The Story of the Caveman

The Story of the Caveman (Magic Ball)

1971-01-05
11m

Catch the Magic Ball and join Sam on a surreal trip to pre-historic Haythornthwaite to ride a purring diplodocus.

Aunt Mill is the lesser-known mysterious shopkeeper of 1970s children's television. Like the more famous Mr Benn, Sam went on trips to a variety of exotic times and places from his Aunt's shop but it was his magic ball that was the mysterious conduit to adventure with no costumes required. This first episode aired on ITV on the 5th January 1971 (some weeks before Mr Benn met the Red Knight in his first outing on the BBC), and Sam's success led to a second series, aired in 1972.

Granada Television commissioned the programme from former employees Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, who would found the phenomenally successful Cosgrove Hall Films and create Danger Mouse (1981-92) and countless other favourites. The involvement of Eric Thompson, who had previously reworked a French animated series into The Magic Roundabout (1965-78), was also central to the charm of the Magic Ball. But don't overlook the astonishing background artwork of Peter Clark, which brings a surreal, Yellow Submarine (1968) inflected oddity to the world Sam visits.

Sam is reading about prehistoric times. He sees a caveman being chased by a large creature, and thinks this is unfair. He uses the magic ball to take him there so he can help. He meets the caveman, Becket the Bold, and other characters including Crispin, Cosmo, Tarquin and Gloria. These are recurring characters throughout the series.

Kid's TV

Our relationship with the small screen starts early in life, opening our square eyes to a heady mix of drama and comedy; fantasy and fact.

Dedicated children’s programming has been part of the television mix from its earliest years, growing from short intervals “For The Children” after WWII, to a plethora of standalone channels today. The start of the BBC’s long-running “Watch With Mother” series in 1953 set much of the template for pre-school television, blending puppets, song and animation, with the implicit expectation that mum - assumed to be a housewife - would supervise. Catering for older children, meanwhile, sought to balance the kinds of programmes children want to watch with those their parents want them to see. Eventually a fuller menu of drama, comedy, factual and magazine programmes for children - in other words, versions of 'grown-up' programmes for 'small people' - came to fill the schedules of weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Sadly, the segregation of children’s television to its own satellite, cable and digital channels has made its much less likely for adults to experience the frequent delights of kids’ TV. But our collection welcomes all ages! (Though please note that some programmes maybe flagged as unsuitable for young children.)

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