Horrible Histories
ABC3
IT’S a regular scene in most households.
Kids goggle-eyed in front of the idiot box, parents quietly fuming about endless hours spent watching rubbish.
Before the usual rant of “turn that bloody thing off before I put my boot right through it”, just check that Horrible Histories isn’t on.
It’s actually a show worth watching.
The BBC sketch comedy show is a potted history of the world featuring the gruesome bits of life in the not-so good old days.
Segments like Terrible Tudors, Vile Victorians and Rotten Romans gives an indication of the fare on offer, with gruesome dietary habits, bizarre medical treatments and dubious hygiene standards the bedrock of the show.
The beauty of this long-running series is that it fosters a love of history among children who may not otherwise look further back than their last birthday.
The kids might be pulling faces about the original Queen Elizabeth’s four times a year bathing habit, but they are also picking up some jigsaw pieces from a crucial period of world history.
They might think that sitting in a sewer to cure the black death is hilarious but where else are they learning about the Middle Ages?
Inspired by the books of the same name by Terry Deary, Horrible Histories has proved such a hit that a stage show is touring the world and will be in Australia in a few months.
So, next time you want to turn off the TV, just make sure you’re not interrupting the best history lesson the kids may have ever had.
– Danny Buttler
