Postman Pat



Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first produced by Woodland Animations.

It is aimed at preschool-age children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale near Kendal).

Postman Pat first 13-episode series was screened on BBC1 in 1981. John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts, and it was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles, Paddington Bear, and The Herbs. Following the success of the first series, four TV specials and a second series of 13 episodes were produced during the 1990s. Here, Pat had a family shown on screen for the first time (though his wife had been mentioned in a number of episodes ). A new version of the series was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films from 2003, which expanded on many aspects of the original series.

Plot
Each episode follows the adventures of Pat Clifton, a friendly country postman, and his "black and white cat" Jess, as he delivers the post through the valley of Greendale. Although he initially concentrates on delivering his letters, he nearly always becomes distracted by a concern of one of the villagers, and is always keen to help resolve their problems. Notable villagers include the postmistress, Mrs. Goggins; Alf and Dorothy Thompson, the farmer; PC Selby, the police constable; Pat and Sara Clifton; Jeff Pringles, the teacher; Ajay Bains, driver of the Greendale Rocket and Pencaster Flyer; Nisha Bains, the owner of the cafe; and the local handyman and inventor, Ted Glen.

Setting
Postman Pat is set in the fictional village of Greendale and the nearby town of Pencaster, on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

Greendale is a big, busy village situated in the heart of the Cumbrian countryside. Running through the centre of the village is the High Street, home to Mrs Goggins' Post Office and shop, an unofficial meeting house for the residents. Located on the edge of the village is the railway station, home to the Greendale Rocket. Nisha Bains runs a popular café there with Sara while her husband Ajay runs a regular schedule on the Greendale Rocket to the nearby town of Pencaster. In the original series (1 and 2), Greendale was much smaller and presented a gentle pace of lifestyle. It had winding roads, along with the trademark bridge, and a smaller population, which allowed Pat plenty of time to enjoy the countryside as he passed through, or even stop on 'quiet' days to have a picnic.

Pencaster is a large, bustling, modern town located within easy commuting distance for the villagers of Greendale. Situated on the waterfront, Pencaster is a hive of activity, boasting a market square in the centre surrounded by shops, houses, a large railway station, state-of-the-art buildings, and a boat jetty. It bears some resemblance to Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, which likewise is a short commute from Longsleddale, the area used as the inspiration for Greendale.

In the second series of the show from the mid-90s, the area is referred to as Garner Bridge, and is located in Greendale. For example, in the episode "Postman Pat and the Suit of Armour", Greendale Post Office is referred to as "Garner Bridge Post Office".

Ingledale is another large, busy village town situated in the heart of the North Yorkshire countryside, only seen once in a special in 1991, set to make a second appearance in the revival.

Inspiration
Cunliffe, interviewed about the series, has said that he chose the character of a postman since he needed a character who could visit the countryside and interact with many different people.

The inspiration for the post office itself comes from one located on the Kendal street where Cunliffe lived when he was writing the original treatment. The post office, at 10 Greenside, closed in 2003.

Cunliffe did not retain rights to the character, and was disappointed by some of the tie-in media later released. He wrote the stories to the series Rosie and Jim, which he also presented, as a show which he could have tighter control of.

While Cunliffe visited post offices for inspiration, he has said that the character and village was not based on any one place or person. He commented in 2015 that "I got maybe half a dozen people last year saying they were the inspiration."

