Lift Off (Australian TV series)

The two main animation segments are The Munch Kids and the animated Feature Story. The Munch Kids is a three-minute segment featuring edited discussions with children who tackle topics related to the episode theme.[2] The resulting voice track is presented to animators who visually interpret aspects of the discussion.[2]

Lift Off features a major puppet segment titled The Wakadoo Café. Directed by Paul Nichola, written by Bob Ellis, Tony Watts and Nancy Black, the café is a dynamic busy social hub filled with fascinating characters and unusual guests.[2] The drama is broken occasionally by performances of all kinds by guest artists, musicians and performers.[2]

Lift Off features a wide range of documentary material including original footage of Aboriginal children shot in Arnhem Land by Stephen Johnson showing children in skilled activities as well as at play.[2] It also shows different environments, worlds, peoples, animals and plants. The world is presented to the children as an accessible and exciting environment requiring understanding and care.[2]

Alan Kendall (Executive Producer of 'Play School') strongly criticised Lift Off's principles as an educational show for 3- to 8-year-olds.[5] In 1991, when the ACTF was pitching Lift Off to the ABC board Kendall argued that "Lift Off misses the point of television" and that it was dogmatic in its approach and would in fact "threaten the security of three to four-year-olds and create jagged attention patterns like Sesame Street".[5]

Those who had attended Lift Off workshops (see Production section) explained to the Australian government and the ABC board how Lift Off would carve a new path and curriculum for juvenile education.[5] Lift Off was approved and bought by the ABC.[5] A few years later the ABC described Lift Off as "the most outstanding children’s programme broadcast by the ABC in 35 years of television".[5]

Lift Off is a series of 52 half hours for 3 to 8 years old went into production in September 1991. Lift Off was the most ambitious television undertaking yet for the Foundation and was aimed at young children aged 3–8.[4] The program was to be a 26-part series designed to play a vital role in the upbringing of every Australian child.[4]

Lift Off 2

Production commenced in February 1994 and finished in October 1994.[6] Lift Off 2 is a 26 x half-hour series for 3- to 8-year-olds which again combines drama, animation, puppetry and documentary thematically in each episode.[6] The drama in the series revolves around the same regular cast as the first series.[6] They are joined in the second series by several newcomers including Nikita Plummer who plays Annie, Poss and Nipper's younger sister. Mario Filinatzis who plays Marco and Jared Daperis who plays his younger brother, Ralph, from a new family which moves into the apartment building.[6]

In 1990, two workshops were held to consult sixty early childhood experts and creative film makers concerning the content and philosophy of the program.[4]

Australian specialists working with children or studying child development were selected to attend the workshops and determine the principles and aims of Lift Off.[5] The second workshop focused on the development of the show's characters as well as fantastical themes or plots to run with later on in production.[5] The workshops were primary aimed as creating a new syllabus that Lift Off and its concepts and characters would be grounded by.[5]

Activities during these workshops were deliberately practical and creative, for example, those who attended were asked to work in groups of individuals from vastly different fields (e.g. specialists in children's mathematics and researchers on juvenile human development) and were instructed to make things out of art materials, or discuss how to tackle certain tasks or challenges before gathering together and informing the entire group of their conclusions.[5]

Along with the television program a complementary Outreach program was developed to engage the community with young children and with the program.[4] The Outreach was aimed at furthering Lift Off's impact beyond watching it on TV screens and included the production of books, toys, puzzles and other activities that helped to cement ideas and skills introduced to the children watching the program.[5]

Approximately forty people attended the first Outreach workshop, held at Warburton in Victoria from 17–31 July 1990.[2] Over the weekend large and small discussion groups brainstormed and analysed the best strategies for implementing a national Outreach scheme to accompany and support the Lift Off television program and amplify its reach and efficacy.[2] The conference concentrated on: resources and materials; management structures; existing and new institutional and community works.[2]

Outreach programs were set up in each state of Australia.[2]

In 1990, two workshops were help to consult early childhood experts and creative film makers concerning the content and philosophy of the program.[4] The materials were written by teachers seconded from the various Ministries of Education.[3] Teacher's Guide to Lift Off was the first in a series of educational materials that were published at monthly intervals after the launch of the series.[3]

