Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings

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Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
GenreChildren's television series
Created byEdward McLachlan
Written byGlyn Frewler
Directed byIvor Wood
Narrated byBernard Cribbins
Theme music composerMike Batt
ComposerMike Batt
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes24
Production
EditorHelen Kelsey
Running time5 minutes
Production companyFilmFair
Original release
NetworkThames Television
Release1974 (1974) –
1976 (1976)

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings is a British children's animated series about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard.[1] Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, 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

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.

In 2002 the series was remade in Canada, with Ernie Coombs as the narrator.

Original episodes

Series overview

Series Episodes First aired Last aired
1 12 1974 1975
2 12 1975 1976

Series 1

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"

Series 2

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"

2002 revival

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
Genre
Teletoon
OTV (Shanghai Media Group)
Release2 September (2002-09-02)[2] –
18 September 2002 (2002-09-18)[3]

A new series premiered in 2002 on

Teletoon in Canada with a new theme song, an updated and more casual outfit for Simon, a different colour scheme and narrated by Ernie Coombs (in his final role; in a tragic subnote, he would suffer an ultimately-fatal stroke while recording his last sessions for the show [citation needed
]). It was co-produced by Cinar Animation and Shanghai Animation Film Studio and directed by Francois Perreault. Simon's friend Henry is replaced with a girl named Lily. In this new version, Simon wears a striped T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.

Parody

The series was later

The sketches open with the same musical theme and similar lyrics, but take place in Simon's bathtub, where he shows and discusses his "drawerings" with viewers.

See also

References

External links