Cast

 * Lewis MacLeod as Postman Pat (series 2), Ben Taylor, Robot 1, Sat Nav, Alf Thompson (series 2), Sean McGuinness
 * Ken Barrie as Postman Pat (series 1), Matt Clifton, Mrs. Goggins (series 1), Ted Glen (series 1), Alf Thompson (series 1), Dorothy Thompson (series 1), Bill Thompson (series 1), Peter Timms (series 1), Julia Pottage (series 1), Katy Pottage (series 1), Tom Pottage (series 1), Arthur Selby (series 1), Lucy Selby (series 1), Sylvia Gilbertson (series 1), Sarah Gilbertson (series 1), Jeff Pringle, Charlie Pringle (series 1), Rebecca Hubbard (series 1), Sam Waldron, Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, George Lancaster, Santa Claus, Train Inspector, Pumpkin Wrigglesworth, Narrator, Radio Greendale Speaker, John, George, Countdown Sequence Voice
 * Carole Boyd as Sara Clifton, Julian Clifton (series 2), Mrs. Goggins (series 2), Dorothy Thompson (series 2), Bill Thompson (series 2), Julia Pottage (series 2), Katy Pottage (series 2), Tom Pottage (series 2), Betty Pottage, Lucy Selby (series 2), Sylvia Gilbertson (series 2), Sarah Gilbertson (series 2), Jackie Gilbertson, Charlie Pringle (series 2), Rebecca Hubbard (series 2), George's Wife, Radio Weather Woman
 * Kulvinder Ghir as Bill Thompson (series 3), Tom Pottage (series 3), Ajay Bains, Bessie Thompson, Michael Lam, Robot 2, Grizzly, Shopper-Bot 3000
 * Janet James as Julian Clifton (series 2), Lucy Selby (series 3), Lauren Taylor
 * Archie Panjabi as Katy Pottage (series 3), Nisha Bains, Meera Bains
 * Melissa Sinden as Jess Clifton, Polly Clifton, Dotty Pringle, Bonnie Goggins
 * Anji Kreft as Additional Voices (series 2?)
 * Angela Griffin as Amy Wrigglesworth, Lizzy Taylor, Flora, Rowena Roberts, Duchess of Pencaster
 * Jimmy Hibbert as Additional Voices (series 2)
 * Bradley Clarkson as Ted Glen (series 2), Arthur Selby (series 2), Ned Glen
 * Dan Milne as Peter Timms (series 2)
 * Joel Trill as Chris Beacon
 * Professor Brian Cox as Professor Ryan Farrow

Postman Pat Special Delivery Service
In the spin-off series, Postman Pat Special Delivery Service (originally Postman Pat: SDS), Postman Pat has been promoted to Head of the SDS and is now called upon to deliver anything. Each episode follows Postman Pat on a Special Delivery mission, from rescuing a runaway cow to delivering a giant ice cube. In his new role, Postman Pat commutes to the nearby town of Pencaster where he collects his special deliveries from the Pencaster Mail Centre. Postman Pat now has a new fleet of vehicles including a helicopter, 4x4 Jeep and motorbike, complete with side-car for Jess. He has a new boss, Ben, who tends to give him instructions (whereas he was his own master before the "promotion"). Pat also seems to make more mistakes in his work since moving to SDS, largely because the new format is always based on one delivery, which has to go wrong somehow (thus often because of Pat's errors).

The series features an expanded and diverse cast, a fleet of new vehicles, a world full of gadgets and the new town of Pencaster. Postman Pat Special Delivery Service first screened on BBC2 on 29 September 2008. The new series was commissioned by the BBC and produced by Entertainment Rights and Cosgrove Hall Films.

A new series aired in 2016.

Film
Postman Pat: The Movie, a British-American 3D computer-animated comedy children's feature film version of the British stop-motion animated children's television show, was theatrically released on 23 May 2014 in the United Kingdom. The film was distributed and produced by Lionsgate and Icon Productions and animated by Rubicon Group Holding. The story revolves around Pat entering a talent show audition which leads to robots taking over his postal service whilst he is away. The film stars Stephen Mangan as the voice of Pat and also features Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, David Tennant, Ronan Keating, Susan Duerden, Sandra Teles, TJ Ramini and Peter Woodward.

Spin-off
A CGI spin-off to the series was made called Guess with Jess which follows Pat's cat Jess now with the ability to talk and his adventures with the farm animals. The series debuted on 9 November 2009 and ended in 2013.

Music
Music for the original 1981 series was by Bryan Daly, who wrote a number of songs including the well-known theme tune. For the 2003 series, pop writer Simon Woodgate scored the show and wrote new songs, including a new closing theme "What's in His Bag?". The theme tune "Postman Pat & His Black and White Cat" was sung by Ken Barrie for the original series in the 1980s and '90s. An extended version of the tune was released as a single in the UK where it reached number 44 in the charts in July 1982.

The theme tune and songs for Postman Pat Special Delivery Service (including "Special Delivery Service, What's It Going to Be Today?"), was recorded by Simon Woodgate at Echobass Studios.

In 2013 Classic Media released Postman Pat SDS series 2. The new 26-episode series retained Bryan Daly's original theme tune and Simon Woodgate's closing song, however new character themes and incidental music was composed by Sandy Nuttgens.

There is also an album called Postman Pat: Songs and Music From the TV Series, released by Post Music in 1982.

