Post by moriarty on Aug 19, 2006 16:28:38 GMT
ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITES !
ESPESIALY DYLAN THE RABIT YEH MAN
The Magic Roundabout
producers: Eric Thompson / Danot Enterprises
for the BBC
animation: stop-motion animation
1st b'cast: 18th October 1965
1965-1977 / 441 x 5mins
1991 / 39 x 5mins
"Time for bed!"
Mr Rusty's Magic Roundabout could be found in the heart of the Magic Garden.
It didn't really do anything magic at all apart from fade in and fade out of view at the
beginning and end of each episode, but what it did have was an associated collection
of magical characters including Dougal the dog, a girl called Florence, a rabbit called
Dylan, Brian the snail, Ermintrude the cow, and a jack-in-a-box with a moustache
called Zebedee who was the self-appointed guardian of the garden. Add to this some
fabulous set design, a memorable theme tune and big buckets of irony and droll dry
humour and you have here one of the biggest tea-time tv treats of all time. But that
selfsame magical series very nearly didn't make it to our screens at all...
'The Magic Roundabout' was created by a Frenchman, Serge Danot, in 1963 and
it was originally called 'La Manege Enchante' (The Enchanted Merry-go-round).
Danot was assisted by a friend from England, our very own Ivor Wood in fact,
together with his wife Josiane, and you can clearly see his design sense imbued
in the character and set designs. The show was first broadcast in France in 1964,
and was distinctly Gallic in flavour. Dougal the dog was then called Pollux, whilst
Florence was called Margote and when Dylan was introduced in later colour
episodes, he was presented as a lazy Spaniard called Flappy.
When this hit French series was first offered to the BBC they rejected it as
awkward, and difficult to dub into English. Subsequently, for whatever reason, the
BBC's Head of Children's Programming gave the project a second look. It was
passed on to the then producer of 'Playschool' Joy Whitby, who in turn handed
the series to one of the show's presenter Eric Thompson, to see if he might try
voicing an adaptation.
And that folks, is how magic is created.
Eric Thompson decided to ignore the original scripts altogether. Working with
the volume turned down to avoid distraction, he completely rewrote the French
stories and redefined and renamed the characters, injecting much irony,
wit and melancholy in to the re-edited shows. In Thompson's hands, Pollux
became dry, laconic Dougal, floating around the garden with a Hancock-like turn
of phrase and a put-down for all occasions. He was a star in the making, together
with the newly-hippified Dylan, ever-cheery Brian, enthusiastic flower-chewing
Ermintrude and the entire garden gang. Even the theme song didn't escape
reinvention, with the musical calliope being speeded up for British production.
The 'new' series first aired in the UK on 18 October 1965. The rest is history.
After two years atop of the tea-time viewing figures, when the BBC attempted to
move the show from its regular broadcast slot of 5.55pm to one an hour earlier,
the audience responded en-masse and forced them to rescind. And even come
the 1970s, folks had opinions to express about any scheduling changes:
"I should like to know how the BBC thinks I am
going to regain my equilibrium after teaching all day
if there is no Magic Roundabout to come home to?'"
- letter to the Radio Times, March 25th 1971
The show concluded its French broadcast in 1971, but here in the UK the surplus
of episodes allowed it to continue through to 1977. What's more, in 1972 we
were presented with a fabulously eccentric film version. The movie 'Dougal And
The Blue Cat' introduced us to Buxton the would-be usurper of the Magic Garden...
In later years, when reflecting on his efforts reconstructing the series, Eric Thompson
suggested he was most like Brian the snail in spirit, but let's take another look at
Zebedee there (above). Interesting to see how Thompson shared a similar fondness
for facial hair, and how he was a kind of 'guardian' for the show, much like Zebedee
was for the Magic Garden.
What goes around
Great shows never die, of course. They live on in the jolly tea-time memories
of a generation and as luck would have it, 'The Magic Roundabout' was given a
chance to stimulate and excite a new generation of viewers, fourteen years after
it disappeared from our screens.
Dougal and co. returned via Channel 4, and their discovery that 39 of the original
episodes had never been broadcast by the BBC before they retired the series.
