Welcome to "The Foot Of Our Stairs," where we travel through the landscapes of retro TV magic! Our charismatic English host invites you to join an exploration of TV from the past, revelling in the nostalgia of sitcoms, sci-fi, drama, kids' tv, soaps and everything in-between. From the UK to the USA; Australia to Europe, our channel delivers a global kaleidoscope of timeless television treasures.
Immerse yourself in our personally curated list videos.
Subscribe now to unlock a treasure trove of content, designed to transport you to an era where TV was more than just a screen - it was a portal to something special!
Join our growing community, where every click is a step toward preserving the heart and soul of vintage television. Dive into the archives, where the magic of bygone shows is lovingly curated for your indulgence. "The Foot Of Our Stairs" - where nostalgia comes to life!
Completely forgotten - Manimal. An 80's American series about a guy that could turn into any animal, using his abilities to help law enforcement. Only run for 1 series but I remember being scared at the transformations which reminded me of the epic American Werewolf In London transformation scene.
Forgotten and good - The Animals Of Farthing Wood. An epic cartoon on CBBC about a bunch of animals working together to find their home. I think that was the plot. It was a big deal back in the day.
Here is one for you if you have not done it already, I put forward “The Red Hand Gang” for Forgotten/Excellent!! Loved this crime fighting kids tv show from the early 80’s,
OH MY BLOODY GOD! I REMEMBER CAPTAIN ZEP - SPACE DETECTIVE! That definitely needs an inclusion as Forgotten ... Its hard to describe as each Episode was simply scenes for a Game Show for the kids to try and solve clues to win prizes, But the Scenes were Creatively done super imposing Live action Actors onto 2D Comic Style Scenery!!! It did not last long, a shame as I kind of enjoyed it (My Mother hated it though And admittedly, We did prefer KNIGHTMARE, Who didn't?)
Since I mentioned Ghostwriter myself, it was nice to see it appear in this episode, a show that I thought about for forgotten (or at least I think most people might not remember it) is Blood Drive, that was a good show. Terrible shows were The Buccaneers and Casey Jones, and two excellent shows were The Fugitive and the original version of The Invaders.
The Smoking Room (BBC2) was a brilliant 90s comedy show featuring Robert Webb, and many others. Really great humour and real life aspects and also very ‘of the time’ as you don’t get smoking rooms anymore!
Some more excellent kids shows for your consideration that I remember from my childhood. I might have commented on this one before but Jamie and The Magic Torch is excellent and it might have the best theme tune ever for a kids show, or for any show at that. The characters in it are so weird and the colours so psychedelic that if you told me that the creators were all on drugs when they made it I’d believe you. Another excellent show that I remember, probably more because of the theme tune rather than the content, is The Flumps. Not to be confused with the marshmallow sweets these were little round furry characters made up of a family of Grandpa Flump, Ma & Pa Flump and the kids Perkin, Posie & Pootle. These next two I have the feeling you might have already mentioned but there have been so many of these videos I can’t remember but I’ll suggest them anyway. Chorlton and the Wheelies Mr Benn
Has anyone suggested The Adventure Game (1980-6) yet? This was a gameshow set on the Planet Arg, where mischievous shape shifting dragons called Argonds made teams of celebrities and occasional members of the public solve puzzles to allow them to return to Earth. It had a Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy meets The Crystal Maze vibe to it. The best remembered part is the Vortex, where contestants try to avoid a BBC Micro sprite on a grid. This show was either a joy to watch when clever folks like Graeme Garden of the Goodies participated, or excruciating slow when the less capable teams struggled. My rating? Doogy Rev, obviously.
This Is Jinsy (2010-14) Excellent, if you like this sort of thing. This is a very strange sitcom set on the fictional Channel Island of Jinsy. Its setting is a cross between the original Wicker Man movie, 1984 and Monty Python at its most surreal. It featured cameos from Greg Davies, David Tennant, Rob Brydon, Catherine Tate, Peter Serafinowicz, Kevin Eldon, Harry Hill amongst many others. Highlights include the element report with Tracee Henge, Sandy's Choice (a talent contest judged by a dog), the Punishment Roundup with Mild Electricals and Moosik Pak featuring folk dribbler Melody Lane.
Sir, thank you for using my suggestion. If I may balance it with an 'Excellent' and 'Forgotten', may I suggest 'War Planets'. Based loosely on an old board game of all things, it centers on a star system of warring societies on different worlds that are warned by the last survivor of a planet that was literally consumed by a race called the Beast that they're in danger of being next. I believe it suffered like 'Watership Down' where it was advertised as a kids show, but by all means was not. It tackled mature subjects such as racism, death and intimacy brilliantly! Loved it. Highest recommendation!
