Grotbags knows that her bezzazzer won't work on Emu, so she decides to use it on four poor unsuspecting Pink Windmill Kids instead. What lengths will Rod go to in order to undo the damage? I believe this episode was originally broadcast on Wednesday, 27th October, 1982, and it features a full dance rendition of the theme tune, plus the song Ten Feet off the Ground (from the film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band).
Despite being the first episode of only the second series of Emu's World, a lot has changed from previously. In the first place, I gather that production shifted from Broad Street, Birmingham, to the old ATV studios at Elstree. I presume that linked to this was the decision to ditch the children from Pattison's in Coventry in favour of the Corona lot we all know and love, who were based in London. Rod had previously worked with these kids on three of his BBC specials, plus Catrina (his stepdaughter) went there, so it was an obvious decision to make - and it's telling that they stayed in place until the end in 1989, despite production moving back to Birmingham before settling at Lenton Lane, Nottingham.
The other big change is Croc. From the start, the character was meant to be on a child's level, and thus he was short and played by a young actor. Freddie Stevens, who I believe was primarily on board to play Emu when not held by Rod (having previously been a puppeteer on Emu's Broadcasting Company), provided the voice, but at some point it was decided he should go the whole hog and get on screen himself. Here you will see the explanatory regeneration, although it wouldn't be until the next series when they finally started to get the costume right. For those who are interested, here's my Beginners' Guide to Croc:
Series 1 = Blob Croc
Series 2 = Scary Croc
Series 3 onwards = Vintage Croc
First four episodes of 1986 = Botox Croc
Until the end of Emu's Wide World = Classic Croc
1988/9 = Lanky Croc
But this does leave us with one of the great unexplained mysteries of our time... Who's in the Croc suit for most of this episode? Answers on a postcard.
Other things to look out for include the changes in set (including the clear door, removing all mystery when someone knocks), the new hi-tech Grottiscope, Grotbags's improved costume, and some nice and impressive 80s blue screen shrunken effects. From about 5:45, there's a very ambitious continuous shot that lasts a full minute and a quarter, and the sombre moment when Emu unselfishly agrees to something is played out very well. My favourite bit, though, has to be the sardonic phone call as Rod has to wade through a certain level of bureaucracy before finally getting through on the hotline.
I've left in the brief Watch It! continuity at the beginning and end to show what life was like before the transition to Children's ITV just over two months later. It's amazing how dry and unexciting it is in comparison, but I do wonder whether Grotbags ending the episode shouting "Watch it!" is a weird sort of product placement (ident placement?). Oh, and I've no idea what that apology about this being the wrong episode over the end credits it all about. Baffling.
Many thanks to both Jayne and Joe for lending me tapes with this episode, and to them and everyone else for your patience.
P.S. Please believe me when I say this series looks considerably better in 720p than 1080p, due to the amount of processing I've had to do.
(To the best of my knowledge, the contents of this video have never been available commercially anywhere in the world. Please also note that I don't monetise any of my uploads. Nevertheless, if you are a copyright holder and have an objection, please don't hesitate to contact me.)
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