We watched this at school and it scared the shat out of me.

Oh my god, never thought I’d find this. I saw this at school and I was scared shitless of that freaky man chasing people!!! I googled ‘children’s tv alien writes backwards’ and found the name of the show. Thank god it was not just me traumatised by it 😂😂

I was born very end of 1980 and this was still being shown in primary schools in Kent well into the mid 80s. It scared the crap out of me as a 6/7 year old. Not just the Thin Man, but the voice.

No way i always thought i imagined this,we were shown this in the 80s in school

This still gives me the shivers, I remember watching this through the gaps in my fingers as I hid behind my hands when I was about 5 years old 😲

John Woodnutt who played the Thin Space Man was a bit of a stalwart of 1970's Doctor Who, appearing in four different stories

I was nine when I watched this at school. I absolutely loved it and I have it on DVD now. I was scared of the 'thin man' and he still gives me the creeps today.

This gave me nightmares for years as a child and that image of the thin man still scares the crap out of me. It’s not even funny as I think I have PTSD as a result. I really suffered sleepless nights continuously and couldn’t even tell anyone about it. How irresponsible of the BBC and everyone involved in making decisions when it comes to education. I mean not even one teacher at my school seemed to find the content inappropriate for the young age group. I can’t even laugh about this because it was truly traumatic. I spent unnecessary time feeling totally terrified and it wasn’t just at night!

Excellent video, great review. I actually saw it first time round in 1971 when I was at infants' school. It seems all of us were disturbed by it (worse still, we had to read the accompanying book!), yet it was compelling viewing. In many ways I'm glad that there's only snippets of it on KZfaq.

I have just watched the whole series back on Amazon Prime

I’m 43 and I still think about it now. I watched it at about 9 years old. Thin space man was so scary.

The shadow of the man walking up the stairs of the observatory had us all screaming in tears. Terrifying

T.V. back in the day wasn’t afraid to give kids nightmares. I kind of miss that to be honest. Was the boy called PEEP PEEP or something? I remember he spoke in noises and beeps instead of words.

Yep! This had everyone traumatised in our school. We were terrified, but couldn't stop watching. The intro theme track, way Peep Peep spoke, the expressions on the faces, the thin man… I think the fact that the episodes were so short, and you had to wait till next week to see the next gripping instalment, played directly into the trauma. Also the fact that you can't really find much info about this online is telling… Just seeing a picture of Peep Peep, brought me right back to being that terrified youngster for a split second. WOY!

Literally fascinating and incredibly beautiful to watch again well done mate.

I was forced to watch it in Primary school... like you at about year 3 ... It scared the poop out of me .. how could this be called education .. ? In one way you could say its one of my few memories from Primary school so it did make a lasting impact !! The TV and video on that stand you showed brought back memories .. they used to only have one TV and video for the school to share ...

what scared me more was those public information films that you got shown at school where a boy would drown in water or get killed on a railway track, or die from electricution.

My sister is going to kill me for posting this on our family group. I am 48 she is 45 and still gets nightmares thinking about it.

This is buried so deep but I vividly recall this whole thing thoroughly freaking me out. 'Thanks' for dragging this one out :fear:

oh my god this brings back memories, scared me to death too! even seeing the thin man and 'peep peep' the boy alien now still freaks me out! Dark towers was another one which was scary....gotta love look and read in the 80's 😆

I used to love sitting on the floor all huddled up with the other kids at school watching look and read

Another solid post to watch! I don’t remember the boy from space, but in New Zealand I remember Worzel Gummidge very well. Loved that show as a kid, but parts of it, i did find a little freaky, with the heads being twisted on and off etc.....

For nearly half a century I thought I'd dreamt this show.

Been up into my loft and found the DVD collection of Look & Read films that I purchased years ago. There's about 10 discs. Watched Skyhunter yesterday and will be watching Boy From Space tonight. Remember seeing these two at school, but don't recall seeing the others.

This program gave me nightmares for about 6 years almost every night !