No hate here for the forgotten gems and to prove it here's one I recently recalled - long running gadget/tinkering challenge 'game show' Junkyard Wars. Always enjoyed watching this one; here's the IMDB summary: Two rival teams are given the task of building some kind of machine, in one day, using only the items found in an unusually well-stocked scrapyard. Machines constructed to date have included trebuchets, hovercraft, rockets, and more.
Rubbish - Train 48 (Global TV, 2003-2005) A semi-improvised soap opera about passengers on a Toronto-to-Burlington train, they would tape and air the show all in one day. The quality was about what you would expect from something you can't really do multiple takes of. Also, the show was chock full of blatant product placement.
I loved the greatest american hero it was a show about this ordinary american guy who come's across this superhero costume which was left by aliens I think anyway it gave superhero abilities it was hilarious
It was left by aliens, but he then went and lost the instruction book they gave him. Fabulous theme tune. Which became George's ansaphone message on Seinfeld.
Max Headroom actually had a thirteen episode series that followed on from Twenty minutes into the future. Channel four showed it about 10.45pm on a wednesday night. The role of boy genius scientist Bryce was recast in this. And they toned his character down also. Since he was utterly amoral in the pilot they tried to make him more quirky and likeable. It kind of worked. Show was great. Forgotten: Rocky O'Rourke. 1976 children's bbc1 show. Four episodes that went out in that 5.10pm slot after Newsround. Based on the novel 'a pair of Jesus Boots', it was the story of a boy in Liverpool who is a teenage gang leader and possibly heading down the wrong path. Solid drama of the kind they used to make. But the reason I remember it: People will remember how in the Dr. Who episode 'Rose' in 2005, someone pressed the wrong button at the bbc and you heard Graham Norton for a moment. Some might remember Itv doing that in the 70's during 'Bouquet of Barbed Wire' when you suddenly heard a trailer for the Muppet Show. Well, I was watching part one of Rocky O'Rourke when it went out live. And in the middle of it, you suddenly heard a trailer for the first episode of Secret Army. Which was due to start later that night. I know plenty of people who remember the Dr. Who one. One or two who remember the Itv one. But I've never met anyone else at all who was watching Rocky O'rourke when that happened. Thus I conclude it's forgotten. Be interesting to hear if anyone does remember it.
2 Excellent choices, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" wich debuted in 1988 on an indipendant channel KTMA in Hopkins Minnesota USA then The Comedy Channel from 1989-1991, Comedy Central from 1991- 1996, Sci-fi Channel from 1997- 1999, Netflix from 2017- 2018, and finally the Gizmoplex which started in 2022. A man (or woman In the case of Season 13) is trapped in space by Mad Scientists in space, and forced to watch bad movies, however the subject of the Mads' experiments always have help from their Robot friends as they make jokes during the movies they watch the end results for the most part is hilarious. And, "Let's Make a Deal" on CBS in the USA, an update of a Game Show that started in 1963, the newest version started in 2009. Wayne Brady, Jonathan Magnum, and Tiffany Coyne, play games with Costumed Contestants for money, and prizes, and avoid Zonks that would make them lose the games, the fun that the guests, Wayne, and company have really show through in each episode.
I saw three episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in 2000 on the sci fi channel, when house sitting for someone. We didn't have cable back then. Then I saw the movie when it was on ITV in 2003. And that was that. I was aware of the show for years but never got round to getting a multi region dvd player. Fast forward to 2018 when I got Netflix. And was blown away to find the new version on there. Went through that and loved it. Went through all the classic episodes they had. Was bereft when I finished those [ten]. Looked at you tube in desperation for more. And only then did I find how much old tv is on there. Wish I'd thought to check years before. So I set out to watch it at the rate of one episode a week. Frankly, it kept me going through covid. Being a key worker meant 2020 was a very busy and stressful time, and I couldn't go out at weekends. So I would watch my weekly episode first thing on a saturday morning. Thinking can't wait for saturday and my mst3k helped a lot. I waited three and a half years to watch the episode 'Mitchell' as it being the last Joel one meant I felt like doing it as such. It was so worth the wait. I then finished the lot a few weeks later. Have been going back round ever since. I love the fact that every week, I can forget the world and just have some fun with the mads and the satellite of love crew.
Loved Look About You. The naff rapping especially stuck in my head. 😄 I had mandela'd Richard Ayoade into the role, though. Someone else remembers Ghost Writer! They showed it in school here in the UK, or at least my area. I don't think we ever did find out if the children were alright...
