Lift Off! - Series 1

Australian Children's Television Foundation , 1992

Lift Off is an innovative program about a group of young children who share a world of fun and imagination. Using a mix of actors, puppets and animation in a blend of fiction, fantasy and documentary, Lift Off is both educational and entertaining.

Nipper, Poss, Aku and the other children accept the fantastic as everyday – and interact with characters such as EC, the rag doll who makes dreams real; Lotis, the artificially-intelligent elevator; and Beverley, the magic pot-plant who sees into the world of nature. Other characters are designed to help children learn. For example, LOTIS is a lift that can take children to any place or time, encouraging them to explore the world and their imaginations. Backsaks uses language creatively and symbolically.

All of the characters' stories reflect the joys and occasional sorrows of growing up, and emphasise the wonder of new experiences. The storyline never underestimates the young child’s capacity to think, imagine, understand, question and learn.

Lift Offis an internationally acclaimed educational television series, integrating current thinking on child development and early childhood education. Each episode is underpinned by the acclaimed theories of Howard Gardiner; The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) and Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences of the 21st century (1999). 

In this series

Lift Off! - Animated Segments (1994)

Lift Off! is an innovative program - based on current theories of child development - that educates, while it entertains.

Lift Off! - Series 2 (1994)

Lift Off! is an innovative program - based on current theories of child development - that educates, while it entertains.

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Episodes

Episode 1 A Load of Old Rubbish - Part 1

A scruffy looking old doll falls off a dump truck, and is rescued by Poss and Kim. Nipper won’t go to the fancy dress party, because he doesn’t know what to wear - but EC helps him solve the problem. 

Episode 2 A Load of Old Rubbish - Part 2

Paul gets fed up, when his little sister, Aku, breaks his kite. He objects to babysitting, until Aku helps him out of an embarrassing and difficult situation. Paul realises that having a little sister might not be so bad after all. 

Episode 3 Destroy - Part 1

Aku pretends she is a dinosaur, with serious consequences for her friendships with Poss, Kim, Nipper and Max. In the end, she realises that playing games can go too far. She apologises, and is welcomed back into the group. 

Episode 4 Destroy - Part 2

Turbo gets cross with Nipper, and tells him to grow up. Nipper rejects EC, but pines for his doll - until Turbo realises the harm he has done, and reassures Nipper that we all need a little magic in our lives. 

Episode 5 Which One? - Part 1

Kim goes to stay with Poss, who gets very jealous when Kim gets special treatment from her family. Kim understands Poss’ feelings and tells her how lucky she is, and that she, Kim, can only borrow her family for a while. 

Episode 6 Which One? - Part 2

Kim and Poss make a video, interviewing parents about why they have children. The experience helps Kim to work out her own feelings for her adopted parents.

Episode 7 That’s Not Fair - Part 1

Nipper wants to play soccer with the other kids, but bossy Snot says Nipper’s a weed. Nipper is dejected, but persists and when asked to join the team, he kicks a goal.

Episode 8 That’s Not Fair - Part 2

Poss wants to win a pony through the Bonza Eating Competition. Ted and Jenny aren’t enthusiastic. Poss fights with Kim, and realises her hopes are unrealistic. She finds a solution that the family all enjoys together. 

Episode 9 Because It Feels Good - Part 1

Nipper enjoys eating jelly with his hands, but wants to grow up, because then he’d have more fun doing things like camping. Unable to go away on a holiday, the children camp in the backyard. The feeling is great - until it rains. 

Episode 10 Because It Feels Good - Part 2

Ted wakes the children up in an unusual manner. Aku and Nipper enjoy dancing. Max enjoys a scratch, that leads to everyone scratching. 

Episode 11 Into the Unknown - Part 1

Max works at rollerblading, but he keeps having spills. At school, he knocks over the caretaker and the art teacher’s sculpture. Paul, Turbo and Max surprise the teacher by putting together something that works.

Episode 12 Into the Unknown - Part 2

Harry and Stella take Kim and Poss on an overnight bushwalk. They get lost and camp out in a hut. Without Poss, they would have been in more trouble. 

Episode 13 Once I Grew - Part 1

Aku befriends a struggling plant. Lotis decides she would like a garden, but it grows out of control. The children return the plant to the forest. Mr. Fish just wants to grow hair.

Episode 14 Once I Grew - Part 2

Kim is promoted to a higher level in the gym class, but she is fearful. Encouraged by Kim and EC, she overcomes her fears. Poss and Nipper argue about the use of the bathroom.

Episode 15 Something Tells Me - Part 1

Max receives a letter, and the news isn’t good. Paul reads Max’s letter and discovers that Max is worried about meeting his pen friend, James, who doesn’t know that Max is deaf. James is more concerned about his rollerblade skills.

