Despite popular myth, kangaroos do not hop down the main streets of Australian cities. But the country does boast a children's television series with a kangaroo as hero. "Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo" is a show about a girl and a boy whose father runs a wildlife reserve. They are constantly rescued from danger by the alertness of their faithful pet, Skippy.
The show first aired in the 1960s, and although kangaroos hardly compete with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin in cleverness and versatility, it was a runaway success. Eventually "Skippy" was sold to dozens of countries around the globe and even had a second incarnation in the late 1980s. "Skippy" is still being shown around the world.