Noggin the Nog

NOGGIN THE NOG
Made by: Smallfilms
Shown on: ?
Years shown: 1960 (plus repeats)

“In the lands of the North, where the black rocks stand guard against the cold sea, in the dark night that is very long, the men of the Northlands sit by their great log fires and they tell a tale…”

...Thus begun every episode of Noggin the Nog, and how many programmes set such an evocative scene for its audience? You could just as easily be in the bleak, stark surroundings of an Ibsen or Strindberg play, somewhere in the vast wastes of Scandinavia. The subject of these old Norse tales was Noggin (whose name Peter Firmin thought up on the Tube on his way to work), the youthful Viking-like king, who defended his lands from his evil uncle, Nogbad the Bad (identifiable by his malevolent moustache), who wanted to reclaim the crown. Noggin is married to the raven-haired beauty, Nooka, who was the daughter of Nan of the Nooks. Nooka was a good woman, more intelligent than her nice-but-dim-witted husband, and she could also be very feisty when Nogbad threatened her family, and in particular, Knut, her son with Noggin. There were a lot of loyal Nogs, including Olaf the Lofty, the rubbish court inventor, and Thor Nogson, Captain of the Royal Guard, with his big blond beard. The Tolkien influences became even more apparent with Graculus, a gigantic green bird, who, with his wisdom and common-sense, acted as Noggin’s counsellor - and gave him a lift when he needed it.

Noggin was animated in the same style as Ivor the Engine, with expressive line-drawings and good old-fashioned story telling. There was always something dark and ephemeral

looming over the landscape of Nogland, but it was countered by the Nogs’ touching emphasis on family values, and their sense of community. Perhaps Tony Blair models himself on the King of the Nogs…

SQUARE EYES RATING: 6/10

(Thanks to www.smallfilms.co.uk for the borrowed pic)