Bagpuss facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bagpuss |
|
|---|---|
The opening sequence of Bagpuss features a series of sepia toned photographs, which suggest the Victorian or Edwardian period.
|
|
| Created by | Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate |
| Voices of | Oliver Postgate Sandra Kerr John Faulkner |
| Narrated by | Oliver Postgate |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production company(s) | Smallfilms |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC2 |
| Original release | 12 February – 7 May 1974 |
Bagpuss is a classic British children's television series. It was created by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate. Their company, Smallfilms, made the show. There were 13 episodes in total. The series first aired from February to May 1974. Bagpuss himself was described as "a saggy, old cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams".
Even though only a few episodes were made, many people remember it fondly. It was often shown again in the UK until 1986. In 1999, Bagpuss was voted the UK's favourite children's TV show in a BBC poll.
How the Show Works
Each episode of Bagpuss started in the same special way. The show began with old-style sepia photographs. These photos told the story of a little girl named Emily. Emily (played by Peter Firmin's daughter, Emily Firmin) owned a unique shop. This shop did not sell anything. Instead, Emily found lost and broken things. She would display them in her shop window. This way, their owners could come and collect them.
Emily would place the object in front of her favourite toy. This was a large, saggy, pink and white striped cat named Bagpuss. Then, Emily would say a special verse:
Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss
Old Fat Furry Catpuss
Wake up and look at this thing that I bring
Wake up, be bright, be golden and light
Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing
After Emily left, Bagpuss would wake up. The show then changed from sepia to colour stop motion film. Various toys in the shop would come to life. These included Gabriel the toad and a rag doll called Madeleine. A wooden woodpecker bookend became Professor Yaffle. The mice carved on the "mouse organ" also woke up. They scurried around, singing in high-pitched voices.
Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner gave voices to Madeleine and Gabriel. They also created and performed all the folk songs. Oliver Postgate provided all other voices, including the narrator. He also wrote all the stories.
The toys would discuss what the new object was. Someone, usually Madeleine, would tell a story about the object. This story was shown in an animated thought bubble above Bagpuss's head. Often, a song would go with the story. Gabriel played the banjo during these songs. Then, the mice would mend the broken object. They sang in squeaky harmony to the tune of Sumer Is Icumen In as they worked.
The characters often joked with each other. Professor Yaffle, who was a bit pompous, often found fault with the playful mice. His main catchphrase was, "Those mice are never serious!" But peace was always restored by the end of the episode. Bagpuss, Gabriel, or Madeleine usually helped to make things right. The mended object was then placed in the shop window. This way, its owner could see it and claim it.
Then, Bagpuss would start yawning again. As he fell asleep, the narrator would speak. The colour would fade back to sepia. All the characters would become toys again.
And so their work was done.
Bagpuss gave a big yawn and settled down to sleep
And, of course, when Bagpuss goes to sleep,
All his friends go to sleep too.
The mice were ornaments on the mouse organ.
Gabriel and Madeleine were just dolls.
And Professor Yaffle was a carved, wooden bookend in the shape of a woodpecker.
Even Bagpuss himself, once he was asleep, was just an old, saggy cloth cat,
Baggy, and a bit loose at the seams,
But Emily loved him.
Show Opening
The opening scene of Bagpuss is set around the year 1900. Emily Firmin, Peter Firmin's daughter, plays the part of the Victorian child Emily. One old village picture shown is from Horrabridge in 1898. The shop window was at the Firmin family home in Blean.
Episodes List
The episodes were first shown at 1:45 pm on BBC1. The title of each episode refers to the object Emily found.
| Episode | Title | Original air date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ship in a Bottle" | 12 February 1974 | Some wood splints fall out of a bottle. Bagpuss tells a story about mermaids. Magic fixes the model ship. The mice put it back into the bottle and raise its sails. |
| 2 | "The Owls of Athens" | 19 February 1974 | A dirty rag shows a picture of an owl. After it's cleaned, Madeleine tells why owls sound like they do. Gabriel sings about a king who needed a cushion. |
| 3 | "The Frog Princess" | 26 February 1974 | Emily finds jewels. Gabriel thinks they were the crown jewels of a frog princess. |
| 4 | "The Ballet Shoe" | 5 March 1974 | The mice use a ballet shoe in clever ways. There's a funny song about using it as a rowing boat. |
| 5 | "The Hamish" | 12 March 1974 | A tartan porcupine pincushion is found. The toys learn about a soft creature from Scotland. |
| 6 | "The Wise Man" | 19 March 1974 | A broken statue of a Chinese man is found. Professor Yaffle explains he is the Wise Man of Ling-Po. |
| 7 | "The Elephant" | 26 March 1974 | An elephant toy is found, but it is missing its ears. |
| 8 | "The Mouse Mill" | 2 April 1974 | The mice show how a wooden toy mill can make chocolate biscuits. This turns out to be a trick! Gabriel and Madeleine sing about how bread is made. |
| 9 | "The Giant" | 9 April 1974 | A small statuette is found. The toys learn about how sizes can be different for everyone. |
| 10 | "The Old Man's Beard" | 16 April 1974 | A tangled plant (Clematis vitalba seeds) is found. The toys use a loom for weaving. |
| 11 | "The Fiddle" | 23 April 1974 | A fiddle that plays by itself is found. The toys meet a leprechaun. |
| 12 | "Flying" | 30 April 1974 | The mice try to turn a basket into a flying machine. Professor Yaffle tells a poem about a man who invented the aeroplane. |
| 13 | "Uncle Feedle" | 7 May 1974 | A piece of cloth is found. It is meant to be a house for a rag doll. |
Awards and Legacy
In 1987, the University of Kent gave special awards to Postgate and Firmin. Postgate said the award was really for Bagpuss. Bagpuss was even shown wearing academic clothes!
In 1999, Bagpuss was voted the UK's favourite children's show by the BBC. It also came fourth in a Channel 4 poll in 2001 called The 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows.
From 2002 to 2005, a stage show with Bagpuss songs toured the UK. The original singers, Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner, performed.
In 2002, a charity called Hospices of Hope opened the Bagpuss Children's Wing in Romania. Oliver Postgate used money from Bagpuss to fund this wing. In 2012, a man ran the London Marathon in a Bagpuss costume to raise money for the charity.
Thom Yorke from the band Radiohead is a fan of Bagpuss. He watched it with his son. The show even influenced Radiohead's 2003 album, Hail to the Thief. Gabriel's song in Episode 2 inspired their song "There There".
Bagpuss appeared on one of twelve postage stamps in January 2014. These stamps celebrated classic children's programmes from Royal Mail.
Emily Firmin and Dan Postgate, the children of the creators, started a Twitter account in 2014. They share old videos and stories narrated by Oliver Postgate.
Images for kids
-
Some of the characters from Bagpuss
-
The original Bagpuss puppet in the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury, June 2018
