h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just thought as this seems to have attracted a few of the nostalgia TV buffs I would ask whether anyone has any memory of a series called "Fat Tulip's Garden"? It ran for about 2 series in 1986-87ish on ITV kids tv and was basically Tony Robinson (Baldrick from Blackadder) wandering around a garden telling the story of some animals. The only characters I remember are Lewis Collins the tortoise; and Peter, Paul & Mary (although I don't remember what they were) and Fat Tulip, a human. While the stories were damn funny, the theme tune was rocking although not quite as good in the 2nd series after they housed it up!!

Fat Tulips garden was by far and away the greatest 'Story' telling kids tv programme that aired on British t.v. I have to admit though, for some reason I remember Fat Tulip being a Garden Gnome not a human. I do remember (or have vague recollections) of the theme which ranks alongside such all time Classic British TV Themes such as Portland Bill and Vision On.

Jackanory (another from the story genre for those not in the know) had it's moments the highlight of which was Rik Mayall reading Roald Dahls (excuse the spelling) The Twits.

I have to admit that I felt a gauntlet being thrown down, in my own woeful perspective, to come up with an entry on Fat Tulips Garden. However, an initial skim through possible sources has shown a thin smattering of data. It is interesting to read that the series was not taken up for a third series because ITV (who televised it) felt that there was no merchandising potential in a series that relied almost 100% on the viewer's imagination. There were no character images, no exotic locations - just Tony Robinson creeping around a walled garden with his wonderful dialogue and improvised storylines.

It's odd. I do remember Fat Tulip's Garden, but not in any real way. I have a distinct impression that I saw something called Fat Tulip's Garden once, but no more than that.

This being the case I obviously can't say I don't think it was the finest storytelling programme ever, but I do think that we should consider not only Jackanory and the The Storyteller (although that cut back and forth between teller and tale, and so might well be seen as a different kettle of fish altogether), but also Tony Robinson's other storytelling work, such as Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All (which must have kept me enthralled for, what, twenty-six weeks? A whole year? A very long time to keep a teenager interested) or Blood & Honey. Good stories, good telling.

The Prophet.

The difference between FTG and something like Jackanory is that the latter was storytelling, reading from a book/script with all the trappings of theatre in voice and body language, while FTG was, it would appear, improvisation based upon a scant idea for a tale. Tony was doing what so many parents do (though, alas, possibly fewer and fewer as the years - and the easy options of TV, video games, etc. - plod by), conjuring up a world, characters, events, and so forth, from nothing. Spinning a yarn on the seat of his pants.

Fat Tulip's Garden rules! There were other story tellers as well as Tony I seem to remember...

OK; but that's still exactly what he did in things like Odysseus or Blood & Honey, taking a skeletal plot (in those cases the bare bones of the Ilead and the Odyssee or the Old Testament) and weaving around them. They were extraordinary ventures, and sad to say Odysseus probably wouldn't even get the funding these days, and Blood & Honey probably only scrapes in because so long as Songs of Praise isn't broadcasting live from the Holy Land, it takes up a pretty minimal portion of BBC2's religious programming budget. I'm not even sure if they're making it anymore. I don't really get up early enough on a Sunday.

Again though, I should stress that I have no specific memories of Fat Tulip's Garden by which to judge.

And I do think that Tony Robinson is a genius; if not a God of Children's TV like Postgate and Firmin, certainly a saint or leading archangel of some kind.

And I don't think we should knock the art of reading from a book either; it's not something that's easy to do at all. I also think the final demise of Jackanory is probably one of the worst things to happen to juvenile British reading habits since the creation of the games console.

The Prophet.

Ooh thank you all - others do remember it I was beginning to believe I was the only one. There don't seem to be any internet sites, it's never been repeated and even TV cream doesn't mention it.

As for Jackanory, that was always a classic, although it was bloody difficult to make sure you managed to watch all 5 episodes of the week. Inevitably there were the dull stories, but the Roald Dahl's were great and Kenneth Williams doing the Agaton Sax detectives were too.

For many years of watching Jackanory I was always amazed at how the presenter could manage to remember and retell the story they'd read for a whole 15 minutes without needing to refer back to the book! (This was before I found out about autocues and tv programmes being edited).

Of course, Kenneth Williams reading the phone book would have been watchable

I'm still impressed by people who can manage to read whole paragraphs without getting tongue-tied or making any mistakes, even for a single take.

Ah; I'm getting all misty-eyed for Childrens' TV of yesteryear now. I wonder how much I'm fooling myself in thinking that TV used to be so much better.

The Prophet.

How happy I am to say that I was wrong ... here's what TV Cream had to say about it

TALES FROM FAT TULIP'S GARDEN / FAT TULIP TOO (1985-6)
CENTRAL

WOP! SURREAL, frenetic, semi-improvised short stories for kids told with almost psychopathic conviction by one-time alternative comedian and actor TONY ROBINSON. No animation, no illustrations - he just wandered around a deserted house and garden haranguing the camera with tales of short, corpulent Fat Tulip and neighbour Thin Tim. Other characters included two long-suffering frogs called Ernie and Sylve, an heroic tortoise called Lewis Collins and a little white shell called Jim Morrison. Even more bizarre than it sounds. Robinson also did the Greek myths and The Odyssey, in the same winning style, for the BBC around the same time.

TV CREAM immortality rating -
.... AND THE PINK CHEEKS AND THE BOWLER HAT!

and then I found this from the "Time Team" website which makes very interesting reading (URL removed by moderator)

And that's about all I could find

You'renot fooling yourself. It was... Just get your grubby mitts on the videos to prove it. Bagpuss, Trumpton, Roobarb and Custard, Mr. Benn, Magic Roundabout, Fingerbobs, Bod, Jamie and the Magic Torch, Camblewick Green, Chigley, The Flumps... even stuff like Fat Tulips Garden and Maid Marian and Her Merry Men (amongst others). Great favourites.

I count as another one who knows the name, but can't remember anything about it. Annoying, as it sounds like a brilliant thing. I highly enjoyed his Maid Marion and Her Merry Men, can you get it on video anywhere?
Oh and I want to second the above, all great programs. Is there anything on these days worth watching?

Any re-runs of the above. Or videos of them.

I once met a chap called Tulip, and he was fairly tubby. A case of life imitating art, perhaps?

I think I should be counted as one of those who remember there being a programme called Fat Tulip's Garden, and that it was hilarious, but not too much else. *Sigh* Nostalgia...

Rik Mayall's Grim Fairy Tales or whatever it was called seemed much the same as the descriptions of FTG; Mayall would do his whole gurning hyperactive messing about with Fairy Stories whilst in his dressing gown on a large perambulatory chair that had Baba Yaga-style chicken legs. His version of Rumpelstiltskin was particularly manic and funny, as I recall.

Just thought I'd drop by to let you know that thanks to a search, we've found the opening sequence of Bagpuss - the link is atthe bottom of the entry...

Go wild!

Ashley