| Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings | |
|---|---|
| Title card | |
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Edward McLachlan |
| Written by | Glyn Frewler |
| Directed by | Ivor Wood |
| Narrated by | Bernard Cribbins |
| Theme music composer | Mike Batt |
| Composer | Mike Batt |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Editor | Helen Kelsey |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production companies | FilmFair London Thames Television [1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 5 October 1974 – 1976 |
Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings is a British-Canadian children's animated series about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard. [2] Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, a parallel world which Simon can enter by climbing over a fence near his home with a ladder. The stories often revolve around the unintended effects that Simon's drawings have on the Land of Chalk Drawings, such as when an upset Simon draws a picture of his angry self, which goes on a rampage.
The programme is based upon a series of four children's books by Edward McLachlan. It was produced in the mid-1970s by FilmFair Productions in London for ITV and was originally a five-minute programme, broadcast around tea time in Britain. Despite that, it was first screened in Canada during CBC's Children's Cinema program on 5 October 1974 while selected ITV regions didn't start showing the program until 27 March 1976. [3] [4] It also became familiar to North American audiences in the mid-1970s when it was featured on Captain Kangaroo (where it was narrated by Bob Keeshan instead of Bernard Cribbins), later on Pinwheel , and after that, on Romper Room . In Canada, it aired on TVOntario. The writer and performer of the theme song is Mike Batt, with his first wife Wendy on vocals. Mike Batt also wrote the theme for The Wombles , also produced by FilmFair and narrated by Bernard Cribbins.
| Series | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 5 October 1974 | 1975 |
| 2 | 12 | 1975 | 1976 |
| No. overall | No. in series | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Simon Meets Henry" |
| 2 | 2 | "Simon Meets the Teacher and the Children" |
| 3 | 3 | "Simon and the Chalk Drawing Band" |
| 4 | 4 | "Simon and the Moon Rocket (part one)" |
| 5 | 5 | "Simon and the Moon Rocket (part two)" |
| 6 | 6 | "Simon and the Caveman" |
| 7 | 7 | "Simon and the Sea" |
| 8 | 8 | "Simon and the Chameleon" |
| 9 | 9 | "Simon's Double" |
| 10 | 10 | "Simon and the Elephant" |
| 11 | 11 | "Simon and the Football Match" |
| 12 | 12 | "Simon and the Return Match" |
| No. overall | No. in series | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Simon and the Early Morning" |
| 14 | 2 | "Simon and the Chalk Drawing Cars" |
| 15 | 3 | "Simon and the Dinosaur" |
| 16 | 4 | "Simon and the Knight" |
| 17 | 5 | "Simon and the Rainbow" |
| 18 | 6 | "Simon and the Pied Piper" |
| 19 | 7 | "Simon and the Robot" |
| 20 | 8 | "Simon and the Measles" |
| 21 | 9 | "Simon and the Flags" |
| 22 | 10 | "Simon and the Chalk Drawing Sports Day" |
| 23 | 11 | "Simon and the Pop Singer" |
| 24 | 12 | "Simon and the Detective" |
| Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Narrated by | Ernie Coombs (Canadian version) |
| Country of origin | Canada China |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (65 shorts) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production companies | CINAR Corporation Shanghai Animation Film Studio |
| Original release | |
| Network | Teletoon OTV (Shanghai Media Group) |
| Release | 2 September [5] – 18 September 2002 [6] |
A new series premiered in 2002 on Teletoon in Canada with a new theme song, a new character in that of Lily, who was added to make the show appeal to girl viewers, [7] an updated and more casual outfit for Simon, a different colour scheme and narrated by Ernie Coombs.
The series was later parodied on NBC's Saturday Night Live by Mike Myers. [8] The sketches open with the same musical theme and similar lyrics, but take place in Simon's bathtub, where he shows and discusses his "drawrings" with viewers.