''The Magic House'' is a British

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early eveni ...

animation

puppet show Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performanc ...

created by

Joe Austen Joseph Gerard "Joe" Austen is a British artist, writer, producer and director from St Andrews, Scotland. Since 1976, a collection of his paintings have been on display in The Gallery of Champions within the Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews, Scotland. ...

, that was broadcast on

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation ...

from 7 January 1994 to 30 July 1996. The television programme was adapted from a series of children's books written and illustrated by Austen in the early 1980s. The show's 52 10-minute episodes were aired across the

ITV Network ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passi ...

between 1994 and 1996. As well as the television episodes, a spin-off series of books was also produced, written and illustrated by

. The show, which featured Uncle Teapot, Kitty Kettle, Barney Bin and other characters based on household items, proved a success with the characters appearing in adverts for the

Trustee Savings Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

for children's savings accounts. The show’s theme music is a pastiche of the Beatles song "

It's All Too Much "It's All Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album '' Yellow Submarine''. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The Beatles recorded the trac ...

Characters

* Barney Bin * Bessy Brush * Grandpa Clock * HG Well * Kitty Kettle * PC Pot * Soapy Bubbles * Uncle Teapot * Teddy Chair * The Eggcups * Jack Salt * Paddy Pepper * Sam Spade * Waffle * Peek, Gobble and Fluff

Production and ownership

In 2001 the Dundee-based Austen bought back the rights to ''The Magic House'' and other shows produced by his Storyland company. Ownership of Storyland where previously in the hands of

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tel ...

and Scottish Media Group in 2003.

Plans for a revival

In 2005, a new television series, as well as various types of books for the series, were planned to be developed.

Episodes

Series 1

#Moving Pictures - 7 January 1994 #Air Fare - 14 January 1994 #Apple Pie Bed - 21 January 1994 #Ups & Downs - 28 January 1994 #Down in the Dumps - 4 February 1994 #Mirror Mirror - 11 February 1994 #A Drop in the Bucket - 18 February 1994 #Whats in the Box - 25 February 1994 #Cat & Dog - 4 March 1994 #Blind Mans Buff - 11 March 1994 #Curious Cases - 18 March 1994 #The Runaway Trees - 25 March 1994 #Exercising - 1 April 1994 #Sticking Together - 8 April 1994 #Sound Asleep - 15 April 1994 #Kind Hearts & Juicy Pies - 22 April 1994 #Full Moon - 29 April 1994 #Now You See Her - 6 May 1994 #Big Blowout - 13 May 1994 #Fast & Tight - 20 May 1994 #Pig Business - 27 May 1994 #Absent Friends - 3 June 1994 #Ready Teddy Go - 10 June 1994 #What A Balloon - 17 June 1994 #Blowing Hot & Cold - 24 June 1994 #Musical Chairs - 1 July 1994

Series 2

#The New Arrival (A.K.A Meet Waffle) - 7 February 1995 #Colours and Painting - 14 February 1995 #Soapy Bubble’s Little Troubles - 21 February 1995 #Football on the Beach - 28 February 1995 #The Waffle Cycle - 7 March 1995 #Cloud Animals - 14 March 1995 #Peek a Boo PC Pot - 21 March 1995 #The Magic Watch - 28 March 1995 #Trip to the Seaside - 2 May 1995 #PC Pot’s Long Lost Relative - 9 May 1995 #Barney Bin’s 5 Wishes - 16 May 1995 #Food Marvellous Food - 23 May 1995 #The Pantomime - 30 May 1995

Series 3

#Gobble, Peek and Fluff - 2 January 1996 #The New Wonder Hat - 9 January 1996 #The Wishing Tree - 16 January 1996 #Dreamland - 23 January 1996 #Follow the Leader - 30 January 1996 #Winter Wonderland - 27 February 1996 #Wibbly Wobbly - 5 March 1996 #Guess The Music Instruments - 12 March 1996 #Toys Everywhere - 19 March 1996 #X Marks The Spot - 9 July 1996 #Copies - 16 July 1996 #Kitty's Birthday - 23 July 1996 #It’s a Wonderful Life of Pc Pot - 30 July 1996

UK VHS releases

The show was released as 3 VHS tapes in the mid 90s.

References

External links

''The Magic House'' page at Storyland (archive.org)
* Joe Austen
''Uncle Teapot and the Foodwood''
Storyland — one of the ''Magic House'' books (archive.org) * Joe Austen
''Soapy Bubbles' Little Troubles''
Storyland — a preview of the book {{DEFAULTSORT:Magic House, The (Tv series) 1994 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming British television shows based on children's books British television shows featuring puppetry English-language television shows ITV children's television shows Television shows produced by Scottish Television