And as if by magic, a DVD appeared.

That's an eagerly awaited DVD for fans of retro kids' TV with their appetites already whetted by recent "second" outings for Bagpuss and The Magic Roundabout.

They do say you should never try and hook up again with an old flame, as you'll only be let down - and there was a similar frisson of disappointment when I keenly revisited these particular much loved adventures.

I had adored Mr Benn as a child. I could remember guessing with my mum not only which outfit he would pick, but also what the memento from each adventure would prove to be at the end, after the shopkeeper appeared.

And as they starred, amongst others, a sorcerer, a knight in shining armour, an astronaut and a caveman, all to be found lurking behind the rails of the costume hire shop in Festive Road, there was much to fire the imagination.

I scarcely believed in later life that there were only 14 - count 'em! - episodes of this classic series made. Obviously a forerunner to the The Office school of thought, the programme makers decided to quit while they were ahead, although they've gone to the trouble of producing a new and "exclusive" 15th episode (The Gladiator) voiced as ever by Ray Brooks, sounding no different, despite being better known now as Pauline Fowler's on/off love interest.

So what is so disappointing?

I found the simplicity of the drawings lack-lustre rather than charming and thought it all a bit slow. I dread to admit it but it appears Mum is the one in the family whose brain has been addled by all those slick, over-produced effects-laden modern kids' TV programmes and films we all love to knock (Tweenies anyone? Spy Kids?).

Images accompanying the laid back voiceover were more reminiscent of a picture book than an audiovisual production. But my seven-year-old daughters loved it. They wanted to watch it all in one go and cried when they couldn't. "Just one more," they shouted every time I tried to switch it off, pleading bedtime and school in the morning. Little wonder when you consider that Elmo The Elephant, also penned by David McKee, is one of their favourite bedtime stories.

There's simplicity about each mini adventure that will keep pre-schoolers gripped, but anyone aged more than nine may start to get a little bored, pestering for a blast of their X-box, or PlayStation, instead.

That's a shame as Mr Benn is a real hero - even if my girls insisted on calling him Mr Bean - and the stories are all old fashioned, perfectly crafted 15-minute slices of good triumphing over bad.

One surprisingly enduring feature is that the costumes in the fancy dress shop, which is the launch pad for each tale, do not seem at all dated, even if Mr Benn does look a little like a stuffed shirt in immaculate suit and bowler hat.

There's much to entertain in this unique series. It's just a shame times have moved on. I really wanted to love it, as I am its target audience as much as my kids.

Now, when's My Parents Are Aliens next on?