"We're off to Button Moon
      We'll follow Mr Spoon..."
 

     Focus your telescope on the inky blackness of Blanket Sky and you'll find the
     shiny four-holed Shangri-La that is "Button Moon". Each episode we'd blast off
     for this yellow world with the Spoon family on board their bean tin spaceship.
     Mr Spoon, Mrs Spoon, Tina Teaspoon and her pal Egg-bert encountered
     a giddy assortment of creatures and creations composed of equally
     colourful, oversize household implements, products and packages.
     Chief amongst them were the bottles, Captain Large and Small and Little,
     and the other manic members of the Bottle Army. Large and Small were
     forever up to mischief and making a mess of various grand schemes - they
     were the Laurel and Hardy of Button Moon. Then there was Rag Doll,
     could be a bit of a nuisance, especially to her pals Freddy Teddy, Sofa
     and Wibbly Wobbly Man. And there were always lots of folks frequenting
     the Button Moon Theatre.

     But we didn't just meet moon-based folks. Egg-bert's family would regularly
     visit the Spoon family home. That's Mum Vanilla, and Daddy Egg-bert the
     ice cream vendor. Winny Wilson was Egg-bert's babysitter, whilst Tina
     Teaspon would be looked after by the nurse, Miss Johnson. And on occassion,
     Mr Spoon would set up his telescope to spy upon the menagerie on high,
     around Blanket Sky...

      

     This highly creative puppet series for younger kids ran for five hugely
     successful seasons and was swept into the upper echelons of tv cultdom
     courtesy of its memorable theme tune and those distinct, utensil puppets
     who were eco-friendly stars on a par with those Wimbledon Wombles.

         

     Mr Spoon and friends were created by Ian Allen and the late John Thirtle
     of Playboard Puppets (above). Their puppet designs have always been instantly
     recognizable. On stage and in earlier tv productions puppets were regularly 
     presented against velvet black-drops, masking the performer and allowing the
     bright simple puppets to shine.

     Prior to "Button Moon", Playboard's tv forays had brought us the delights
     of Mo and Hedge in their self-titled "Playboard" series and lots more
     black-dropped critters in "Rainbow" and "Playschool".      

     The Button Moon puppets first appeared in a 1978 Playboard theatre show written
     by Allen and called "Mr Spoon on Button Moon". The theatrical performances
     continued alongside the tv shows and beyond, touring theatres and civic
     halls around the uk for up to eight months a year, with a regular three-week
     Christmas run at London's Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre. A Button Moon sequel
     "The Grotty Rotters of Button Moon" premiered there during Christmas 1984.

     Now here's an Urban Myth proven correct for once: The Button Moon theme
     tune was actually sung by ex-"Dr Who" star Peter Davison and his actress
     wife Sandra Dickinson (Trillion in BBC TV's "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").
     Playboard feature "Dr Who" on their list of TV credits - which is presumably how
     this bizarre duet came about...?

     Twenty years on, "Button Moon" is a continuing success story. There are
     DVDs, greetings cards and more out there for fans to collect. And trendy
     students have seized up the show's effervescent ecology. Mr Spoon is now
     something of a Poster Boy for the environmentally aware, and indeed he
     would make an excellent campaign mascot for folks or companies on a
     clean green mission. Bring back Button Moon, we say!
     
 

       

     Playing the field

     The Playboard CV is extensive with tv credits as diverse as "Marmalade
     Atkins", "T-Bag Strikes Again" , "That's Life", "Top of the Pops", "Playdays", 
     and 80s breakfast show TV-AM. As well as theatre and tv creations, Playboard
     have created the puppet stars for a number of high-profile filmed ads. Remember
     those Quaker Harvest Crunch squirrels? - They came from Playboard. And so
     did that family of NatWest piggy-banks and a three-year-running Boots Christmas
     campaign featuring Santa and a host of puppet shoppers. In 1992 they created a
     cycling shark, bison, dinosaur and who-knows-what-more for two complex
     Robinsons drinks ads.

     Playboard's unique creations earned them the honour of being the first
     company to receive an annual grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain.
     Post "Button Moon" they have brought us those jolly "Spooks of Bottle Bay"
     and the mousey stars of a Dutch series called "Medical Centre Mice".
     Playboard's official site fleshes out the detail for you...

 

     See also

     High in Blanket Sky
     Toonhound takes a whistle-stop tour of Button Moon!...

 

     Button Moon episodes 

     The Three Pigs                    The Holiday Weekend
     Billy Goat's Gruff                  Bottle Party
     The Fox and the Hen            Queen Jelly Loses Her Cherries
     Scruffy and the Bone            Blue Button Moon
     The Hare and the Tortoise     Winter Sports for the Frozen Vegetables
     Hose on Charlie's Nose          Panto on Button Moon
     Planet Doughnut                  Little Bottle Floats Away
     Rag Doll Has a Cold               Mr and Mrs Spoon's Anniversary
     Mrs Spoon's Jumble Sale        Rag Doll Moves House
     Bobbing Bottle                     Egbert's Birth-day
     The Good Luck Bird               
     The Persian Market               
     Barn Dance                         
     Music in the Air                    
     Cinders and the Magic Beans  
     Crazy Games
     Rain Stopped Play
     Egbert Wants to Help
     Missing Martha Muggins
     Granny Spoon and the Missing Apple Pie

 

    Broadcast info 
    
     "Button Moon" premiered on ITV, on December 8th 1980....

 

     Button Moon on DVD

      Adventures on Button Moon
                Region 2 / 10 episodes / September 2001

      Cult Kids Selection Box
                "A Day Trip to Button Moon" is included in this splendid
                4 disc compilation...

 

     created by Ian Allen and John Thirtle
 
     directors:      John Darnell, Neil Stinchcombe
     producer:      Charles Warren
     writer:           Ian Allen
     narrator:        Robin Parkinson
 
     button moon theme:
     sung by by Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson

     playboard puppets:
     Tony Holtham, Alistair Fullarton, Ian Allen, John Thirtle    
 
 


     On the web


      Playboard Puppets
      The official site, with a history page, tv details, Button Moon
      intro and more...

      80sNostalgia          
      You'll find Mr Spoon and friends in the ClassicTV section...

      Gizgog's Pages
      A nifty fan page - part of Gizgog's Pages - with a theme
      WAV and pictures from the show...