The following programs which were later published were:[3]

• Lift Off to Thinking and Wondering
• Lift Off to Language
• Lift Off to Science and Technology
• Lift Off to Social Learning and Living
• Lift Off to Environmental Education
• Lift Off to Play
• Lift Off to Social Growth and learning
• Lift Off to Language (2)

Each book was accompanied by a video anthology highlighting aspects of the series which are linked to the teacher's notes.[3]

They were designed to complement the existing 'Lift Off in the Classroom' material published by the Curriculum Corporation with the first series.[6]

• Lift Off To Fire Safety[6]

The Foundation worked with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in Melbourne to develop an education package around an episode of Lift Off 2 titled 'Heroes' which focuses on fire safety in the home.[6] The materials were appropriate for children in early years of primary schooling nationally.[6]

• Lift Off to Aboriginal Education[6]

In consultation with representatives from Aboriginal arts and education organisations, two episodes of Lift Off were developed for distribution to schools.[6]

The Prime Minister of Australia at the time, Mr. Keating launched Lift Off during a special screening and presentation at parliament House on 29 April 1992.[3] In his speech he said:

"If the children who watch Lift Off, and read the Lift Off spin offs, develop the same skills of communication, cooperation and execution as producers have displayed, we will really be able to say that this country is pretty clever. Lift Off also suggests that television is capable of-which is to say much more than we and our children are generally given".[3]

America's First lady at the time, Mrs Barbara Bush, gave a significant stamp of approval to the series when she visited the Foundation in January 1991 to preview Lift Off.[3] She described Lift Off as "Just wonderful. This is an extraordinarily good program".[3]

Lift Off was endorsed by the Directors of Curriculum from all States and Territories who agreed that "the program is very soundly based educationally" and "the proposed contents, scope and coverage of 'intelligences are consistent with the range of curriculum activities in the early years".[3]

The Lift Off series of 52 half hours for 3- to 8-year-olds went to air on the ABC on 8 May 1992.[3] In addition to being screened at 2:00pm on Fridays, it was repeated after school at 4:30 pm Monday to Friday from 29 June 1992.[3] It was also seen on Saturday evenings from September 1992.[3]

Lift off 2

The series was launched by The Hon Peter Collins, QC, MP, NSW Minister for the Arts, at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney on 5 February 1995.[7]

At the launch Mr Fish, James Jordan (Lafe Charlton), the pigs and wolf, and the Lift Off kids performed to a large crowd, made up of Board members and staff of the ACTF and the ABC, cast and crew members of Lift Off, representatives of the media, and their families.[7]

• Weekly on the ABC from July through to September 1993.[8]
• In the 4:30 pm weekday time slot on the ABC on 7 September 1994.[6]
• On the ABC from 7 July to 25 October 1994, in the 4:30 pm weekday time slot.[6]

• The ABC screened the Lift Off 2 at 4:30 pm weekdays from 17 February 1995 and weekly at 8:30 am Sunday from 4 April 1995.[7]
• Lift Off 2 re-screened weekly on the ABC at 8 am on Sunday mornings, for 26 weeks from 6 August 1995.[7]
• Lift Off, in its one-hour format, screened on the ABC at 1 pm on Thursdays from 1 August 1996.[9] This was immediately followed by Lift Off 2, concluding on 24 April 1997.[9]
• Lift Off 2 screened on the ABC at 8 am Sundays from 30 June 1996 in its half-hour format.[9]
• Lift Off 2 screened in its half-hour format at 7:30 am on Sundays on the ABC from 13 April 1997 and concluded on 5 October 1997.[9]
• The ABC screened episodes from lift Off 2 on Sunday mornings at 7:30 am from 6 July 1997 until 5 October 1997.[9]
• The ABC repeated Lift Off 2, for the sixth time, during the school holidays in December 1998 and January 1999.[10]
• The Disney Channel Australia screened Lift Off 1 & 2 twice daily on weekdays at 9:30 am and 2 pm continuously from 1 February 1999 until 11 April 2000.[11] Both series were screened a total of three times by The Disney Channel during this extensive period.[11]
• The ABC screened eleven episodes from Lift Off 2 at 10 am on weekdays from 27 September 1999 until 11 October 1999.[11]

