Rainbow

The Rainbow Crew: Geoffrey, George, Zippy and Bungle. How cool is Geoffrey's jumper?

Ah yes, Rainbow, undoubtedly one of the most legendary shows ever made. Rainbow first aired on ITV as an alternative to BBC's successful Playschool series in 1972 and followed the lives of the bold but loveable chatterbox Zippy, male pink hippo George and Bungle, who has been described as "The Jar-Jar Binks of the Rainbow household".

They were all kept in check by the long-suffering but always smiling Geoffrey, (who looks remarkably like Chris Tarrant) and occasionally by the all-singing, all-dancing Rod, Freddy and Jane (who later got their own series, imaginatively titled Rod, Freddy and Jane). The show won countless awards until 1992, when after twenty years it took it's rightful place in that great archive in the sky.

Not surprisingly, Rainbow has attained cult status, with countless websites dedicated to the show and its characters and various sorts of merchandise from soft toys and posters to DVDs and videos. Of all of the characters, it's probably unsurprising that Zippy was the star of the show. Sporting rather dashing yellow fur, gigantic blue eyes and a zip for a mouth, he was endearingly mischievous and was never too far away from trouble of some sort. Small wonder he was so popular with so many small kids...

Whereas Zippy was cheeky, lively and spontaneous, George was often the innocent and quiet voice of reason. He also had what is undoubtedly the most hilarious voice ever heard on Television (As an aside, the voices for Zippy and George were both done by the same man, Roy Skeleton, and he claims he loved it when Zippy and George argued as it meant he had to keep changing his voice back and forth!) Ever-so-shy George could often be seen happily playing with his cars, colouring in things and discouraging Zippy from doing something stupid like stealing biscuits. Kind-natured and generous, George is rightfully considered a legendary figure, and remains a role model for male pink hippos everywhere.

And then there was Bungle. If Bungle was a real person, he'd probably be a 30 year old mature student who still doesn't know how to cook and sits all day in his underpants watching Dr. Phil. Curiously, Bungle would always be seen wearing nothing but his fur during the day, but always put on blue and white striped pyjamas before going to bed. Poor old Bungle was very much over-shadowed by the Zippy and George double act (no mean feat considering he was six feet tall), but to his credit has got his career back on track with an appearance in Peter Kay and Tony Christie's hilarious video for their Number One hit, Amarillo.

Rainbow had something for all types of kids:  Zippy, George and Bungle provided great entertainment but at the same time educated them in a way that wasn't boring, primarily with songs and arts and crafts. All in all, Rainbow stands the test of time as one of the greatest children's shows ever made, and one of my personal favourites, if for nothing more than for the sight of Geoffrey zipping up Zippy's mouth when he got too much...

By: Patrick Duffy

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