Lift Off: You're not rubbish are you?

Other than the opening wide shot, most shots are much closer, to show the world from a child’s perspective. The tight shot which brings us in close to Nipper playing with his toy truck, then pulls back a little to reveal a real truck in the background is a lovely example of the ways in which the camera and editing have been used to enhance the storytelling. The camera is also in close when EC begins to move, and these close shots, with the haunting EC theme music help create a special moment of wonder for a child audience.

The doll EC has minimal facial features and doesn’t talk, communicating through highly expressive gesture and movement. Many adults find the faceless EC initially quite disconcerting but children warm immediately to this doll and what it represents. Based on the Steiner homemade faceless doll, EC became one of the most recognised elements of Lift Off.

Mark Mitchell’s Mr Fish represents a very different aspect of a child’s world. Mitchell had a great time playing this bossy adult caricature designed to represent authority, rules and discipline in children’s lives, and has said that Mr Fish was his favourite role. The camera almost always looks up at Mr Fish, seeing him from the children’s point of view as he looms over them, while all shots from his point of view look down on the children.

In a wonderful touch, Mark Mitchell also plays over 50 other character roles in the series, mostly figures of authority such as the parking inspector, the lifesaver, and the boom gate operator. Every time the children are told they can’t do something, the adult authority figure looks like Mr Fish.

Lift Off Synopsis

The theme of this episode is rubbish. It is in two separate 24-minute parts and has the usual Lift Off mix of live action, animation, puppetry music, documentary and fantasy. The main storyline in each part is about the Lift Off kids, interspersed with the other elements. In part A, a scruffy old doll (EC) falls off a dump truck and is rescued by Poss (Erin Pratten) and Kim (Maria Nguyen) who soon realise that EC is no ordinary doll. In part B, Paul (Luke Carroll) is fed up with babysitting his little sister Aku (Aku Bielicki), especially after she breaks his kite.

Lift Off curator's notes

A Load of Old Rubbish is the first episode of Lift Off and introduces the diverse cast of main characters, locations and segments. A busy and complex program with a great deal of early childhood expertise behind it, Lift Off was carefully designed to present a range of characters, families, and situations. Lift Off also aimed to look at, and to show the world from the child’s perspective. The theme of ‘rubbish’ is explored in interesting ways, through the different elements of the episode.

Lift Off first aired on the ABC at 2.00 pm on Friday 8 May 1992, starting with A Load of Old Rubbish. This episode’s first screening in the 4.30 pm timeslot on the ABC was Tuesday 28 July 1992.

Notes by Annemaree O'Brien