From 1979, the 13-part series Children of Fire Mountain also had a period setting, and also ended up being sold to the BBC. In the award-winning show, Terence Cooper plays Englishman Sir Charles Pemberton, who is in New Zealand in the early 1900s recovering from illness. He starts to scheme to build a thermal spa in the town of Wainamu. Conflict ensues as the spa's planned location is on Maori land. The action is seen through the eyes of youngsters: hotelier's son Tom, and Pemberton's granddaughter Sarah Jane, who - along with an erupting volcano - eventually impart a lesson on Sir Charles.
View Children of Fire Mountain here:
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/children-of-fire-mountain-tom-episode-one-1979-5cb
Children of the Dog Star
The late 1970s and on through the 1980s was a golden period for New Zealand kidult TV drama, and one of the script-writers at the forefront of this success was Ken Catran. He adapted Maurice Gee's classic book Under the Mountain for TV, and then - in 1984 - wrote his own tale of teen extraterrestrial contact - Children of the Dog Star. While holidaying with relatives in the country, astronomy-mad Gretchen discovers that a farm weathervane has mysterious powers. In this episode of the girl-power sci-fi series, the weathervane does strange things to cars and appliances. Veteran actors Zac Wallace and Roy Billing feature, and future TV weatherman Jim Hickey cameos.
Watch Children of the Dog Star here:
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/children-of-the-dog-star-episode-two-power-stop-1984
Steel Riders
Ken Catran also wrote popular 1987 kids' series Steel Riders - a show that has developed something of a cult following with BMX bike enthusiasts. As the opening titles demonstrate, the series features all the hardware an 80s-era kid could want - BMXs, motorcycles, and home computers. In this first episode, Sandra, Mike and their father move into the city, arriving just in time for two jewel thieves to crash into their lives after a daring heist at Auckland Museum, and a chase through the city.
See Steel Riders here:
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/steel-riders-bloodstones-episode-one-1987
The Champion
Writer Maurice Gee also played a significant role in the 1980s wave of successful kidult drama, and his series The Champion has the distinction of being the last drama to be made in-house at TVNZ. Set in Henderson, West Auckland over three weeks in early 1943, it centres on 12-year-old Rex (Milan Borich - later the lead singer in Pluto) and a black American GI billeted with his family.
View The Champion here:
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-champion-yankee-soldier-1989
The Early Bird Show
By 1989, TV3 had arrived on the scene. It was a while before they got into commissioning any local children's drama, but right from the beginning they had a popular kids entertainment series in The Early Bird Show. Hosted by Suzy Cato and puppet Russell Rooster, the show combined skits, interviews and competitions, with overseas cartoons. In this August 1991 compilation package from the show, "Bugman" Ruud Kleinpaste talks about cockroaches (with specimens), Billy T James is remembered with an excerpt from an appearance on the show, and there are time-honoured jokes from Kiri Kea and various ducklings. Mercifully, Suzy protects Russell from the fact she is giving away fried chicken vouchers.
Watch The Early Bird Show here:
http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-early-bird-show-excerpts-1991