Episode 16 Something Tells Me - Part 2

Today is Fathers’ Childcare Day. Ted minds baby Annie, but has to leave her with Mr. Fish for a short time. Annie leads Mr. Fish on a merry dance. Harry takes Kim to the office, where Kim solves a major business problem. 

Episode 17 The Wheel Turns - Part 1

Baby breaks Nipper’s toy, when Poss and Kim are babysitting. Poss decides to make a toy for Nipper all by herself - a handmade pinball machine. 

Episode 18 The Wheel Turns - Part 2

The Burke family is planning on going camping. Ted puts on his fishing jacket and starts to sneeze. And what a sneeze it is! At the campsite, Ted’s sneezing plays havoc with the peaceful surroundings and the wildlife. Poss and Nipper wonder if the fishing jacket could be the cause of Ted’s allergy. 

Episode 19 Out of Order - Part 1

Nipper loses EC in the rain, down a drain. Snap and Turbo come to the rescue and trace the drain to the beach, where there is a very happy reconciliation. 

Episode 20 Out of Order - Part 2

Paul is careless, and Aku gets hurt. The other kids reject Paul, who goes to work as Mr. Fish’s deputy. Aku misses Paul, and the other children decide to forgive him, as they need him to help with the kite competition. 

Episode 21 Above and Beyond - Part 1

Aku is distressed to find that Mr. Fish is going to cut down their favourite tree. Initially, Paul is too busy to listen, but Max helps Aku by organising a petition. The council says it’s too late, but fortunately Mr. Fish’s plans go wrong. 

Episode 22 Above and Beyond - Part 2

Aku is staying at Nipper’s house. When they hear strange noises from upstairs, they decide an alien lives there. They discover playing 'alien' games is fun. But, the older kids don’t believe in the alien upstairs, so Nipper and Aku go up to find out for themselves. 

Episode 23 I Can! - Part 1

Poss tries to dive, but she is too scared. The others tease her, and she gets most upset with her family and Kim. Lotis assures Poss she can do it, and Poss finally plucks up courage for her first dive. 

Episode 24 I Can! - Part 2

Turbo tells Nipper about his billycart record - all the way down the hill and past the special tree stump. Nipper decides to beat the record. First, they have to rebuild Turbo’s old billycart, which means asking for help from their legendary and terrifying neighbour, Mr. Peck. Nipper is determined to succeed, and he does. 

Episode 25 Remember - Part 1

The children want to give a surprise gift to the Anderettis for their wedding anniversary. On a visit to the cemetery, they remember how 'Mrs. Hammie' taught them to press flowers. They make a picture frame mounted with pressed flowers and present the gift at a surprise party. 

Episode 26 Remember - Part 2

The children plan a concert on the steps of the apartment building. Nipper wanders off and gets absorbed in daydreams. Paul and Poss find him, just in time for the concert. 

Episode 27 Clash - Part 1

Arguing over EC’s role in a game, Poss and Kim pull the doll apart. Nipper tries to fix EC - but to no avail. Jenny suggests Ricardo could help. With EC fixed, the children play, but ban Poss and Kim until they learn to play cooperatively. 

Episode 28 Clash - Part 2

Ted gives Poss a treasured concertina, that becomes the centre of an argument with her classmates. 

Episode 29 For Sale - Part 1

The kids have turned an old warehouse into their own 'Zip Zap Theatre'. Kim is dismayed to find out the warehouse is going to be sold - and worse - her mother is the real estate agent. So, Kim and her friends put on a play called 'Moon for Sale' - about the value of things that money can’t buy. It’s a lot of fun and it helps to resolve the situation. 

Episode 30 For Sale - Part 2

Nipper is grumpy, because he’s losing at Monopoly. Aku would prefer to play with EC instead. But Nipper grabs EC and locks the doll away. When Nipper finds that he’s left out of everything, he shares EC with Aku - and the friends are reunited. 

Episode 31 Face - Part 1

Poss’s cousin, Jemma, comes to stay. Poss and Jemma look identical and play a trick on Mr. Fish. While they look the same, they are certainly different underneath. Snap and Turbo solve a baked bean and spaghetti puzzle. 

Episode 32 Face - Part 2

Paul takes on the job of looking after Mr. Clark’s cockatoo. Tiny escapes,  causing Paul some anxious moments. When Mr. Clark arrives to pick up Tiny, there are two cockatoos. Which one is Tiny?

Episode 33 Going Under - Part 1

Poss, Nipper and Max visit Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. They go on a treasure hunt, eat Grandpa’s cherry pie and Nipper gets a tummy ache from too many cherries. 

Episode 34 Going Under - Part 2

Kim and Poss enjoy swimming in the pool at the Stinson’s, until Kim is pushed under. Kim comes to terms with her fears (with Lotis’s help), and dives under water. 