To 30 June 1994 ABC Enterprises reported sales of 1,391 Lift Off videotapes with the most popular titles being The Story of EC, EC and the Lift Off Kids and Nipper & Aku.[6]

The Curriculum Corporation distributed educational guides to Lift Off and to 30 June 1994, 268 of the Teachers' Guide to Lift Off books had been sold as well as almost 800 of the Lift Off educational Book and Video packs.[6]

ABC Enterprises reports sales of 23,475 Lift Off videos and 13,240 Lift Off CDs/audio cassettes to 30 June 1995.[7]

Reed for Kids sold over 140,788 Lift Off story books and activity books to 30 June 1995.[7]

Both series of Lift Off were sold to TV12 Singapore and the first series was sold to Television Airtime Services in Malaysia.[7]

Canal J, a children's channel in France, agreed to acquire all 78 episodes of Lift Off 1 and 2. Canal J dubbed the series into French.[7]

Coral Pictures entered into an agreement with the Foundation for the distribution of the Lift Off series in Spanish speaking territories and dubbed the series into Spanish. Subsequent sales were made to broadcasters in Mexico, Panama, and Argentina.[7]

Middle East media acquired the Lift Off series for Arabic speaking territories.[7]

ABC for Kids released a video 'Imagine EC and me' in June 1995 and planned to release further titles over the following 12 months.[7] They also released two CDs/audio cassettes of the Lift Off 2 music, Wakadoo Rap and Brand New Songs From Lift Off, which was nominated for a 1995 ARIA award.[7]

FOXTEL acquired pay television rights in the 52 episodes of Lift Off 1 and EC Plays Lift Off for its Fox Kids' Network.[12]

ABC Video released Imagine, EC & Me, from the Lift Off 2 series on the video sell-through market.[12]

Lift Off 1 was sold to Sri Lanka. Lift Off 1 and 2 were sold to Canal J France, Cook Islands, Panama and Argentina. The Foundation entered into an agreement with Daro Film Distribution for the Distribution of both series in Eastern Europe.[9]

Lift Off 1 was sold to the Italian public broadcaster, the RAI, the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation and the Tzu Chi Television Network in Taiwan.[13] Canal J put both series one and two of Lift Off to air daily in France (Lift Off is known as Zig Zag in France).[13] Following Canal J's success with the program both series were sold to the French language broadcaster, Le Canal Famille, in Canada.[13] The Spanish language broadcaster, Telemundo Network in the United States acquired both series of Lift Off, as did Multivision Mexico (for pay television across Spanish speaking Latin America). Lift Off 2 was also sold to the Saskatchewan Communications Network in Canada.[13]

Carlo Television in Sri Lanka acquired more episodes of the Lift Off series.[10]

The Disney Channel Australia acquired the Lift Off series.[10]

Delta Music Plc in the United Kingdom released the Lift Off series on video.[10]

Lift off 1 & 2 were sold to GMTV in the United Kingdom and NRK Norway re-licensed the Thrash animated segments from lift off 2.[11]

• Poss Burke - Erin Pratten: A blonde haired, blue eyed young girl. Poss is Nipper's and Annie's big sister and the Burke's eldest child.
• Nipper Burke - Paul Cheyne: A blonde haired, blue eyed little boy. Nipper is Poss's little brother, Annie's big brother and the Burke's middle child.
• Annie Burke - Nikita Plummer (Series 2): A blonde haired, blue eyed preschooler-aged girl. Annie is Poss's and Nipper's little sister and the Burke's youngest child. Up until Series 2, Annie was known as "Baby Annie".
• Paul Jordan - Luke Carroll: A brown haired, brown eyed, Aboriginal young boy. He is Aku's big half-brother and the Jordan's eldest child.
• Aku Jordan - Aku Bielicki: A brown haired, brown eyed, half-Aboriginal, half-African-American little girl. She is Paul's little half-sister and the Jordan's youngest child.
• Turbo Garcia - Heber Yerien (Series 1): A brown haired, brown eyed adolescent boy who assists Snap Jordan in her "fix it" business. He is Max's big brother and the Garcia's eldest child.
• Max Garcia - Robert Peschel: A brown haired, brown eyed young boy who is deaf and requires a hearing aid. He is Turbo's little brother and the Garcia's youngest child.
• Marco Ponti - Mario Filintatzis (Series 2): A brown haired, brown eyed, disabled little boy who requires a wheelchair in some occasions. He is Raph's and "Baby Ponti's" big brother and the Ponti's eldest child. He, along with his family, moved into the Garcia's apartment in the very beginning of the first episode in Series 2 ("Brand New").
• Raph Ponti - Jared Daperis (Series 2): A brown haired, brown eyed preschooler-aged boy. He is Marco's little brother, "Baby Ponti's" big brother and the Ponti's middle child. He, along with his family, moved into the Garcia's apartment in the very beginning of the first episode in Series 2 ("Brand New").
• Kim Stinson - Maria Nguyen: A young Asian girl, who was adopted. She is the Stintson's only child.

