Classic animated English TV shows are a tressure trove of hidden gems as alot of them are very basic in there approach and storytelling. With the episode that i'm going to be talking to you all about today being a very good example of this as there's not much to this episode nor this show as a whole and yet it's not only a really charming show but it's also the first episode of show that started an entire trilogy of shows all based around the area of where this show is set and so then join me as I review the episode that might have been ripped off by Postman Pat with the episode in question being called simply just "Peter Hazell The Postman" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is Peter goes on his rounds delivering some letters to the people of Camberwick Green. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The episodes plot is one that is yes simple and predictable but given that this episode does focus around the villages postman it does make sense that the plot of this episode be almost exactly like the plot of Postman Pat with the only differences being that Peter doesn't drive a car and doesn't have a cat but apart from that it is shocking just seeing how similar the plot of this episode is to the plot of Postman Pat. However tho granted there are only so many plot that you can tell with a Postman as the main character and in all fairness to this episode having this episode be the one to start of the show does make the most sense as it does introduce alot of the shows main characters in a way that does make sense to the episodes plot and while having the plot of this episode be this simple plot is something that does work for the episode it would have worked even more better if Peter had some sort of obstacle to overcome as that would add a bit of excitement to the episodes plot but this is meant to be a slice of live show and that sort of thing doesn't really require something like that to happen rather all it needs is the character to just there usual charming selves and that is exactly what this episodes plot does allow the characters to do with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is Brian Cant with the thing that makes the acting in not only this episode but the show as a whole standout being the fact that Cant isn't doing voices for the characters rather he is just commenting on the things that they are doing with him occasionally giving them voices. This is a unique way to do things as given the fact that he was an actor for the BBC it would have been very easy for the makers of this show to have him just give all of the characters voices and whilst that would have been a good thing to see it also would have made the show as a whole blend in with the rest of the other kids TV programmes coming out at the time whereas having him serve quite literally as just the narrator for the show does help to make the show stand out a bit. Whilst other shows like this like for example The Wombles and later on Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends would mostly struggle with having the one actor voicing all of the characters as they more often then not just used the one voice for all of the characters which is something that would make it harder to tell just whom is talking alot of the time here in this episode we don't really have that issue as Brian isn't really voicing any of the characters and the one time that he does in this episode its one very quick and very brief scene therefor you don't really need to know who he is voicing in that one as there's only the one character in the scene in the first place this is an approach that i'm shocked more TV shows like this one didn't really take as it does allow for this show to stand out and it does mean that the makers of a show wouldn't have to worry about the little kids watching it if they can work out who is talking as technically none of them are with this also having the added benefit of giving us the audience the chance to use our imagination therefore Peter to some people could sound like an American and to others like myself he might very well sound like that he comes from Greater Manchester and all of those and all of those would be perfectly valid.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. As even tho there is only the one actor in the whole entire show you really only need the one actor as there isn't so much acting in this episode as there is a narrator just telling us what the characters are doing but in saying this tho it does still take a lot of skill to give some convincing narration and make it sound like it's something that could actually be happening with this being something that Brian Cant does do really well. With the best actor in this episode of course by default being Brian Cant with him having a background in working with kids as he mainly did kids TV shows when he was working with the BBC with him putting alot of the stuff that he learnt from those other shows to good use in this episode as while it would have been very easy for him to just either talk up to or talk down to the audience given the fact that the episodes main target audience is mostly little kids he doesn't do any pf that in this episode rather he talks to them on a level and that is something that alot of great kids programming should do with this being something that does allow him to turn in a performance that is yes still very child like but is also alot more mature with this being something that really does shine through in his performance in this very episode. With the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that the script for this episode is just so good that all this episodes actor really has to do is just read the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.
Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that were currently over at Gordon Murray Productions. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The episode does use mainly stop motion puppets and clay to animate everything that we see in the episode this does help to give the episode a unique look to it as the episode doesn't quite look like the village that it's meant to be based off of but at the same time it doesn't look fake enough either. With the thing that stands out about this episodes characters designs is the fact that none of the episodes characters have mouths whilst this was no doubt done to make it easier to animate the characters it is also something that does make the characters un this show stand out from all of the other characters out there and while this is something that could be seen as making the characters look creepy which is something that would be a fair point to make as yeah they do look kind of off putting it is also something that does add some charm to the episode with the makers of this episodes giving the characters these really fluid movements alot of the time which is something that does work as alot of the episodes backgrounds really do look quite dull and boring with this no doubt being because of the fact that two men were mainly animating the whole show and therefor they really didn't give alot of thought and effort to the episodes backgrounds but at the same time tho if really you visit the countryside you do see how detailed the local surroundings are and it really would have been nice if the makers of this episode did make there backgrounds be as highly detailed as they could have done.
Its been said before in this review and it will be said again but this episode does feel like it was knocked off by Postman Pat with Peter himself being someone like Pat was. As he is someone that everyone in the village does know by heart and while the characters aren't looking or him like the characters in Postman Pat are they do still get excited whenever they see them with even the local platoon leaving there posts to go and see the letters that he's brought them which does feel very much like somethin that you would see in Postman Pat and heck if Peter was given a van to drive and didn't just walk everywhere you really could excuse this for being an episode of that show as they are very similar in nature. Peter tho does have one thing going for him that wasn't copied by Pat that being the fact that he really doesn't care what people think of him with Peter being this somewhat absent minded person as we do see him kind of day dream in this episode which does result in a comical moment and we do see him actually empty the post box's in the village thus showing us the audience that he really is committed to his job where as with Pat we only really saw him pull up to the Post Office to begin his round he never took he time to empty any of the villages post boxes even tho he would have had more then enough time to do son this is a small thing but it's a small thing that does make a big difference as both this episode and Postman Pat are meant to show us what its like being a Postman but Postman Pat does in it's own way glamorize it by showing us that people will like you instantly and you will be loved by everyone because of it where as here in this episode they kind of tell us that whilst yes it is a decent job to have you won't be going anywhere by car and you will be walking alot and that people might not like you for doing your job as you very well might be getting in the way of them doing there job.
