Hello and welcome to another Vintage Media Millennial blog post. I have been severely lacking in my consistency recently, but I am aiming to get better. In line with recent changes to the website, I’m aiming to widen the scope and write about things connected to vintage media.
It is hard to believe that it has been 42 years since the first broadcast of the stop-frame animated series Postman Pat on the BBC in 1981. Created by John Cunliffe, and brought to life by Ivor Wood’s Woodland Animations, the original version ran for 2 series of 13 episodes. Further revivals have taken place since, but I still hold a real affinity for the original.
Like many of my generation, we saw the adventures of Postman Pat in reruns, and on VHS; The theme tune, sung by Ken Barrie, a pure source of memories and nostalgia. Imagine my surprise when the show was issued on DVD, and the theme (and logo) had been changed to the “modern” version.
I could understand refreshing the brand with new art styles and storytelling, but the original shouldn’t have been tampered with. Outside of it’s target demographic will be adults wanting to see and hear exactly what they remember. These versions mess with that, and limit potential sales of that material.
The same versions appear on the show’s official YouTube channel, which is understandable given they’re possibly the default by now. The only bonus is that the original music is kept inside the actual episode.
So where is this leading? Well after 20 years of putting up with revised history, I found a place where you can watch the original versions legally, unedited and in high quality. I hadn’t much hope when I saw Britbox were getting the series, especially as the thumbnail contains the modern logo. While subscribed to ITVX Premium recently, I thought I’d check just in case. To my surprise, what appeared was like taking a step back in time.
Edit: @BritboxPressUK tweeted us – “Postman Pat is an iconic children’s show from yester year and it’s great we have it on our service. We only show content in its current state that is presented at it is supplied. As far as Britbox is concerned it’s the original unedited version.” So I’d like to thank Britbox for putting the unedited original back in homes after so long, I couldn’t be happier.
So if you fancy taking a ride back to 1981, taking in the pleasant surroundings of Greendale and singing about Pat’s black and white cat… Get yourself an ITVX Premium / Britbox subscription.