• Jenny Burke - Madeleine Blackwell: Poss's, Nipper's and Annie's mother.
• Ted Burke - David Sandford: Poss's, Nipper's and Annie's father, who works as a musician, singer, and songwriter.
• Snap Jordan - Aku Kadogo (Series 1): Aku's biological mother and Paul's step-mother, who is of African-American descent. She, along with Turbo, runs a "fix it" business. She was replaced by her husband James; who is Paul's and Aku's biological father; after she moved back to the United States in Series 2.
• James Jordan - Lafe Charlton (Series 2): Paul's and Aku's biological father, who is of Aboriginal descent. He replaces his wife Snap for the "fix it" business.
• Teresa Garcia - Irini Pappas (Series 1): Turbo's and Max's mother.
• Ricardo Garcia - Petru Gheorghiu (Series 1): Turbo's and Max's father.
• Carla Ponti - Nadia Coreno (Series 2): Marco's and Raph's mother.
• Franco Ponti - John Orcsik (Series 2): Marco's and Raph's father, who works as a firefighter.
• Stella Stinson - Louise Le Nay: Kim's adoptive mother, who works as a real estate agent.
• Harry Stinson - Alan Fletcher: Kim's adoptive father, who works as an architect.
• Mr. (Seymour) Fish - Mark Mitchell: One of the most memorable characters and major antagonist of Lift Off, reminiscent of Oscar the Grouch in Sesame Street; but acts as an authority figure instead; Mr. Fish was the very strict caretaker of the small apartment building where the characters lived, by whom always take things very seriously. He was often seen yelling at the children from behind his desk in the apartment foyer when they came in from the outside. He owned numerous "no" signs, which he used to threaten the children. In the very last episode of the second-series finale ("From Where I Stand") he confiscated EC and felt guilty about it, which caused him to toss and turn when he tried sleeping while he was feeling sick due to a cold, EC came to him (the only time EC moved in front of an adult), calmed him down and gave him a dream about what if he had EC in his childhood. After the dream, he gave EC back to the kids in exchange for a telescope. the final shot was of him looking sad as he saw a happier version of him as a kid holding EC.
• "Mumsy" Fish - Mark Mitchell: Mr Fish's mum, who constantly drops in unannounced to check on Mr Fish. Despite the fact that he is an adult now, Mumsy treats him as if he is a child, much to Mr Fish's embarrassment and disgust. Throughout the series it is implied that she would not allow Seymour to run around and get dirty when he was a child.
• Bonza Men - Matt Quartermaine and Matt Parkinson: One-off guest characters played by the comedy duo Empty Pockets.

Assistant puppeteers included Roy McNeill, Heather Monk, Rod Primrose, Jenny Sherlock, Michelle Spooner, Sue Blakey, Jenny Ishmakovich and Liss Gabb.

Lotis (voiced by Julie Forsyth) is a computer-programmed, artificial-intelligent, magical lift in the apartment building. She tries to help the younger characters with their personal problems, but cannot understand more complex human behaviour and thinking.

Beverley is a one-eyed plant that lives in the apartment foyer. She shows short documentary clips about the episode's subject matter. (Beverley was puppeteered by Peter Wilson in the first series, and Bob Parsons in the second).

