''Tales of the Riverbank'', sometimes called ''Hammy Hamster'' and ''Once Upon a Hamster'' for the Canadian version, is a British

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

series developed from a Canadian pilot. The original series was later broadcast on Canadian and U.S. television, dubbed by Canadian and US actors for the markets they were to be broadcast in. The pilot was created by David Ellison and Paul Sutherland, CBC film editors, in 1959. After completing the pilot programme, CBC turned down the production and so Dave Ellison travelled to the BBC in London to show it. The BBC initially commissioned thirteen episodes, but extended this later. A second series was made in colour in the 1970s, narrated by Johnny Morris.

Revival

A later remake was produced by Canada's YTV and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in 1995 which ran for three years, and a feature-length film was made in 2008 using puppets rather than live animals.

Format

The programme had human voices in sync with the actions of the live animals, to give the impression that the creatures were performing activities. They lived in a place called "The Riverbank" and operated various artefacts including toy

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s, cars, and even a

diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...

. Various techniques were used to persuade the animals to do what was required, including smearing jam on the objects they were to handle. The voices were selected to reflect the personalities of the animals. Each episode ended with the narrator alluding to an event involving the characters, but refusing to elaborate, saying "But that is ''another'' story." The original

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

''Tales of the Riverbank'' series was first shown by the BBC on 3 July 1960 at 4:50 pm.Telly Nation web-site
/ref> It was originally narrated by Paul Sutherland, but the BBC did not want Canadian accents and so for the BBC showings, all the voices were provided by Johnny Morris. The series was eventually sold to 34 countries around the world.

Telecast and home release

In the U.S., The show also aired on the

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during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

UK VHS releases

UK DVD releases

US DVD releases

Further episodes

After the original thirteen episodes, 39 further episodes were made in black-and-white. The majority were written by David Ellison, Charles Fullman, Paul Sutherland and Cliff Braggins. The episodes of ''Tales of the Riverbank'' purchased by the BBC were adapted by staff writer Peggy Miller. Much of the filming was done on location at

Wootton Creek Wootton Creek is a tidal estuary that flows into the Solent on the north coast of the Isle of Wight. The estuary has also been known in the past as "Fishbourne Creek", "Wootton River" and "Wootton Haven". At the mouth of the estuary is the ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

. A later series with 26 episodes was filmed in colour in the 1970s, retitled ''Hammy Hamster'' (full title: ''Hammy Hamster's Adventures On the Riverbank'') launched in 1972. The BBC had introduced a policy of not using human voices for live animals and so this series was shown in the UK by ITV. In Australia, the show aired on ABC TV through the 1970s as ''Adventures on the River Bank''. The final series, dubbed ''Further Tales of the Riverbank'', made from 1991 to 1992, was produced for

WTTV WTTV (channel 4), licensed to Bloomington, Indiana, United States, and WTTK (channel 29), licensed to Kokomo, Indiana, are television stations affiliated with CBS and serving the Indianapolis area. They are owned by Nexstar Media Group alongsi ...

and

; 26 episodes of that series were made. It is ranked 79th in Channel 4's 2001 poll of the ''100 Greatest Kids' TV shows''. This series was the only one to have been released on DVD, in a set of three DVDs published in-house by Hammytime Productions UK. In America, ''Once Upon A Hamster'' was broadcast in a late-night slot, which helped the programme transcend its intended audience and develop a cult status among US viewers. The late Dave Ellison launched his own website to regularly update information about Hammy Hamster and his friends. He was also involved with optimising the TV show, last shown on Channel 4, for release on DVD. Three children's books were published by Scholastic Publications Ltd in 1993 based on the series and illustrated by Pauline Hazelwood.

Main characters

In the later series the list of characters was expanded from the original first three listed below.

Feature film

A feature-length film, also titled ''Tales of the Riverbank'', was released in September 2008 directly to DVD. It used a mix of puppets, live action, and special effects. Directed by John Henderson, produced by Handmade Pictures and starring

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

as Owl,

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in '' My Hero'' (2000–2005), and DI Jack Mooney in '' Death in Paradise'' ...

as Hammy,

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whi ...

as Roderick and

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film '' Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for ...

as G. P., the story follows three friends who live in a riverbank. After being swept away from their homes by a storm, they embark on an adventure to find their home and save it from the danger of the Fat Cats' factory.

US news broadcast accidental reference

A publicity image by David Ellison of Hammy Hamster holding a clapperboard made an unexpected appearance on a January 2009

news broadcast News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...

regarding the disappearance of a young girl named Molly Bish. During a report regarding the questioning of a potential suspect eight years after the girl's disappearance, an error resulted in the image of Hammy Hamster being shown instead of a photo of the potential suspect.

Notes

References

External links