Web Sites »The Chestnut

the chestnut little gems hattytown talesWith on-demand, file sharing, DVD releases, youtube and all the other over abundance of media sources, it's rare to have a television show that you can't find. But when there is one, the finding of it becomes an obsession and the possession of it seems as important as breathing and as valuable as gold.

For me there are three examples of such shows. First, Swan's Crossing which is possibly the best over the top pre teen soap opera ever invented and simply impossible to get a copy of. Sadly an old friend used to own the entire series but destroyed them in an attempt to free himself from a Swan's Crossing obsession and become a real live “cool” boy.

My second obsession is one that I have not yet met a fan of–or even anyone that remembers it. It was called The Third Eye–a miniseries that aired on Nickelodeon and consisted of separate British and Australian mini stories mostly about children and the occult. It was a show we gathered around, a bit late at night if I remember correctly, after the sun was down and my little imagination was dazzled and awed. I've been doing research on the series and that's how I stumbled across The Chestnut: The Home of Little Gems.

Not only were the episodes Into the Labyrinth and The Witches and the Grinnygog here, but each have screen shots and detailed descriptions. Oh happy day! Sadly, neither of these are available on VHS or DVD, but Children of the Stones is. I have already ordered it and will report my findings soon.

The other tidbit of information, for which I will always be indebted to The Chestnut for, concerns my last obscure obsession. For literally years I have been asking people if they remember a kids show with stop motion where all the buildings were different hats. No dice. I thought I had finally solved the mystery when I tapped into Mike's vast TV knowledge and he suggested it might be Lidsville, a Sid and Marty Kroft production, starring a grotesquely made-up Charles Nelson Reilly, but, alas, when I saw the Lidsville intro, it didn't match my memories at all.

The Chestnut finally solved the riddle – the show I remember is called Hattytown Tales! The moment I saw the photo on this site I felt like dancing and leaping. They even have an mp3 of the theme song.

The site is superb at introducing other strange and forgotten shows that you may or may not of heard of like: The Singing Ringing Tree, Michael Bentine's Potty Time, Fingerbobs, and Choky (another John Wyndham adaptation).


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Posted on January 14, 2008

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