EC ("Every Child" and formerly "Elizabeth and Charlie")[14] is an automatic, animated, magical rag doll who is intended to appear to be genderless or even non-binary so as to be more widely relatable. At first, EC alternately stands for "Elizabeth and Charlie", which are the very first names that Poss and Kim give to EC in the very first episode in the first series ("A Load of Rubbish") before "Every Child" was accepted later. (EC was puppeteered by Peter Wilson in the first series, and Bob Parsons in the second).

Rocky the Frill-Necked Lizard is the leader of a colony of frilled-necked lizards. Rocky spies on the humans ("two-footers") and reports his findings to the rest of the colony. (Rocky was puppeteered by Will Conyers/Peter Wilson in the first series, and John Rogers/Bob Parsons in the second).

The Backsacks: the children's backpacks that came to life and spoke through their zipper mouths. There are 7 of them owned by each of the 7 Children. Each Backsack has a personality depending on their nicknames and gender roles. When Max and Turbo moved to the country in series 2, their backsacks, Gabblesak and Grumblesak, were passed along to Raph and Marco. And when Paul was getting too old for his backsack, Dippisak, he passed him along to Annie, Poss's and Nipper's younger sister. These are:

• Rapsak: Poss's backsack. He looks like a bug's head due to the antennae sticking out of his head. As the name suggests, he has an accent of a rastafarian, despite his straight, black flat-top hair and light pigmentation. (Puppeteered by Hugh Simpson in the first series)
• Snapsak: Nipper's backsack. As she has animal print allover; leopard/jaguar print on her chin and lower jaw and tiger print on her upper jaw, cheeks and forehead; and a Victorian accent, Snapsak appears to have a personality of an old-fashioned, middle-aged posh lady. (Puppeteered by Liz Rule)
• Dippisak: Paul's backsack in series 1 and Annie's backsack in Series 2. He has red sides with white spots, a dark and light blue striped forehead, red zipper nose, medium blue lips, light blue lower jaw, and red bottle-lid eyes. He appears to be cross-eyed and is a little bit shy, nervous, and embarrassed when engaging a conversation with other backsacks. (Puppeteered by David Collins in the first series)
• Tweesak: Aku's backsack. She has light pigmentation, straight, golden-brown flat-top hair, blue button eyes, and a two-tone jacket; pink with blue spots on her left side and blue with pinks triangles on her right side. As the name suggests, she also has a well pronounced Georgian British accent as well. (Puppeteered by Janette Dalgliesh in the first series)
• Grumblesak: Turbo's backsack in series 1 and Marco's backsack in series 2. Due to the role changes of Grumblesak's gender in series 1 and 2, they may be non-binary. As the name suggests, they have a bit of an attitude problem when engaging a conversation with other backsacks. They oo also considers themselves to be the "grandmaster", main leader and the oldest of all the backsacks. (Puppeteered by Janette Dalgliesh in the first series)
• Gabblesak: Max's backsack in series 1 and Raph's backsack in series 2. He is golden-brown with a purple nose, green lips, orange hair, and is the only backsack to have only one eye instead of two as well as his American accent. As the name suggests, he can be very loud sometimes and often raises his voice at other backsacks when engaging them in a conversation. (Puppeteered by Hugh Simpson in the first series)
• Scruffsak: Kim's backsack. He is blue with orange curly hair. As the name suggests, he has isolated "teeth" and is a bit of a mess sometimes when engaging in a conversation with the other backsacks as he thinks of negative things as positive. (Puppeteered by David Collins in the first series)

