Pipkins - The Royal Astronomer
We've still got a load of 'Pipkins' left to watch, so we treated ourselves to 'The Royal Astronomer' last night. It was broadcast on 24th November 1978 and is available on the fifth DVD set from Network.
As with so many of the surviving episodes, it comes from an off-air recording, but considering its age it doesn't look too bad at all.
Hartley is dressed as Sally from the song 'Sally Go Round The Sun' and when the lyrics mention the moon, we arrive at our theme for this instalment.
Tom tells a story involving a Royal Astronomer, which leads Hartley and Topov into a discussion about astronomy and how you make things seem nearer. Perhaps Father Dougal should have watched this one when he was small (or is it far away?) to help him when he sees those cows through that caravan window...
I did grin when the phrase 'The Sky At Night' was mentioned in passing, perhaps as a nod to Patrick Moore, unless it was a coincidence?
Tom does the old 'hold a magnifying glass up to the eye trick' that many TV directors like to attempt at some stage, though I was somewhat distracted by Hartley and Topov who each appear to have one leg too few in the wide shot of them.
Hartley retires to the workbench to construct a pretend telescope out of some handy tubes and a song is rather crowbarred in at this point. Although there is an excuse for a quick special effects sequence showcasing a spaceship that could have got a job working on 'Button Moon' a couple of years later.
Hartley tests his tube out and mostly has a good look at Octavia's bottom, though the ostrich is such a mess of tatty feathers it's hard to tell one end from t'other when she's scratching about in her sandpit.
Topov and Tortoise are worried that Hartley will be disappointed when his so-called telescope will fail to bring the moon any closer, but Tortoise won't actually spend any money as he claims that the costs of a real telescope would be astronomical. This fails to get a laugh, so instead Tom presents Hartley with a tiny refractor that is at least better than nothing.
Come night-time, the view is obscured by clouds, so with the aid of Moony the badger and some cardboard cut-outs, Topov puts on a show for Hartley who apparently sees two moons, a jumping cow and a flying saucepan.
Over-excited at the latter, he telephones the newspaper, though the reporter hangs up on hearing the phrase 'flying saucepan'.
Tom and Topov explain that they faked everything so that Hartley would have something to see as they love him and Hartley retires to bed feeling quite happy with his lot. Aw, bless...
As we say in our video, this episode made us think of John Flamsteed (Astronomer Royal to Charles II), William Herschel's house in Bath (where I bumped my head and he discovered Uranus - the two events are not connected!) and Carl Sagan's diagrams of alternative interpretations of the constellation Ursa Major.
'Pipkins' really can be quite educational in ways they perhaps didn't intend!
Our video about 'The Royal Astronomer' can be seen here.
(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)
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