The theme song underwent several adaptations; from 1994 to 1996, the theme tune had additional instruments such as synthesised strings and a tambourine. The same was done to the 1995 album version which was an edit of the original 1982 album version.

Books
As of 2009, over 12 million books, including storybooks, integrated learning books, colouring books, and multi-character magazines, have been sold worldwide.

Advertising
The Postman Pat characters and setting have also been used in the UK and Australia in television advertisements for the company Specsavers.

US VHS releases
Celebrity Home Entertainment (1999)

Titles include: Strand Home Video (1990)
 * Vol.1 Postman Pat takes the Bus 16
 * Vol.2 Postman Pat and the Tuba 18

Titles Include:
 * Postman Pat's ABC Story Episode 14
 * Postman Pat's 123 Story Episode 15
 * Read Along With Postman Pat Episode 20
 * The First Season was released on 13 separate VHS tapes: 1 episode per tape. It is unknown when these were released.

Fisher Price Home Video also made a VHS with 3 episodes on it: Postman Pat's Finding Day, Postman Pat's Tractor Express and Postman Pat's Rainy Day

US DVD releases
As Postman Pat wasn't as popular in the United States, only one DVD title, Postman Pat: The Movie, was released by Paramount Pictures in 2015.

UK DVD and VHS releases
With over four million DVDs and videos sold globally, there is a growing collection of titles available for Home Entertainment release, including feature-length specials and interactive games. Titles include:
 * Longman Video (1983–1984)
 * BBC Video (1986–2001)
 * Abbey Home Media (1987–1995)
 * Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2003–present)
 * Entertainment Rights (2003–2008)


 * Postman Pat – ABC & 123 Stories
 * Postman Pat – Read Along with Postman Pat
 * Postman Pat – Magic Christmas
 * Postman Pat – Clowns Around
 * Postman Pat – Ice Cream Machine
 * Postman Pat – In A Muddle
 * Postman Pat – The Pirate Treasure
 * Postman Pat Boxset – Ice-Cream Machine/Clowns Around
 * Postman Pat – Great Dinosaur Hunt
 * Postman Pat – The Giant Snowball
 * Postman Pat – Popstars
 * Postman Pat – Football Crazy
 * Postman Pat – Great Big Party
 * Postman Pat Boxset – Magic Xmas & Giant Snowball
 * Postman Pat – Go-Kart Race
 * Postman Pat Popstars/Great Big Party
 * Postman Pat's Summer Spectacular
 * Postman Pat – Christmas Eve
 * Postman Pat – Big Boat Adventure
 * Postman Pat Boxset – Great Dinosaur Hunt/Giant Snowball/Spotty Situation/Ice Ladder/Big Butterflies/Spooky Sleepover/Greendale Movie/Train Inspector
 * Postman Pat Boxset-Pirate Treasure/Green Rabbit/Flying Saucers
 * Postman Pat Boxset – Christmas Eve/The Giant Snowball/Magic Christmas
 * Postman Pat Special Delivery Service – A Brand New Mission
 * Postman Pat Special Delivery Service – Pat to the Rescue
 * Postman Pat Boxset: Great Big Party/Postman Pat: Great Dinosaur Hunt/Postman Pat: The Ice Cream Machine
 * Postman Pat Special Delivery Service: Flying Christmas Stocking
 * Postman Pat Special Delivery Service: A Speedy Delivery
 * Postman Pat – Happy Birthday Pat

Original series DVD releases
DVD releases of classic Postman Pat were limited in availability in various regions. In the UK, only one volume with three episodes from Series 2 was released by Right Entertainment in 2004 under the title Postman Pat in a Muddle. The same year saw the entire original series released on DVD in Spain, featuring both English and Spanish audio options. No further releases were seen in the UK until 2011 when Classic Media issued all four specials from 1991–1994 on the DVD Happy Birthday Postman Pat. On 3 February 2014, the first and second series were made available in their entirety for the first time in the UK, However the titles are both season 2 with the season 3 theme which received bad reviews from classic fans and also credits Carole Boyd as doing voices, despite it being only Ken Barrie).
 * Postman Pat – Postman Pat Takes a Message
 * Postman Pat – Postman Pat and the Hole in the Road

UK VHS releases
Between April 1983 and May 1984 three Postman Pat pre-certed titles (before the Uc rating by the BBFC got established in 1985) with twelve episode of the entire first series all except for Letters On Ice [episode 11] were released by Longman Video in its children's treasury range. Also, one 30-minute title by Longman Video called My Own Postman Pat (Cat. No. LGVH 2001) was released featuring two episodes – Pat's Rainy Day [episode 3] and The Sheep in the Clover Field [episode 9]. On the back covers The Woodland Animations detail was copyrighted in 1982.