• Boris: The ugliest and most ignorant of the three pigs. (Puppeteered by John Rogers)
• Morris: Morris is slightly less antagonising than Boris but is still a pain. (Puppeteered by David Collins in the first series and Sean Masterson in the second)
• Doris: Doris is the only female pig but is just as aggravating as Boris and Morris. (Puppeteered by Janette Dalgliesh in the first series and Megan Cameron in the second)
• Wolf: Wolf is employed as an entertainer, along with the three pigs despite their love/hate relationship. Though he is very self-centred and arrogant on the outside, he has been known to show his kind side, proving that he does indeed have a good heart on the inside. (Puppeteered by Hugh Simpson in the first series and Francesco "Frank" Italiano in the second)
• Boss: The rather strict manager of the café, it's not uncommon for the café's employees to hold a grudge against her, though this never lasts long, as despite her rudeness, Boss' good side often shines through in the end. Her real name is Hortense. She also has an upper-class Australian accent and wears a golden crown on her head as well. (Puppeteered by Liza-Mare Syron)
• Nearly: A kind-hearted yet clumsy, and "hairy from head-to-toe" member of the group. He is in charge of the drinks. Nearly is prone to depression and is very nervous around others. (Puppeteered by Philip Millar in the first series and Malcolm Martin in the second)
• Zelda: Nearly's sister. She works as a waitress and is very popular among the café's customers. (Puppeteered by Liz Rule)
• Cook: Cook is a true French artiste, and seemingly the café's only kitchen employee. He is very sensitive, especially about his cooking, but is respected by the others. (Puppeteered by Will Conyers/Peter Wilson in the first series and Rod Primrose/Bob Parsons in the second)
• Lonely: A quiet and shy character who does not appear to have any friends, though he claims to be waiting for someone and has been doing so for a very long time. (Puppeteered by Peter Wilson/Roy McNeill in the first series and Bob Parsons in the second)
• Oscar the Orange Ocelot: A criminal ocelot in disguise who camouflages himself and frames others to stay out of trouble. Despite that, he was once Lonely's friend. (Puppeteered by Franceso "Frank" Italiano in the second series)

Episode 1 and 2: A Load of Old Rubbish (8 May 1992)

Episode 3 and 4: Destroy (15 May 1992)

Episode 5 and 6: Which One? (22 May 1992)

Episode 7 and 8: That's Not Fair (29 May 1992)

Episode 9 and 10: Because It Feels Good (5 June 1992)

Episode 11 and 12: Into The Unknown (12 June 1992)

Episode 13 and 14: Once I Grew (19 June 1992)

Episode 15 and 16: Something Tells Me (26 June 1992)

Episode 17 and 18: The Wheel Turns (3 July 1992)

Episode 19 and 20: Out of Order (10 July 1992)

Episode 21 and 22: Above and Beyond (17 July 1992)

Episode 23 and 24: I Can! (24 July 1992)

Episode 25 and 26: Remember (31 July 1992)

Episode 27 and 28: Clash (7 August 1992)

Episode 29 and 30: For Sale (14 August 1992)

Episode 31 and 32: Face (21 August 1992)

Episode 33 and 34: Going Under (28 August 1992)

Episode 35 and 36: Illusion Is All (4 September 1992)

Episode 37 and 38: Beneath The Skin (11 September 1992)

Episode 39 and 40: Real Friends (18 September 1992)

Episode 41 and 42: Lost (25 September 1992)

Episode 43 and 44: Funday (2 October 1992)

Episode 45 and 46: No Entry (9 October 1992)

Episode 47 and 48: Wanting (16 October 1992)

Episode 49 and 50: Threads (23 October 1992)

Episode 51 and 52: All Together Now (30 October 1992)

Series two premiered on 17 February 1995.[15]

Episode 53 and 54: Brand New (17 February 1995 and 20 February 1995)

Episode 55 and 56: Under Pressure (21 February 1995 and 22 February 1995)

Episode 57 and 58: What's Missing (23 February 1995 and 24 February 1995)

Episode 59 and 60: My World (27 February 1995 and 28 February 1995)

Episode 61 and 62: Would I Lie (1 March 1995 and 2 March 1995)

Episode 63 and 64: Give and Take (3 March 1995 and 6 March 1995)

Episode 65 and 66: Far Out (7 March 1995 and 8 March 1995)

Episode 67 and 68: Out of This World (9 March 1995 and 10 March 1995)

Episode 69 and 70: Shape I'm In (13 March 1995 and 14 March 1995)

Episode 71 and 72: Heroes (15 March 1995 and 16 March 1995)

Episode 73 and 74: In Your Shoes (17 March 1995 and 20 March 1995)

Episode 75 and 76: Not Alone (21 March 1995 and 22 March 1995)

Episode 77 and 78: From Where I Stand (23 March 1995 and 24 March 1995)

