Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
Genre	Children's television
Narrated by	Bernard Cribbins
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
Production
Running time	5 minutes
Production company(s)	FilmFair
Release
Original network	Thames Television
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	1974 – 1976

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings is a British children's animated series about the adventures of a young child named Simon, who has a magic chalkboard. 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 the writings of Edward McLachlan. It was produced in the mid 1970s^[1] by FilmFair Productions in London for Thames Television, and was originally a 5-minute programme, broadcast around tea time in Britain. The programme also became familiar to American audiences in the mid-1970s when it was featured on Captain Kangaroo (where it was narrated by Bob Keeshan instead of Bernard Cribbins), later on Pinwheel, and after that, on Romper Room. In Canada it was narrated by Ernie Coombs and shown on CBC Television.

Original episodes

Series one

1. Simon Meets Henry
2. Simon Meets the Teacher and Children
3. Simon and the Chalk Drawing Band
4. Simon and the Moon Rocket (part one)
5. Simon and the Moon Rocket (part two)
6. Simon and the Caveman
7. Simon and the Sea
8. Simon and the Chameleon
9. Simon's Double
10. Simon and the Elephant
11. Simon and the Football Match
12. Simon and the Return Match

Season two

1. Simon and the Early Morning
2. Simon and the Chalk Drawing Cars
3. Simon and the Dinosaur
4. Simon and the Knight
5. Simon and the Rainbow
6. Simon and the Pied Piper
7. Simon and the Robot
8. Simon and the Measles
9. Simon and the Flags
10. Simon and the Chalk Drawing Sports Day
11. Simon and the Pop Singer
12. Simon and the Detective

New series

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
Genre	Children's television
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
Production
Running time	5 minutes
Release
Original network	Teletoon
Original release	2002 – 2003

A new series premiered in 2002 on Teletoon in Canada, with a new theme song, an updated outfit for Simon, and a different colour scheme. Simon's friend Henry is replaced with a girl named Lily. In this new version, Simon wears a striped T-shirt, shorts and sneakers.

Simon in popular culture

The series was later parodied on NBC's Saturday Night Live by Mike Myers. However, unlike the British series, the SNL sketches took place in Simon's bathtub, in which Simon shows, and discusses, drawings that correlate with his life.

Simon is also an award users can build on the popular internet game BrokenPictureTelephone. It is awarded to users by other users who feel that the artist has the drawing skills of a 4 year old.

See also

• ChalkZone (1998)
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955)
• Penny Crayon (1989)

Notes

1. Any copyright notice of the actual Simon shorts: e.g. this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki7jJgL6hDY from 1974

References

• Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A to Z of Classic Children's Television. Reynolds & Hearn.

External links

• Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings at the Internet Movie Database
• Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings (2002) at the Internet Movie Database
• Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings (FilmFair) at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings (CINAR Animation) at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings at TheChestnut.com. Retrieved 5 January 2014.