Don't know if you have covered Street Hawk. A 1985 Knight Rider inspired action show featuring George Clooney and a pre-Back To The Future Christopher Lloyd. It only lasted 13 episodes but it is better than a lot of action shows from the time.
I remember Street Hawk, despite never watching it. But it sticks in the mind because computer Games company Ocean advertised a tie in game for the Spectrum and other computers, when the show was airing. But it never appeared. I think something had gone wrong with the production of the game and they had to have a do over. It eventually came out about thirteen months later, by which time the show was long gone.
A favorite of mine was. Mysteries of the museum from the travel channel back when it was about travel. They would take an innocuous exhibit from a museum and then tell the back story. That story was always fascinating. For example was a medical bag at the state museum in Colorado. That medical bag was owned by a woman named Susan Anderson whose pioneering medical career is absolutely fascinating. Another is a simple bicycle that caused people to break down into uncontrollable tears. How could a simple bicycle do that? Mysteries of the museum. A great show.
Here's an underrated one: The Number Crew, a show I watched in first grade. It's a show that teaches simple counting (and maybe other math topics, I can't remember), which is set on a boat helmed by a family of 5, I think, with the passengers all being animals, kind of like Noah's Ark, but not two of each animal, and no apocalyptic flood. There was also a real person who would cut in once in a while to help teach the lesson of the episode to the characters and the audience. The theme song is an earworm, too
Awesome is also - The Highwayman, an American action-adventure-themed television series starring Sam J. Jones, set in "the near future." It was created by Glen A. Larson and Douglas Heyes. The pilot aired in September 1987 and was followed by a short-lived series of nine episodes, with significant changes to the cast and format, that ran from March until May 1988. It was summed up by many reviewers as a cross between Mad Max and Knight Rider
I'd nominate the Canadian comedy sketch show The Upright Citizen's Brigade. Most notably introduced Amy Poehler. Very Monty Pythonesque. Very funny if you like surreal comedy.
Might be a little too Irish but some I'd like to suggest. Excellent: Podge and Rodge a Scare at Bedtime. 1997 - 2006. Produced by Double Z Enterprises and broadcast on RTE. Coming from the same producers, puppeteers and original show as Zig and Zag (all starting on "The Den"). This more adult show had 150 episodes each usually around 10 minutes long and featured the brothers in their home of Ballydung Manor, with sadistic Podge telling Rodge (his equally sadistic idiotic brother) a comedic tale of horror intended to keep him from doing something that he says he wants to do by showing him the dangers. It was brilliant, leading to wonderful parodies of Foster and Allen and TV specials. After this they also had a chat show that ran for 4 series. But please check out A scare at bedtime if you can. Forgotten: The Savage Eye. 2009 - 2012 (from memory). Broadcast on RTE. A sketchshow fronted by comedian David McSavage, with comedians Declan Rooney, Pat McDonnell, Eleanor Tiernan, John Colleary, Sonya Kelly and Fred Cooke. Each episode analyzing a different topic important to the people of Ireland, framed as a fake anthropological documentary as if made by British television. At times truly dark, at times the best political parody and satire available on Irish television at the time. Still very much a cult show but getting almost impossible to track down most of the episodes. Forgotten: Blizzard of Odd. 2001 - 2005. Produced by MMA Media Productions and also broadcast on RTE. Colin Murphy analyzing TV, low budget homemade Irish films, odd softcore adult films and interesting DVD / VHS releases of the time. Genuinely funny and unlike Tarrant on TV of the time seemingly trying to also analyze TV trends at the time and point out the good and the bad (Tarrant at that time was just showing "outrageous" clips). Blizzard of Odd has a couple of episodes on RU-vid and it's interesting to watch back the segments on property porn TV in particular considering the 2008 property crash.
Apollo Wilcox was in the First season of "Still Open All Hours" Still looks good for an Old Broad. Felicity Kendall anytime anywhere. The complete series of "Solo" was on RU-vid VERY briefly. Removed when it was sold to a streaming service. Can't see it anywhere for free now. Bloody Lawyers Can't be Dealin' with Nicholas Lyndhurst.
excellent? if you think this was excellent judging from the clips shown, you need help. It wasn't even remotely funny. but then again, it's US comedy so there's fair bet it won't be.
I would like to nominate Heading out 2013 starring Sue Perkins . Sue plays Sara - a veterinarian so skilled she can spay a tortoise one-handed. She's successful, she's popular - there's just one chink in her armour - she's too scared to tell her parents she's gay. On the evening of her 40th birthday, Sara's friends give her an ultimatum: either she tells her parents when they come to visit in six weeks' time, or they will. Very bad and forgettable.