Episode 35 Illusion is All - Part 1

Nipper invents an invisible friend to protect him from the scary sights and sounds of a stormy night. Snap, Turbo, Paul and Aku visit a movie studio to make some repairs. Nipper finds out he doesn’t need any equipment to create his illusion. 

Episode 36 Illusion is All - Part 2

Poss breaks a new lamp that was to be Jenny’s birthday gift from Ted. It can’t be repaired, so Snap and Turbo make a new base, modelled on EC. Ted is bewildered as to how this change came about. 

Episode 37 Beneath the Skin - Part 1

Turbo is in charge of the cooking for a surprise party for the Garcias, to celebrate the anniversary of their arrival in Australia. Nipper surreptitiously befriends a skinny cat, who eats part of the feast - eels. Now Nipper and the other kids have a problem on their hands. How do they replace the eels without Turbo finding out? 

Episode 38 Beneath the Skin - Part 2

Paul hurts himself when he falls out of a tree into Kim and Aku’s mud pies. Mr. Fish feels sick, but gets little sympathy from the children, as they head for the hospital.

Episode 39 Real Friends - Part 1

Kim has a spotty virus and is stuck at home. Paul makes a telephone from two cans and a string, so that they can talk to Kim. Max builds a cubby house in the park and meets a little girl sheltering to avoid moving to Perth with her family and away from her friends.

Episode 40 Real Friends - Part 2

Poss forgets to relay a message to her dad about a recording session. When she finally remembers it is too late... or is it? A power failure delays the session, and Ted makes it just in time. 

Episode 41 Lost - Part 1

Paul sees a bird that he thinks is an Ibis. He is determined to track it down. With help from the Aboriginal craftsman, Windaru, Paul learns about Ibises and their habits and, with Max and EC, Paul finds where the Ibises are nesting. 

Episode 42 Lost - Part 2

Kim and Poss are making a video project about the city. They meet Murlo The Magician, who is looking for something he’s lost. The magician’s spells all seem to go wrong. But with help from EC, Kim and Poss, a lost dog is returned to its owner. 

Episode 43 Funday - Part 1

Poss and Kim are being unusually helpful at home, because tomorrow, after school, they have tickets to the fun park. Max and Paul, to keep an eye on the girls, go along dressed as Count Dracula and a skeleton.

Episode 44 Funday - Part 2

Paul and Max go to the Polly Woodside, a fully restored iron barge, and accidentally break an old lamp. They set about finding a replacement, before Mrs. Foster discovers the damage.

Episode 45 No Entry - Part 1

Max, Paul and Kim find an old black and white movie camera. Lotis takes them back to the 1920s, and they star in a silent movie. It’s funny, but even EC starts to look a bit like Charlie Chaplin.

Episode 46 No Entry - Part 2

Poss and Kim seek to make new friends at school. Sally, Janine and Gia trick Poss into wearing her pyjamas to school. The teacher helps Poss understand that real friends don’t make you pass tests, they accept you for yourself. 

Episode 47 Wanting - Part 1

Ted and Nipper, Poss and Kim go on a fishing trip. While Ted tries to catch fish, the kids meet Mary, a painter who lives in the bush. Nipper is amazed to learn there is 'no ice cream and no TV'. Back home, Nipper and Poss decide to sleep on the balcony under the stars, like Mary. 

Episode 48 Wanting - Part 2

Max wants a bike of his own, but his parents can’t afford it. The other kids, with help from Snap and Turbo, build a bike out of old and recycled parts. Max is thrilled when the kids surprise him with their present.

Episode 49 Threads - Part 1

Turbo returns from overseas with a poncho, a gift from a girl. While fixing a merry-go-round, it catches and unravels. Max feels left out, as everyone fusses over Turbo. He then realises how upset Turbo is and suggests they all work together to make Turbo a new poncho. 

Episode 50 Threads - Part 2

Poss buys a new scrunchy for her hair, and then loses it at school. The scrunchy is found, and after being used in many unusual situations, is spotted by Nipper - who returns it to its rightful owner. 

Episode 51 All Together Now - Part 1

Nipper hurts his knee while playing in a vacant lot. The kids decide to clean up the lot and turn it into a proper playground. The Council approves their plans, and everyone rallies to help. After lots of hard work, the playground is wonderful fun.

Episode 52 All Together Now - Part 2

Kim is chosen to write her own song and sing it at the school concert. At first she is excited and confident, but then she gets nervous when everyone seems to be expecting so much of her. But Kim gets help from all the other kids, and the concert is a great success.

Awards

Winner: Australian Film Institute Awards

Winner: United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Awards

Winner: TV WORLD Marketing Awards

Running Time
52 x 24 mins or 26 x 48 mins

Production Company
Australian Children's Television Foundation

Language
English, French, Spanish (Neutral & Castilian)

Genre
Preschool

Animation segments also available individually

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