Sadly, Eric Thompson had died in 1982, so for the new version actor Nigel
Planer was brought in, with his brother Roger producing. The 'new' series
obviously lacked some of the original's charm, but what the heck, it was still
'The Magic Roundabout' and that was certainly no to be sniffed at. Indeed,
these later episodes still play regularly on Channel 4, in the wee hours
before breakfast.
And now the cast of the Magic Garden have returned again. In the new
film from Dave Borthwick and bolexbrothers, Dougal, Florence and Zebedee
have been reconfigured in CGI form, with a host of famous names supplying the
voices for the characters. And new cast members have been created, including
a chap called Soldier Sam and a bad relation of Zebedee, called ZeeBad...
Magic stuff
With its beatnik rabbit, laconic dog, spring-thing, pink cow and talking snail,
folks have happily read all sorts of ludicrous and suspicious undercurrents in to
proceedings. Dylan simply had to have been on drugs; Dougal's craving for
sugarlumps is shorthand for a speed addiction; Many of the characters chew
on flowers all day; The name Dougal was a play on 'De Gaulle' and the garden
itself was colour coordinated in accordance with the French flag, in dominant red,
white, and blue as some kind of subliminal attack on the French...
. Oh, the list is endless. Many will never be proven or disproved, but all are born from
the fact that 'The Magic Roundabout' is a witty and timeless gem of a show which
has stayed close to the hearts of those who saw it back then, or who might have
caught up with the Nigel Planer version in recent years.
Ivor Wood
Ivor Wood has of course gone on to to much more animated brilliance, of course.
After 'Roundabout' he returned to London to bring us a wonderful concoction of
characters and series through FilmFair, and then Woodland Animations.
Parsley The Lion was a Michael Bond creation, but he still owes a debt to Dougal,
with his melancholic ways and woes. Indeed, those Herbs in their 'herbidacious' surroundings are surely related to the folks within the Magic Garden?
Jump forward to 1980 and you find Sancho and Carrots strolling around Hatty Town.
Once again, this is an adaptation of stories by Keith Chatfield, but again the
production is tinged with melancholia, and now we have the self-same Magic
Garden design returning with those 2D trees and sprinklings of flowers.
ESPESIALY DYLAN THE RABIT YEH MAN
The Magic Roundabout
producers: Eric Thompson / Danot Enterprises
for the BBC
animation: stop-motion animation
1st b'cast: 18th October 1965
1965-1977 / 441 x 5mins
1991 / 39 x 5mins
"Time for bed!"
Mr Rusty's Magic Roundabout could be found in the heart of the Magic Garden.
It didn't really do anything magic at all apart from fade in and fade out of view at the
beginning and end of each episode, but what it did have was an associated collection
of magical characters including Dougal the dog, a girl called Florence, a rabbit called
Dylan, Brian the snail, Ermintrude the cow, and a jack-in-a-box with a moustache
called Zebedee who was the self-appointed guardian of the garden. Add to this some
fabulous set design, a memorable theme tune and big buckets of irony and droll dry
humour and you have here one of the biggest tea-time tv treats of all time. But that
selfsame magical series very nearly didn't make it to our screens at all...
'The Magic Roundabout' was created by a Frenchman, Serge Danot, in 1963 and
it was originally called 'La Manege Enchante' (The Enchanted Merry-go-round).
Danot was assisted by a friend from England, our very own Ivor Wood in fact,
together with his wife Josiane, and you can clearly see his design sense imbued
in the character and set designs. The show was first broadcast in France in 1964,
and was distinctly Gallic in flavour. Dougal the dog was then called Pollux, whilst
Florence was called Margote and when Dylan was introduced in later colour
episodes, he was presented as a lazy Spaniard called Flappy.
When this hit French series was first offered to the BBC they rejected it as
awkward, and difficult to dub into English. Subsequently, for whatever reason, the
BBC's Head of Children's Programming gave the project a second look. It was
passed on to the then producer of 'Playschool' Joy Whitby, who in turn handed
the series to one of the show's presenter Eric Thompson, to see if he might try
voicing an adaptation.
And that folks, is how magic is created.
