"I'm only scary 'cos I'm hairy"                                                                             
 

    This memorable musical series follows the exploits of a simple spider. All the
    chap wants is a quiet life, but alas, all sorts of interference and problems seem
    to come his way via a mischievous young boy and his friends and visitors...

           

    T'is a simple premise, beautifully executed. Spider's world is presented to us
    as vignettes from a picture book; line sketches with soft crayoned colours set
    against clean white backgrounds. These aren't stories being told here, rather
    they are animated monologues, depicting a spider's point of view of the world.
    
    Spider's soliloquies are vocalized through music. The songs are produced by
    Rick Cassman, with Richard Warner composing and they're arranged, performed
    and sung by Jeff Stevenson with his children on back vocals. And what a treat that
    music is. Sometimes it's rock'n'roll ("Crocodile, I like your style!"), more
    often it's melancholic and haunting. Spider and the boy's turbulent relationship
    is deftly summed up in the song "True Friend":

    "Spider" was first broadcast on the BBC in September 1991 and remains
    something of a cult hit amongst folks who saw it back then, and others who
    have since discovered the series on video, or indeed, on cable and satellite
    where it still airs regularly.

    » The production company behind the show, Hibbert Ralph, went on to divide
        into two separate entities. The Graham Ralph half is known as Silver Fox Films.

    » Silver Fox put a brand-new "Spider" series was into development in 2005,
        but alas, we've still to see it go into production...
    
 

     In the news

     The Hound: May 2005
     More Spider from Silver Fox...?

 

    Spider episodes

    Spider In The Bath      Frog Change
    Just A Spider             Hamster Chase
    In My Tent                Panda Comes To Stay
    Monkey Business        Classroom Distractions
    Hedgehog Hunt          C-Rocker
    The Spider's Song      True Friend
    Little Miss M

 

    broadcast info

     The series premiered on BBC1, 26th September 1991 at 3.53pm
     and played for twelve weeks in the same slot. There was a break
     for Christmas between episode twelve - 19th December - and
     the concluding episode thirteen, which aired on 30th December.
     Pendants will note that the tranmission time for that last
     episode also changed, to 4.05pm....

 

     Spider on DVD

      Spider in the Bath
                 Region 2 / all thirteen episodes / Maverick Ent. / April 2004

      Singalong With Spider
                 Region 2 / a singalong version! / July 2006
    
 

      Hibbert Ralph Entertainment for the BBC

     producer:                John Cary
     director:                  Graham Ralph
     sup. executive:        Theresa Plummer-Andrews
     executive prod:        Iain Harvey
     sup. animator:         Tony Garth
     prod. manager:        Heather Pedley
     animation:               Billy Allison, Simon Turner,
                                    Steve Hales, Nick Love-Gittins
     paint & trace:           Louise Harding, Sharon Walsh,
                                    Fabian White, Karina Stamford,
                                    Kate Smith, Lynn Durrans
     additional anim:       Graham Ralph, Kim Stephenson,
                                    Allan Bassett, Richard Wake
     backgrounds:           Dorse Dukes
     asst. art direction:    Richard Nye, Corona Maher-Esterhazy
     titles:                      Brian Stevens
     editors:                   Paul Coppock, Karen Bruce
     cameras:                 Animated Opticals, Peter Jones Rostrums,
                                    Rostrum Cameras
     production asst:       Karen Davidsen
     dubbing:                  Roger Cherrill Ltd
     original designs:       Hugh Silvey, Walley Jex
     music production:    Rick Cassman
     recorded at:            Triple X Studios
     keyboard arrang:     Vyv Hope-Scott
     musicians:              Premier Bass, Electra Strings,
                                  John Edwards, Jeff Rich, Paul Coppock
     children's voices:    Casey and Holly Stevenson

     songs written and composed by Richard Warner
      songs arranged, performed and sung by Jeff Stevenson

 

      On the web


      Silver Fox Films 
      The producers' web site...


 
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