Lift Off Live! The Musical combined some of the most popular elements of Lift Off whilst maintain its strong educational focus.[7] It opened on 4 January 1995 to a packed house at the Sydney opera House, presented by the ACTF in association with Back Row Productions Pty Ltd and the Fox Kids Network. It went on to tour Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and some rural towns during 1996.[12] The show performed 40 times over 20 days to an average audience capacity of 80%.[12] Fox Kids Network was a sponsor of the Sydney season.[12]

It was a musical based on the Wakadoo Café-a story of friendship and betrayal, unity and division.[5] Mr Fish (Mark Mitchell) and Lotis (the highly intelligent talking lift) stumble into the Wakadoo Café.[5] Mr Fish confronts the Wakadoo regulars-Wolf; Boris, Morris and Doris; Boss; Zelda; Lonely; and EC. Mr Fish seeks trouble while EC and children in the audience try to stop him.[5]

A wealth of theatre experience was brought to the production: produced by the Foundation's Director, Dr Patricia Edgar, and Helena Harris, whose credits included EC Plays Lift Off and Bananas in Pyjamas, the show was directed by Wayne Harrison and designed by Kim Carpenter, both from the Sydney Theatre Company.[12] Composer Chris Neal had more than fifteen years experience composing music for television and feature films and the career of Choreographer, Tony Bartuccio, spanned more than thirty years at the time. Garth Boomer worked with composer Chris Neal, to develop the story and songs for the show.[12] Nine new songs were created for the show.

Activity Notes featuring activities and games based on the Lift Off Live musical were written by primary school specialist, Shirley Sydenham.[12] The notes were published by the Foundation as was a copy of the Musical theatre Script and the compact disc featuring the music from the show.[12] The materials were published to coincide with the commencement of the Melbourne season to Lift Off Live at the end of June 1996.[12]

EC plays Lift Off was a 13-episode game show with strong links to Lift Off produced by the Foundations in association with the ABC over two weeks in December 1993, at the ABC studies in Melbourne.[6] It was developed from a concept by Patricia Edgar, Susie Campbell and Paul Nichola.[6] The series was produced by Helena Harris and directed by Stephen Jones. Otello Stolfo, who designed the Lift Off Wakadoo Café, designed the game show set.[6] Bernadette Wynack was the Art Director of the series, and Deborah Allen created the game tasks.[6]

Starring in the series is Mark Mitchell who as Mr Fish from Lift Off is the host of the game show.[6] Also appearing in each program was EC, as the instigator of the show, and the Wakadoo Café's wolf and three pigs who are seen enjoying the game in from of their television at home.[6]

On each show two teams of children aged from 6 to 11 take part in games related to Lift Off. As each team completes a task it is awarded a patch.[6] The first team to cover its game board with patches is the winning team.[6]

It was produced towards the end of 1993 in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).[8] It screened on the ABC at 8:30 am on Sunday from 10 April 1994 to 4 July 1994.[7] It re-screened at 10:15 am weekdays from 4 July 1995.[7]

Following enquires from schools of Distance Education from around Australia it was decided to make the printed materials written for the Lift Off to Distance Education project available in a computer disc format to each of the States/Territories.[7] This assisted with the incorporation of the Lift Off to Distance Education materials into early childhood curriculum programs where possible.[7] OTEN in New South Wales trailed this with sections of their school community.[7]

The video and book package, Lift off to Fire Safety, was officially launched on Monday 9 October 1995, at the Metropolitan Fire Brigade's eastern Hill Fire Station and Museum.[12] The video and book package was sent free of charge to every primary school in Australia during National Fire Safety Week.[12] This project was made possible by two major sponsors, Ramsay Health Care and BRK Brands (makers of First Alert smoke detectors).[12]

In November, a competition was held with the mail out to all primary schools of the Lift off to Fire Safety educational materials.[12] Over 200 schools across Australia entered the competition and state winners were selected with entries being judged by BRK Brands and the Australian Children's Television Foundation.[12] The winning schools each received prize of 'First Alert' fire safety products. The Lift off to Fire Safety materials were then made available for purchase from the Foundation.[12]

