Sinister: Ulysses 31, Battle of the Planets, etc.

[Mark Iles]

>From: Mark Smith <mark.smith2 at xxx.uk>

>Shocking allegation for the sinister list...
>
>> The cartoon B&S was on BBC.
>> It was around the period of such highbrow cartoon series as Dogtanian & the
>> Three Muskahounds, 80 Days Around the World and Ulysses. I always tired of
>> Dangermouse, but never of such challenging cartoon series that were so
>> close to the books. BBC kids programmes always outclassed ITV.
>
>The appeal of Dangermouse was that it tested the limits of the genre of
>cartoon animation: it never patronised or played it safe (eg the "custard
>episode", or that one which was a spoof of "Fantastic Voyage" set in
>Colonel K's body).

Exactly. Much of it was derivative. A lot was poached from the old Warner
brothers cartoons, including the characters running off the edge of the
film strip. And the Fantastic Voyage episode was nicked from Fantastic
Voyage, obviously.

>The dubbed Belgian cartoons which you mention took the
>general idea of the novels upon which they were based, but only as a
>jumping-off point for a series of linear, generic cartoon adventures.  I
>don't really think "challenging" is the word.

I beg to differ. Ulysses 31 hardly used the novel as the basis for a linear
derivative storyline. The characters were transposed into the 31st Century.
Apart from having the same names and trying to get home, as
Odysseus/Ulysses was, the storylines were good. And they certainly never
gave the impression of being aimed at children. The baddies could be _very_
creepy and even the spaceship they lived in was pretty unwelcoming - it
always looked very cold and blue and echoey. And the music was great -
anyone remember that. The whole series was very reminiscent of the
Manga/Anime films from Japan which are now popular over here. Battle of the
Planets was another early example of this type of animation on children's
TV. And if we're talking surreal, many of the BBC's programmes didn't just
wander off inot the surreal; they were there from the outset. Bagpuss - a
load of stuffed toys come to life to fix something. Mr Benn - a man in a
suit and bowler hat spends his days going to a costume shop and 'having
adventures' with the shopkeeper. The Magic Roundabout goes without saying.
And Bod - surely the creator of Bod can't have been entirely sane (even
though he probably came from Poland, or something).

And it was the BBC who showed Monkey. Need I say more?


                                        Mark


___________________________________________________________________________

Mark Iles,                              Tel: +44 (0113) 2065042
Imperial Cancer Research Fund,          Fax: +44 (0113) 2340183
Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory,
Ashley Wing,                            Email: iles at boreas.leeds.icnet.uk
St James's University Hospital,
Beckett Street,
Leeds,                                  "Libraries gave us power"
LS9 7TF                                 Manic Street Preachers
U.K.
____________________________________________________________________________


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
.     This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list.
.        To send to the list please mail "sinister at majordomo.net".
.  For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see
.             http://www.majordomo.net/sinister
. For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister at majordomo.net
.                 Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa
-----------------------------------------------------------------------