When the Waverlys move to a new home, young Samantha and Jim wander into an abandoned toy shop in the back yard, which they discover is home to The Ink Thief. The titular imaginary creature is supposed to provide inspiration for the arts, but the current Ink Thief has come to the realization that he can consume imagination from books, arts, and toys to boost his own powers, and he develops aspirations of becoming human. In his shop, Jim becomes transfixed on a book that unlocks all of the mysteries of the universe, so The Ink Thief takes the boy under his wing. Meanwhile, The Ink Thief's sister, librarian Mizz Tiggle, bonds with Samantha, introduces her to the rest of the Bumps (other imaginary creatures), and takes her on a journey to reunite the four elements (Earth, Water, Cheese, and Air) in an effort to defeat her self-centered brother.
Written by Paul Springer, who plays Toddy, The Ink Thief's dimwitted cat-man minion (he also penned a novelization), the show is definitely creative and unique. All of the cast devour the scenery and numerous actors appear in dual roles. Richard "Rocky Horror" O'Brien gives a tour-de-force performance as the title character and Joyce Springer is appropriately hammy as his sister. Springer is sympathetic, Richard Ridings deserves mention as the Thief's right-hand Rat-man, and Toyah Willcox gives it her all as the dog.
There are a few things that prevent the show from being truly great. First of all, it was more ambitious than the budget allowed. Featuring a mixture of primitive CGI, cel-animation, and blue-screen, it doubtlessly looked cheap in 1994, but some of it is almost painful 30 years later. Next up is the music. The Ink Thief and the Rock (the earth element) each have a showstopping musical number, but other songs feel completely random, and they wasted singer Willcox with a forgettable tune. The final problem is the ending. Without spoiling anything, it feels like efforts made in the previous episodes were relatively pointless and the takedown of the villain is sort of anticlimactic. As much as I hate to suggest it, the show might benefit from a reboot, or even a big-screen adaptation. There's definitely some brilliance here, but it doesn't quite reach the heights that it could have.
For fans of O'Brien and lovers of the weird, the show's worth tracking down. VHS rips have been circulating online for quite some time, but it's more recently been made officially available in the UK on amazon and BritBox. Hopefully, it'll get an American release someday.
