to the continuing space story.

[Potless]

I remember Zokko very clearly, being a total TV addict in the 60's and 70's. The continuity announcer first introduced it as a show for children and adults who had reading difficulties, much as Vision On was primarily designed for children with impaired hearing.

It was an innovative show at the time, and linked together some wildly varied segments, including cartoons, comedy sketches, documentary pieces, etc.

I found Zokko the pinball machine just a little bit scary, and with him in total control of the show the whole experience seemed slightly surreal! He would announce a score after each pinball was released, and each score corresponded to a particular style of programme segment, e.g. "Zokko - score 15 - Ha ha!" would introduce a comedy sketch.

The sight of a silver pinball careering around, with lots of flashing lights between every segment, was bound to get a bit old after a while, so later series changed the format. All I can remember is a huge sci-fi type computer linking everything, with lots of tubes filled with bubbling coloured liquid instead of the pinball machine, and early Moog synthesizer music as the sig tune.

[Tiswasfan]

Does anyone remember a Saturday morning kids TV show in about 1970 or '71 hosted by Ed Stewpot Stewart? Am I dreaming it? I was very young at the time (about 3 or 4 years old) and I have these weird, vague memories of a show with Ed Stewart where there were 2 aliens walking about the streets.