Oliver Postgate dead

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"Who?" you say?...If you grew up in the UK in the 60's onwards, you'd know his work.

I think Baby Clanger put it best when she said "peep-peep peep peep peep peep-peep peeeeeeeep"

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he did some great stuff for sure - I remember we called one of teachers Bagpuss, because she was old, sagging and a bit loose at the seams...

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Oliver Postgate with Bagpuss, "the old, saggy cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams" who became one of his best-loved characters.

The lovable Welsh steam train Ivor the Engine, who made his debut in 1959, was the first creation of Smallfilms, the company formed by Oliver Postgate and his collaborator, Peter Firmin.

The Saga of Noggin the Nog was another early Smallfilms creation. It ran from 1959 to 1965 and made a brief comeback in 1979. It followed the adventures of the good-natured Viking Prince Noggin and his friends.

Pogles Wood, filmed between 1966 and 1967 was shown as part of the BBC's Watch With Mother series.

The Clangers, about a family of small woollen creatures, was filmed in 1969 and capitalised on the excitement of space travel.

One distinctive aspect of The Clangers was the use of sound effects. The Clangers themselves spoke with swanee whistles. Other much-loved characters included the Soup Dragon, a kindly creature with a fondness for green soup.

Bagpuss, Professor Yaffle and the Organ Mice. Although only 13 episodes of Bagpuss were made, it was voted most popular children's programme by viewers of Channel 4



Peter Firmin was Oliver Postgate's partner in Smallfilms. He did the artwork and built the models while Postgate wrote the scripts and narrated the films. The Clangers were knitted by Firmin's wife, Joan.

Oliver Postgate and Bagpuss in 2001.

Oliver Postgate with Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss, a character said to be based on the philosopher Bertrand Russell.

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Bagpuss return blocked by son of creator
Children's favourite Bagpuss will not return to television after the son of creator Oliver Postgate said he does not want a "lightweight” remake using CGI animation.
By Urmee Khan,
Digital and Media Correspondent
25 Oct 2009

Bagpuss is unlikely to return to telelvision screen as the son of the creator, Oliver Postgate, has said he does not want a "lightweight? remake using CGI animation. However, a spin-off based on the mice who play the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ in the kids classic is a possibility. The saggy old cloth cat, Professor Yaffle, and a small army of carved mice are loved by millions of children the world over, despite only 13 episodes being made of the 1974 children's television series.

Coolabi, the children’s television producer who bought the rights to produce Bagpuss, revealed this month that it had signed an “exclusive new option to develop and produce new content” based on Bagpuss and other properties created by the Postgate and Peter Firmin partnership. But Daniel Postgate, who took the reins of the family’s estate when his father died last year, said he did not like the new proposals. "There's something about CGI on a television level, where they can't spend so much money on it, which means it can feel lightweight and that it can lack presence," he said.

The illustrator said he was put off by the international demand for CGI, saying it had “a slightly lurid quality, even at the best of times”. He told Broadcast: “If we made, say, 52 episodes of Bagpuss, we would have to bring in writers and couldn’t possibly pay them much. They would all be knackered and it would end up like a lot of children’s TV tends to be: rather heartless. For people who grew up with Bagpuss, it might tarnish it.”

There have been plenty of CGI children's remakes in recent years, including the Magic Roundabout, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Noddy. There is currently a raft of CGI films being screened on the big screen too, including, Up and Fantastic Mr Fox, which opened at the cinema this weekend. Earlier this month, Bernard Cribbins, the actor and former Jackanory storyteller, said that children’s television was being undermined by computer generated technology. He said there wasn't "enough faith" in having someone sat one to one with the viewer and reading a story.

Broadcasters are considering remaking other 1970's classics, in a bid to attract viewers. Earlier this month the Daily Telegraph reported that BBC would be making new episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs - following the lives of the Bellamy family and their servants, which first aired on ITV in 1971. ITV plans to remake the controversial drama Bouquet of barbed wire, about a man's love for his daughter and the BBC will be screening the sci fi thriller, The Day of the Triffids as well as a reworking of the sitcom Rising Damp. Sky1 is also planning to revive the distopian science fiction series, Blake's 7.

BBC executives said shows from the 70's were successful because they were "high concept" and would continue to work well today. The trend to revisit the seventies has also been replicated in America, with US networks remaking crime shows like The Rockford Files and Hawaii Five-O.