''Couch Potato'' was an Australian children's television show broadcast on ABC TV in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and a staple of Classic ABC. Airing on Sunday mornings, it was a "wrapper" show linking three or four animated or live action shows aimed at older pre-teen and young teenage audiences.

Programmes

* ''

The Adventures of Sam ''The Adventures of Sam'' was an Australian children's animated television serial, written by Ken Kelso, that aired on the ABC in 1999. Set in the 1850s, it followed a sea-faring boy named Sam Donahue as he goes on many adventures around the wo ...

'' * ''

Alias the Jester ''Alias the Jester'' is a British animated series created by Cosgrove Hall Films, airing in 13 episodes on ITV starting on 13 November 1985. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation aired the show in 1987 during their after school timeslot and ...

'' * ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...

'' * ''

The Angry Beavers ''The Angry Beavers'' is an American animated television series created by Mitch Schauer for Nickelodeon. The series revolves around Norbert and Daggett Beaver, two young beaver brothers who have moved out of their parents' home to become bachel ...

'' * ''

The Animals of Farthing Wood The Animals of Farthing Wood is a series of books about a group of woodland animals. It originated with the 1979 book, ''The Animals of Farthing Wood'', by Colin Dann, and was followed by six sequels and a prequel by Dann. An animated ''Anim ...

'' * ''

Animated Classic Showcase Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

'' * '' Aquila'' * ''

Archibald the Koala ''Archibald the Koala'' is a 1998 British animated children's television series produced by Millimages in association with HiT Entertainment. The show began in September 1998 and starting airing on ITV on its children's block CITV. The show its ...

'' * ''

The Baby-Sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...

'' * ''

Bananaman Bananaman is a fictional character appearing in British comic books. Bananaman is a parody of traditional superheroes, being portrayed as a schoolboy who is transformed into a muscled, caped adult man when he eats a banana. The character origin ...

'' * '' Bangers and Mash'' * '' The Biz'' * '' Bump in the Night'' * ''

The Cat Came Back "The Cat Came Back" is a comic song written by Harry S. Miller in Christmas 1893. It has since entered the folk tradition and been recorded under variations of the title—"But the Cat Came Back", "And the Cat Came Back", etc. It is also a po ...

'' * ''

Clowning Around ''Clowning Around'' is a 1992 Australian family film that was shot on location in Perth, Western Australia and Paris, France. It was based on the novel ''Clowning Sim'' by David Martin.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', A ...

'' * '' Cro'' * '' Danger: Marmalade At Work'' * '' Danger Mouse'' * ''

The Demon Headmaster ''The Demon Headmaster'' is a series of books by Gillian Cross which were later adapted as a television series starring Terrence Hardiman in the title role and Frances Amey as Dinah. The title character is a strange being with the powers of hy ...

'' * ''

Dog Tracer The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...

'' * ''

The Dreamstone ''The Dreamstone'' is a British animated television series that ran for four series, with 13 episodes per series between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp, and the series was written by Sue Radley ...

'' * '' EC Plays Lift Off'' * ''

Educating Marmalade Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

'' * ''

Escape from Jupiter ''Escape from Jupiter'' is an Australian children's science fiction drama which aired from 26 November 1994 to 11 March 1995 on ABC. Concerning a small group of children on Jupiter's moon Io, the series ran for 13 episodes. When one of Io's ...

'' * ''

Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...

'' * '' The Genie From Down Under'' * ''

Ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

'' * ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series ''Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated s ...

'' * ''

Johnson and Friends ''Johnson and Friends'' is an Australian live action/ puppet children’s television program that originally aired on ABC from 3 September 1990 to 10 July 1997. It was produced by Film Australia and was created by Ron Saunders, John Patterson ...

'' * '' Kideo'' * '' Lift Off'' * '' Minty'' * ''

Mot Mot or MOT may refer to: Media * Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' * ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine * Mot (Star Trek), a minor character in ''Star Trek: The Next Gene ...

'' * '' Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All'' * '' Orson and Olivia'' * ''

Plasmo Plasmo (stylised as PLASMO) is an Australian children's science-fiction television, science fiction claymation TV series that consisted of a half-hour short film ("Happy Hatchday to Plasmo") made in 1989 followed by thirteen 5-minute episodes ...

'' * '' The Real Story of...'' * ''

Return to Jupiter ''Return to Jupiter'' was an Australian television series, a 13-part follow-up to ''Escape from Jupiter''. It aired in Australia from 23 March to 15 June 1997. Plot After their escape from Io, Michael, Kumiko, Gerard and Anna, last seen in ''E ...

'' * ''

Rocko's Modern Life ''Rocko's Modern Life'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an anthropomorphic Australian immigrant wallaby named Rocko and his friends: the eccentric steer ...

'' * ''

Roland Rat Roland Rat is a British television puppet character. He was created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, who had previously designed and operated Mooncat, a puppet in the Children's ITV television programme '' Get Up and Go!'' Claridge work ...

