Bagpuss

1974 - 1974

Ship in a Bottle

12th February 1974

Episode 1

Emily Brings home a bottle with some bits of wood in it. Professor Yaffle tells them it is a ship-in-a-bottle. Bagpuss finds this puzzling, wondering where it would sail to. With the help of a nursery rhyme and a poem about Mermaids, the ship is magically reassembled.

The Owls of Athens

19th February 1974

Episode 2

Emily brings in a very old, dirty bit of rag, which as ever, Yaffle can see no value in. The mice start to vigorously clean the cloth, before being stopped by Madeleine. She implores the mice to be more gentle with it, and they clean it lovingly, to reveal an old cushion cover depicting an owl. The mice run away, scared by the owl, but come back when they realise it isn't real...

The Frog Princess

26th February 1974

Episode 3

Emily brings a collection of ornamental enamel pieces. For a while these are a cat and a bird, but later they decide that it is a necklace of jewels for a frog princess who doesn't fancy any of the young princes, so she kisses a frog...

The Ballet Shoe

Episode 4

One dirty old shoe is left for Bagpuss and his friends to repair, and the mice suggest that it might be suitable for living in, which leads Madeleine to sing along with the mouse organ. Yaffle doesn't believe anyone could live in a shoe, so the mice trick him by going around and around, and appearing out of the shoe!

The Hamish

12th March 1974

Episode 5

Nobody really knows what the floppy tartan cloth object that Emily has brought is, except Bagpuss. He says it is a small soft Hamish, a Highland beast that keeps its distance because it makes a terrible noise, like bagpipes played backwards. He tells a heart-rending story of Tavish McTavish, who also made a terrible noise, playing his bagpipes forwards, and his friendship with the Hamish.

The Wise Man

19th March 1974

Episode 6

Bagpuss and his friends learn of a Chinese wise man, his turtle friends and his love of solitude.

The Elephant

26th March 1974

Episode 7

Emily brings a tatty straw elephant without any ears. Bagpuss and his friends try to solve the mystery of how it lost its ears by singing songs...

The Mouse Mill

Episode 8

Emily leaves a box in front of Bagpuss, which has windows and a front door. The mice open it up, revealing the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Mill, and Gabriel and Madeleine sing a song about milling with help from the Mouse Organ.

The Giant

Episode 9

Emily brings in a model of a giant, and Bagpuss tells the story of how a kindly witch makes an sad giant happy.

Old Man's Beard

16th April 1974

Episode 10

Emily brings in a plant called Old Man's Beard. The friends try to figure out why it is has this name, and Bagpuss tells the story of a king who used his silvery beard to make carpets. Madeline sings a song about a master weaver.

The Fiddle

23rd April 1974

Episode 11

Emily brings in an old bucket with a hole in it, which turns out to be the home of a leprechaun, an old friend of Bagpuss, and his magic fiddle plays some tunes for everyone.

Flying

30th April 1974

Episode 12

Yaffle comes down from his bookend to find a basket, containing items. The mice search it and find a twig broom, which leads Madeleine and Gabriel to sing a song about a woman who brushes the cobwebs out of the sky.

Uncle Feedle

Episode 13

Emily brings in a piece of cloth, which Charlie Mouse identifies as a house for a rag doll, leading to a several rag jokes from the mice! They fold up the cloth so that Bagpuss can use it as a thinking cap, and create the story of Uncle Feedle, which Gabriel and Madeleine sing along to.

Top Cast

Oliver Postgate•Sandra Kerr•John Faulkner

Director

Peter Firmin

Writer

Peter Firmin

Bagpuss is a UK children's television series, made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate from 12 February 1974 to 7 May 1974 through their company Smallfilms. The title character was, "An old, saggy, cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams." Although only 13 episodes of the show were made, it remains fondly remembered, and was regularly repeated in the UK for thirteen years. In 1999 Bagpuss topped a BBC poll for the UK's favourite children's TV programme.

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Full Cast

Oliver Postgate Image

Oliver Postgate

Narrator / Bagpuss / Professor Yaffle / Mice

Sandra Kerr Image

Sandra Kerr

Madeleine the Rag Doll / Mice

John Faulkner Image

John Faulkner

Gabriel the Toad / Mice

Full Crew

Peter Firmin Image

Peter Firmin

Writer

Sandra Kerr Image

Sandra Kerr

Music

Oliver Postgate Image

Oliver Postgate

Writer

Peter Firmin Image

Peter Firmin

Director

John Faulkner Image

John Faulkner

Music

Oliver Postgate Image

Oliver Postgate

Director

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