''Jamie and the Magic Torch'' is a British children's

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

made by Cosgrove Hall Productions for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

and shown on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

network, running from 1976 to 1979. The series was written and narrated by

Brian Trueman Brian Richard Trueman (16 May 1932 – 1 September 2024) was an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He was known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly dur ...

, who later wrote shows such as ''

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse is a British action cartoon which has had two incarnations: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series ...

'' and ''

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's television series, children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films, Cosgrove Hall Productions and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off of ''Dang ...

'' for Cosgrove Hall.

Premise

The programme is based around the titular young boy and his

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end which can be used as a light source or to set something on fire. Torches have been used throughout history and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggl ...

. When shone on the floor, the torch opens up a hole into a fun

fantasy world A fantasy world or fictional world is a world created for fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds feature magical abilities. Some worlds may be a parallel world connected to Earth via magical portals or items ...

called Cuckoo Land. The beginning of each episode has Jamie's mother tucking him into bed at night and saying, "Sleep well, Jamie." Then from under his bed, his pet Old English Sheepdog, Wordsworth, appears, holding the torch in his mouth. Jamie takes the torch and shines it on the floor, opening up a portal to Cuckoo Land (in which Wordsworth always gets stuck). The portal manifests itself as a helter skelter. When they reach the end of the slide, they fly out into Cuckoo Land from the bottom of a tree trunk, and land on a

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame often using many coiled spring (device), springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes. The fabric that use ...

. All of this is accompanied by a song, written by Joe Griffiths. Once in Cuckoo Land, the fun begins.

Characters in Cuckoo Land

* Mr. Boo, who flies around in his 'submachine', obsessed with counting things. * Officer Gotcha, who rides a unicycle and eats truncheons. * Strumpers Plunkett, who plays melodies on his trumpet nose. * Wellibob the cat, who does everything backwards and speaks with a Glaswegian accent. * Jo-Jo Help the unhelpful handyman. * Nutmeg the ragdoll, whose magical pocket can produce all kinds of items. * The Yoo-hoo Bird, who plays tricks on and runs from Officer Gotcha. * Bullybundy, the show business rabbit with oversized feet. * Arthur, a robot (series 3 only).

Episodes

Series 1 (1976)

Series 2 (1978)

Series 3 (1979)

VHS releases

The first two series have also been released on DVD, In 2024, all 3 series of the show were finally released on DVD & Blu-Ray. In July 2024, all 3 series were made available via a premium subscription to the

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

streaming service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamie And The Magic Torch British children's animated fantasy television series ITV children's television shows 1976 British television series debuts 1976 animated television series debuts 1980 British television series endings 1970s British children's television series British English-language television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by FremantleMedia Kids & Family 1970s British animated television series Television series by Cosgrove Hall Films ITV animated television series Animated television series about parallel universes