The CBBC Thread

I personally would love a happy medium.
They have made a great series given the differences that have been made, but I would love a good mixture of both series, and either a longer or a later morning slot.

I be sad to see it end in a few weeks time. Caroline Flack has mentioned in her FHM interview that she would love to do a third series but she has done some pilots for some evening shows. (Doesn't say what channel) so I guess we will not know until next year.

Whilst its been documented in this thread about the duration of the main programme being about the same excluding the opt out programmes like TWF and Hedz. I guess a happy medium could be found in the repeat which is on the CBBC Channel at 11.25

It does say "filming begins soon" which implies it won't be live, just another Hider In The House style effort which just happens to be broadcast on a Saturday morning...

He must have been better than Nikki.

If anyone doesn't no and wants to have a look, the CBBC website has now changed for christmas, with the hompage, watch, games, create & find pages all with new xmas backgrounds and the games website has changed more than the others(to make it easier to find games i think). There is also an xmas countdown and there's a a character underneath that wich u can click and it takes u to: www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/pedro

I wonder if this means Christmas pres from the weekend, though most probably Monday. Since the channel launched they have done Christmas a lot earlier than they used to. A couple of years ago they started Christmas in November didn't they?

EDIT: It will be interesting to see how they create Christmas with this new look, it's not so much the animations, as I presume that they will look similar to the Christmassy website, but more what will they do to the tune and the end CBBC logo.

It would be superb to hear a choir version of the C-BB-C score!

I was thinking the same with sleigh bells and church bells too, why not go over the top, it's Christmas!

Grange Hill revamp, from Broadcast:
BBC children's drama Grange Hill has ditched almost two-thirds of its cast as part of a Hollyoaks-style makeover to move the show away from its gritty roots in a bid to reach younger viewers.
The next 20-part series, to air on BBC1 in spring 2008, will focus solely on eight to 14-year-old characters and will dispense with ongoing storylines in favour of a more episodic structure. Topics that touch on sensitive but universal issues such as child abuse and teen pregnancy will still appear but in a more subtle way.

In a further departure, the show will move away from pure naturalism with fantasy sequences. One episode of the forthcoming season involves a child becoming a skateboarding superhero freedom fighter and is filmed like a graphic novel.

The BBC ordered the changes to comply with its new commissioning structure for children's shows, in which all programmes in the CBBC weekday afternoon slot must be suitable for children aged six to 12. Teen-oriented shows now appear on new Saturday afternoon strand Switch, while CBeebies will continue to target children under the age of six.

Next year marks Grange Hill's 30th anniversary and the final year of Lime Pictures' current three-year contract to produce it for the BBC. The two parties are in talks about the show's long-term future and the overhaul will be watched closely to see if it retains the younger audience. Lime Pictures creative director Tony Wood said the BBC's request posed major challenges. "Since the early 1980s, the show has drifted towards the sixth form," he said. "It has tackled difficult issues. It follows a rite of passage for its adolescent characters as well as its audience."

Younger characters will be introduced through a "creative learning centre", in which primary school children work with older pupils. Despite skewing younger and lighter, it will still cover sensitive topics. "We didn't want to move too far away from the programme's intentions and will still cover things like teenage pregnancy and losing your virginity, but these will have to be told through the eyes of younger characters and usually within a comic framework," added Wood.

Controller of BBC children's programmes Richard Deverell added that storylines solely of interest to older viewers such as preparing for university were out, but promised: "We can still do crunchy, weighty issues in a careful way." Wood and producer Dave Hanson drew up the new format in consultation with Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond. "It's something Phil thought long and hard about as more than anything, even Brookside, Grange Hill is his baby. It was important that he was comfortable with what we were doing," he said.

Old school tune

One sign that Grange Hill is staying true to its roots is the restoration of the original theme tune, coupled with a "pop art" update of its comic-book style opening credits.
"It says that it's bouncy and jaunty in ways that subsequent themes weren't, which fits the new tone," said Tony Wood.

TMi should have its Christmas stuff up by tomorrow as it's the first, last series they had their Christmas stuff up on the 9th.

Christmas special is the final of the series (22nd December) Hope it returns next year.

I'm probably in the minority,but I prefer the one they introduced in 1990.The original sounds cheap.

To be fair the original was a library track!