Broadcasters in other countries

 * In mainland China, the series launched on China's dominant broadcast platform, China Central Television (CCTV) in July 2008. The show was dubbed into Chinese.
 * In Sri Lanka, Postman Pat first series was broadcast over Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (State Television Company) in the early 1990s.
 * In Hong Kong, Postman Pat Special Delivery has aired on ATV World in English. The original series and specials were also aired on ATV World in English in the 1990s as part of their children's lineup Tube Time. When Tube Time ended in 1999, the series was then repeated on ATV World on its own.
 * In New Zealand, the original series has aired on TV1 and later on TV2 and the new SDS series currently screens on Kidzone, the children's show on TVNZ6. The 2003 series was also broadcast on TV3.
 * In Australia, Postman Pat airs on ABC, Max, Nickelodeon, ABC Kids, ABC2, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, ABC1 and ABC 4 Kids. The ABC Australian transmissions of the series were also shown in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
 * In 2005, Postman Pat was sold to the Japanese division of Disney Channel, finally putting to rest a long-standing misconception in the UK that Japanese television would not take the series because having only three fingers and a thumb on each hand (as Pat does) was a Yakuza symbol. The series is dubbed into Japanese.
 * In the United States, newer episodes of Postman Pat initially aired weekdays at 8:00 AM Eastern time on the HBO Family cable network. The 2004 series used to broadcast weekends on the Qubo channel; the episodes were unaltered. Postman Pat no longer airs in the United States.
 * In Iran, Postman Pat was broadcast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The show was dubbed into Persian under the name Pat-e Postchi.
 * In Israel, Postman Pat first aired as Dar haDavar (דר הדוור) on the Israeli Educational Television in 1994, then as Dani haDavar (דני הדוור) on the Hop! Channel in the early 2000s and then on the IETV again as Dan haDavar (דן הדוור). All three versions were dubbed into Hebrew.
 * In the Philippines, the series aired on TV5, dubbed into Tagalog. Cartoon Network (Philippines) also broadcasts until 2008 or 2009. The series was broadcast on the defunct Filipino television network Studio 23.
 * In Canada, Postman Pat is shown on the Treehouse Children's Network. The original series also aired on cable and satellite television on its youth and children's network YTV and on digital television on the BBC's channel for children BBC Kids.
 * In Ireland, Postman Pat was broadcast on RTÉ2 and aired on their biggest children's block The Den. Original broadcasts of the series were also screened on BBC Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland and in many parts of Ireland via access to UK television where viewers were able to see earlier transmissions of the series before finally airing on RTÉ2 on 14 September 1989.
 * In South Africa, Postman Pat was broadcast on M-Net being shown on their children's block K-T.V.. It was later moved to SABC 2 and later returned to air on M-Net with its 2003 series and Special Delivery Service.
 * In Malaysia, Postman Pat aired on TV3 and was shown on Friday afternoons at 5:32pm with the series being reedited into two episodes.
 * In Thailand, Postman Pat was played on UBC Movies and Kids and was also reedited into two episodes.
 * In Namibia, Postman Pat was shown on SWABC during the mid 1980s. In 1992 the M-Net network was launched and broadcast for the first time in Namibia which included the series' airings, broadcasts and reruns on M-Net as well as being part of K-T.V. for Namibian viewers. The next few years M-Net (along with the series' airings on the channel) was launched and broadcast in several African countries including Botswana and Ghana in 1993, Nigeria in 1994, Kenya and Zambia in 1995 and Tanzania in 1997. Franchises to the channel were launched in other African countries including Zimbabwe in 1995, Malawi in 1997, Angola in 1998 and Mozambique and Ethiopia in 2000.
 * In Singapore, Postman Pat was broadcast on Premiere 12. It started airing in Singapore for the first time on 8 August 1997. Later in the 2000s and 2010s, the 2003 series and Special Delivery Service both aired on Central and Okto as part of their lineup of children's programmes.
 * In the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, Postman Pat was broadcast on the Arabic children's television station MBC 3 and on cable television on Nickelodeon for Showtime Arabia and the former children's cable television network Fun Channel for Orbit.
 * In Kuwait, Postman Pat was played on the country's English network KTV2.
 * In Jordan, Postman Pat was shown on the English television network Channel 2.
 * In Ghana, Postman Pat was broadcast on TV3.
 * In Brunei, the original Postman Pat series and specials were aired on RTB.

