Social media shocked by creepiness of 'cursed' Australian kids TV shows as footage of 90s series Lift Off resurfaces: 'Gave me nightmares'

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Fans have gone into a frenzy after a throwback clip from a '90s children's show resurfaced on social media.

Viewers have described the short excerpt from the ABC series Lift Off as 'creepy' and 'disturbing'.

In the scene, shared to Chattr's Instagram account, two children are seen interacting with a rag doll puppet which has no facial features, including no mouth and no eyes.

The clip features two girls, approximately ten years old, who come across this peculiar-looking creature.

Initially frightened, one of the girls asks the doll, 'You're not rubbish, are you?' 

'Someone's thrown you away,' she continues, before her friend adds: 'I think he's scared.'

Fans have gone into a frenzy after a throwback clip from a 90s children's show resurfaced on social media.Two children are seen interacting with a rag doll puppet which has no mouth and no eyes. Pictured: A scene from ABC show Lift Off

Viewers online have described the short excerpt from the beloved show, which aired between 1992 and 1995, as 'creepy' and 'disturbing'

'It's alright, we won't hurt you,' her companion tells the doll, which was known in the series as 'EC'.

The scene ends with one of the little girls asking the doll: 'Wanna come home with us?' 

Fans were quick to post their memories of the series which was shared with the caption: 'Australian kids shows were seriously cursed in the 90s.' 

'Horrifically disturbing,' one commented on the post's message board. 

'For years I thought I had made up the memory of this doll,' messaged one fan, while another posted, 'This show gave my sister nightmares.'

'How did I forget about this. It made me hate dolls even more,' another viewer joked.

Another user added: 'This woulda seriously f***** me up as a kid.'

'That doll freaked me out as a kid and now as an adult,' another fan admitted

Fans were quick to post their memories of the series which was shared to Chattr on Instagram with the caption: 'Australian kids shows were seriously cursed in the 90s.'

However, some fans did not take the TV nostalgia too seriously.

'The start of all millennials anxiety issues right here,' quipped one user, while another joked: 'They were not drug testing screen writers back then.'

Lift Off, a series that mixed live action with puppetry, animation and documentary, originally aired from 1992 and 1995 was aimed at an audience aged between three and eight years of age.

The young cast of performers who were aged around ten years old acted out story lines that dealt with coming-of-age issues such as anxiety, jealousy and bullying.

Set in Melbourne in a block of flats, the inter-racial cast were seen interacting with bizarre characters including a one-eyed plant and a lizard who carried a camera.

Noted for its weird and imaginative use of the everyday the show also featured 'talking backpacks'.

There was also a cafe run by puppets called Wakadoo.

The show, which was used in schools as part of the curriculum, eventually ran to two series and 78 episodes and went on to win three AFI TV Awards.

Developed by producer Patricia Edgar the show received rave reviews after it debuted in 1992.

'The most ambitious and satisfying children's series ever produced in Australia,' gushed the Sunday Telegraph.

TV Week enthused: 'This is dazzling kids entertainment centred on many an educational and environmental message, and the sheer creativity behind it all is-to use a word popular among the age group at which it is aimed-awesome.'

In 2023, Lift Off was among the top ten favourite Australian Kids Shows in a survey of adults who grew up watching Australian-made children's television by Swinburne University of Technology.

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