Ricketts - The Curiosities of British Childrens TV

BBC1

1986

Venture into any house containing small children and youre bound to find oodles of drawings. Sure, most childrens efforts involve out of proportion heads balancing upon two stick legs, but the effort's there, right? And its a fine outlet for their imagination and creativity to run wild, so it should never be stymied.

Now, children also love pets. Theyre equals, in a sense, as theyre ruled by their adult parents/owners, so its no surprise they strike up such great relationships. And with similar centres of gravity, children and dogs make for excellent playmates. Their relationships may seem nothing more than frivolous larks, but they actually help nurture a childs social development.

What about a TV show, then, which married art and dogs? Sounding custom built for success, it actually happened back in 1986. And throwing a young Michael Barrymore into the mix surely meant that Sebastian the Incredible Drawing Dog was destined for tremendous success, right?

The Importance of Being Sebastian

Surrounded by archaic clutter in a dimly lit flat, Sebastian (operated by Richard Robinson) expresses his furry musings through the medium of paint and canvas. To ensure that the fine relationship between man and dog is maintained, Michael (Michael Barrymore) also lives there, presumably to arrange visits to the vet and remove ticks from the more unreachable parts of Sebastians shaggy anatomy.

Michael, unable to match Sebastians artistic temperament, finds himself larking about round the flat instead. One day, Michael may be dressing up as Lord Nelson, the next he might be searching for a pair of socks. A chance comment on these nonsensical meanderings soon leads to Michael dusting down the large and unusual storybook. From this, Michael regales viewers with a quirky tale as Sebastian provides the illustrations.

Sketching Sebastian

Sebastian first bounded onto our screens in 1986 and a total of 13 five minute episodes aired on BBC1 in the Childrens BBC afternoon slot. The series was the brainchild of writer and cartoonist, David Myers, who had previously written for Dave Allen and Tommy Cooper.

David Myers produced an early pilot of Sebastian with Pic Productions, but the final series would be a BBC production helmed by Christopher Pilkington who had previously produced the childrens TV shows Hartbeat and Captain Zep Space Detective. Later on in the 1990s, Pilkington would before going on to act as the executive producer for numerous Childrens BBC shows.

Repeats of Sebastian aired throughout 1987 and 1988 on BBC1 and BBC2, but this was the last the world saw of Sebastian . Nonetheless, the series managed to maintain a permanent presence in the physical world thanks to a series of books published by Andre Deutsch Ltd in 1987 which were written and illustrated by David Myers

On the Quest for Sebastian

Sebastian was an enigmatic presence in my life for the good part of two and a half decades. The lingering image of a dog in a smoking jacket was embedded deep within my memory and frequently bubbled to the surface, prompting me to question my memory under an intense spotlight.

I had to find out more about the series, but the problem was that no one else remembered it. And I certainly couldnt recall the title, having been barely old enough to remember my own name at the time.

Rather fortuitously, many years on, I found myself confronted with a 1986 issue of the Radio Times Russ Abbot was on the cover, so how could I resist picking it up? It was an amazing trip down memory lane, but the real sweetener lay towards the back of the issue. There was an article in there about some new show featuring Michael Barrymore entitled Sebastian the Incredible Drawing Dog.

Finally, I had the name of this elusive show in my grasp! I immediately hopped online to see what I could discover, but all I found were half-truths and whispers. Unfortunately, it appeared that this show was completely forgotten. Many men would have floundered in this situation, but I was determined to squeeze a few more drops of nostalgia juice out of my grey matter. So, with a new found sense of purpose, I headed for the BFI Archive.

The BFI Archive is to TV history enthusiasts as the Black Stone of Mecca is to Muslims. Visiting this underground viewing archive is something that every TV anorak needs to do at least once in their life. It helps you to achieve a better spiritual enlightenment and, more importantly, watch some really rare television.

The viewing rooms are housed in what can only be described as a series of subterranean caverns. And, yes, scrambling through all the old VHS tapes and film cans, you do find yourself feeling a bit like a Womble. However, whereas Orinoco sought to recycle rubbish, I was seeking to remind the world of Sebastian . It was time to get started, so I pressed the play button on the BFIs dusty VHS player and got stuck in.

Sebastian is a particularly cultured dog; instead of inquisitively sniffing other dog's rectums, hes much more at home playing the violin or piano and, of course, hes a dab hand with the old paintbrush bristles. Naturally, this high level of sophistication hints at a privileged background, so its no surprise to discover hes a well-spoken hound. And this aristocratic air is further evidenced by a pith helmet which hangs on a hatstand and no doubt saw plenty of action in the old empire.

Barrymore, meanwhile, is positioned as the funny man to Sebastians straight man (dog) and old Michael bounds onto the screen like a cartoon kangaroo let loose amongst the under 7s. Winking and smiling with all the engaging grace of the very best frontmen, Barrymore demonstrates his precious talent with an electric performance which refuses to be tainted by his disturbingly bland 1980s jumpers.