Yes we were shown this in school too around about 1985 (I was 5) and it scared me so much I had to hold my teachers hand! My mum even recorded it at home for me to watch in an effort to reassure me but that still didn’t work. Horrific stuff :(

Yeah i remember watching it at school in the 70s , I've tried to get the whole series,but can only find clips, i absolutely loved it

For a split second I ws saying to Myself, ", why is Pauli from the sopranos doing review video " lol. Great video buddy

Sat on my numb arse on a hard floor with very thin carpet looking up at the TV and vhs on a trolley (just like you said). Learning nothing, just getting scared rigid. I too remember nothing of the storyline as I was just too frightened. Thank you for this video.

I remember this,never forgot it,wasn’t sure if it was real or not at the time, gave me nightmares and terror when I had flu tremors at night. Really scary and glad I was not the only kid of the turn of the 80’s left scarred by this 😅

The show is on Amazon video by the way ,but not sure if it's in b/w or colour or available in the US.

I never saw this one, but Dark Towers scared me shitless when I saw the ghost knight. I remember the TV you are referring to in the video. I think that was the trend with Primary Schools, a bit TV on a stand. Thanks for compiling.

I remember this quite well. The twist was that the aliens talked and wrote backwards iirc, which the Earth kids figure out when the alien kid writes on a window and they can see it from the other side.

I do recall this drama, though my class never watched it. I used to catch odd episides if I was off ill, or during school hols as they used to keep on running the shows during ther half term breaks. Must admit, was like a rather scary Dr Who adventure.

I remember seeing this in school too. Now as a typical horror video jaded 80's kid I can't say 'the boy from space really bothered me much. I can remember being scared shitless seeing my first Egyptian mummy on a school trip to the museum though. Nobody told me at the age of 7 that real mummies are just dead people and not monsters from the hammer films lol.

Gawd, I remember this (totally forgotten until Jim Sterling made a video with Look and Read intro graphics at the beginning)... the space guy scared the shit out of me is pretty much all I can remember. In memories, it sits close to the Yukon Trail in Watch, and those dots counting down to a show starting that everyone would count out loud, bloody loud in fact. That and Mallory Manor and Granny's Garden on the spiffy new BBC Micro.

Yes I watched this at primary school and was scared witless by the thin man.

It didn’t scare the kids in the UK only but also in its former colonies. I watched it at school in Kenya and was traumatized as well

They were still putting us through this in the early 90s…

"Traumatised" So true..... haha! This is excellent - thank you.

This video freaked me out... I still feel ill thinking about it nearly 40 years later...

Yes, I remember it very well. I remember loving the horror aspect of it until the Thin Man made the car disappear! I realised without knowing it that I had completely bought into the reality that this actually happened in the sense that it was like watching a documentary as an adult. I recall being aghast and petrified all in one moment. Then got home that evening and someone introduced me to the 70's War of the Worlds record. Talkabout double whammy. Traumatised about aliens since that day on!!

I think I saw this around 1975 and I remember being scared but also I have always remembered it and been fascinated by it, I wish I could find a copy. I also remember one of the other stories “Cloudburst”.

I remember watching it at school when I was 8 yrs old. I have it on DVD somewhere in my loft

OMG....I was 6 years old when I watched this.....I remember watching it in class and completely freezing in my chair 😨 telling my parents later about this show, they just didn't believe me telling them it was that traumatizing. Horrific BBC production

I remember watching it at school and being scared. But apart from that clip of him coming over the small hill and nearly getting the boy I dont remember much else.

Incidentally any Robin of Sherwood fans here? The writer for the Boy from Space was the same author as RoS - Richard Carpenter

Omg I was thinking of this last week and tried finding it every where with no joy, then this week I found the same two clips you show in your video. Like your self we was shown at school in 1980, but only 7 of us was chosen, so felt very lucky. This never frightened me at all, just found it so interesting because it was to do with space etc. I remember being really gutted because I missed the 3 and 4th episodes with the look and read program. I have searched every where on here and have only managed to find these two clips. I would love to see the whole series again and would really appreciate it if you could direct me where I could find any links to it, many thanks Dennis Deane AKA D Menace

Still have nightmares about the thin man.I was absolutely terrified when we had to watch this at school. I’m 57 years old now and he is still lodged inside my head somewhere

Yes, this and 'Dark Towers' freaked me right out.