Eric Thompson decided to ignore the original scripts altogether. Working with
the volume turned down to avoid distraction, he completely rewrote the French
stories and redefined and renamed the characters, injecting much irony,
wit and melancholy in to the re-edited shows. In Thompson's hands, Pollux
became dry, laconic Dougal, floating around the garden with a Hancock-like turn
of phrase and a put-down for all occasions. He was a star in the making, together
with the newly-hippified Dylan, ever-cheery Brian, enthusiastic flower-chewing
Ermintrude and the entire garden gang. Even the theme song didn't escape
reinvention, with the musical calliope being speeded up for British production.
The 'new' series first aired in the UK on 18 October 1965. The rest is history.
After two years atop of the tea-time viewing figures, when the BBC attempted to
move the show from its regular broadcast slot of 5.55pm to one an hour earlier,
the audience responded en-masse and forced them to rescind. And even come
the 1970s, folks had opinions to express about any scheduling changes:
"I should like to know how the BBC thinks I am
going to regain my equilibrium after teaching all day
if there is no Magic Roundabout to come home to?'"
- letter to the Radio Times, March 25th 1971
The show concluded its French broadcast in 1971, but here in the UK the surplus
of episodes allowed it to continue through to 1977. What's more, in 1972 we
were presented with a fabulously eccentric film version. The movie 'Dougal And
The Blue Cat' introduced us to Buxton the would-be usurper of the Magic Garden...
In later years, when reflecting on his efforts reconstructing the series, Eric Thompson
suggested he was most like Brian the snail in spirit, but let's take another look at
Zebedee there (above). Interesting to see how Thompson shared a similar fondness
for facial hair, and how he was a kind of 'guardian' for the show, much like Zebedee
was for the Magic Garden.
What goes around
Great shows never die, of course. They live on in the jolly tea-time memories
of a generation and as luck would have it, 'The Magic Roundabout' was given a
chance to stimulate and excite a new generation of viewers, fourteen years after
it disappeared from our screens.
Dougal and co. returned via Channel 4, and their discovery that 39 of the original
episodes had never been broadcast by the BBC before they retired the series.
Sadly, Eric Thompson had died in 1982, so for the new version actor Nigel
Planer was brought in, with his brother Roger producing. The 'new' series
obviously lacked some of the original's charm, but what the heck, it was still
'The Magic Roundabout' and that was certainly no to be sniffed at. Indeed,
these later episodes still play regularly on Channel 4, in the wee hours
before breakfast.
And now the cast of the Magic Garden have returned again. In the new
film from Dave Borthwick and bolexbrothers, Dougal, Florence and Zebedee
have been reconfigured in CGI form, with a host of famous names supplying the
voices for the characters. And new cast members have been created, including
a chap called Soldier Sam and a bad relation of Zebedee, called ZeeBad...
Magic stuff
With its beatnik rabbit, laconic dog, spring-thing, pink cow and talking snail,
folks have happily read all sorts of ludicrous and suspicious undercurrents in to
proceedings. Dylan simply had to have been on drugs; Dougal's craving for
sugarlumps is shorthand for a speed addiction; Many of the characters chew
on flowers all day; The name Dougal was a play on 'De Gaulle' and the garden
itself was colour coordinated in accordance with the French flag, in dominant red,
white, and blue as some kind of subliminal attack on the French...
. Oh, the list is endless. Many will never be proven or disproved, but all are born from
the fact that 'The Magic Roundabout' is a witty and timeless gem of a show which
has stayed close to the hearts of those who saw it back then, or who might have
caught up with the Nigel Planer version in recent years.
Ivor Wood
Ivor Wood has of course gone on to to much more animated brilliance, of course.
After 'Roundabout' he returned to London to bring us a wonderful concoction of
characters and series through FilmFair, and then Woodland Animations.
Parsley The Lion was a Michael Bond creation, but he still owes a debt to Dougal,
with his melancholic ways and woes. Indeed, those Herbs in their 'herbidacious' surroundings are surely related to the folks within the Magic Garden?
Jump forward to 1980 and you find Sancho and Carrots strolling around Hatty Town.
Once again, this is an adaptation of stories by Keith Chatfield, but again the
production is tinged with melancholia, and now we have the self-same Magic
Garden design returning with those 2D trees and sprinklings of flowers.
