Jedi's Paradise - Childrens TV

History

In 1974 Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin conjured up another piece of Childrens TV Magic - Bagpuss. It followed on from the previous classics that 'Smallfilms' had made - Noggin the Nog, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine

You might be surprised to know that only 13 episodes were made (it really does feel like they made more!).

Emily was played by Peter Firmin's Daughter, strangely called Emily (must have been hard to think up that name!).

Also look very close at Professor Yaffle's feet. You can see the drawing pins they used to keep him upright!

Bagpuss has had a bit of a revival recently and the amount of merchandise you can buy has gone from zero to lots (slippers, cuddly toys, posters etc.).

On September 30th 2001 the creators of Bagpuss - Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate talked about another of their creations - 'The Pogles'. I was there to record this event - see what happened there.

If you would like to see Bagpuss in the flesh then make a trip to The Canterbury Museum (UK) to see him.

Story

Bapuss began with the words :

"Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a little girl and her name was Emily and she had a shop, there it is.

It was rather an unusual shop, because it didn't sell anything. You see, everything in that shop window was a thing that somebody had once lost and Emily had found and brought home to Bagpuss. Emily's cat Bagpuss, the most important, the most beautiful, the most magical, saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world

Well now, one day Emily found a thing and she brought it back to the shop and put it down in front of Bagpuss, who was in the shop window fast asleep as usual

But then Emily said some magic words:

Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss,
Old fat furry cat-puss,
Wake up, and look at this thing that I bring,
Wake up, be bright, be golden and light,
Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing."

And Bagpuss was wide awake, and when Bagpuss wakes up all his friends wake up too. The mice on the mouse-organ woke up and stretched. Madeleine the rag doll. Gabriel the toad, and last of all Professor Yaffle, who was a very distinguished old woodpecker. He climbed down off his bookend and went to see what it was that Emily had brought"

Now lets look below at the stars of Bagpuss :

Emily

Emily was a little girl that owned and loved Bagpuss. They lived in a little shop which didn't really sell anything, it was a shop that displayed items that were lost, and initially were in need of repair.....waiting for their owners to reclaim them.

These items were repaired by Bagpuss and his friends, and by a little bit of Magic!

Bagpuss

Bagpuss was a big fat furry cat puss (as the introduction stated) - a cuddly toy that was covered in pink and white stripes.

He only came alive when Emily wasn't around and when she had left something - it was a something, as they didn't always know what it really was.

After a big yawn Bagpuss was awake, and after Bagpuss woke up all his other friends woke up one by one. Bagpuss was a cat that definitely possessed Magic.

Professor Yaffle

Professor Yaffle was a carved wooden book-end in the shape of a woodpecker. He lived high up, looking down on Bagpuss (maybe he had a superiority complex?). Once Emily had been and Bagpuss had woken up, he would descend from his home down a flight of books - arranged like a staircase, to see what she a brought.

He never approved of the others, they seemed to enjoy themselves too much, but was a curious bird and loved trying to work out what Emily had left.

The Mice

The Mice, who lived on a Mouse Organ, did most of the work repairing the item that Emily had brought. They sang a song as they were working 'We will fix it we will fix...' which has stayed will all of us big kids for years. They had a real talent and fooled Bagpuss and friends a few times, like making Chocolate Biscuits out of Butter Beans!

They also powered the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ, which showed a story on its screen which was related to the item that Emily had brought. Sometimes, after the story had ended, the item had been magically restored.

Oh and lets not forget the Famous Charlie Mouse, who seemed to turn up everywhere.

Madeleine

Madeleine was a Rag Doll and she lived next to Gabriel. She was the mother figure over the rest of them.

She was an excellent story teller and would help Bagpuss tell some of marvellous stories that even kept the mice quiet.

Gabriel

Gabriel was a Toad. He wasn't an ordinary Toad, he was a musical Toad. He carried a Banjo with him everywhere.

As the stories were being told, he would provide some of the music and would sing songs to accompany them.

Gallery