Swinging is an obscure children’s program that aired for one season on Australian TV during the 1990s. It’s also really freaking weird. The show, about a humanlike family of apes, features peculiar costumes and altogether strange imagery that likely had the unintended effect of scaring the bejesus out of the kids who watched it. Swinging has largely vanished, but we’ve found some episodes of this bizarre program to lay on you.

The show is based around the Turveys, a family of talking monkeys (they also refer to each other as apes, chimpanzees, baboons, etc.). The small cast of characters also includes a couple of friends of Rosy’s, the lead chimp, and two talking trees. It’s set in some sort of unreal jungle/forest hybrid. All the roles are played by human actors wearing grotesque costumes and makeup that surely rendered them scary-looking in the minds of young children.
 

 
Swining isn’t exactly a kid’s program—more like a bizarro world family sitcom. The program brings to mind Sid & Marty Kroft’s druggy kid’s shows, like H.R. Pufnstuf and Lidsville, which also featured scary and weird-looking costumed-characters. And like those head trips, Swinging resembles a hallucination—or a nightmare—come to life.
 

 
There’s very little information online concerning Swinging, though it does have a Wikipedia page. The program was a product of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the nation’s government-funded TV network. Swinging premiered on September 10, 1997, and, according to Wikipedia, it ran for 15 episodes. It’s unclear, though, how long it was on the air. The show has been wiped clean from ABC’s website, though a 2002 listing can be found via the Wayback Machine. Here’s the text:

Come in to the fun-filled world of a family of monkeys who laugh, sing and dance their way through life. Rosy Turvey is an independent and acrobatic eight-year old. Her parents, Augustus and Filameena, are constantly kissing and joking around. But remember this is monkey business!

Augustus loves “Elvis Primate,” king of monkey rock while Filameena encourages the kids’ to be messy and watch more TV. Watching over Rosy are Alf and Bert, the Talking Trees. While they often disagree, they are quick to point out the harsh reality of the situation. Tipsy Turvey, Theodore Curly and Mitzy Tangle complete the cast of colourful characters.

An ABC production.

 

 
Swinging has never been released on home video, and is quite hard to come by. Recently, a handful of episodes—captured on videotape back in the day—were uploaded to YouTube.

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