James the Cat

JAMES THE CAT
Made by: Grampian Television
Shown on: BBC
Years shown: 1983-4 onwards

Theme tune: "My name's James, James The Cat/I've had fame,
Money, and all that/Now I'm here growing fat/Chasing birds and butterflies/James the cat"

For people who are not cat-lovers, black and white moggy James epitomised all their dislikes about the feline species. He was over-fed, boastful, vain and egotistical, and swanned around his home, the Corner House at number 104, without a care or responsibility in the world. His surroundings were a cross between those of Crystal Tipps & Alastair, and also Henry’s Cat: there was a psychedelic backdrop, but he had a bunch of animal friends along for the ride as well. Considering that this was probably intended to be set in Britain, there was an unusual selection of creatures living in James’ garden. Freda the kangaroo must have escaped from the zoo, and Citroen the frog must have hopped through while they were digging the channel tunnel. Rocky the rabbit and Mrs Lavender the snail were almost to be expected from an English country garden, but then there was a dragon…called Denis (although probably not the subject of the Blondie song.) Whether the dragon was related to Ivor the Engine’s Idris are unsubstantiated rumours, but what I want to know was where James got his fame and money, and what he did in order to lose them both? Maybe he was the Whiskas cat before he put on so much weight....

SQUARE EYES RATING: 3/10


(Thanks to www.80snostalgia.com for the borrowed pic)