The Red Hand Gang

Now kids are on holiday and seeing the rubbish they have to watch ,it got me thinking about 'The red hand gang' One of the best kids dramas ever! I can't believe they only made 12 episodes! It also had one of the most annoying and catchy theme tunes of all time.When is this show going to be released on video or DVD? kids of today are missing out!

as with most posters here i too am from the uk and it seems that Americans have forgotten this gem. i have not seen this for over 25years and my memory of it is very faint. my fondness for it is still here and this is my first comment i've made in years of visiting IMDb! the retro 70's look of the red hand gang and it's music was so special to me. i remember the kids jumping in under the credits at the end and the bikes they'd ride about on! i think i had a chopper style 'tomahawk' bike as a result of this show. anyway, it was well shot and the story was very good, certainly held my attention as a 6 year old. one thing i would like to know is was the chapters to this held within the show of another kids TV program? the one with the cartoon monsters - werewolf, Dracula and frankenstein (the one that would always say 'i needed that'). also the show had the three muskateers in it i think? i think i'm thinking of the banana bunch which was much earlier? or 3-2-1 contact - does anyone remember that as well? oh well, the 70's was a great time. just wished i could remember it a bit better and catch up with some of this old footage again.

I loved watching 'The Red Hand Gang'! The three series were shown several times during the late 1970s and early 1980s. One involved a chimpanzee, the second the kidnapping of a rich boy and the third the capture of a famous footballer as part of a plan to steal jewellery. I enjoyed the children's adventures more each time I watched them.

The 'Gang' consisted of four boys - Frankie (the leader), J.R., Little Bill (Frankie's younger brother) and Doc - and one girl, Joanne. All the children were highly observant, imaginative and capable of taking the initiative. These skills were invaluable in their pursuit and outwitting of the crooks - and, usually, very successful. One such comical episode during the third series was when they kept disturbing one of the crooks in his hotel room by sending up services he didn't want, including Doc dressed as a singing telegraph boy!

The series was quite 'Enid Blyton-ish' in its form of a club of children discovering mysteries, outwitting the crooks and everyone receiving his or her just deserves at the end. This was one of the reasons it appealed to me. Also, it was cleverly written in that each episode ended with a cliff-hanger, making young viewers want to watch on. There was also the catchy theme music, with the children jumping in on trampolines (presumably!) and its montage of their adventures.

Simply but effectively made, 'The Red Hand Gang' deserves to be repeated - or, at least, remade and updated - so that it can be enjoyed by today's children.

God, How I loved this show as a kid! It was so cool but wasn't on very long. James Bond III was the most popular and I have seen him in other 70's shows as well. If you Brits love 70's kid shows may I recommend: "Infinity Factory" with it's disco theme song and titles teaching young people ages 10-14 the wonders of math! "Zoom" was hot too and I have a copy of the Best of Zoom from the 1970's! "High Feather" about some kids at a summer cap right before Reagan was elected president, "Vegatable Soup" with it's "soulful" approach to things in life (Loved the kids on skateboards traveling in time)! Wished children television shows were this fun again (and away with Ipods and cell phones!)

I remember the final episode of the kidnapped boy stories. Lil" Bill and the kidnapped boy are being held hostage on a boat. They're tied up below deck in their underwear. They are subsequently rescued and the kidnapped boy is carried off in a blanket by his parents.

It's truly a pity that the powers that be have not seen fit to put it out on DVD.

The only wee criticism I have is that either Bill or the kidnapped boy weren't gagged. I guess that was not done for the seek of dialog.

I also recall the first episode of that arc. They first spot a picture of the kidnapped boy in the paper. Then they see him in the window. Not terribly professional kidnappers.