The Mysterious Cities of Gold

[pengolodh_sc at yahoo.no]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., hamster8 at h... wrote:
> OK.  This is ... um ... deeply, deeply OT, even for the OT group.
> If you were aged between 6 and 11 at any point between 1982 and
> 1989, you may well remember this TV series.  The Mysterious
> Cities of Gold was a French/NHK (Japan) co-production made in
> 1982, and screened on BBC 1 in 1986 and later in 1989.  It may
> also have been screened on Nickelodeon in the States.  Until
> recently I assumed I was the only person who could remember the
> show, but I have recently found some websites dedicated to it,
> and am curious to know if any listers over here can remember it.

While I have not heard of this particular show (oddly enough, as it 
seems just the type of series NRK would have purchased in those 
days), your post put me in thoughts of two other French animated 
series that ran on Norwegian TV.  

One I remember seeing the first time when I was around 6 - it was a 
historical series, following the evolution of Earth from the time 
when Earth was still a loose collection of gases and dust, until 
modern times (late 70s).  The theme-music was particularly memorable, 
and is probably responsible for whole generations of Norwegians 
falling in love with Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D-minor.  The theme 
behind this series later produced a similar series, but with the 
characters acting in different roles in the body instead, explaining 
things such as DNA and leukaemia.  The latter I know has been sent in 
USA, because I saw a reference to it in a book by educator James 
Nehring.  The English and French titles are unknown to me, however.  
To my knowledge, t has been reprised six or seven times, since 1982.

The other series I recall from when I was around 12.  Unfortunately, 
I did not get to watch it too much, unless I was sick and couldn't go 
to band-practise.  In those days I really loathed the marching-
band.  ;-)  The title in Norway was "Shagma", but I think it was 
called "Les Mondes Engloutis" in France, and when shown on 
Nickelodeon it was called "Spartacus and the Sun Beneath the Sea".  

Memorable characters include Bob and Rebecca (two human children), 
Arkana (an artificially created messenger from Arcadia), Spartacus (a 
wanderer and warrior who had wandered for a long time), Bic and Bac 
(to strange animals), and the lving ship Shag-Shag and the small 
robots called Shaggies.  (renamed Terigh and the Triggies, 
respectively, for some odd reason ;-) ).  There were also The Pirates 
of the Seas (Maxagaze, renamed Nasty Max is the foul-tempered leader 
of the Pirates of the Seas; Mattymatte, renamed Mighty Matt is Nasty 
Max's slow-witted second-in-command; Massmedia is Nasty Max's 
girlfriend. She runs the FIPIRATE broadcast system; Seskapil, renamed 
Sleazeappeal is the sophisticated one; Ringnar is Nasty Max's chief 
rival in the campaign for the office of President of the Pirate 
Federation. ), who roam the strata in search of new captives to sell 
as slaves, and booty.  They particularly like Tehrig and Arkana 
(supergeophysical gal).

On their quest, deep beneath the surface of the Earth, to save the 
dying sun Shagma (renamed Tehra) of Arcadia, they traverse space and 
time, and in the process meat such characters as Galileo Galilei and 
Tutankhaton.  In one episode, they have to be the pieces in a game of 
giant chess, in another, they have to fight giant spiders.  Hmmm...  
They encounter even Alice, now marooned, with only her memories of 
Wonderland keeping her company.  

*Extensive* information can be found at 
http://www2.netdoor.com/~blaster/archives/index.htm a subpage of 
http://www2.netdoor.com/~blaster/index.htm

What I most remember from the series is the music – there were three 
pieces:  The title-song (Les Mond Engloutis), particularly 
melancholy, the very catchy theme-tune of the Pirates of the Seas, 
and the flashbick, the jig danced by Bic and Bac.

[snip]
> Desperately irrelevant.  I just suddenly got nostalgic for 
childhood 
> TV again ... hey, it happens.
> 
> Al
> *where schnoogling happens a lot, and we think Nancy Stouffer is 
hot*

Well, this *is* the group for irrelevancies, and I am quite an expert 
on bringing up irrelevancies myself (see above), so don't feel bad.  
Anyway, it is a proven fact that the TV-programmes for children were 
much better in those days when we ourselves were children.  ;-)

To stay off-topic a bit longer:  do you recall a series called "The 
Magic Box"?  It was a BBC-production, and was shown in Norway one 
Christmas – sadly only once.  These days they prefer to show The 
Narnia Chronicles for Christmas and Easter (not that there is 
anything wrong with that series – I love it, but I would till like to 
see "The Magic Box" again), along with the Czech movie "Tri Orisky 
Pro Popelku" (Three hazelnuts for Cinderella) and the Disney-
production "From All of Us to All of You" (wiht cuts from all the 
great classics:  Pinnochio (I got No Strings on Me), Lady and the 
Tramp (eating spaghetti under the stars – La Bella Notte), Peter Pan 
(You Can Fly!), Cinderella (the mice and birds make her the grand 
dress), Snow White (the dance in the cottage in the woods).  There 
are also two or three of the shorter Disney-cartoons.