''If there's trouble down in Muddy Town,
     You know who you should call..."
 

    It's nearly always raining in Muddy Town, which makes it a very muddy place.
    That's bad news for Mayor Muggins and the townsfolk, who are stuck living under
    a cloud all of the time, in this most unappealing of places. But it's good news for
    a jolly croc called Christopher Crocodile who likes nothing more than to wallow
    in the muddy pools around town, slurping on jars of peanut butter and custard.
    But our Christopher is actually an asset to Muddy Town, because he also happens
    to be rather clever inventor with an eye for new gadgets, gizmos and designs.
    And top of his list is a chair lift and mud slide design which brings a big influx
    of welcome visitors to this mucky place and earn him a Big Welcome from the
    Mayor and a permanent home atop a hill overlooking the muddy valley below....

    Which is all rather good for Christopher and his two young human pals, Alex and
    Jane. But no one seems to explain why the rest of the town doesn't relocate atop
    that hill as well. But if they did that, we wouldn't have this cheap-as-chips series
    to entertain us, would we?

    Okay, there's no disguising, this is a very low-budget series, but it's keenly
    narrated by that top children's star Derek Griffiths, who regularly throws in some
    cyncical side-swipes and retorts from the townsfolk, and at only five minutes
    duration, at least it doesn't outstay its welcome... Or at least, the 13 x 5mins
    series doesn't outstay itself. But there's also the half-hour special to consider!

 

     Some muddy facts...

    » In the first episode, "Chairlift", we learn that Christopher Crocodile actually
       comes from - um - "Mud"-agascar...

    » In that same tale, we discover that the town is so poor, they can't even afford
       to paint their fire engine red, and have to make do with red spots instead -
       poor chaps!...

    » By the end of the first episode, Christopher has earned himself a home in
       a little hut on a hill overlooking Muddy Town. But in the next episode, "New
      House" he uses his head for design and a whole lorry load of junk to create
       an altogether more exciting building - although it takes a few failed designs
       for him to get to a final finished building!

    » Christopher's crazy inventions include a Tree Shower for washing off mud
       after being on his waterslide, a Pedalship bicycle used to take the whole
       town to the seaside, and a Sky Brolly which carries our hero all the way
       the channel to France!...

 

     Episode titles
             
     Chairlift           Seaside       Football                 
     New House       Fire            Sub-Car  
     France             Africa         Fair         
     Time Machine    Statue        Snow
     Car                  
                
     + Cloud Crazy (special)

 

    Broadcast info
             
    The series premiered on BBC1, 18th September 1992 at 3.52pm.
    It played for thirteen straight weeks in the same timeslot, taking
    us to 11th December.

    Christopher's "Cloud Crazy" special aired two and half years later,
    on BBC1 14th April 1995, at 10.34am...

 

     Christopher on DVD

     Christopher Crocodile: Seaside and other stories
                 Region 2 / 8 eps / 4 Front / April 2004

     Christopher Crocodile 2: Cloud Crazy and other stories
                 Region 2 / Special + 3 episodes / 4 Front / August 2004

 

    produced and directed Mike Joyce
    a Mixpix Production

    exec prods:  David Hamilton & Claire Derry
                       David C. Pick
                       Joan Lofts (for the BBC)
    script:          Jerome Vincent, Stephen Edmondson
                       based on an original idea by Graham Purcell
                       and original designs by Kate Taylor
    animation:   Martin Wansborough, Mike Joyce,
                       Malcolm Bourne
    artwork:      Clair Staniforth, Caroline Mould, Jez
    music:         Kick Productions
    sound:         Glentham
    lab:             Filmatic
    voices:        Derek Griffiths
                      Phoebe Schofield

 

      On the web


      No links so far, unless you know better...?


 
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