''After School'' was a New Zealand children's television programme that aired weekday afternoons on TV One and, later, Network Two from March 1981 to December 1988. It was produced in-house by TVNZ. Olly Ohlson was the original presenter and would host links between various segments and programming. He was the first Māori presenter on New Zealand television to anchor a children's show, and the programme was also one of the first New Zealand shows to incorporate Te Reo, the Māori language, as well as

Sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

into its scripts. In the mid-1980s Olly was joined occasionally in the links items by Richard Evans and Annie Roach, who eventually took over the hosting roles, and towards the end of its run the show featured the birth of the puppet alien Thingee and the introduction of

Jason Gunn Jason Gunn (born 26 December 1968) is a New Zealand television and radio personality. He is known for '' The Son of a Gunn Show, What Now, Dancing with the Stars, Wheel of Fortune'', and ''The Rich List'', and also afternoon shows on radio sta ...

as a presenter. ''After School'' was ended in December 1988 and the following year in February 1989 the mid-afternoon programming block was split up into two separate links shows, ''After 2'', for younger children (which had Jason Gunn and Thingee carrying over as presenters), and ''3.45: Live!'' for the 10-14 age group (initially hosted by Fenella Bathfield and Nigel Hurst).

Background

The concept of ''After School'' came from TVNZ's then head of children's programming, Hal Weston, who wished to have more Māori programming on the air. Olly Ohlson was chosen by producer Ian Cumming to be the anchor for the show in order to be a male role model for viewers and because of his knowledge of te reo Māori. ''After School'' was made and recorded at the TVNZ Christchurch studios and the opening titles were created with

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

by award-winning animator Ken Clark.

''After 2''

''After School'' ended in December 1988 and was replaced in February 1989 by ''After 2''. Jason Gunn and Thingee carried over as presenters of ''After 2'' which was designed for younger children and aired weekdays on Network Two / Channel 2 from around 2.15 – 2.25pm until ''3.45: Live!''. When ''3.45: Live!'' ended in December 1990, ''After 2'' moved to a 2.30pm start and a 4pm finish from February 1991.

''The Breakfast Club''

After the initial success of ''After 2'' during 1989, a Saturday morning edition was produced from November that year called ''The Breakfast Club'', hosted by Jason Gunn. Screening at 7am and, later, 6.30am (prior to '' What Now'' at 8am) on Saturday mornings until December 1991, ''The Breakfast Club'' was a wrapper programme which would mostly air cartoons from the US and Canada including ''

Popples Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored marsupial teddy bears with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character ...

'', ''

Groovie Goolies ''Groovie Goolies'' is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1971. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its mo ...

'', '' Bobby's World'', '' My Little Pony'', '' Galtar and the Golden Lance'', ''

Denver, the Last Dinosaur ''Denver, the Last Dinosaur'' is TV an animated series produced by World Events Productions and . It was nationally syndicated throughout the United States in 1988 with reruns airing until 1990. In the show, a dinosaur hatches from a petrified egg ...

'', '' Heathcliff'', ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985 to March 19, 1991 in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985 to August 28, 1992 in the U.S., with three preceding television specials from ...

'' and ''

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated mystery comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the eighth incarnation of the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise and depicts younger versions of the title character and his human companion ...

''.

Cancellation

After three years of both ''After 2'' and ''The Breakfast Club'', TVNZ decided to replace them with '' Jase TV'' and ''

The Son of a Gunn Show ''The Son of a Gunn Show'' was a New Zealand after-school, children's television show, hosted by Jason Gunn, that aired on TVNZ from 1992, to the final episode in 1995. It was produced in the Christchurch TVNZ Building and finished when the pro ...

'' on weekdays and extend its Saturday morning programme ''What Now'' to three hours from February 1992.

Cultural impact

The show was groundbreaking in using Māori and Sign language on the show, and Ohlson's sign-off – "Keep cool till after school" (a phrase from his daughter), with accompanying sign language – became part of national vernacular. The puppet Thingee hatched out of an egg on the show. The character was a regular feature on the show and would go on to be featured in ''After 2'', ''The Son of a Gunn Show'', ''What Now'' and ''Jase TV''.

Awards

* 1982 New Zealand Feltex Awards: Best New Talent (Olly Ohlson)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0191676
After School clips
New Zealand on Screen New Zealand children's television series 1981 New Zealand television series debuts 1988 New Zealand television series endings 1980s New Zealand television series New Zealand television shows featuring puppetry