Michael Bentine's Potty Time
| Michael Bentine's Potty Time | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's, comedy |
| Created by | Michael Bentine |
| Written by | Michael Bentine |
| Presented by | Michael Bentine |
| Starring | Michael Bentine |
| Original release | |
| Network | Thames Television |
| Release | 1973 – 1980 |
Michael Bentine's Potty Time was a British children's show, written by and starring Michael Bentine, and directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television on ITV. It ran from 1973 to 1980. Bentine had introduced The Potties on a BBC show Michael Bentine Time a year earlier.[1]
The episodes consisted largely of bearded puppets (called "Potties"), comically re-enacting famous historical situations. The Potties' faces were always obscured by facial hair, with only their noses protruding. They were operated from beneath and had two distinct sizes - approximately two feet (60 cm) and one foot (30 cm) tall.
All of the Potty characters were designed by Bentine, who also provided all of their voices. Their operators were from The Barry Smith Theatre of Puppets.
The title 'Potty Time' is a humorous double entendre also referring to the toilet training of infants - a 'potty' being slang for a child's chamber pot.
In 2001, it was voted into 71st place in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows poll.
In the 1970s and early 80s it was broadcast in Australia on Channel 7.[2] The series was also broadcast in New Zealand first on South Pacific Television and later on Television One.
Other Media
Several Region 2 DVDs of the three series have been released by Network Releasing.
This was also a title of a comic strip run in Look-in magazine featuring Bentine and the Potties, drawn by Arthur Ranson.[3]
References
- ^ Radio Times 15 Sept - 8 Dec 1972
- ^ "Monday 29 January 1979 — MELBOURNE". Television.AU. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Comic Art Fans
External links
- Articles with short description
- Pages using infobox television with unnecessary manual displaytitle
- Pages using infobox television with nonstandard dates
- IMDb title ID not in Wikidata
- Television shows produced by Thames Television
- 1973 British television series debuts
- 1980 British television series endings
- 1970s British children's television series
- British children's comedy television series
- British television shows featuring puppetry
