Look and Read .myby.co.uk
previous story: 
Earth Warp LRTV
STORY DETAILS
next story: 
Spywatch


LRTV
Index
    > Introduction
    > Episode Listings
    > Credits
    > Theme Tune (download!)
    > Notes
    > Links
    > Picture Gallery

LOOK AND READ
Home
    > Stories Index
    > Downloads
    > Trivia
    > Schedules
    > Schools TV
    > Links
    > Site Admin (incl. Site Map)

Email
Discussion Forum
Guestbook
Help Out

Site maintained by Ben Clarke
(Sorry, I can't provide videos or any other materials, so please don't write to ask!)

ON TV:Mondays 4th & 11th December 2006 on the CBBC Channel
ON VIDEO:No longer available on video, you might be able to get it second hand, or just tape it off TV yourself
> More information on the official BBC Schools Programme Guide

LRTV Introduction

A Look and Read Special to supplement the regular drama stories, this eschews grammatical and language-level work in favour of teaching more general writing and communication skills, and is also meant to support the Media Education scheme. LRTV is a television station staffed entirely by children (which surely wouldn't be legal), though apparently the characters they're playing are meant to be adults. The sparse content, magazine style, and outrageously oversized, opaque on-screen logo seem to suggest that the 'station' is more of a limited-time franchise like GMTV. Anyway the station is run by former window cleaner Crystal Clear, who seems to know what she wants but isn't very good at getting it done (the executive producer, then). The sofa-bound anchors are called Frank and Daisy and there's a regular language-skills quiz called Wordpower hosted by Lloyd B. Stickler; everything is written by Emily Penn with new recruit Joe Nas, and designed by 'Mona' Lisa; and the producer, Harmony, basically does everybody's work and makes sure everything gets done. Criminal psychopath Lester Binliner (played by that comedy Italian lad out of Renford Rejects) keeps trying to get himself on telly by disguising himself as various LRTV personalities after having kidnapped them or pushed them into the canal. The non-speaking Punk T. Waite is the company's general assistant, providing inadequate door security, pouring jelly over the losers on Wordpower and hosting a segment called Spelling Spot. The technician and editor, Alf A. Bett, spends his time trying to get rid of two bugs called Vin and Vern that are corrupting LRTV's computer system and providing most of the actual language-related content, stealing all the quotation marks or putting in too many exclamation points.
Note that this is the first time Look and Read had ever been broadcast in the Summer term, and the first season of the programme to have less than ten episodes. It's also the first Look and Read unit not to be made in-house by some department of the BBC, it's an independent production by Double Exposure for BBC Education.




Episode Listings

1.   Welcome to LRTV
A budding writer arrives for a job at a TV station, where boss Crystal Clear puts him to work on the weather report. Among the regulars, presenters Frank and Daisy get the show off to a sentence-perfect start, Lloyd Stickler hosts the gameshow 'Wordpower', and Punk T Waite introduces spellings with a difference.
2.   LRTV Gets Moving
An early morning verb workout.
3.   Kitchen Capers
Punk collects nouns for the gameshow 'Wordpower' but finds himself in trouble with PC Parrot. And there's a surprise in store when the mysterious Desmond Cheesegrater stands in for the regular LRTV chef.
4.   A Soap Square Sizzler
Frank and Daisy describe their experiences on the island of Costa Lot, but seem to have differing opinions on the same holiday. Meanwhile, contestants play the opposites game on 'Wordpower', and CC sets the writing unit the task of creating a soap opera.
5.   ...and Action!
Frank tries his hand at sports presenting, but needs help with his adverbs. Lester steps in as storyteller Uncle Rory on 'Children's Story' and becomes tongue-tied when Vin and Virn mix up his speech marks.
6.   Follow That Frog
It is the station's 20th birthday and Mona is working on the invitations.
7.   LRTV Gets It Together
Preparations are under way for LRTV's 20th birthday celebrations.
8.   Happy Birthday LRTV!
The deadline draws near for LRTV's 20th birthday celebrations.