The Foundation and Deakin University constructed a prototype module of the Lift Off game concept for CD ROM in 1997.[9] The aims of the project were to create a meaningful training environment for postgraduate students of Deakin University, while exploring the potential for a commercial product for the Foundation.[9] The Foundation was committed to establishing links with government training schemes and exploring mutually beneficial partnerships with trainees for the new media industry that was emerging at the time.[9]

This was a web based resource of learning activities based on the Foundation's programs.[9] It was developed for use in primary and secondary schools and all learning activities were linked to the nationally agreed Curriculum Statements and Profiles.[9] It included 13 theme based learning activities for middle primary; and seven learning based activities around teaching viewing, for teachers of lower and middle primary years.[13]

• "Lift Off promises to be one of the most adventurous uses of television of the 90s" James Cockington, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 December 1991[3]
• "It is no exaggeration to say that Lift Off is the most exciting project in the history of children’s television" The West Magazine, The West Australian, Perth, 2/5/92[3]
• "If time, money and creative energy count for anything, Lift Off must be regarded as the most important piece of television made in Australia" TV Guide, The Herald-Sun, Melbourne, 8/5/92[3]
• "Lift Off…has already won an army of viewers" The Sunday Times, Perth, 31 May 1992[3]
• "Very occasionally something comes along, even in its early and most unformed stages, causes the hairs on the back of the neck to prickle with excitement: suddenly you realise you are witnessing something Very Special Indeed…There is a lot more to Lift Off than mere fun and education…this one should run and run" Diane Simmonds, The Bulletin, 5 May 1992[3]
• "The most ambitious and satisfying children’s series ever produced in Australia" Sunday Telegraph, Sydney, 3/5/92[3]
• "At last, something challenging and creative for our youngest viewers!...As a lecturer and researcher specialising in children’s television, I recommend Lift Off to parents, children, and teachers as superb entertainment and as a learning resource" Lee Burton, Green Guide, The Age, 21 May 1992[3]
• "It will revolutionise children’s viewing" Mary Maxwell, The Weekly Times, Melbourne, 29/4/29[3]
• "The consistent highlight of kids' viewing…will be…Lift Off" The Sunday Age, Melbourne, 10/5/92[3]
• "A new era in children’s television is about to begin" Mirjana Jovetic, TV Guide, The Herald-Sun, Melbourne, 6/5/92[3]
• "It is difficult to do justice to these programs, so much talent and energy has gone into them" Dennis Pryor, The Age, Melbourne, 30 May 1992[3]
• "This is dazzling kids entertainment centred on many an educational and environmental message, and the sheer creativity behind it all is-to use a word popular among the age group at which it is aimed-awesome" Laurie Masterson, TV Week, 9/5/92[3]
• "Lift Off, a lively mix of drama, animation and puppetry…looks set for success" Green Guide, The Age, 7/5/92[3]
• "Lift Off was extraordinarily good" First Lady, Mrs Barbara Bush, The Canberra Times, 4/1/92[3]
• "…brilliant new series…its success is assured" Mark Wallace, Canberra Times, 4/5/92[3]
• "An inspired children’s education programme" The Advocate, Burnie, 4/5/92[3]

"The best kids activity in Sydney this summer", Radio 2UE[12]

"It’s a hit", Sunday Telegraph, 07/01/96[12]

"Lift Off Live is a classy and riotously funny piece of kids' theatre…this show has moments of real theatrical magic between the thigh-slapping comedy and audience interaction", The Sydney Morning Herald, 08/01/96[12]

"Lift Off Live rips merrily along song, dance, big-laugh silliness, a production whole-heartedly focused on its pint sized audience", The Sun-Herald, 07/01/96[12]

"this children’s musical was a hit from start to finish", Weekly Southern Courier, 16 January 1996[12]

"Lift Off Live…has the audience dancing in the aisles…Lots of fun", Daily Telegraph Mirror, 15 January 1996[12]

"pure school holiday entertainment", Herald Sun, 02/07/96[12]

"a pretty sophisticated piece of children’s theatre…kids can really yell their lungs out in this one", Sunday Age, 07/07/96[12]

"outrageous and colourful fun", The Age Entertainment Guide, 05/07/96[12]