RED DWARF. Grew out of that when I was about 13.

'The Banana Splits'. I bought it on video when I was in my twenties, and was gutted to realise that it really was utter shit. Also 'Three Of A Kind', which (apart from maybe one or two sketches) was also really rather crap when I watched it again as a so-called 'grown up'.

When I was young I had a set of core shows which I loved. They were; Red Dwarf, Quantum Leap and The Crystal Maze. Only Red Dwarf has fully survived as an obsession of mine, but I still adore Quantum Leap and The Crystal Maze. But there's still other shows I liked as a kid which I detest now...

I think this certainly has something to do with changing tastes but certainly not *maturing* tastes. It's stupid saying someone is childish for loving kids shows, it's just about varying tastes and you just seem to be quite consistent.

I think a lot of it is down to false memory. You watch something when you're about eight, and then don't watch it again for ten or fifteen years. Then you come across it, think "this was the best programme ever made" and expect it to be perfect. But it rarely is. It doesn't mean it's bad, it's just that after so long, all the average or slightly-poor bits get erased from your memory. So, people get disappointed, and decide that it was shit all along, which leads to the 'growing out of it' thing. The trick is to approach your old favourites with an open mind and judge them on their own merits.

Are there any clips of the crystal maze banging about? I was thinking about that the other day. Quantum Leap has been on ITV3 for pretty much every week day lately, for weeks. Tis still brill. Evil Leaper episodes coming up!

The Crystal Maze is often on Challenge. Don't think it is at the moment, but it'll pop up again no doubt.

There's another show that holds up superbly well. Both in EXCITEMENT, and pure production values, which are just incredible. Challenge were going to bring it back a few years back, but decided against it because they wouldn't have been able to afford to do it properly - which was a very good decision.

I like Challenge. It's run by people who know what they're doing.

I honestly don't know. A lot of my favorite things in childhood were books, and it's extremely rare for me to read a book twice, so I don't know. Despite myself, I still love the original three Star Wars movies (in their original, un-raped form), but most everything else I can think of I haven't seen or read in years, and the rest I try to avoid, for fear of disrupting those lovely childhood memories.

Oh, and Yellow Submarine. I still quite enjoy that.

Ha - brilliant, look at this. The kids have no fucking clue. We are brilliant because we are of a higher generation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFozuLn_a2k&search=crystal%20maze

The Crystal Maze is one of the greatest pieces of television ever made (although it wasn't as good when Ed Tudor-Pole took over, proving that Richard O' Brien was a major part of why it was so watchable. Also, I think it was around the time of those later series that I...let's say joined the masturbatory set, so I obviously lost interest. Er, just like I obviously lost interest in that when I discovered women. Obviously.) Anyway, I watched a taped episode of it not too long ago and it brought back some good memories. It's also stood the test of time IMO. Unlike certain things like the BBC Narnia series which I was obsessed with when I was about 10, but I know now that frankly it's a piece of shit (I also don't like the new movie though).

Some things I used to like I actually appreciate even more now. The film Ghostbusters for instance. When I was a kid I obviously didn't get most of the humour in it (although I was oddly scared of the Stay Puft marshmallow man...) and I didn't watch movies then approving of script and direction, which is all I seem to do now, much to the annoyance of others. Ghostbusters fucking rules in every respect. Why can't comedies be that good now? Talk about genre-challenging. I realise now that's why I like stuff like Dwarf, Who and Lost, they take set genres and throw them out the window in order to make something special, something that hasn't been seen a million times before.

"Unlike certain things like the BBC Narnia series which I was obsessed with when I was about 10, but I know now that frankly it's a piece of shit."

Agreed - I never noticed how bad the acting was when I was a kid, and the "special effects" of cartoon creatures painted on and Aslan talking didn't strike me as terrible either. I bought the DVD set recently and had part of my youth dismembered. Oh, but the theme tune is *still* gorgeous.

I saw Ghostbusters recently and really enjoyed the humour of Bill Murray especially. When I was a kid I think it was the woman encased in the wolf's body stuff that freaked me out the most, for some reason. It's weird to think that Ghostbusters is actually more comedy than horror but I didn't notice that when I was a kid. I also remember freaking out and screaming at the final moment of Young Frankenstein, unbelievably - the bit with Gene Wilder moaning like the monster had been earlier.

It doesn't mean it's bad, it's just that after so long, all the average or slightly-poor bits get erased from your memory.

I think that's the case with Animaniacs. The Warner Bros (and sister) sections were always my favourites and are still great, but some of the other characters do now seem like... filler.

But Freakazoid, of course, was consistently superb all round. :)

Oh, and Yellow Submarine. I still quite enjoy that.

That was easily my favourite film as a kid. I re-watched that, Help! and A Hard Day's Night recently, and they're all still great - I particularly liked the exiting adventure of Paul on the floor in Help!