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Children Of Fire Mountain

MISLEADINGLY invigoratingly-titled Kiwi-instigated saga of turn-of-the-century Blyton-esque youngsters in pinstripes and straw hats. Much derring-do revolved around sub-Fawlty morali-comic attempts to help old colonial Sir Charles Pemberton establish ill-positioned health spa on Maori lands, interspersed with somewhat more square-jawed thwarting of attempts by aptly-named local Doomy Dwyer to flog outlawed ‘grog’ to the natives. Much ‘understanding the other man’s ways’ involved as the episode count seemingly stretched out into infinity, and the ‘fire mountain’ of the title did indeed erupt at the end, in some sort of metaphorical ‘nature strikes back’ spa-skewed ecological indignance, though probably most had long since stopped watching by then. Noted for epic-length infuriatingly jaunty theme music, and for inevitable Warlock Of Firetop Mountain-related nomenculatural confusion in just about every TV Cream venture ever.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Ric

    October 15, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    It’s incredible that there is so little information about this series to be found online! I thoroughly enjoyed it as a ten year old, and to be honest didn’t even really notice the morality overdose. I think i was more likely to have been engrossed in the story surrounding the land rights, and the threat of volcanic erruption… though i remember very little else about the show. It definitely had a similar feel to ‘Huckleberry Finn and his friends’ which i was a huge fan of, and still am!

    I do however remember the theme music (which was quite similar to the Heidi theme – but a bit more upbeat…) – I’d love to see some clips form this show and i’d really like to hear that music again…. just to prove to myself that i have managed to carry the tune in my head for 26 years!

  2. EmmaS

    October 16, 2009 at 1:18 am

    It was Children of Fire Mountain, not Firetop Mountain. ISTR it was quite good, and didn’t go on interminably like bloody Heidi or Huckleberry Finn. Was it based on a book?

  3. Adam Bowie

    May 19, 2011 at 3:49 pm

    This is available on DVD in NZ. You can hear a brief extract of the theme in the online trailer:

    http://tvnz.co.nz/dvd-merchandise/children-fire-mountain-video-3488892

  4. Droogie

    June 2, 2011 at 5:50 am

    Can’t say this import was a tea-time favourite of mine. I recall an Aussie kid’s show shown around the same time set in some 19th century mining town that was equally dull

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