I remember this! It was really creepy, that thin man in a mac following some kids around :D It was filmed in a quarry, like most British sci-fi of the time... The Boy spoke backwards, and deciphering his speech was the "educational" aspect, if I remember rightly. There was another spooky one called "The Dark Tower" I think. I wasn't particularly terrified, I was already watching horror films on Betamax by then :) However I do remember an horrific safety film they made us watch- about why you shouldn't trespass on the railway- that made several kids actually faint!

We watched this at school as well, I remember several of these Look and Read shows, firstly Dark Towers, then Badger Girl then there was another about a Fairground and then this gem, The Boy from Space. The thin space man was terrifying, I remember sitting there watching this as a kid thinking, I wouldn't be getting out of the car if he was approaching me, the doors would be locked. And then when he chased those kids around that quarry with that scary look on his face. I did think Wordy was a cute little character though. Oh and that brought back memories when you showed the TV on that trolley with the video and that remote! That's what ours was like at primary school!

Scared the crap out of me as a kid. They made us watch it at school and I couldn't sleep at night. Shocking what was allowed back then.

No way man, I remember the boy from space now, you've jogged my memories, been trying to think what the show was called and now I know, nice one at8 you've done me proud and yes it shit me up ( pardon the language) Lol. Thanks mate for that one. 👍. 🇬🇧. And I'm not being sarcastic , I honestly did want to know the title of the show and I do really appreciate the info.cheers bro.By the way do you remember Dramarama?

This ruined me for ages!!! They walked us to a room with a huge black box on a stand that houses the Tele,then sat us down and this came on. Petrified isn't the word ,my mum came to the school complaining about the "thin man" yet they didn't know apparently. So glad I didn't suffer alone ,45 now and the noncy looking thin man is still horrifying

Thank you. Always thought it was just me that was scared and traumatised as a 7 year old

I used to dread the tv being wheeled into class, still traumatised by it!

Ah! The early 80's video trauma trolley that also brought me the creepy Music Scene schools program "Mr Humphreys & his inheritance" Watership Down & the freaky Cosmic Zoom.

I've been trying to find it on the internet for years. It scared the crap out of me watching it in the early 80's at school. I must've been 6 or 7. Does anyone have a special link?

I'm 47 and remember watching it, proper scared me, parents complained !!

Yes. I can’t remember the story but remember the sheer terror every week 😨

Hi buddy, thankyou so much for making this, I definitely remember this and even today it still get stirs a reaction in me although nothing as strong as it did back then. I own a copy of this on dvd and the great thing is you get an option to watch it as it was originally shown in parts including the studio interaction with wordy and his word games and songs or you can watch the actual drama from start to finish without any of the studio stuff, I choose the latter. It's one of the shows that I've never forgotten about, it had that "hammer horror. " type of dread and forbading along with that 70's type of sync music which reminded me of Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who in which it was used to death in practically every episode. And I totally agree the alien guy was the real star and god was he frightening in it!!! I remember having this nightmare as a result of watching this at school, but surprisingly it was ages after watching it, so the affects of this stayed with me long after. In this nightmare I have to stay over at school but after as I'm walking down a corridor to leave I hear someone behind me and as look it's the Alien man, I run down another corridor thinking I've escaped him and as I look down it, he appears standing there watching me. I remember trying to push the entrance door open and it's as if I'm locked in, I just remember running upstairs to another classroom and hiding under the desk... but I awoke soon after and surprisingly I wasn't keen on going back to sleep again that morning. I put my bedside lamp on until it became light. That memory is just as vivid now as it was real back then. This classic tv show did make loads of other stories which were good but never as good as this one.

I was traumatised, had nightmares about this show as a kid, so much so that I've looked it up a few times on here

Can't remember a thing about it except what you mentioned, fucking scary !! must get the DVD :)

In Joe and the sheep rustlers one of the characters actually got shot in the story. I remember the boy from space being shown in black and white and in colour as I am old enough to remember.

This traumatised me as a child along with 'Wordy', 'Fenella The Witch' from Chorlton And The Wheelies, Dickie Davies' hair, safety adverts featuring flying a kite near pylons and the threat of nuclear war after seeing Threads

Was anyone elses class split up to watch either this or dark towers ? I got the feeling of being separated from my classmates and being alone when i had to watch this

I watched The Boy from Space in school as part of our English lessons. Do you remember The Dark Tower from Look and Read about a year or so later?

