''Crystal Tipps and Alistair'' is a British

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

produced for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

that aired between 28 February 1972 and 1974 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. The title characters are a girl and her dog who are joined by their friends Birdie and Butterfly. The series has no dialogue but is accompanied by a full musical soundtrack composed by

Paul Reade Paul Geoffrey Reade (10 January 1943 – 7 June 1997) was an English composer. Born in Liverpool, he studied piano and composition (1962-1965) at the Royal Academy of Music with Alan Richardson and worked at English National Opera as a ''rép ...

. However, when shown on ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

'' in the U.S. in the 1970s the series did have voice-over narration by Cosmo "Gus" Allegretti in his high-pitched "Mister Moose" voice.

Broadcast

There are 50 five-minute episodes and a 20-minute Christmas special, all first shown between 1972 and 1974.Alistair McGown. "Crystal Tipps and Alistair (1972–74)", BFI screenonline
/ref> It was regularly repeated until 1980. Between 1985 and 1987 the programme aired on

Children's ITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

(with its BBC TV/Q3 credit replaced by a "Children's ITV" endboard on the 4pm broadcast). In 1990, the BBC claimed back the rights with continued airings until 1994. It was created by

Hilary Hayton Hilary or Hillary may refer to: * Hilary (name), or Hilarie or Hillary, a given name and surname ** Hillary Clinton, American politician ** Edmund Hillary, one of the first to summit Mount Everest * Hillary Coast, Antarctica * Hilary term, the spr ...

and Graham McCallum. Michael Grafton-Robinson, a BBC producer went independent, setting up Q3 of London to produce the series. The animation was done by Richard Taylor Cartoons, who were also contracted to make the Charley Says and the

Protect and Survive ''Protect and Survive'' was a public information campaign on civil defence. Produced by the British government between 1974 and 1980, it intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack. The campaign comprise ...

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

s for the

Central Office of Information The Central Office of Information (COI) was the UK government's marketing and communications agency. Its chief executive reported to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. It was a non-ministerial department, and became an executive agency and a ...

Episodes

# Birdie # Butterfly # Flying High # The Art Gallery # Keep Fit # Fishing # Party Time # Decorating # Sowing Seeds # Trip to the Seaside # Yo Yo # The Postman # Dressing Up # Music Makers # Snow # It's Quicker By Tube # Zoo Time # Spring Cleaning # Boots # Chimney Sweep # The Circus # On Wheels # Tennis Time # The Swimming Pool # Picnic Time # Surprise # Bubbles # Pussy # Gardening # Still Life # Sailing # Golf # Waterworks # Eastern Magic # Dough # The Fortune Teller # The Monster # Hotel # The Dog House # Trampoline # Knitting # Bump in the Night # Vacuum Cleaner # Professor # Cricket # Kitten Care # The Farm # Sculptures # Topiary # The Magician Crystal's Christmas Special was shown on 25 December 1974.

Credits

* Designed and Written by: Graham McCallum and Hilary Hayton * Music Composed by: Paul Reade * Animation Directed by: Richard Taylor * Animators: Althea Battams and Maggie Clarke * Produced by: Michael Grafton-Robinson * A BBC TV/Q3 London Co-Production

References

External links

Toonhound – ''Crystal Tipps and Alistair''
BBC children's television shows 1970s British animated television series British English-language television shows 1970s British children's television series 1972 British television series debuts 1974 British television series endings British children's animated adventure television series BBC animated television series BBC One original programming {{animation-tv-prog-stub