Trap Door Series 1 & 2 [DVD] [1984]

Fabulous seeing this series again, a favourite from when my children were little. Now to be enjoyed by my grandchildren. It’s as good and funny as I recalled! A shame that the theme music is missing from the first series. I can still sing it though.

Oh why didn't this children's show go on for longer?? Willie Rushton's voices are a delight, the scripts hilarious, the characters animated beautifully, this is British children's TV animation at its best, low-budget, high-creativity, wonderful.

This is an excellent, very funny children's series from the 1980's. The voice-work was done by the legendary Willie Rushton. The central character was this blue blobby fellow called Berk, the "overworked servant of the Thing upstairs" (whom we hear but never see). Berk works away in the lower levels of this ancient castle set in the "dark and nasty regions where nobody goes". Monsters regularly emerge from trap door to make life difficult from for Berk, but he usually gets the better of them in the end.The emphasis is always on the comedy even though it draws inspiration from the horror genre but not to worry, it's all harmless, gooey, slimy, squidgy, chaotic fun, with the occasional "boo" factor.Apart from the "eyes in the dark" it's all done by traditional stop-motion animation of clay figures. The introduction and theme tune are provided as a separate feature from the episodes, because the episodes are quite short and I suppose it might otherwise become repetitive. It was very popular at the time with kids of all ages and spawned the inevitable merchandise: fluffy toys, a board game and even a computer game for the home-computers of the time, such as the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64.A timeless cult classic.

I watched this programme as a child and am very happy to report that I was not viewing it through rose tinted nostalgia goggles. The show has stood the test of time, with the excellent voicework of Willy Rushton, primary bright claymation and kooky sets it's as delightful as it was all those years ago (more years than I shall admit to :D ) I couldn't wait to watch it on arrival and popped it straight in. My 4 year old daughter was hooked from the start. The only qualm I had turned out to be unfounded, I was disappointed not to hear the theme tune as soon as I started the series to play, however this is just on the first series. The theme tune is reinstated at the beginning of each episode on series 2 and you can also choose to "Drive him upstairs mad" from the main menu whereby the theme is played on a continuous loop.I am so happy I bought this DVD, the delivery was extremely fast and the price was excellent.

This is great viewing for kids of all ages,and adults who haven't grown up.(Who,me?). I first came across this gem many years ago when some bikers in the flat next to mine at the time (you know who you are !)used to watch the VHS version very frequently.After many times hearing the immortal "Berk,where's my dinner?" I decided to check this out.I borrowed the tape and have been a fan ever since. My favourite character is Drutt,the little green thingy who eats worms and often gets squished flat in several episodes but always gets up again. The time and attention that went into making this show,animating the characters and the background action,must have been formidable. You just don't get this kind of thing today. It's a work of art. Some reviews have pointed out the missing intros between the episodes,but I don't think this is too bad as it could get annoying if you watched many episodes in one sitting. It would have been nice to have an on/off function though to keep everyone happy. Altogether a great buy.

I used to watch this when I was little so I was delighted when I found it to buy. I could not stop myself from watching another and another 3 minute episode. It's colourful, funny and I think children and adults alike would enjoy today if it was broadcasted.The main character is Berk, the poor put-upon servant of "him upstairs", he has a companion named Boni who likes to grumble a lot and his sort of pet spider Drutt who follows him around, gets in the way and inevitably gets squashed on many occasions. Throughout each episode some creature crawls out of the Trapdoor, some are nasty, some pesky and one is friendly if a bit dim - Rogg.An enjoyable and entertaining show about plastercine characters made before Wallace and Gromit was even dreamed about.

Really great to watch this series again after quite a few years. The late Willie Rushton at his best with all the voices, and great quality graphics. The troops all love it and it still seems to suit all ages. If you haven't seen it before, the plot surrounds Burke, the overworked servant to the master upstairs. Meals consist largely of worms, grubs, and other small things with lots of legs. In the middle of the floor is a trapdoor, under which lurk enormous 'orrible creatures, bent on escape and mayhem of one sort or another. Great fun, and well worth buying, for a good laugh in the dark days of winter, curled up on the sofa, clutching your cocoa.

i loved this show when i was a little sprog in the 80's, absolutely brilliant i thought, always have done. Im not sure how long this has been on dvd, but i've bought it recently and treated myself to trip down memory lane. All the characters are great, but for some reason i still find myself cracking up at little drutt. Even though the models where relatively crudely done plasticine, i think adds to the overall enjoyment of it. The creatures that used to come out of the trapdoor as well where ingeniously thought out of nowhere, very simple yet quite horrible sometimes. And with the legendary Willie Rushton doing the voices it all came back to me of what a fun time i had watching this way back in the days when kids tv was just plain good fun.