For those of you Brits who were pretty much any age in the Late 80's - Mid-90's, this is one of those nostalgic and evocative gems of British TV, and of British culture in general.
Basically, this was a video documentary series of Anneka Rice's community projects. The slightly mumsy/poncy but down-to-earth and unpretentious Rice was just the right person to take on such projects, what with her kind philanthropic nature, positive attitude and unfailing ability to encourage and nurture communtiy spirit and participation.
This was quite an original idea for Saturday Night primetime Family TV; real-life community projects was not a likely contender for the sort of show us kids would talk about at school the next week ! A predecessor to (God forbid) reality TV ??
To keep the show from being mundane and merely utilitarian, the show always had an entertaining twist to keep all ages amused. Near-impossible challenges - moving an entire building a mile or so over a hill being no exception, funny behaviour from local children, not to forget the camera following the slightly 'horsy' but stunning Anneka Rice's bottom around as she frantically ran around town in spandex shorts or leggings ! And of course we all remeber the frustration of the 2-3 day challenges having the time frame counted down toward the end:-
4 HOURS TO GO
2 HOURS TO GO
30 MINUTES TO GO
All in all, I will give this show 10/10 for being a good philanthropic project with a positive and stunning presenter, and generally good wholesome simple Saturday Night entertainment for all the family.
