I'm pretty sure I caught this on its first run in early '84, when I'd have been 3 years old. Of course back then most kiwis only had two channels to choose from and I expect it would've been shown on TV1. The title with its music and images I believe is a big part of what made me remember it over time. Very haunting(someone else pointed out the Mike Oldfield guitar sound). I recently learned of some British children's sci-fi/fantasy TV from 1984 with similarly haunting intros like Chocky, The Tripods and Box of Delights.
As for Children of the Dog Star's story, I can analyse it now, better than I could back in 1984 or one of its re-runs later in the '80s. There's a kind of science vs. legend or science vs. instinctive knowledge theme about it and a bit of a "black man's knowledge" vs. "white man's knowledge". There is actually some quite heavy content, raising questions about possible forms of alien contact and advanced artificial intelligence. At the same time, there's a theme of girlhood/womanhood. Gretchen of course has big dreams about becoming an astronaut, dreams which her housewife aunt tries her best to support. While the series has her making progress with her dreams, it starts to paint her as a "Pandora" or "Eve" who has unleashed terror on her town. Somebody who's passion for astronomy has led to harm and she needs her guy friend Ronny to correct her. So I found it disappointing that her reassembly of the alien AI Kolob(interestingly Kolob is the name of a planet in the Mormon Bible) was finally confirmed as "wrong" by its alien creators who near the end, make contact with the children.
Another idea you could take out of this story is "buried knowledge" and should one unearth it, for example radioactive metal, buried in the earth, that is useful, but dangerous. Or knowledge and ideas that people once held onto, but has been "retired" and buried. Should one dig them up again or leave them in retirement.
As for Children of the Dog Star's story, I can analyse it now, better than I could back in 1984 or one of its re-runs later in the '80s. There's a kind of science vs. legend or science vs. instinctive knowledge theme about it and a bit of a "black man's knowledge" vs. "white man's knowledge". There is actually some quite heavy content, raising questions about possible forms of alien contact and advanced artificial intelligence. At the same time, there's a theme of girlhood/womanhood. Gretchen of course has big dreams about becoming an astronaut, dreams which her housewife aunt tries her best to support. While the series has her making progress with her dreams, it starts to paint her as a "Pandora" or "Eve" who has unleashed terror on her town. Somebody who's passion for astronomy has led to harm and she needs her guy friend Ronny to correct her. So I found it disappointing that her reassembly of the alien AI Kolob(interestingly Kolob is the name of a planet in the Mormon Bible) was finally confirmed as "wrong" by its alien creators who near the end, make contact with the children.
Another idea you could take out of this story is "buried knowledge" and should one unearth it, for example radioactive metal, buried in the earth, that is useful, but dangerous. Or knowledge and ideas that people once held onto, but has been "retired" and buried. Should one dig them up again or leave them in retirement.