This triggered my nightmares of when I had been forced to watch- by My older sisters , David Bowie in, "The Man who Fell to Earth .The part wear he removes his eyes etc .I was 6. Way too adult and terrified me. All so my sisters could witness my terror and laugh at me.

In the same year of 1980 I watched a similar children's TV programme where a bunch of kids had a bird of prey, possibly a peregrine falcon, anyone know what this programme was called (not Kes)?.

John Woodnut had a penchant for playing sinister characters.

Thank you Love, I agree. I was 7 & it was scary! 💜

Born in 75 and remember warch this early 80s in primary school in London

I seen the first run of this in 1973 and never forgot it .we all sat in the class riveted .

i watched it at school .... would love to see it again

The Boy from Space debuted on BBC Look & Read on 21st of September !971. it was then on repeatedly on and off up to 1980.

Who remembers sitting crossed legged on the carpet in primary school, while the teacher wheeled out that telly on legs?. That’s how I remember watching The Boy From Space - scary as hell!

I always thought Earth warp Ollie was worse but my dad ( my primary school teacher that had the obsession of showing the film to 9 year olds) showed me a clip from a boy from space... lets just say I now have learned to love Ollie... 😂😂

I distinctly remember seeing TBFS ten years before you did. Probably around 1970 or 1971. I remember being somewhat scared of it. Nonetheless I was fascinated by it. It had a profound effect on me in ways that are difficult to describe without sounding like a loon, but I will say this, I felt as a kid that this show was pointing me in the right direction. 🤔 Apparently the show format in 1970 was very different from its goofier 80s version. A scarier version. I just remember being both scared and hypnotized by it. It is certainly a very very bizarre chapter in children’s education.

My dads friend recorded this to vhs for us (my brother and i). I've been looking for the full look and read series. Wordy lol.

I noticed some great things on your wall, I noticed the Megadeth photograph & the Anthrax autographed ''Not Man'' drum skin

Also remember it... We used to have a 20 minute break in class and was allowed to watch something educational... This scared the hell out of me....i watched this in the year 1989 when I was 8-9 also I share the sane experience I couldn't remember this years later

Hi,Enjoyed your video.I remember the show from my childhood.Wasnt there a character in the show called Dr Bunting? Stuck in my head as obviously I have same surname.I thought it was Arthur Lowe but was just someone who looked like him.

I've got the full series on DVD. I also watched it in school and for some reason, I have always remembered it

We were sat down and made to watch this as 4 year olds in nursery it scared me for years

I would have been about 7 too, when I saw it. Omg the Thin Man gave me nightmares, and yet, I couldn't wait for the next episode to see whether Peep Peep was going to be ok. Kept hoping for a hero to rescue him, that kind of thing. As soon as you showed that pic of the Thin Man it reminded me of that horrible, terrified feeling I got every time I saw him. I used to think I saw his shadow on my bedroom wall at night (streetlight shone in through window), or that he was hiding in my wardrobe or under my bed. Perhaps masochistically, I'm now going to get hold of the whole series so that I can lay old ghosts to rest and laugh (I hope). That, or re-traumatise myself to the grave!

That movie was the equivalent to watching The Exorcist, for me. It was terrifying, and it just made me nervous overall

Watched this at school when I was about 8 or 9

Omg this actually traumatised me as a child. Even know its just so weird

We watched this and Dark Towers at school!

I don’t know if kids just grew up more faster then or because television shows were sometimes filmed months or a year previously which could explain for that.

It was released as a DVD and book set. I loved the boy from space and the literacy themed animated songs. We also watched Skyhunter with Cat Mary as the antagonist.

Full series avaialble on Amazon Prime :)

Gotta love Wordy 👀.... yes I remember this very clearly along with Badger Girl.

There should support groups available for people who saw this.

There was a scene where the dude with the hat standing by a tree with some menacing music...I had never been so scared. This and Badger Girl though....So good.

The Thin Man scared the life out of me

have you covered us on your channel? only just discovered your channel. we will be watching more of you.

I watched it at school in 1973 when I was 7. The thin man was scary.

This messed my head up at school