To be frank like shows like The Wombles and Paddington for example this episode is very relaxing in nature. As all the episode is just following this one person going about there day to day routine and seeing them encountering all of these people all of which pose no threat to the character and are there just to get letters from him this is something that is a common thing in a lot of British TV shows from around this same time period as alot of them where very relaxing in nature due to the fact that alot of them would go on just before tea time at around 5 to even 6pm in the evening as that's when the shows target kid audience would also be going of to bed and therefor they would need calming down after having a long day. This is something that does work really well in this episode as it does allow for us the audience to just soak in the atmosphere of the show and to just listen to the episodes music all of which are things that do help this episode to be a very relaxing episode this is not to say that the episode will put you to sleep as it won't but it is something that you could watch after a long hard day either by yourself or with little ones and you would still feel nice and calm after it, with it being a shame that they don't make shows like this anymore as with all that's going on in the world right now it would be nice to have a show that the whole family could watch and feel calm after watching it but for one reason or another people today just aren't that interested in shows like this and are instead more inclined to watch shows like Spongebob Squarepants which isn't as relaxing and as calming as show like this one is as this episode does give you the time that you need to just live in this world where nothing bad every happens and where the biggest threat that you might face is your letter not arriving on time and given all that is going on in the world right now it's shows like this that we need more and more off.
This episode was perhaps the best episode that the makers of this show could have gone with to start this show out on. With it not only setting up the world for the show but also giving us a good idea as to how the rest of the rest of the shows characters are as well with this being helped by the fact that Brian Cant does also add in his own bit of narration that do help to make the rest of the characters feel about as fleshed out as they are ever going to be with a good example of this being him describing Mrs Honeyman as someone who does talk to much and who spreads alot of gossip with those thing being then enough to let us know that she is a character that the rest of the shows characters are going to find annoying. This is an episode that really doesn't need to delve into any of the characters are alot of the charm of not this episode but the show as a whole is seeing how they interact with each other and whilst yes it would be fun if we got to see the characters be more thought out bit given the fact that this is a slice of life show and the fact that we are only dropping in on these characters during a certain activity it's not really somethin that is needed as the characters are more then charming enough that you do end up forgetting about the fact that none of them are that well thought out with this being something that could also be true for alot of the characters that we meet in our real life as well as let's be honest here no one knows that much about there postman or about the local town or village gossip therefor in this regard this episode and show is very true to life as it's presenting these characters as real people which is something that the makers of this episode really didn't have to do.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly fifteen minuets and twenty one seconds. This is the bogstandard running time for this show and to be fair to this episode with this episode being as long as it is it does help to make it further stand out as alot of kids shows around this time were around five minuets and length and yet here we have an episode that is three times longer then that and yet you don't even notice that this episode is this long due to the fact that we do end up being so engrossed in the world of this show and even tho there isn't really a plot to this episode that does justify it being as long as it is this episode really does have enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho in saying this episode really doesn't use its running time all that wisely as the episode doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot which is something that in all fairness it doesn't really need to do as all this episodes plot is is just following this one postman as he makes his rounds and that's really it and that's not really something that does require a deep plot to it but at the same time tho it would have helped if the plot was a bit more developed just to fully justify it being as long as it is as by all rights you could cut this episode down to five minuets and it would still be as good as it with however tho the makers of this episode did care more about having Brian Cant describing the rest of the shows characters then they did in fully developing the plot for this episode. This is something that does in its own way effect the episodes character development as well as even tho none of the episodes characters are meant to get any kind of character development it would have helped the episode out just a little bit if we did see Peter get some form of character development even if it's something as simple as him as watching what's in front of him so he doesn't make any mistakes which yes is a basic thing to have in your debut episode but it is also something that would be perfect for this episode however tho the makers of this episode do seem alot more focused on introducing the rest of the shows characters that they do end up forgetting to give the episodes main character some actual character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. The best word to describe the jokes in this episode is cute as that's exactly what they are as while there really only two jokes in the episode they both are cute jokes that will get a laugh at the episodes target audience with there not being any adult jokes in there for the mums and dads watching the episode and yet even they will find the episodes jokes to be funny as they are classic jokes that will always work. With the best joke in the whole episode being when Peter uses his special knock on the door of the bakery to get the owner to open as after he doesn't reply a few times Peter notices smoke coming out of the chimney and tries again to get the baker to come out only this time when the baker does answer the door Peter still does his special knock only this time its on to the baker himself which is just a simple gag to have in the episode and yet it works because of the fact that it is such a simple joke where as if the makers of this episode did carry on the joke and make it more complicated it would stop being funny but due to the fact that they knew to keep the joke simple it would not not only work but would also be a timeless joke then we do end up with something that whilst yes granted its not laugh loud funny like alot of the jokes in the Paddington animated TV series are it is still a joke that will get a smile out of anyone watching it with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall weather or not there will be more reviews of this show is hard to say but this episode was a fun introductory episode to the show with the episode and its cast of whimsical characters being alot of fun to watch with even the animation more then holding up all of these later as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys an girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.