Bagpuss

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.

....saggy old kids TV programme in the whole wide world...

Yes, it is perfection, moth-eaten, sweet as honey, innocent as a 3-year old's summer Sunday morning in the 70's under a duvet in the living-room. Why do they not make *more* such programmes? Look to Oliver Postgate's personal website for the answer.

Such great care and attention put into such small and delightful things! Animation of this kind can no longer happen, sadly. Where are the songs of the mice? Transmuted to Pokemon babble. Where is Professor Yaffle? Gone! Forever! But we mustn't be glum. Through the magic of television, this tiny gem, glowing a thousand times more brightly than it should be able to, will only gleam stronger and stronger as the generations pass...

All we can do is polish it up and put it in the shop window, where perhaps it will be recognised by a passing children's television executive who has lost his childhood...

Whenever I see these wonderful programmes it takes me back to childhood and watching them. They really are beautifully done and like the other children's series "Mary Mungo and Midge" wholly educational without over-stretching the attention span of its young audience. And yet they are educational without being patronising. Well informed and informative while entertaining to both the children and the adults who are lucky enough to watch with them. There were 13 episodes and each one has an informative story. The story revolves around a little shop where a little girl brings in a thing (an item that is indeterminate at the beginning of each tale but forms the basis for the episode), utters some magic words that wake up her cloth cat and the other animals in the shop, each of whom is a great character. Bagpuss the old cloth cat (with a beautiful mellifluous voice), the rag doll, the toad, the magical mice and not forgetting Professor Yaffle- a wooden woodpecker who does patronise the other animals and is occasionally caught out. Each of them is a character we know from life and all talk to the subject matter intelligently and even weave in some small tales of morality. Only the BBC could produce something of this quality. Priceless and not surpassed since.

Bagpuss - as with all Smallfilms productions - has aged beautifully, retaining all the charm and magic it had three decades ago. There were only 13 episodes, but it still stands out as a true classic of children's entertainment in the UK.

Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin The Nog and Ivor The Engine worked because of an immense investment of imagination from creators Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. Their work was truly magical - a blessing that today's TV seems to lack.

In 30 years time, will any of today's kids' shows be remembered as fondly?