Zig Zag: Mordicus

📺BBC Schools TV

companyBBC

started20th Oct 1986

ended10th Nov 1986

last rpt12th Nov 1986

1 school year

episodes3

duration20 mins

subject 👨‍🔬ScienceNature

age rangeAge 7-9

languageenIn English

currentsequence: ; ### size: ### Zig Zag/Mordicus: Zig ZagPrevious unit: You and the MediaNext unit: Winter Festival

Mordicus is a unit of the BBC Schools TV series Zig Zag from the 1980s, covering nature for primary pupils.

A two-part BBC wildlife film by John and Simon King, called Mordicus the Buzzard and originally shown for a general audience on 23rd and 30th November 1984 as part of the series Three in the Wild. It was edited down and repeated on Zig Zag with new introductions for school viewers.

In the third episode Simon King talks to Zig Zag's Sheelagh Gilbey about how the film was made.

These programmes were originally advertised as a continuation of the preceding unit on You and the Media.

Episode List

#	Title	Broadcast
1.	Mordicus Episode 1	#1986-10-20-00-00-0020 Oct 1986
2.	Mordicus Episode 2	#1986-11-03-00-00-003 Nov 1986
3.	The Making of Mordicus	#1986-11-10-00-00-0010 Nov 1986

Broadcasts

Year	Term	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Channel	Details
1986-87	Autumn 1986	Monday, 11:00am		Wednesday, 2:15pm			BBC2

Credits

Presenter	Sheelagh Gilbey
With	Simon King
Mordicus the Buzzard film by	John & Simon King

Resources

There were teacher's notes available.

Related programmes

• Zig Zag: Rush, the Fallow DeerAnother Simon King nature film shown on Zig Zag in the 1980s.

Zig Zag (1983-2000)

Series Overview • Units • Episode List

Ancient Greece (1996) • The Anglo-Saxons (1992) • The Arabs (1984) • Art (1997) • Canada (1987) • Cathedrals (1989) • The Channel Tunnel (1987) • Computers (1983) • Danger Detectors (1996) • The Eskimos (1985) • Food and Farming (1995) • France (2000) • Gardens and Growth (1985) • Geography UK (1995) • Getting About (1988) • The Greeks (1986) • Hungry Times (1983) • Invaders (1997) • Kenya (1994-96) • Let's Face It (1990) • Making It Work (1997) • Mapmakers! (1993) • Mordicus (1986) • The Normans (1983) • The Odyssey (1990) • The Olympics (1984-92) • Over to You (1985-89) • Roman Britain (1993) • Rush, The Fallow Deer (1987) • The Saga of Gunnar Goldhair (1987) • Snapshots: Children in the Second World War (2000) • Space (1984-88) • Spaceship Earth (1986) • Tales from Europe (1992) • Tales from Europe (2000) • Technology (1991) • Topical Programmes (1985-89) • Trees (1993) • Trees and Man (1991) • Tudor Life (1998) • The Vikings (1987) • Village, Town, City (1997) • A Walk Through Time (1999) • Water (1990) • Water, Air, Land (1998) • Weather (1999) • Where You Live, Where I Live (1994) • Wildlife Safari (1989-91) • Winter Festival (1986) • World of Work (1989) • You and the Media (1986)

See also: Zig Zag Shorts • Landmarks • Primary Geography • Primary History

Topics

School topics covered in this programme. Click to find other programmes covering the same topics, but bear in mind topics are a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.

Animals

Nature

Keyword tags

Some features of this programme. Click to find other programmes with the same features, but bear in mind tags are also a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.

Documentary

Birds

Non-schools production repeated for schools

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