I am inspired by reading Norse mythology to dig up my dvd of Noggin the Nog, the children’s TV series from my earliest youth. I discover the first series was broadcast before I was born, in 1959. I must remember it from repeats later in the 60s.

The series was created by Oliver Postgate, the animator and cartoonist, and Peter Firmin, artist and puppet maker, one-time teacher at the Central School of Art. Their biographies are fascinating – blasts of sweetness from a vanished, simpler era – and Noggin himself breathes the same air of simplicity and innocence.

Oliver and Peter set up their ‘studio’ in a disused cowshed on Firmin’s farm in Blean near Canterbury, and started making stop-frame animations with the simplest equipment. In the dvd slipcase Oliver is quoted as saying the big technical breakthrough was realising they could use little dobs of Blu-Tack at each of the joints on the people and animals: glue would fix the joints; Blu-Tack allowed them to be moved tiny amounts, then photographed, and hence the wonderfully home-made stop-frame style of the shows.

The setting The stories follow the adventures of Noggin, king of a remote northern kingdom based on an innocent, non-violent version of the early medieval/Viking era. In the first series, when old King Knut dies, Noggin must find a queen to marry or else forfeit the crown to his uncle, Nogbad the Bad. Noggin voyages north to meet and marry Nooka of the Nooks (an Eskimo princess), and becomes the new king.

The shows lovingly invoke the look and style of the great Norse sagas, notably the way each episode starts with a repeated formula – “Listen to me and I will tell you the story of Noggin the Nog, as it was told in the days of old”, or “In the lands of the North, where the Black Rocks stand guard against the cold sea, in the dark night that is very long the Men of the Northlands sit by their great log fires and they tell a tale …” Peter and Oliver had both been inspired by the look and feel of the famous Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum, which are themselves half way towards being cartoon characters.

The music In the earliest series, the music is restricted to a simple and haunting theme written by bassoonist Vernon Elliott and performed by him and his wife on – I think – bassoon and oboe. By the third series much more complex music which pastiches the oriental setting of the ‘Flying Machine’ story, is played by The Vernon Elliott Ensemble. By the time ‘The Pie’ is made ten years later it sounds like a small orchestra is being used.

The charm Telling the plot misses the point: the charm of the stories is a combination of:

• the naive, low-tech animation
• the beguiling wavery voice of Postgate himself who spoke the narration and voiced most of the characters
• the strangeness of the stories: the Chitty Chitty Bang-like wonderfulness of the flying machine; the sweetness of the sad and lonely ice dragon; the perky optimism of the Omruds; the haunting sadness of the giants

Comic characters All the characters are essentially comic:

• Thor Nogson – Noggin’s friend and Captain of the amusingly incompetent Royal Guard, Nogson is a confirmed coward, fearful of every event
• Olaf the Lofty – An eccentric but enthusiastic inventor, he invents a wonderful flying machine, a steam train which runs out of control, and gunpowder (!)
• Graculus – A miraculous talking green bird who arrives as Nooka’s messenger in the first episode and stays to offer sage advice and resolve many a tricky situation

Nogbad the Bad Almost all the stories are driven  by the evil scheming of Noggin’s uncle, Nogbad the Bad, who never gives up trying to claim Noggin’s throne for himself. Nogbad always loses in the end. When he is revealed as the baddy in each story the 5 year old in me wants to jump up and boo, but is also reassured by the predictability. It’s Nogbad again!!!

Broadcast history The series was broadcast on the BBC from 1959 through to 1965. 21 programmes were made in black and white and six in colour.  Each episode in the series  lasted ten minutes though the later ones were re-edited to make longer episodes. I think they used to go in the special children’s slow just before the 5.45 News.

Colour! And the last two series were in colour! It makes quite a difference. Like probably everyone I prefer the black and white versions as seeming to come from an era almost as distant as the Vikings… But this isn’t the only change. The music is played by more instruments and is more varied and rich. And the design has significantly changed, most notably in the eyes. The original Noggin characters have round clear circles for eyes with black dots for pupils. This makes them look wide-eyed and innocent. In the revised colour versions the characters’ eyes become black dots. It’s a much cleaner, more professional design but makes them a bit blanker. These are the versions most often used in merchandising.

Noggin: Early naive style

Noggin and Thor Noggson, early style. Artwork: Peter Firmin

One of the Lewis chessmen showing the boggly eyes and proto-cartoon design.

Lewis chessman showing the boggly eyes. Copyright the British Museum

Noggin: Later, smoother style.

Notice Noggin’s black eyes (though the other characters have the older style). Artwork: Peter Firmin

The TV shows

1 The Saga of Noggin the Nog (6 episodes) (b/w)

2 The Ice Dragon (6 episodes) (b/w)

3 The Flying Machine (3 episodes) (b/w)

4 The Omruds (3 episodes) (b/w)

5 The Firecake (3 episodes) (b/w)

6 Noggin and the Ice Dragon (4 episodes) (colour) (remake of 2nd saga)

7 Noggin and the Pie (2 episodes) (colour) (based on the book published in 1971)

Related links

The complete series was released on DVD in 2005, in a package that also included DVD versions of the short story books.  Buy The Sagas of Noggin the Nog on Amazon.

There was also a set of 12 illustrated children’s books which you can buy on the Dragons’ Friendly Society website.

The Dragons’ Friendly Society (this seems to be the official site for Noggin merchandise)

Noggin the Nog website (this seems to be a fansite)

Noggin and Thor Nogson atop the Ice Dragon. Artwork: Peter Firmin