Postman Pat

Postman Pat
Postman Pat and his black-and-white cat, Jess in the original series.
Genre	Children's stop motion
Created by	John Cunliffe[1]
Developed by	Ivor Wood
Written by	John Cunliffe[1]
Directed by	Ivor Wood[1]
Voices of	Ken Barrie Carole Boyd Kulvinder Ghir Janet James Archie Panjabi Melissa Sinden Anji Kreft Angela Griffin Jimmy Hibbert
Narrated by	Ken Barrie (1981–1996)
Composer(s)	Bryan Daly Simon Woodgate
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	8
No. of episodes	196 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Theresa Plummer-Andrews, Michael Carrington, and Chris Rose (CBBC) Jane Smith and Oliver Ellis (Entertainment Rights) Chris Bowden (Cosgrove Hall Films)
Producer(s)	Debbie Pears Jo Jorden
Editor(s)	Martin Bohan
Running time	15 minutes (Series) 30 minutes (Specials)
Production company(s)	Woodland Animations (1981–1996) Entertainment Rights (2003–2008) Classic Media (2013) DreamWorks Animation (2015–2017) Cosgrove Hall Films (2003–2008) Mackinnon and Saunders (2013–2017)
Release
Original network	BBC1 (1981–2002) CBeebies (2002–2017) HBO (2004)
Picture format	4:3 576i (1981–1996) 16:9 576i (2003–2017)
Audio format	Mono (1981–1987) Stereo (1988–2008) 5.1 Surround Sound (2009–2017)
Original release	16 September 1981 (1981-09-16)[1] – 29 March 2017 (2017-03-29)
Chronology
Related shows	Guess with Jess (spin-off)
External links
Website

Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations.

It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).^[2]

Postman Pat′s first 13-episode series was screened on BBC1 in 1981.^[3] John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts, and it was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles, Paddington Bear, and The Herbs. Following the success of the first series, four TV specials and a second series of 13 episodes were produced during the 1990s. Here, Pat had a family for the first time. A new version of the series was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films from 2003, which expanded on many aspects of the original series. In 2000, Royal Mail stopped using Postman Pat for their promotional and charity work.^[4][5] The television programme continued to use the Royal Mail logo on his postal van PAT 1 for several years after.

The original voice of Postman Pat, Ken Barrie, died on 29 July 2016.^[6][7]

Plot

Each episode follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a friendly country postman, and his "black and white cat" Jess, as he delivers the post through the valley of Greendale. Although he initially concentrates on delivering his letters, he nearly always becomes distracted by a concern of one of the villagers, and is usually relied upon to resolve their problems. Notable villagers include the postmistress, Mrs. Goggins; Alf Thompson, the farmer; and the local handyman and inventor, Ted Glen.

Setting

Postman Pat is set in the fictional village of Greendale and the nearby town of Pencaster, on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

Greendale is a large, busy village situated in the heart of the Cumbrian countryside. Running through the centre of the village is the High Street, home to Mrs Goggins' Post Office and shop, an unofficial meeting house for the residents. Located on the edge of the village is the railway station, home to the Greendale Rocket. Nisha Bains runs a popular café there with Sara while her husband Ajay runs a regular schedule on the Greendale Rocket to the nearby town of Pencaster. In the original series (1 and 2), Greendale consisted of windy and narrow country roads in the valley which usually had some involvement as to why Pat had problems with his rounds, as the lanes would be blocked or full of snow drifts that were not passable.

Pencaster is a large, bustling, modern town located within easy commuting distance for the villagers of Greendale. Situated on the waterfront, Pencaster is a hive of activity, boasting a market square in the centre surrounded by shops, houses, a large railway station, state-of-the-art buildings, and a boat jetty. It bears some resemblance to Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, which likewise is a short commute from Longsleddale, the area used as the inspiration for Greendale.

In the second series of the show from the mid-90s, the area is referred to as Garner Bridge, and is located in Greendale. For example, in the episode "Postman Pat and the Suit of Armour", Greendale Post Office is referred to as "Garner Bridge Post Office".

Ingledale is another large, busy village town situated in the heart of the North Yorkshire countryside, only seen once in a special in 1991, set to make a second appearance in the revival.

