May 8, 1992 - March 24, 1995
Storyline
The central focus on the program is the child actors who are aged between 4 and 10 years.[1] Coming from different cultural, social, and familial backgrounds, the small group of seven children approach their environment with a sense of adventure, fantasy and inquiry.[1] These children feature in the drama elements of the program but are the departure point for all other elements of the program.[1]
Lift Off's heart is its characters: children, adults, puppets, performers-live and animated. Central to Lift Off is the activity of a core group of children. Their play, interactions and inquires from the idea or theme around which each episode revolves. The parents of the main characters are seen in every episode and their interactions reflect a variety of family situations.
The other fantasy characters in Lift Off include: EC-a rag doll, a puppet, a confidante, a friend.
Another of the main characters in the program is a lift called Lotis.[1] Based in the apartment building where two of the families live, Lotis is, to the adult observer, a normal, everyday lift.[1] It takes people to the desired floor, greets them vocally and frustrates them occasionally with its unreliability.[1] To the children, however, Lotis is a friend, a mentor and a fellow explorer of their world.[1] Lotis is an artificial intelligence.[1] She has a computer matrix screen on her back wall on which appear clues, questions, diagrams and games.[1] She is able to take them anywhere in space or time and will sometimes open her doors on the surface of the moon, the beach or the bottom of the ocean.[1]
There are other puppets in Lift Off.[1] Rocky, the frill-necked lizard is an anthropologist and documentary cameraman who is seen fleetingly on location gathering material about the human characters in the program.[1] His humorous documentary films are shown to an audience of frill-necked lizards towards the end of each episode and reflect on the folly of the "two-footers".[1]
The backsacks are another species of regular puppet characters.[1] Travelling on the backs of the children, these limbless eccentrics have a very different outlook on life, primarily because they spend their lives being thrown on the ground, hung on pegs, stuffed full of structure and their attitude to their owners.[1] They are unrecognised workers of the puppet world.[1]
Beverley and her Patches sit in the foyer of the building where most of the children live.[2] There is no ordinary pot-she contains a very long stalk with an eye on the end of it that surveys the world.[2] This is the link with the natural environment-through her eye we see the world.[2]
The Patches have lives of their own.[2] They can break away from the pot and become animated shapes which form and reform together to create other shapes or move to certain rhythms before jumping back onto the pot.[2]
There are documentary segments which present specific skills.[2] These might involve acrobats, gymnasts or dressage events-they model a range of skills which intrigue and challenge children.[2]
Segments
The two main animation segments are "The Munch Kids" and the animated "Feature Story". "The Munch Kids" is a three-minute segment featuring edited discussions with children who tackle topics related to the episode theme. The resulting voice track is presented to animators who visually interpret aspects of the discussion.[1]
Lift Off features a major puppet segment titled "The Wakadoo Café". Directed by Paul Nichola, written by Bob Ellis, Tony Watts and Nancy Black, the café is a dynamic busy social hub filled with fascinating characters and unusual guests. The drama is broken occasionally by performances of all kinds by guest artists, musicians and performers.[1]
Lift Off features a wide range of documentary material, including original footage of Aboriginal children shot in Arnhem Land by Stephen Johnson showing children in skilled activities as well as at play. It also shows different environments, worlds, peoples, animals and plants. The world is presented to the children as an accessible and exciting environment, requiring understanding and care.[1]
TV Show Intro
Sound Effects Used
This show heavily use
Image Gallery
- Lift Off/Image Gallery
Audio Samples
External links
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1991). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1990-1991. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. Template:ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1992). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1991-1992. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. Template:ISBN