Europe

 * In Scotland, Postman Pat is shown not only in English but also sometimes broadcast as Pàdraig Post, in the Gaelic language, on BBC Scotland.
 * In the Netherlands the series was also shown dubbed in Dutch. There the series is called Pieter Post. It was first broadcast by NCRV, later on Nick Kindernet and Nickelodeon.
 * In Galicia (Spain), Postman Pat is broadcast as O Carteiro Pat, in Galician language, on Televisión de Galicia.
 * In Catalonia (Spain), Postman Pat is broadcast as Pat el carter, in Catalan language, on Televisió de Catalunya. In fact, the original 1981 series was one of the first animation series shown on the channel, in 1984.
 * In Italy Il postino Pat has aired at various times on the RaiSat Ragazzi channel, Raitre and RaiSat YOYO.
 * In Poland the adventures of Listonosz Pat is shown on MiniMini and TVP1.
 * In Spain Postman Pat is known as Pat el cartero and is shown dubbed in Spanish on Clan TVE.
 * In Iceland, Pósturinn Páll is how Pat is known to the viewers of Sjónvarpið, the public Icelandic television network.
 * In Austria and Germany, Postman Pat has been broadcast on ORF (Austria) and Super RTL (Germany) with the name "Postbote Pat".
 * In France, Postman Pat is called "Pierre Martin" and was played on France 3, Nickelodeon Junior, Piwi+, and Mini TFO, dubbed French, and finally broadcast 2017.
 * In Portugal, Postman Pat is known as "O Carteiro Paulo" and is shown on RTP2, MOV and Canal Panda, dubbed into Portuguese.
 * In Sweden, Postman Pat is known as Postis-Per and is shown on TV4, dubbed into Swedish.
 * In Denmark, Postman Pat is known as Postmand Per and is shown on DR, dubbed into Danish.
 * In Norway, Postman Pat is known as Postmann Pat and is shown on NRK, first narrated in Norwegian by Sverre Anker Ousdal in the first seasons, then dubbed into Norwegian in the modern seasons.
 * In Finland, Postman Pat is known as Postimies Pate and is shown on YLE, dubbed into Finnish.
 * In Greece, Postman Pat was also known as "Taxydromos Pat" (Ταχυδρόμος Πατ - Tahhydromos Pat) and was shown on ALTER until the station's closure. From November 2016 to January 2017, it was shown on ERT2.
 * In United Arab Emirates, Postman Pat was shown on e-Junior.

Postman Pat Village at Longleat
Longleat Safari Park had an outdoor reproduction of Greendale village, including the Post Office, the Clifton's house and the Greendale station. It also had a miniature model of Greendale. It was installed during the 1990s, was relocated during 2008 in preparation for a new animal area and was revamped a third time for 2013. The attraction was closed at the end of 2015 and was permanently removed in 2016.

Award nominations
In 2006, Postman Pat was nominated for "Best Pre-school Animation Series" at the BAFTA Children's Awards.

Parodies

 * Harry Enfield and Chums featured a parody entitled "Il Postino Pat" (the show's Italian title), with an operatic reworking of the theme tune and the characters speaking in Italian. At the end there is a communist revolution in Greendale and Pat is shot and killed by fascist soldiers.
 * Harry and Paul parodied Postman Pat in series 3 and 4 with "Parking Pataweyo", an African immigrant working as a stereotypically uncompromising traffic warden, played by Daniel Kaluuya, whose name and theme tune are based on Pat's.
 * Spitting Image in 1987 the topical satirical puppet series, featured Temporary Postman Pratt in a send-up of Royal Mail's employment of temporary postal workers during busy times. In the opening titles, Pratt can be seen driving a familiar (though yellow in colour) van along country roads before running over a black and white cat. Pratt likes to clear his workload as quickly as he can by dumping the post rather than delivering it. He is portrayed as a student who is lazy and rude.