Skippy

I always liked Skippy better than Lassie and Flipper. Most critics hated Skippy and the entire show. I have not seen it in 20 years, but the location was surely the attraction for me. It was quite a revelation seeing the adventures of a boy in location quite foreign to a Midwest town.

I doubt this would have much appeal to kids today, but you never know. Skippy was smart as a human and the exotic location of Outback Australia may not be as exciting for kids now as it was for me in the 1970s. I wish this was the type of show that would show up from time to time on one of the dozens of channels we have now. It would be good to see these old classics.

As a kid growing up in West Australia in the late 60s this was one of the few TV shows I watched that was Australian. For the most part Aussie kids grew up watching American and British TV series and thinking that dolphins could talk, doctors could time-travel and birds flew south for the winter. All that changed when Skippy hopped into our lives and gave us Australian stories, Australian settings, Australian accents and Australian heroes. I had a Skippy cup, Skippy plate and insisted my Skippy Peanut Butter sandwiches and milk were served with them. We loved Skippy and were very proud when we discovered that the rest of the world loved Skippy too. The show was dubbed into 25 languages and was shown in 128 countries, something we Aussies didn't think possible for an Aussie TV show. We had thought that to be successful meant selling our TV shows to the American and British networks where our accent was believed to be a liability. At that time if an Aussie film or TV show made it to American audiences it was usually dubbed with American accented voices (Mad Max) or perceived as a British product. What Skippy demonstrated was that an Australian series could be successful beyond the American and British markets. Consequently Australian TV producers gained the confidence to produce more Aussie TV series knowing that they could sell them successfully to parts of the world where our strange accent wasn't an issue. Today the Aussie TV industry exports significantly more than it imports., particularly in children's programming. While Skippy is showing its age today, it's high production values, imaginative scripts and cultural integrity made it a quality product for its time. While it will always be a sentimental childhood favourite for most Aussies, it should also be remembered for its role as a catalyst for the establishment of a viable Australian TV & Film industry. It seems today that an Aussie accent is an asset in Hollywood and a talking kangaroo had more than a little to do with it.

I enjoy a lot of the 60's & 70's family TV shows that are back on TV. Skippy is now shown on the KTV channel. I get it on Dish. I'm watching it right now; on a Sunday afternoon.

I like the outdoor setting of Skippy.

Typical bad guy gets his just dues at the end of the show...I love it.

Who cares if the 'click' noise is fake. It's kind of silly, but I guess they wanted to find a way to have Skippy 'communicate'.

We get to see other animals native to Australia, as well.

Need more fun, family shows on TV. Glad to see there a few new ones out now!

This series is timeless. It will be watched in 100 years time.

You cannot get back to the innocent 50's 60's of Australian National Park life because there are so many people these days and so few animals.

This was made in the early years of TV when TV's were just becoming accessible to all in Australia. It no doubt helped popularise Australia.

Unfortunately Australia is no longer a quirky low populated part of world-it is modern country with large and complex cities with almost non-stop 24 hour activity.

Give me back my simple childhood days of coming home from school and watching Skippy or re-runs of Skippy.

I was even too young to appreciate Lisa Goddard as the 16-17 yo Englsih girl.

God bless all creatures great and small like Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.

I thought even as a kid that this show was really nice, and revisiting this show after several years of not being able to find it I still do. The theme song is wonderful, and stuck in my head for a long while, and the Australian locations are really striking. The story lines were gripping, original and touching, yes perhaps there were moments when it was predictable but that is occasionally. The dialogue was also good in my opinion, not superb but it was humorous with some levels of intelligence. The acting from all the human actors is very good and the characters aren't annoying, but Skippy the Kangaroo steals the show, he is really cute and endearing not to mention smart. Overall, a nice show, that is worth watching for Skippy and the scenery. 8/10 Bethany Cox