'' * '' Roland Rat Goes East'' * '' Roland Rat's Winter Wonderland'' * ''

Round the Bend ''Round the Bend!'' is a satirical British children's television series, which ran on Children's ITV for three series from January 6, 1989, to May 7, 1991. The programme was produced by Hat Trick Productions for Yorkshire Television. After its ...

'' * ''

Round the Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy television series based on stories by author Paul Jennings that follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family. The series was created and produced by Patricia Edgar, and develope ...

'' * ''

Santo Bugito ''Santo Bugito'' is an American animated television series produced and developed by Klasky-Csupo for CBS and created by Arlene Klasky. It ran for thirteen episodes and revolved around the goings on in a fictional community of insects. The show w ...

'' * ''

The Secret World of Alex Mack ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' is an American television series that ran from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, on Nickelodeon (part of the SNICK line-up). The series was co-created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch and was produced by Lync ...

'' * ''

Simon and the Witch ''Simon and the Witch'' is a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It also refers to the name of the series, which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy, who has a friend wh ...

'' * ''

SimsalaGrimm ''Simsala Grimm'' is a German animated children's television series, consisting of stories based on fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and other notable authors. The series was created by André Sikojev, Stefan Beiten and ...

'' * ''

Ship to Shore ''Ship to Shore'' is an Australian children's television series devised by David Rapsey and written by Glenda Hambly, John Rapsey, Mary Morris, Everett de Roche, Ysabelle Dean, Jon Stephens and others. The program was shown on the ABC and Chan ...

'' * ''

Stickin' Around ''Stickin' Around'' is a Canadian animated children's television series produced by Nelvana and created by Robin Steele and Brianne Leary. The series originally aired from August 14, 1996 until April 13, 1998. ''Stickin' Around'', originating as ...

'' * ''

Sun on the Stubble ''Sun on the Stubble'' is a novel by Colin Thiele, published in 1961. It tells the story of a German immigrant family living in rural South Australia during the 1930s. Colin Thiele was a South Australian educator and school principal. Television ...

'' * ''

SuperTed ''SuperTed'' is a Welsh superhero animated television series about an anthropomorphic teddy bear with superpowers, created by writer and animator Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear o ...

'' * '' Toucan Tecs'' * ''

The Trap Door ''The Trap Door'' is a British animated television series, originally shown in the United Kingdom in 1986. The plot revolves around the daily lives and the misadventures of a group of monsters living in a castle. These include a blue creatur ...

'' * '' True Tilda'' * ''

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat ''The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat'' is an American animated television series produced by Film Roman. The series first aired on September 16, 1995 on CBS lasting for two seasons with the final episode airing on April 12, 1997. The first season ...

'' * ''

Watt on Earth ''Watt on Earth'' is a children's television programme that ran for two 12-episode series in 1991 and 1992, shown as part of Children's BBC. It was written by the ''Doctor Who'' writers Pip and Jane Baker. Premise The show centres around the ...

'' * ''

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. 14 of Potter's stories were a ...

'' * ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of ...

Presenters

Grant Piro Grant Piro is an Australian actor. He is best known as the host of the children's television show ''Couch Potato'' on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He also appeared as Captain Schnepel in Escape From Pretoria. Career He began his care ...

was the original host and stayed on the show for six years from 1991 to 1996. During its run, Couch Potato's presenters included

David Erskine
aka Gilbert Gusset,

Joey Kennedy Joey Kennedy (born Joe David Kennedy Jr.) is an American journalist who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. Kennedy was born in southeastern Texas and grew up in southern Louisiana. He later moved to Alabama. He came to ''The Birmingham News'' as a spor ...

, Jess Keeley, Jane Nield, Sam Prest, David Heinrich and

Abby Coleman Abby Jane Coleman (born 26 May 1981) is an Australian radio presenter and comedian living in Brisbane, currently employed with B105 FM, B105. She rose to fame by finishing runner-up on the The Mole (Australian season 1), first season of the Aust ...

History

* The show debuted on 17 March 1991 and ended on 24 June 2001. * Originally intended to be an educational program for children,

was asked to host by an Adelaide producer of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Ten episodes were initially filmed, based on science experiments in conjunction with the education department at the ABC. * According to

, "a producer and I decided to hijack the program. We said, 'how about we try and make it a bit more anarchic?’ We decided to break some of the ABC's rules and see how much we could get away with and we ended up breaking a lot of rules over the next six years. ''Couch Potato'' stopped being educational and became more about comic sketches and I think that's where the appeal took off”. * In February 2005, ''Couch Potato'' had a spiritual successor in a similar show called ''

Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

'' which aired on weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings until 30 January 2010.

References

External links

Couch Potato
(1991) on IMDB.com Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Australian children's television series 1991 Australian television series debuts 2001 Australian television series endings {{Australia-tv-prog-stub

Programmes

Presenters

History

See also

References

External links