''Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings'' is a British children's

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard. Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, which Simon can enter by climbing over a fence near his home with a ladder. The stories often revolve around the unintended effects that Simon's drawings have on the Land of Chalk Drawings, such as when an upset Simon draws a picture of his angry self, which goes on a rampage. The programme is based upon a series of four children's books by Edward McLachlan. It was produced in the mid-1970s by

FilmFair FilmFair was a British production company and animation studio that produced children's television series, animated cartoons, educational films, and television advertisements. The company made numerous stop motion films using puppets, clay animat ...

Productions in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, and was originally a five-minute programme, broadcast around tea time in Britain. It also became familiar to American audiences in the mid-1970s when it was featured on ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television progra ...

'' (where it was narrated by

Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program '' Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longes ...

instead of

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

), later on '' Pinwheel'', and after that, on ''

Romper Room ''Romper Room'' is an American children's television series that was franchised and syndicated from 1953 to 1994. The program targeted preschoolers (children five years of age or younger), and was created and produced by Bert Claster and his p ...

''. In Canada, it aired on

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

. The performer of the theme song is unknown, as his/her name is not mentioned in the credits. In 2002 the series was remade in Canada, with Ernie Coombs as the narrator.

Original episodes

Series overview

Series 1

Series 2

2002 revival

A new series premiered in 2002 on

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

in Canada with a new theme song, an updated and more casual outfit for Simon, a different colour scheme and narrated by Ernie Coombs (in his final role; in a tragic subnote, he would suffer an ultimately-fatal stroke while recording his last sessions for the show ). It was co-produced by Cinar Animation and Shanghai Animation Film Studio and directed by Francois Perreault. Simon's friend Henry is replaced with a girl named Lily. In this new version, Simon wears a striped T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.

Parody

The series was later parodied on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' by

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

. The sketches open with the same musical theme and lyrics, but take place in Simon's bathtub, where he shows and discusses his "drawerings" with viewers.

References

External links

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''Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings''
at TheChestnut.com. Retrieved 5 January 2014. {{Teletoon 1970s British children's television series 2000s Canadian animated television series 1974 British television series debuts 1976 British television series endings 2002 Canadian television series debuts 2002 Chinese television series debuts British children's animated fantasy television series Canadian children's animated fantasy television series Chinese children's animated fantasy television series ITV children's television shows Teletoon original programming Television series by Cookie Jar Entertainment Television series by FilmFair Television series by DHX Media British television shows based on children's books Canadian television shows based on children's books English-language television shows Chinese-language television shows 2002 Canadian television series endings 2002 Chinese television series endings 1970s British animated television series YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Animated television series about children