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Posted: 22-09-2013 20:08 Post subject:

The Norwegian puppets reminds me of Playboard, a similar black background puppet show from the UK.

Posted: 22-09-2013 20:29 Post subject:

Posted: 22-09-2013 21:14 Post subject:

Pob's Later Career Shocked

Posted: 22-09-2013 21:17 Post subject:

Spot on! Haha! Laughing

Posted: 15-10-2013 08:28 Post subject:

Clangers to make TV return

Beloved children's show, the Clangers is being resurrected, with a new series in production for CBeebies in 2015.
Debuting in 1969, the show told the tale of a race of knitted aliens eking out a threadbare existence on a cold blue planet, not far from Earth.
The pink, mouse-like creatures lived in craters covered by dustbin lids - whose noisy "clang" gave the show its name.

Co-creator Peter Firmin said the new series would involve "great storytelling with lots of heart".
The puppet-maker, whose other credits include Ivor The Engine and Bagpuss, promised the new series would be markedly different from the crude, jerky animation of the original.

"When you watch the original Clangers you have to make allowances for the limitations of the animation techniques when it was made," he said in a statement.
"It was magical for its time, but this is a new Clangers for a new age!"

Firmin dreamt up the Clangers with puppeteer and writer Oliver Postgate, who also narrated the series.
It was first shown on BBC1 in November 1969, just four months after Nasa's moon landing, and one episode even showed the Clangers making inventive use of a flag left behind by some astronauts.

The characters even appeared in Doctor Who - watched by the Doctor's arch-nemesis The Master in the 1972 story, The Sea Devils.

Although the creatures communicated in a spooky, swooping whistle, Postgate later revealed that their "dialogue" was written out in full, in English, and often included swear words. Twisted Evil

On receiving the scripts, the BBC objected, telling him, "Darling, you can't say that on children's television," he told Clive Banks' science fiction website.
"I said, 'It's not going to be said, it's going to be whistled,' but [the BBC] just said, 'But people will know!'"

Eventually, Postgate won - and the Clangers apparently swear like troopers, for those who can translate.

Postgate's son Daniel is writing the scripts for the show's 21st Century incarnation, which he described as a "labour of love".
"I've always loved Clangers," he said. "I was about five years old when it was made - just the right age.
"The new Clangers is not something we've rushed into. It has been carefully considered."

CBeebies controller Kay Benbow added: "Nostalgia is a funny thing, and we always think very carefully about remakes or re-imaginings of classic children's programmes.
"The Clangers is a programme that has an enduring magic. The new proposition has been built firmly upon the joyful foundations of the original, and will be produced by a team of exceptional talent which includes the extraordinary Peter Firmin."

The £5m production is already under way, and is being co-produced by US pre-school TV channel Sprout, which will broadcast the programme in North America.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24523203

Very Happy

Posted: 15-10-2013 17:06 Post subject:

Whistling swear words? If the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation had known that in 1970 when the airing started, they would not have aired it at all! Very Happy

Guess we will se Clangers with iPads and Android phones this time?

Posted: 15-10-2013 19:38 Post subject:

Mutant Ninja Clangas!

Posted: 16-10-2013 11:22 Post subject:

I've read the opposite of the 'swearing Clangers' story. The actors did the whistling to sound as much like normal speech patterns as possible but didn't try to enunciate words, and the swearing was all in the viewers' heads.

Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice! Laughing

Posted: 16-10-2013 18:39 Post subject:

I saw Oliver Postgate interviewed about ten years ago and he confirmed the Clangers did indeed swear, but they were only saying things like "Bugger it, I can't get the bloody door open!" so it's not as if they were f-ing and c-ing all over the place. Just be thankful there were no subtitles.