Inspiration

Cunliffe, interviewed about the series, has said that he chose the character of a postman since he needed a character who could visit the countryside and interact with many different people.^[8][9][10]

The inspiration for the post office itself comes from that located on the Kendal street where Cunliffe lived when he was writing the original treatment. The post office, at 10 Greenside, closed in 2003.^[11]

Cunliffe did not retain rights to the character, and was disappointed by some of the tie-in media later released. He wrote the stories to the series Rosie and Jim, which he also presented, as a show which he could have tighter control of.^[10]

While Cunliffe visited post offices for inspiration, he has said that the character and village was not based on any one place or person. He commented in 2015 that "I got maybe half a dozen people last year saying they were the inspiration."^[12]

Cast

• Lewis MacLeod as Postman Pat (2nd time), Ben Taylor, Robot 1, Sat Nav, Alf Thompson (2nd time), Sean McGuinness
• Ken Barrie as Postman Pat (1st time), Matt Clifton, Mrs. Goggins (1st time), Ted Glen (1st time), Alf Thompson (1st time), Dorothy Thompson (1st time), Bill Thompson (1st time), Peter Timms (1st time), Julia Pottage (1st time), Katy Pottage (1st time), Tom Pottage (1st time), Arthur Selby (1st time), Lucy Selby (1st time), Sylvia Gilbertson (1st time), Sarah Gilbertson (1st time), Jeff Pringle, Charlie Pringle (1st time), Rebecca Hubbard (1st time), Sam Waldron, Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Santa Claus, Train Inspector, Pumpkin Wrigglesworth, Narrator, Radio Greendale Speaker, John, George, Countdown Sequence Voice
• Carole Boyd as Sara Clifton, Julian Clifton (1st time), Mrs. Goggins (2nd time), Dorothy Thompson (2nd time), Bill Thompson (2nd time), Julia Pottage (2nd time), Katy Pottage (2nd time), Tom Pottage (2nd time), Betty Pottage, Lucy Selby (2nd time), Sylvia Gilbertson (2nd time), Sarah Gilbertson (2nd time), Jackie Gilbertson, Charlie Pringle (2nd time), Rebecca Hubbard (2nd time), George's Wife, Radio Weather Woman
• Kulvinder Ghir as Bill Thompson (3rd time), Tom Pottage (3rd time), Ajay Bains, Bessie Thompson, Michael Lam, Robot 2, Grizzly, Shopper-Bot 3000
• Janet James as Julian Clifton (2nd time), Lucy Selby (3rd time), Lauren Taylor
• Archie Panjabi as Katy Pottage (3rd time), Nisha Bains, Meera Bains
• Melissa Sinden as Jess Clifton, Polly Clifton, Dotty Pringle, Bonnie Goggins
• Anji Kreft as Additional Voices (1st time)
• Angela Griffin as Amy Wrigglesworth, Lizzy Taylor, Flora, Rowena Roberts, Duchess of Pencaster
• Jimmy Hibbert as Additional Voices (2nd time)
• Bradley Clarkson as Ted Glen (2nd time), Arthur Selby (2nd time), Ned Glen
• Dan Milne as Peter Timms (2nd time)
• Joel Trill as Chris Beacon
• Professor Brian Cox as Professor Ryan Farrow

Special Delivery Service

(Originally Postman Pat: SDS) In the new spin-off series, Postman Pat Special Delivery Service (SDS), Postman Pat has been promoted to Head of the SDS and is now called upon to deliver anything. Each episode follows Postman Pat on a Special Delivery mission, from rescuing a runaway cow to delivering a giant ice cube. In his new role, Postman Pat commutes to the nearby town of Pencaster where he collects his special deliveries from the Pencaster Mail Centre. Postman Pat now has a new fleet of vehicles including a helicopter, 4x4 Jeep and motorbike, complete with side-car for Jess.^[13] He has a new boss, Ben, who tends to give him instructions (whereas he was his own master before the "promotion"). Pat also seems to make more mistakes in his work since moving to SDS, largely because the new format is always based on one delivery, which has to go wrong somehow (thus often because of Pat's errors).

