Captain Pugwash is a British institution which really deserves to be spoken of in the same terms as James Bond or Monty Python. It must have been seared into the consciousness of just about everyone who's grown up there since the late 50's (I'm not sure whether the episodes we got in Australia in the 70's were the original black and white ones, or the 70's colour ones, since we didn't have a colour TV yet!).

In a sense it doesn't matter whether the shows were good or bad. They were classic, and possibly the most famous British cartoon ever ('The Magic Roundabout' might get that award if it weren't stop-motion, and half-French). However, just as a matter of record, they were damn good.

The animation technique involved cardboard cutouts, whose eyes and limbs etc were moved by levers operated by crew members off camera. Similarly the waves, scenery and so forth were moved via this same method, which John Ryan called 'Caption Animation'. The thing was shot live on 16 mm film, and technically I suppose it isn't actually animation, but it's essentially the same technique which was used for 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed', and if you're not going to call it animation, then what is it? In any event the 1990's version is definately computer animated, so it qualifies on those grounds.

Pugwash is a rather genial, but self-important and incompetent Pirate, who is oblivious to the fact that his skin is often saved by the quick witted, though slightly irritating Tom the Cabin Boy. Other favourites included the delightfully nasty looking villain of the series, Cut-Throat Jake, and the rather nervous good-guy pirate, Master Mate.

This last character may have given rise to the urban myth which grew up after the show went off air after its 70's run, that it used to contain a character called 'Master Bates', as well as 'Seaman Staines' and one or two other double-entendres. This was a popular schoolyard story. I believed it, and so apparently did the respectable Guardian Newspaper, who ran a story about it, and were forced to apologise when it turned out not to be true.

There has never been a show that looked like or resembled 'Captain Pugwash'. Classic stuff, and all the characters brilliantly voiced by one actor.

Captain Pugwash also introduced kids to The Sailor's Hornpipe, which was the theme music, and it's completely impossible for me to hear that piece of music without thinking of this show.