About
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.
Cast
Oliver Postgate
as Narrator / Bagpuss / Professor Yaffle / Mice
Sandra Kerr
as Madeleine the Rag Doll / Mice
John Faulkner
as Gabriel the Toad / Mice
Seasons
Episodes
Series 1
Ship in a Bottle
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
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
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
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
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
Bagpuss and his friends learn of a Chinese wise man, his turtle friends and his love of solitude.
The Elephant
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
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.
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