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Post by Daniel Smith on Feb 18, 2014 23:50:32 GMT
Personally I don't remember this one and not many do as a later unrelated but well regarded series of Frank Muir's What-A-Mess' was made for ITV by Central ten years after the first series in 1990 - which sadly also remains unreleased on DVD and has not been repeated.
My two episodes on Youtube from a worn VHS are still drawing attention for nostalgic childhood memories.
Anyway, knowing that Kaleidoscope rescued Oliver Postgate's neglected film archive from the infamous Smallfilms shed in Blean, Kent (down the road from me!) and reported that they had recovered the early B/W Ivor The Engine episodes, I was wondering if Oliver's 1980 BBC series of What-A-Mess has had any luck...?
I imagine not, as I'm sure the news would have been reported but worth putting the interest out there.
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Post by Richard Marple on Feb 19, 2014 0:00:55 GMT
I wonder if they found anything from the 2nd series of Totty's House, which is only known to exist on an off-air recording, thanks to the BBC wiping the tapes assuming the negatives are still around.
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Post by John Green on Feb 19, 2014 0:09:33 GMT
Hi,Daniel.I think we've been waiting a long time to find out what was in that shed.
I'd never heard of the Smallfilms version.
The BFI Database calls it "What a Mess" with no hyphens and list an episode (the first?) as 24/12/1979.
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Post by Daniel Smith on Feb 19, 2014 0:17:50 GMT
That's right, yes sorry I forgot I previously discovered that the first episode aired in December 1979 but the bulk of the series was 1980.
Not even the Smallfilms website has any stills / graphics from it, so I guess it really hasn't been seen for a long long time! A forgotten relic.
Frank Muir narrated the 1990 ITV series, did he likely narrate Oliver's BBC series?
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Post by Christopher Perry on Feb 19, 2014 12:03:36 GMT
There was no Totty's House or What a Mess in the films we took away.
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Post by John Green on Feb 19, 2014 14:21:21 GMT
There was no Totty's House or What a Mess in the films we took away. Drat. Thanks,Christopher. |
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Post by Daniel Smith on Feb 19, 2014 16:58:49 GMT
Thanks for the confirmation Chris, that's disappointing but good to finally put this potential lead to rest.
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Post by robincarmody on Feb 19, 2014 21:57:32 GMT
Just to do my usual: the Smallfilms production whose second series now only exists on VHS is called "Tottie" - the confusion here is with the other late-period Postgate production, Pinny's House, which I believe is still around in broadcast quality (the Kal guide lists it as on D3 in the late 1990s).
But was the Smallfilms What-a-Mess ever missing at all? The Kal guide lists it as existing on 16mm film in the late 1990s - like all Smallfilms productions other than the second Tottie series (subtitled "A Doll's Wish") and Pinny's House, it was made when the BBC was still using telecine much more heavily and didn't require VT transfers of series made on film, so the circumstances which caused "A Doll's Wish" to go missing wouldn't have applied here.
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Post by John Green on Feb 19, 2014 22:15:16 GMT
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Post by Marie Griffiths on Mar 5, 2014 0:26:26 GMT
There was no Totty's House or What a Mess in the films we took away. Thanks Chris, I bought the Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine Clangers DVD for a two year at Christmas and he really enjoyed it. |
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Post by Laura Ross on Mar 5, 2014 2:31:51 GMT
There was no Totty's House or What a Mess in the films we took away. Thanks Chris, I bought the Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine Clangers DVD for a two year at Christmas and he really enjoyed it. I bought them for my 'ahem' kids too. The stared at it blankly and wondered what we were all on in the 60's and 70's. I explained it's a small girl who owns an antique shop who get's a stuffed cat to do the job, who is too lazy so he leaves it to the mice, and then we get too The Clangers, Mmm, I'll get my coat. Wonderful memories. |
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Post by Daniel Smith on Jun 30, 2019 18:21:51 GMT
Whether anyone cares, an update on this obscure Smallfilms production. Still uncertain if the series still exists at the BBC or anywhere, but somebody did come across part of an episode that was being shown on TVO in Canada in the 80s. It's on youtube from VHS - search 'TVO What A Mess Film'.
Looking at that, the thing seems largely disappointing. The animation is simply pan, scan and zooms of artwork with Frank narrating over the top, not much of an opening either. It was however possibly popular enough being shipped over there for DiC to then follow it up...
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Post by John Green on Jun 30, 2019 19:20:52 GMT
Whether anyone cares, an update on this obscure Smallfilms production. Still uncertain if the series still exists at the BBC or anywhere, but somebody did come across part of an episode that was being shown on TVO in Canada in the 80s. It's on youtube from VHS - search 'TVO What A Mess Film'. Looking at that, the thing seems largely disappointing. The animation is simply pan, scan and zooms of artwork with Frank narrating over the top, not much of an opening either. It was however possibly popular enough being shipped over there for DiC to then follow it up... Thanks,Daniel! |
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