Boiling Roobarb

Pretty much a coincidence but my 21st February 2013 blog was about the edible plant Rhubarb and on the very same day the creator and animator Bob Godfrey died. His best known character was Roobarb, a scatty, mischievous, enthusiastic and loveable, bright green coloured dog.

Ask anyone of current age 45 to 55 about this cartoon series and chances are they could give a rendition of the distinctive, mad theme tune with no great difficulty. "Diddle ee-dee , diddle ee-dee, diddle e-diddle e-dee........and repeat"

I found it greatly surprising that only 30 episodes of the original series were ever made and yet for five minutes, just before the 6 O'clock News and my childhood teatimes from 1974 they became a permanent fixture.

I can appreciate my Mother's frustration at preparing a filling and nutritious meal only for it to get cold at an empty table as me and my siblings enjoyed the antics of Roobarb and his sidekick, Custard the pink cat.

The cat was the complete opposite of Roobarb, smarmy, cynical and calculating against the chaos, frenetic actions and lunacy that was the life of the dog.

The series was also narrated by Richard Briers who, only 3 days prior to the news of Bob Godfrey's demise, had himself died. I can see a great upsurge in demand for counselling and psychiatric services for those in my age group at this catastrophic double tragedy, the loss of stability and permanence in our memories.

What was so compelling about the cartoon?

At a time of smooth, sophisticated productions by the large American studios at Disney and Hanna Barbera, often beautifully drawn and sometimes 20 to 30 minutes long, Roobarb was crude and rudimentary. The animated frames were hand drawn in felt tip pen, or so it seemed, and the style was jumpy and erratic and as far detached as possible from the US offerings such as Scooby Doo Where are You?, Hong Kong Phooey and of course Tom and Jerry.

The style of animation was called 'boiling' and apt for the turmoil and energy that it portrayed from the two main characters as well as an amusing collection of ragged and disjointed birds always not too far away from the action.

The theme music and incidental soundtrack for Roobarb were distinctive and also rough and ready. Richard Briers offered a well known reassuring vocal to a young audience with precise delivery of the offbeat humour in the script. The titles for the episodes captured the interest of  potentially distracted, low blood sugar and ultimately hungry viewers immediately in that pre-teatime slot that had also featured, in the 1970's, The Herbs, Hectors House, Captain Pugwash and The Clangers. These animated shows were a difficult act to follow but Roobarb coped well.

Three particularly memorable episode titles and storylines were "When Roobarb didn't see the sun come up", when Roobarb tried "to find the source of the pond" and when, in his pirate outfit he discovered "when there wasn't treasure".

Even in my 56th year I can recall a great line of Roobarb's in script which went along the lines of "sound travels further at night....because it is cheaper".

The series soon attained cult status and the fondness in which it is remembered has been perpetuated in modern culture. The lead characters are mentioned in song lyrics, the theme tune has been sampled in pop songs and comedy broadcasts, a second series was produced in 2005 and there has been a recent resurgence in marketing rights spawning books of the TV series and an interactive web-site.

As with most attempts by cold and heartless commercial merchandising companies to exploit nostalgia and to relieve my age group of their hard earned cash through childhood memories I do not feel obliged to participate.

The 1974 originals were of a specific genre and style and at a time in our own lives that gave them that special quality and timelessness. A bit like the baked beans, tinned macaroni cheese, dippy eggs and soldiers, spaghetti hoops and fish fingers that followed the 5 minute shows around a happy and entertained family group.

This classic status of the animated series can be appreciated even today in overheated arguments in pubs, wine bars and bistros between 50 somethings who stand by differing  views over whether the series was called just "Roobarb" or the popular misconception that it was "Roobarb and Custard". The poor misguided fools.