Nostalgia for you, enchantment for your little one (Button Moon)

Member Name: DancingCopper

Product:	Button Moon
Date:	18/11/08 (230 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of the most perfect programmes for young children, and a happy memory for us

Disadvantages: The theme tune gets stuck

For many people around my age you only need to read 'We're off to Button Moon...', to have a soothing little tune with Beatles-esque vocals stuck in your head for the rest of the day. My generation was so lucky with the television programs that marked its childhood. We were lucky enough to view the wonderful creations of Oliver Postgate, like Bugpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine. We witnessed the way in which special effects seen only in film were developed for the small screen with shows such as Knightmare. We had a multitude of dramas, with strong characters, that did not feel the need to pander sycophantically to our interests.

Yes, I loved the television of the 1970s and 1980s and Button Moon is a superb example of what made it special. Rather than condemning it to the fuzzy pit of nostalgia, it remains a superb piece of entertainment to this day. So what is it?

Button Moon aired in 1980. Over six series and 91 episodes, young viewers followed the adventures of Mr Spoon in ten minute chunks. Each episode tended to be structured in a similar way. Mr Spoon and family would be introduced by the narrator, Robin Parkinson. As well as Mrs Spoon and Tina Teaspoon, we sometimes met Tina's friend Eggbert. In the same way as Sooty never speaks out loud, Mr Spoon only communicated with and through the narrator.

Once prepared, Mr Spoon would blast off in his rocket through Blanket Sky to land on Button Moon, where he would have an adventure. Mr Spoon would also look through his telescope and we would see this as though through his eye-piece. This provided an additional story, before Mr Spoon boarded his rocket once more and headed home.

---------- The Puppets ----------

Button Moon started life as a stage show for Playboard Puppets, two years before the television series. It was aimed at young children, performed by puppeteers behind black drapes. The series maintained the essence of this puppetry, giving Button Moon it's unique charm.

Mr Spoon and family are constructed from spoons, plates and bowls; Eggbert is an egg in a cup with a woolly hat; even the rocket Mr Spoon travels in is created to look like a baked beans tin with a funnel stuck to it. The imagination with which puppetry created these characters and appeals to me now. Back in the early 1980s, I remember it being vibrantly coloured and gentle. I loved watching Mr Spoons adventures and I loved listening to the narrator describing them. It was warm, engaging and soothing.

---------- The Theme ----------

I never knew, and am not entirely convinced by, the origins of the Button Moon theme. It has been burned indelibly into my imagination, lyrics and music spinning around my head like the umbrellas in Blanket Sky. It was written and sung by none other than Peter Davison, most famous for being the Doctor after Tom Baker and, more recently as Arthur in Spamalot. Davison collaborated on the theme with Sandra Dickinson, his wife at the time, perhaps best known for playing Trillian in the television version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

---------- Button Moon Today ----------

Button Moon was repeated many times and is now screened on satellite and cable networks, most recently UK Gold. If you're too impatient to wait for it to be on television, or you want to let your kids (and young at heart) watch it over and over, Amazon currently stock A Hole in Blanket Sky and Boat Race on Button Moon for £5.99. Each lasts 66 minutes.

If you want something special, and are 17 years or older, you can take a puppetry course with the original theatre company behind Button Moon, Playboard Puppets. Information can be found at their official website (see below).

Button Moon was a wonderful series that touched many of our lives, entertaining us with its gentleness and vibrancy. A modern audience of youngsters would enjoy this just as much, and it means parents don't need the loudness and chaos other children's programmes bring. Enjoy it!

We've been to Button Moon, we've followed Mr. Spoon,
Button Moon, Button Moon. We've been to Button Moon,
Button Moon x 4 (be back soon) Button Moon.


---------- Background Information ----------

Official website - www.buttonmoon.tv/

Background information -en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Moon

Product information and ordering - www.amazon.co.uk

Summary: Mr Spoon journeys through Blanket Sky to have another joyous adventure