Zig Zag: The Olympics
The Olympics is a unit of the BBC Schools TV series Zig Zag from the 1980s & 1990s, covering various topics for primary school pupils.
A unit of programmes inspired by the Olympic Games, and shown every four years to tie-in with the actual games. Regular presenter Sheelagh Gilbey is joined, for this unit only, by Wayne Laryea.
For the original screening in 1984 anticipating the Los Angeles Olympics, the unit began with a repeat of a 1980 Merry-Go-Round documentary about Ceremonies. Subsequent programmes find the presenters encountering the ghost of Pausanias to explain the ancient games, investigations of how human and animal bodies adapt for sport and exercise, and a preview of the Olympic games across various sports with heptathlete Judy Livermore.
The unit was repeated for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, without the older Ceremonies episode and listed to include a new programme previewing the 1988 games, though I think this was essentially a repeat of the 1984 Games programme.
The unit emerged for one final broadcast in anticipation of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, this time with an entirely new programme previewing the 1992 games presented by athletes Tessa Sanderson and Tanni Grey.
Episode List
# | Title | Broadcast |
---|---|---|
- | rpt Ceremonies | 9 May 1984 |
1. | The Ancient Olympics | 14 May 1984 |
2. | Human Bodies | 21 May 1984 |
3. | Animal Olympics | 4 Jun 1984 |
4. | The 1984 Olympics | 11 Jun 1984 |
5. | The 1992 Olympics | 15 Jun 1992 |
Broadcasts
Year | Term | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Channel | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983-84 | Summer 1984 | Monday, 11:00am | Wednesday, 2:40pm | BBC2 | ||||
1987-88 | Summer 1988 | Monday, 11:00am | Wednesday, 1:38pm | BBC2 | ||||
1991-92 | Summer 1992 | Monday, 11:00am | Wednesday, 1:40pm | BBC2 |
Credits
Presenter | Sheelagh Gilbey & Wayne Laryea (1984) Tessa Sanderson & Tanni Grey (1992) |
With | Geoff Capes Mike Findlay Judy Livermore |
Illustrator | Ken Gay |
Producer | Chris Ellis (1984) David Meldrum (1992) |
Series Producer | Tom Stanier |
Resources
There were teacher's notes available.
Related programmes
- Zig Zag: Topical ProgrammesZig Zag also gave a preview of the Commonwealth Games in a 1986 Topical Programme.
Topics
School topics covered in this programme. Click to find other programmes covering the same topics, but bear in mind topics are a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.
Keyword tags
Some features of this programme. Click to find other programmes with the same features, but bear in mind tags are also a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.
More
Want more on this programme?
This site attempts to cover thousands of programmes and it will take ages to update them all. If you would like to see this one updated soon please click on the star to 'vote' for it and I will do my best to prioritise it!
Voting is anonymous and you can vote for as many programmes as you like. The number in the box above shows how many people have already voted for this programme. You can also see a list of all the votes so far.
More Programmes
Some random programmes for age 7-9 from the 1980s
Symud a Drama | |
BBC Schools Radio | |
1983-1989 | |
English |
Science - Start Here! | |
ITV Schools, Channel 4 Schools | |
1987-1994 | |
Science |
Sain, Cerdd a Chân | |
BBC Schools Radio | |
1959-1985 | |
Music |
Topic Songbook | |
BBC Schools Radio | |
1985-1986 | |
Miscellany |