Bagpuss

You really won't know anything about this programme unless you're English and either were a child about fifteen years ago, or had children at that time. I was the former, and I have to say that Bagpuss was my favourite TV programme then, and still holds a special place in my heart. Describing the content is difficult, but basically Bagpuss wakes up every day in the shop he lives in, and he and his friends investigate whatever has been brought to them by Emily, the owner of the shop. Emily finds items that people have lost and puts them in her shop window so that they can be reclaimed. Bagpuss' friends include Gabriel the banjo-playing toad, Madeleine the motherly rag doll, the childish mice on the mouse organ (you have to see it for yourself) and Professor Yaffle, the slightly eccentric uncle-type, who is in fact a wooden book-end woodpecker.

Bagpuss as a programme was never patronising to children, and was not afraid to use long words if they were appropriate. I believe it was an essential part of my upbringing, and I would recommend that all parents show Bagpuss to their children. All thirteen episodes are available on a single video, so if you want to keep your kids happy, or saw Bagpuss first time round and feel nostalgic, buy it.

This is yet another show I loved as a kid, and yet another that has stood the test of time for me. It is surreal, nostalgic and wonderfully simple, and for its time it has top notch production values. And I loved the quirky music, the simple yet delightful story lines, the beautiful introduction to each episode with the narration and the image of Emily closing her shop and the lovely humour. Not to mention the endearing characters such as that cuddly Bagpuss, the mice(who my sisters and I love to imitate), Gabriel the Toad, Professor Yaffle and Madelleine the Rag Doll, and the mellow, soothing tone of Oliver Postgate's(the narrator behind The Clangers, which is every bit as delightful) voice. In conclusion, I love this show, it really takes me back and still delights me in every way. 10/10 Bethany Cox

'Bagpuss' was one of the many Postgate-Firmin collaborations which enlivened children's television in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Alongside earlier work such as 'The Pogles', 'The Clangers' and 'Ivor the Engine', 'Bagpuss' adds a sense of surrealism which was wonderfully inventive and just as enjoyable for grown-ups.

Children may well enjoy Postgate's narration and voices, and the delightful story lines, but adults will get just as much from admiring the intricacies of the design and the animation.

Bagpuss is a large cloth cat with pink stripes who comes to life when little Emily closes down her shop for the night. Accompanied by the little mice inventors and workers 'we will scrub it, we will rub it', and the pompous Professor Yaffel, he has all kinds of adventures. At only a dozen episodes, Bagpuss never outstayed its welcome and has worn its age well.

I'll forever be thankful to my dad for making me watch this as a kid, because I was completely hooked after the very first episode. Everything about it, the songs, the little stories, and the tiny details of the everything was just so comforting as a kid. Even the way the characters move and talk is so captivating.

I find Bagpuss (1974) is a very charming stop-motion animated series. Because of the lovely animation by Oliver Postgate. The wonderful characters as the kind-hearted plush toy cat called Bagpuss himself. Madeleine the Ragdoll, who acted like a sweet-hearted and reasonable maternal figure towards the mice from the mouse organ. Gabriel the calm, relaxed and laid-back toad, who is a musician. The mice from the mouse organ, who are cute, but very helpful and friendly rodents, who are the wonderful singers. And Professor Yaffle the doubtful, but very intelligent and distinguished wooden woodpecker. The songs are very wonderful as well as the stories. I'll giving this animated series a 10/10.