Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-Grams | |
---|---|
Genre | Children |
Starring | Sophie Aldred Matthew Devitt |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Production location | UK |
Running time | 15 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC |
Release | 9 January 1992 – 1 April 1993 |
Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-Grams is an educational CBBC show about music which ran from 1992 to 1993 (with repeat transmissions continuing until 1997), starring Sophie Aldred and Matthew Devitt. [1] The show was rerun on CBeebies in 2007. [2]
Melvin and Maureen ran a music shop which sold "Music-A-Grams"- a recording of music for a certain purpose. Sometimes customers came asking for a particular music-a-gram. Melvin and Maureen also sang songs, and told stories to illustrate how musical instruments could be used to create different effects, or on a particular theme. There was also a trio of stuffed toys, who resided in an odds-and-ends cupboard, and were on a constant quest for musical stardom. They appeared in every episode, but only their leader, Groovy Ted, spoke.
Apart from a few one-off characters, like the evil landlady in the third episode, and a spoof superhero character in a later episode, Matthew Dewitt and Sophie Aldred were the only actors in the show. When Melvin or Maureen spoke to a customer on the phone, the customer was always played by the other actor. In the final episode, Matthew Dewitt appeared as a talent scout, and a recording studio manager, and Sophie Aldred appeared in three roles- a bored receptionist at a recording studio, the receptionist at a record factory, and as a Top of The Pops presenter.
Evening Standard television critic Victor Lewis-Smith praised the programme, writing "this series gives me hope, thanks to a terrific cast, Simon Davies's quixotic script, Alison Stewart's fearless production, and music by Will Hill and the legendary Jonathan Cohen (a stalwart of BBC children's music programmes)." [3]
Sophie Aldred is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series Doctor Who during the late 1980s, becoming the final companion in the series' first run.
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