MR. BENN

Classic series of animated adventures about bowler-hatted Mr. Benn of 52 Festive Road, London, who visited a rather special costume shop where he was greeted by the owner who arrived 'as if by magic.' The shop keeper then allowed Mr. Benn to try on any costume in the changing room from which he would proceed through 'the door that always led to adventure', and emerge in the world that related to the outfit he was wearing. As a caveman, an astronaut, a pirate or a cowboy, Mr. Benn would always come to the aid of some poor unfortunate before the shopkeeper suddenly re-appeared to escort him back to the shop. Created by David McKee and narrated by Ray Brooks, only 13 episodes were ever made, but the series has been repeated every year since it's original transmission, making it a firm children's favourite over several generations. 13 episodes of 15 minute duration. BBC TV 1971.

NOGGIN THE NOG

The second offering from the Smallfilms team of Pete Firmin and Oliver Postgate (the first being Ivor The Engine), in which the brave Noggin, Prince of the Nogs struggles to overcome his wicked uncle Nogbad the Bad who devises evil plots to threaten the safety of the kingdom, in order to force Noggin to give up his crown, and his voyage to the Land of the Midnight Sun to fetch Eskimo princess Nooka, in order to make her his bride. A colour remake was made in 1982 Noggin and the Ice Dragon, along with a completely new episode, Noggin and the Pie. Approximately 40 episodes of 10 minute duration. BBC 1959-65. 1982.

POGLE'S WOOD

Another offering from the prolific Smallfilms company of Firmin and Postgate, is this story of woodland folk (Mr and Mrs Pogle, son Pippin and pet squirrel Tog) who lived "deep in the middle of a wood" at the base of a tree with a magic bean plant. Originally called "The Pogles" the series featured a witch, but this character was dropped because the BBC thought it might scare tiny viewers. Shown as part of "Watch With Mother", and like many of Smallfilms productions there were only 13 episodes ever made. 13 episodes of 15 minute duration. Black and White. BBC 1966-67.

RUGRATS

Thanks to a winning combination of knowing, multi-levelled writing and perfectly cast vocal performances from an experienced and talented cast, this latter day entry into the ever-expanding field of high quality children's TV animation, has, since 1991, given us the world as seen from the all-accepting innocence of a child's-eye point of view. Nappy wearing toddler Tommy Pickles is the central character of this adventurous infant ensemble. Along with fuzzy-haired, perpetually scared friend Chuckie, and twins Phil and Lil, Tommy shares a playpen and endless adventures crawling around the house and neighbourhood, while indulging in a non-stop series of adventures which deftly parodies everyday life with the wide-eyed innocence of childhood, which belies the decidedly wry, adult sensibilities which informs the show's scripting. To the Rugrats, the world is a place full of mysteries; such ordinary sights as a garbage truck chewing up refuse in the early morning effortlessly transforms in to a terrifying monster on the street outside, as their rich and active imaginations reworks the world around them into a frame of reference which they can readily grasp, if only imperfectly understand. Of course, there's a truly wonderful master-villain in the form of Angelica, Tommy's malevolent three-year-old cousin who constantly delights in terrorising the mini quartet with all the gleefully open cruelty that is such a naturally accepted part of childhood. Angelica is a masterful creation; a pint-sized Wicked Witch of the West with a post-modern hard-nosed LA attitude still being shaped by exposure to all pervading outside social influences, of which she isn't even aware, much less can she comprehend. Smart, consistently funny, with a warm heart and a genuine sense of affection for the many small sorrows and joys which comprise childhood, Rugrats is that all too rare event; a children's animated series that appeals to adults by cocking a sophisticated snook at grown up conventions, while reminding us of all that we lost when we made the transition from little to large. Ongoing since 1995. US Nickleodeon.

SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU?
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THE SMURFS
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STAR TREK - THE ANIMATED SERIES

Filling the long gap between the end of the original 'Star Trek' series and the first of the wildly successful movies, this animated version from the prolific Filmation Studio, chronicled the further voyages of the intrepid Starship Enterprise and its legendary crew, as they boldly continued seeking out new life and new civilisations. Adhering strictly to Gene Roddenberry's original vision for the series, the animated version succeeded in reuniting almost the entire original cast to lend their voices to their character's animated counterparts, with the notable exception of Walter Koenig's Chekov. (Budgetary limitations being cited as the reason for his exclusion, although the actor did notch up a credit as one of the show's scriptwriters). In Chekov's place however, two brand new alien characters were added to the bridge crew to showcase the diversity of races that made up Starfleet. In fact many of the live series' writers contributed to the new venture, including David "Trouble With Tribbles" Gerrold, D.C. Fontana and Margaret Armen. Although crudely executed animation wise, the show nevertheless exhibited a pleasing sense of intelligence towards both its audience, and respect for the established Trek ethos. In Britain, The BBC showed the 16 first series episodes in 1974, with the second smaller batch of just six stories following in 1976. Although now officially deemed not to be a part of the Trek saga, the animated adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew helped to satisfy the insatiable need of the fans at a time when a live action return for their heroes was far from assured. 22 episodes of 25 minute duration. A Filmation Production 1973-75.

SUMMERTON MILL
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TOP CAT (aka: BOSS CAT)

Like The Flinstones before it, Top Cat was based on a successful US sitcom. Whereas Fred and Barney were the animated versions of Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, so TC and his gang were the feline equivalents of Sgt. Ernie Bilko and the gang of Fort Baxter. Like the Phil Silvers character, Top Cat was always wheeling, dealing and scheming, looking for a fast buck and hoping to hit 'the big one', much to the consternation of local neighbourhood cop Officer Dibble. Arnold Stang supplied the Phil Silvers imitated voice for 'the indisputable leader of the gang', whilst Benny the Ball was voiced by none other than Private Duane Doberman himself, actor Maurice Gosfield. Other characters included Choo Choo, Spook, The Brain and Fancy Fancy. The series was renamed for British audiences to Boss Cat because there was a cat food called Top Cat on sale in the UK. 30 episodes of approx 22 minutes duration. 1961-62.

TRUMPTON

"This is the clock, the Trumpton clock, telling the time, never too quickly, never too slowly..." These are the words that introduced Gordon Murray's stop-motion puppet series sequel to Camberwick Green. Set in the larger town of Trumpton the series mainly featured Captain Flack and his intrepid crew of fire-fighters, Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb. Shown as part of Watch With Mother, Trumpton survived for 13 episodes before moving on to tales of the next town in Trumptonshire, Chigley. 13 episodes of 15 minute duration. BBC. 1967

WACKY RACES

One of the most popular cartoon series to come from the prolific studio of Hanna-Barbera, Wacky Races was loosely based on the Jack Lemmon/Tony Cutis movie The Great Race. 11 daredevil racers lined up each week to claim the title of 'World's Wackiest Racer' and each week produced a different winner. This caused quite a stir in Great Britain when one school headmaster revealed that he had discovered his 12-14 year old pupils 'running a book' on the weekly result. Nevertheless, the drivers drew up to the starting line each week regardless, and they were: The Slag Brothers in the BoulderMobile, The Gruesome Twosome in the Creepy Coupe, Professor Pat Pending in the Convert-a-Car, Red Max in the Haybailer, Penelope Pitstop in the Compact Pussycat, Sarge and Meekly in the Army Surplus Special, The Ant Hill Mob in the Roaring Plenty, Luke and Blubber in the Arkansas Chugga-Bug, Peter Perfect in the Varoom Roadster, Rufus Ruffcut and Sawtooth in the Buzz Wagon, and lastly, the villains of the piece in their Mean Machine...Dick Dastardly and his sniggering canine sidekick, Muttley, whose sole aim it was to win every race by hook or by crook. Drat and Double drat! Two spin-off serials followed The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines. 52 episodes of 25 minute duration. CBS 1968-70.

WATCH WITH MOTHER
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