Pullover Productions
Encyclopedia
Pullover Productions Ltd was a television
production company
responsible for a number of UK children's programmes in the 1980s. The company specialised in puppetry
using black light
theatre techniques, particularly animating everyday objects such as umbrellas, dishcloths, balls or shoes.
refugees from the 1968 invasion of Prague
, Susan Kodicek and Rosta Cerny, along with producer Maggie Clarke. Kodicek and Cerny had worked together in the theatre for a number of years as the Black Theatre Group of Prague (as distinct from the better known Black Light Theatre of Prague), performing puppet-based Variety acts with Mike Yarwood
and Paul Daniels
, and two full-length shows, Plop and Big Me and the Wilting Witch for Greenwich Theatre
. They moved into television when Granada TV gave them a regular slot on new children's show Vision On. They soon pitched a new idea for a further series Once Upon a Time, which featured a short black-theatre puppetry sequence accompanying a story with a similar theme. The show ran for several years, first with presenter Peter Davison
, later with singer Mark Wynter
; it transmuted into Sounds like a Story. They also contributed characters named Mr and Mrs Macaroni (notable for speaking a language consisting entirely of the names of Russian composers) to Our Backyard.
The programme was notable for the fact that apart from a few lines spoken by the child at the beginning (he would read a short story to Pullover before going to sleep, introducing the subject of the episode), there was no speech. Instead, all episodes were scored with music throughout, providing a kind of 'narration'.
Only thirteen episodes of Pullover were produced (for Central TV), although at its peak in 1982 it reached number 3 in the children's viewing charts.
, and died in 2011http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/19/hannah-kodicek-obituary. Cerny works for the German-language branch of Czech radio.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
responsible for a number of UK children's programmes in the 1980s. The company specialised in puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
using black light
Black light
A black light, also referred to as a UV light, ultraviolet light, or Wood's lamp, is a lamp that emits ultraviolet radiation in the long-wave range, and little visible light...
theatre techniques, particularly animating everyday objects such as umbrellas, dishcloths, balls or shoes.
History
The company was founded by two CzechCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
refugees from the 1968 invasion of Prague
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
, Susan Kodicek and Rosta Cerny, along with producer Maggie Clarke. Kodicek and Cerny had worked together in the theatre for a number of years as the Black Theatre Group of Prague (as distinct from the better known Black Light Theatre of Prague), performing puppet-based Variety acts with Mike Yarwood
Mike Yarwood
Mike Yarwood, OBE is an English impressionist and comedian. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He left Bredbury Secondary Modern School in 1956 and worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse...
and Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
, and two full-length shows, Plop and Big Me and the Wilting Witch for Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre
The Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.-Building history:The building was originally a music hall created in 1855 as part of the neighbouring Rose and Crown public house, but the Rose and Crown Music Hall was...
. They moved into television when Granada TV gave them a regular slot on new children's show Vision On. They soon pitched a new idea for a further series Once Upon a Time, which featured a short black-theatre puppetry sequence accompanying a story with a similar theme. The show ran for several years, first with presenter Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
, later with singer Mark Wynter
Mark Wynter
Mark Wynter is an English actor and former singer, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl"...
; it transmuted into Sounds like a Story. They also contributed characters named Mr and Mrs Macaroni (notable for speaking a language consisting entirely of the names of Russian composers) to Our Backyard.
Pullover
Keen to create something more of their own, Kodicek and Cerny created Pullover Productions to make a series for pre-schoolers called Pullover. The programme was about a stuffed toy that comes to life each night and has adventures in the bedroom of its owner (played by Kodicek's son Danny). In most of the episodes, Pullover would find himself in a different world, where he would meet a friend, get into some mild peril and finally return to his world and his bed.The programme was notable for the fact that apart from a few lines spoken by the child at the beginning (he would read a short story to Pullover before going to sleep, introducing the subject of the episode), there was no speech. Instead, all episodes were scored with music throughout, providing a kind of 'narration'.
Only thirteen episodes of Pullover were produced (for Central TV), although at its peak in 1982 it reached number 3 in the children's viewing charts.
FoxTales
Following Pullover, the company created a more mainstream programme, FoxTales, adapting a number of classic Eastern European folk tales to a cast of animal characters, narrated by Grandpa Fox (again Peter Davison). The show was well received but suffered from the fact that budgets for children's programming were being cut as imported animated series became increasingly cheaper to obtain.Later work
Kodicek and Cerny continued to produce programmes for a few more years, but eventually moved on. Kodicek went on to write and direct a feature film about her experiences as a child in Stalinist CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and died in 2011http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/19/hannah-kodicek-obituary. Cerny works for the German-language branch of Czech radio.