Postman Pat SDS features an expanded and diverse cast, a fleet of new vehicles, a world full of gadgets and the new town of Pencaster. Postman Pat Special Delivery Service first screened on BBC2 on 29 September 2008. The new series was commissioned by the BBC and produced by Entertainment Rights and Cosgrove Hall Films.

Both seasons of Postman Pat SDS are available digitally on iTunes.

A new series aired in 2016.^[14]

Outside the main broadcast series

Broadcasters in other countries

• In mainland China, the series launched on China's dominant broadcast platform, China Central Television (CCTV) in July 2008. The show was dubbed into Chinese.
• In Sri Lanka, Postman Pat first series was broadcast over Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (State Television Company) in the early 90's.
• In Hong Kong, Postman Pat Special Delivery has aired on ATV World in English.
• In New Zealand, the original series has aired on TV1 and later on TV2 and the new SDS series currently screens on Kidzone, the children's show on TVNZ6. The 2003 series was also broadcast on TV3.
• In Australia, Postman Pat airs on ABC, Max, Nickelodeon, ABC Kids, ABC2, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, ABC1 and ABC 4 Kids.
• In 2005, Postman Pat was sold to the Japanese division of Disney Channel, finally putting to rest a long-standing misconception in the UK that Japanese television would not take the series because having only three fingers and a thumb on each hand (as Pat does) was a Yakuza symbol.^[21] The series is dubbed into Japanese.
• In the United States, newer episodes of Postman Pat initially aired weekdays at 8:00 AM Eastern time on the HBO Family cable network. The 2004 series used to broadcast weekends on the Qubo channel; the episodes were unaltered. Postman Pat no longer airs in the United States.
• In Iran, Postman Pat was broadcast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The show was dubbed into Persian under the name Pat-e Postchi.^[22]
• In Israel, Postman Pat has been known as Dar HaDavar (דר הדוור), Dani HaDavar (דני הדוור) and Dan HaDavar (דן הדוור) and has been shown on the Israeli Educational Television and on the Hop! Channel, dubbed into Hebrew.
• In the Philippines, the series aired on TV5, dubbed into Tagalog. Cartoon Network (Philippines) also broadcasts until 2009 or 2008.
• In Canada, Postman Pat is shown on the Treehouse Children's Network.^[23] The original series also aired on cable and satellite television on its youth and children's network YTV.
• In Ireland, Postman Pat was broadcast on RTÉ2 and aired on their biggest children's block The Den.
• In South Africa, Postman Pat was broadcast on M-Net being shown on their children's block K-T.V.. It was later moved to SABC 2.
• In Malaysia, Postman Pat aired on TV3 and was shown on Friday afternoons at 5:32pm with the series being reedited into two episodes.

Postman Pat Village at Longleat

Longleat Safari Park had an outdoor reproduction of Greendale village, including the Post Office, the Clifton's house and the Greendale station. It also had a miniature model of Greendale.^[24] It was installed during the 1990s, was relocated during 2008 in preparation for a new animal area and was revamped a third time for 2013. The attraction was closed at the end of 2015 and was permanently removed in 2016.

Award nominations

In 2006, Postman Pat was nominated for "Best Pre-school Animation Series" at the BAFTA Children's Awards.^[25]

Parodies

• Harry Enfield and Chums featured a parody entitled "Il Postino Pat" (the show's Italian title), with an operatic reworking of the theme tune and the characters speaking in Italian. At the end there is a communist revolution in Greendale and Pat is shot by fascist soldiers.^[26]
• Harry and Paul parodied Postman Pat in series 3 and 4 with "Parking Pataweyo", a stereotypical African immigrant traffic warden, played by Daniel Kaluuya, whose name and theme tune are based on Pat's.
• Spitting Image in 1987 the topical satirical puppet series, featured Temporary Postman Pratt^[27] in a send-up of Royal Mail's employment of temporary postal workers during busy times. In the opening titles, Pratt can be seen driving a familiar (though yellow in colour) van along country roads before running over a black and white cat. Pratt likes to clear his workload as quickly as he can by dumping the post rather than delivering it. He is portrayed as a student who is lazy and rude.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Postman Pat.

• Official website
• Postman Pat on IMDb
• Postman Pat at TV.com
• Postman Pat at the BFI's Screenonline
• Postman Pat on iTunes
• Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service on iTunes