The Friendly Giant

I can do no more than echo the sentiments of others on here, that there was something magical about the calm and jocular Friendly Giant and his limbless companions. Loved seeing the cow make its jerky way over the moon. Loved the stories and the walks over the countryside. Loved the arranging of the furniture in front of the fire, a big chair for two more to curl up in. The rocking chair, for someone who likes to rock. All the reliable and comforting things that a child never tires of hearing again and again. It is telling that there is not a single non-positive comment on the IMDb about the Friendly Giant. Click on 'Hated it', and you just get another positive comment. Bob Homme left a fine legacy.

Great part of my childhood too! Something that makes us Canadians - Friendly Giant, Chez Helene and other common kids experiences. Enjoyed reading new biography of Bob Homme - The Friendly Giant - called - no surprise here - Look Up - Way Up. The Palantir Publishing website also has some audio clips of interviews with Bob. So neat to hear his stories. Takes me back to preschool again! Cocoa and cinnamon toast. I was one of the ones who liked the big arm chair for those who like to curl up. My favourite opening scene was when Friendly started in a farm yard. Then it was always so great to see his boot then the castle and then the drawbridge come down. I wish they were out on DVD.

Finding information about the Canadian children's icon The Friendly Giant is very difficult. Apparently there is some reason why the old TV series cannot be released on DVD. Now three generations are deprived of the wonderful nostalgia of a kinder gentler era in Children's TV. That simple armchair was a source of comfort to countless kids in Canada and the US. But, alas, that comfort is gone.

Thankfully, Grant D Fairley has done a masterful job in the 2007 release of "Look Up - Way Up." This is an authorized biography of Friendly based on Grant's personal taped interviews with Bob Homme. You can even hear his voice again at www.thefriendlygiant.info. This is as close as it will ever come to a sequel.

You know, it's been so long since I've seen The Friendly Giant, probably going on 40 years, that I can't remember what actually happened during the show. But I'll always remember how the show began, it was my favorite part. The music, the chairs, the narration, just the whole look. Somehow it was all exactly right.

I was in the Czech Republic last month, and my host took me out to Karlstejn Castle, built by Charles IV of Bohemia, who became the Holy Roman Emperor, it was on the top of a ridge over a deep river valley, for its defensive value. As soon as I got through the gate, my mind clicked on with the recorder, accompanied by a gentle harp, playing "Early One Morning" Fact is, you had to "Look up, Wa-a-ay up" to see the castle, and once inside, there was not a lot of furniture left, maybe three chairs and a fireplace, one was big enough for two kids to curl up in and then you could put a rocking chair in the middle. (Can anyone remember the entire quote? Why hasn't it been added here?) I did look over the turrets for giraffes - even whistled for them. Just waited for someone to say "And there's that boot." It is a beautiful place to tour, but it will always be made more memorable by the connection my mind made back to my childhood and some of its warmest memories.