TRUMPTON
Narrator:
Brian Cant
Created by:
Gordon Murray
Here is a clock, the Trumpton clock, telling the time, steadily, sensibly; never too quickly, never too slowly, telling the time for Trumpton
The Bill Poster
The Trumpton fire brigade attempt to put up posters to advertise their band
concert. But there doesn't seem to be anywhere they can put them, and when
they do get to put some up, they get in an awful mess.
Miss Lovelace
and the Mayor's Hat
The Mayor of Trumpton inspects the town park. He discovers a broken bench,
which is soon mended, but then a gust of wind blows his hat off and the
Fire Brigade are called in to retrieve it from a tall tree.
Mrs Cobbit and
the Ice Cream Man
Mrs Cobbit has a very bad day - first the branch of a tree crashes through
her roof, then when she gets to the town market, she finds that an ice-cream
man has taken her regular pitch. Fortunately with the help of the other
townsfolk, her problems are soon solved.
Miss Lovelace
and the Statue
A sticky door sets off a chain of events which results in the town-square
statue of Queen Victoria being damaged. Fortunately the fire brigade are
on hand to put matters right.
Mr Platt and
the Painter
The face of the town clock needs repainting, but of course nothing ever
goes smoothly in Trumpton and a misplaced pot of paint causes havoc.
The Mayor's Birthday
The Mayor is very proud of his position and would like a painting of the
Town Hall. The villagers decide to give him the painting for his birthday,
and Chippy Minton has seen an artist painting scenes in the village. But
the artist has vanished, so Chippy and the other villagers go looking for
him.
The Telephone
The Mayor calls in an engineer to sort out a problem with his phone. The
engineer digs down to the telephone wires, but when he goes to lunch, one
of Mrs Lovelace's dogs falls in the hole and disconnects all the cables!
The assistant, Fred, tries to reconnect the wires but gets it all wrong
and much confusion ensues.
The Rag And Bone
Man
Raggy Dan, the rag and bone man, collects old junk from the townsfolk, but
Mrs Minton doesn't realise that the old rocking horse she gives him has
Chippy's savings hidden inside.
The Window Cleaner
Mr Robinson the window cleaner gets stuck on a roof, and the fire brigade
are called in to get him down.
Cuthbert's Morning
Off
Fireman Cuthbert has a morning off and goes to visit his aunt. But the two
of them get separated in town and end up looking for each other. Even the
rest of the fire brigade get involved in the search.
The Plumber
While doing repairs in the town hall, Chippy Minton and his assistant Nibbs
discover that the water tank is leaking, and they call in the plumber, Mr
Wilkins. He sees that the tank needs replacing, but he finds that he can't
remove the old one, so the fire brigade are called in to help.
Pigeons
Chippy Minton can't get to Trumpton because of a fallen tree blocking the
road. Luckily he is able to summon help by messenger pigeon.
The Greenhouse
A fruit and veg show is due to take place in the park, but then the old
greenhouse chimney is declared unsafe. Once again, it's the Trumpton fire
brigade to the rescue.
When it comes to describing a true children's classic TV show from the vaults of British television you can't get any better than 'Trumpton'.
Gordon Murray's stop motion animated show first aired in 1967 and enthralled generations for years after. With simple stories and songs showing life in the idyllic town, is was harmless fun that all generation could enjoy and adore.
Harking back to a more innocent time, Gordon Murray's beloved series might look dated compared to the computer generated or Japanese animated cartoons and people dressed in huge, strange animal costumes that grace children's TV these days but when it comes to showing scenes of community, friendship and how to treat people, nothing has come close for younger viewer.
Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley became known as Trumptonshire and under that county name Murray created a menagerie of characters that would endear themselves to countless generation that grew up in the late 60s, 70s and 80s. Trumpton has its fair share of these memorable characters but for this series, there are a few that really stand out.
'Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb' is the roll call that Captain Flack reads every time the Trumpton Fire Brigade are called into action. While 'Trumpton' revolves around a different collection of characters in each episode, the Fire Brigade is the one consistent factor. They might not actually have to put out many fires but Captain Flack and this men are called out in every episode to solve which ever problem the Mayor of Trumpton and the rest of the community have during that show.
'Trumpton' might hark back to a more innocent age but it has far more substance and values than any children's TV show that is showing today. If you have young children or you are looking for some real nostalgia, then take a trip to 'Trumptonshire'.
PICTURE AND SOUND
Presented in 4x3 Full Screen with a Dolby 1.0 soundtrack the transfer is good, especially when you bear in mind that the show was made in 1967.
BONUS FEATURES
Creating Trumpton with Gordon Murray (2.48 mins)
With behind the scenes footage from the making of the actual show, creator
Gordon Murray talks about the secrets behind Chigley, Camberwick Green
and Trumpton. The featurette is extremely short and because of this it
is extremely disappointing.
Trailer Gallery
Previews of 'Trap Door', 'Trumptonshire', 'Lavender Castle', 'Postman
Pat and the Great Dinosaur Hunt' and 'Little Red Tractor - Glorious Mud'
OVERALL
The DVD extras for the release of a children's classic are extremely disappointing. Commentaries should have been a must and the lack of a true making of… is almost criminal. While watching all digitally remastered episodes might be enough for some, fans of the show will be disappointed by the lack of extras.
DVD
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