Cast and Crew

Created by
Written by



Music by

Executive producers

Produced & directed by
Andrew Bethell
Colin Izod
David Stafford
Chris Cole
Lionel Robinson
Harold Burgon
Colin Izod
Frank Flynn
Andrew Bethell
Colin Izod
production manager Joe Pellisier, assistant producer Frances Hodge, script editor Annika Bluhm, 1st assistant director Will Dutton, 2nd assistant director Jo Harris, script supervisor Matilda Griffin, casting Val Farron, camera assistant Richard Hill, grip Tex Childs, gaffer Tim O'Connell, sound Rupert Ivey, sound assistants John Chandler Sarah O'Toole, production designer Fran Cooper, art director John Henson, props master Richard Tharp, standby props Mark Digby, graphics assistant Christina Casali, make-up/hair artist Stephanie O'Rourke, make-up assistant Sheila Flynn, costume designer Jane Ripley, assistant costume Barbara O'Callaghan, graphics Damian Weir, online editors Simon Coldrick Mark Manning, music Harold Burgon Colin Izod, director of photography Luke Cardiff, editor David Gasson, education consultants Peter Sanders Sue Widgery, BBC education officer Chris Hughes

Starring
Preeya Kalidas as Crystal 'CC' Clear
Sophie Ward
as Harmony
Lisa O'Connell
as Emily Penn
Leon Black
as Joe Nas
Jade Magri
as 'Mona' Lisa
Iain Robertson
as Frank Ernest
Scarlett Vaigncourt-Strallen
as Daisy Hayes
Joe Boiling
as Alf A. Bett
Geoff Mills
as Lloyd B. Stickler
James Yorath
as Punk T. Waite
Felix Bell
as Lester Binliner
Glenn Hanning
as Cliff Hanger
Geoff Felix
as Vin
Katherine Smee
as Virn
Matthew Bethell as Prisoner 1, Michael Wearne as Prisoner 2, Jonathan Cordell as Farmer Muckspreader, Elijah Young as Zelda, Katie Sutton as Old Lady, Max Carlish as Daddy Bear, Andrew Buckley as PC Parrot, Sam Stockman as Barry (Noun Shop), Katie Sutton as Barry's Customer, John Trakos as Chef, Rupert Shreeve as Dog Owner, Lee Sadler as Plank Man, Barry Farrimond as Pancho Peanut, Zoe Hodges as Lester's Mum, Giselle, James, Peter, Lucy, Matthew, Duane, Rosie, Zenta, Mairead, Liam





Theme Tune

The LRTV theme tune is a rap with a bit of proper singing at the beginning and end.

# LRTV
# LRTV
# Come Along, Stay Tuned

CC's the boss of the number one station
She likes pictures and words with communication
So she got Nas and Em to do the writing
So Frank and Daisy on the sofa say the right thing

Vin and Virn in the computer love to eat the punctuation
Lloyd Stickler likes to test you on your word appreciation
Now Lester wants to see himself on telly
And Punk's going to cover you in jelly

# LRTV
# LRTV
# L-R-TV
Download MP3 file music by Harold Burgon and/or Colin Izod, sung by some kids
MP3 file: 45 seconds, 268 kb (dodgy quality)


> CLICK HERE for the Downloads section, including this and several other theme tunes.




Notes

The 'little man with spiky hair' character is called Punk T. Wate in the programme credits, but his name should be spelled (according to the teacher's book and publicity material) Punk T. Waite. That's not a very good example to set, now is it?

Guidance on grammar and punctuation. - BBC publicity description

LRTV supplements the standard Look and Read series, and this time emphasises writing skills. LRTV is a fictitious breakfast TV station in which the staff are played by 11- to 13-year-olds. Vin and Virn, mishchievous computer viruses, enjoy making mistakes in the TV script, and we see how the LRTV team put things right. The characters who run the station encounter problems faced by all children as their writing ability progresses. Each programme introduces a writing task which can be developed for different levels of difficulty." - publicity blurb appearing in The Guardian, May 9th 1995

Here is a list of all of the broadcasts of this story on the BBC. Unless your teachers managed to get the video recorder to work, this is when you would have seen it in school. See the Air Dates section for precise dates and times.
      Summer 1995, BBC2
      Summer 1996, BBC2
      Summer 1999, BBC2
      Spring 2005, CBBC




Links

LRTV's producer, co-writer, composer and everything-elser Colin Izod showcases the story on his website.
http://www.bigheart.co.uk/pdrlrtv.htm

> CLICK HERE for more general links about Look And Read and schools TV.


Picture Gallery

©BBC ©BBC
CU (Close Up): Punk at entrance beside LRTV sign Welcome to LRTV. I'm Frank Ernest. And I'm Daisy Hayes.

©BBC ©BBC
Happy Birthday, LRTV! Behind the scenes at LRTV

©BBC ©BBC
LRTV continuity slide LRTV resources

Googlethis site 
the web 
THIS UNOFFICIAL WEBSITE HAS NO CONNECTION OF ANY KIND WITH LOOK AND READ OR WITH THE BBC.
The Look and Read title and logo, as well as all related material, is copyright © BBC, 1967-2006. The official BBC Schools website is at www.bbc.co.uk/schools. Everything else on this website © Ben Clarke, 2000-2006.
No malicious infringement of BBC copyrights is intended. Material featured at this site remains the property of the BBC or relevant copyright holders.