Alex Graham's pompish hound toddled off the pages of "The Daily Mail"
     and onto our screens in this fondly-recalled adaptation from the
     seventies. Our hero mutters and mumbles his way through a series
     of doggy misadventures whilst his human owners look on aghast
     and agog. They can only see the outcome of his errors and mishaps,
     but if they'd just listen to him once in a while, it would all make perfect
     sense. And as for his doggy pals, Fifi and Jock - why - they have no 
     excuse. They really should know who's in charge by now...

      

     The world's best-loved basset hound first appeared in print on 8th July
     1963 in the pages of "The Daily Mail". And this equally-popular series
     arrived 13 years later. The adaptation was shepherded on to our screens by
     Bill Melendez, of "Charlie Brown" fame. And just as with that Schulz classic,
     the translation is pretty much faultless. Each five minute toon plays out
     just like a Graham strip. Fred emotes and soliloquizes to camera, but
     he's always just out of earshot of his human counterparts. Lionel Jeffries
     gives voice to the muttering star, and he's the perfect match, swinging
     adroitly between droll and chipper as each tale requires.

     » After Fred, Bill Melendez, producer Graham Spurway, and director
         Dick Horn turned their attentions to yet another popular news
         strip: The Perishers.
    
     » In 2004, Alex Graham's daughter Arran announced plans to bring Fred
        back to our screens in an all-new series, although these things often take
        time to come to fruition and the show has not yet surfaced on our screens.
        Still, we live in hope...

 

     In the news

    The Hound: August 2004
     Fred's new series announced...

 

     See also

    Fred Basset (comic strip)

 

     Fred Basset on DVD/VHS

    Fred's not yet available on DVD. But one episode previously
     appeared on a video compilation:

     Children's Seventies TV Favourites - Vol. 1
                Region 2 VHS / Contender / February 1998

 

    producer:         Graham Spurway
    director:           Dick Horn
    assoc prods:    Tazio Tami, Alec Deffis Whittaker
    stories:            Hitch Hitchins and Nick Spargo
                           based on the original "Daily Mail"
                           cartoons by Alex Graham
    music:             composed by Ian Samwell
                           arranged by Max Middleton
    editing:            Steve Cuitlahauc Melendez
    prod man:        Michael Hayes
    animation:       Mike Hibbert, Geoff Loynes,
                           Nick Spargo, Janet Nunn
    trace & paint:   Olive Scott, Marie Turner,
                           Phyllis Vince, Carol Leith
    backgrounds:   Dean Spillie
    camera:           G&M Productions
    co-ordinator:   Tancy Baran
    voices:            Lionel Jeffries (Fred)
                          Ann Beach
                          Victor Spinnetti

 

      On the web


        Double: Take 
        Double:Take have the rights to the show, if you're interested...

        Gocomics
        And here's the original strip, to view each day...


 
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