Jamie and the Magic Torch

Jamie and the Magic Torch is a British children's television series made by Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and shown on the ITV network, running from 1976 to 1979. It was shown again in the 1980s to a new audience of children. The series was written and narrated by Brian Trueman, who later wrote shows such as Danger Mouse and Count Duckula for Cosgrove Hall, and Kate Murray-Henderson (uncredited) as the voice of Jamie's Mother and the character Nutmeg.

Jamie and the Magic Torch
GenreAnimated series
Created byCosgrove Hall
Written byBrian Trueman
Narrated byBrian Trueman
Kate Murray-Henderson (uncredited)
Theme music composerJoe Griffiths; sung by Tony Steven
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series3
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producer(s)John Hambley
Running time10 minutes
Release
Original networkITV
Original release1976 –
1979
External links
Website

Premise

The programme was based around the young boy of the title and his torch. When shone on the floor, the torch opened up a hole into a fun dimension called Cuckoo Land.[1]

The beginning of each episode had Jamie's mother tucking him into bed at night and saying, "Sleep well, Jamie." Then from under his bed, his pet bobtail dog Wordsworth would appear holding the torch in his mouth. Jamie would take the torch and shine it on the floor, opening up a portal to Cuckoo Land (which Wordsworth always got stuck in). The portal manifested itself as a helter skelter.

When they reached the end of the slide, they would fly out into Cuckoo Land from the bottom of a tree trunk and land on a trampoline. All of this was accompanied by a song, written by Joe Griffiths. Once in Cuckoo Land, the fun would begin.

Characters in Cuckoo Land
  • Mr. Boo, who flies around in his 'submachine', obsessed with counting things.
  • Officer Gotcha, who rides a unicycle and eats truncheons.
  • Strumpers Plunkett, who plays melodies on his trumpet nose.
  • Wellibob the cat, who does everything backwards.
  • Jo-Jo Help the unhelpful handyman.
  • Nutmeg the ragdoll, whose magical pocket can produce all kinds of items.
  • The Yoo-hoo Bird, who plays tricks on and runs from Officer Gotcha.
  • Bullybundy, the show business rabbit with oversized feet.
  • Arthur, a robot (series 3 only).

VHS releases
VHS Title Release Date Episodes
Chorlton and Jamie's Magic Box (TV9937) 3 November 1986 (Compilation VHS with 'Chorlton and the Wheelies')
Bedtime Stories: Toad and Friends (TV8078) 6 November 1989 The Flying Rabbit, The House of Wellibob (Compilation VHS with 'The Wind in the Willows' and 'Cockleshell Bay')
Cult Kids Classics 2001 The Flying Rabbit (Compilation VHS with 'Chorlton and the Wheelies', 'Danger Mouse' 'Count Duckula', 'Rainbow' and 'Button Moon')
Cult Kids Classics 2 5 March 2001 A Narrow Escape, The Ghost of Spiny Mountain (Compilation VHS with 'Danger Mouse', Chorlton and the Wheelies', 'Rainbow', 'Count Duckula' and 'The Sooty Show')
I Love Cult Kids 2002 Yoo Hoo Yeti (Compilation VHS with 'Danger Mouse' 'Chorlton and the Wheelies' 'Count Duckula' 'Rainbow' 'Cockleshell Bay' and 'Button Moon')
Classic Kids Collection 2002 The Hair Stack (Compilation VHS with 'Count Duckula' 'Chorlton and the Wheelies' 'Button Moon' 'Danger Mouse' and 'Rainbow')
gollark: I'll just make a vanilla enderman farm thingy.
gollark: Yes, I am indeed piki.
gollark: I do need ender pearls, though, for other stuff.
gollark: Especially since without it my reactor would meltdown, not that it matters much because my stuff runs on fusion now.
gollark: Years is not enough!

References
  1. Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 142–144. ISBN 1903111277.
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