Web Page No 2670

The first TV Spin Offs or Tie-Ins

20^th March 2020

1st Picture.  Hank the Cowboy

 2nd Picture. Muffin the Mule

 3rd Picture. Andy Pandy models

4th Picture. Models from the Cornflakes Packets

Television toy merchandise, which didn't exist in the UK until the 1950’s, now makes a considerable contribution to the children's toy industry. The rapid rise of TV-tie-in toys showed how the industry responded to a change in the cultural landscape once television became established. As the new medium grew in popularity, so did the manufacturing of toys based on popular TV shows and characters.

In 1930, Charlotte Clark was commissioned by Walt Disney to create the first stuffed Mickey Mouse doll which instantly became the must-have toy for children across the U.S. And so, began the mass market appeal for the tie-in toy. Other studios began to release toys based on movies or popular movie stars when they discovered that consumers were willing to pay up to 50 percent more for a toy linked to a movie, than a toy with no popular entertainment association.

It wasn't until after the war that the British toy purchasing public caught the TV tie-in bug. The market had already been very well tested. As with The Lone Ranger series in the USA, the children of Great Britain had their own radio hero. Dick Barton - Special Agent (1946 - 51) was the star of the BBC's first radio serial. With over 15 million listeners tuning in to hear his adventures every week, it wasn't long before toy companies jumped on the bandwagon to produce related comics and toys. The same year as Dick Barton debuted on radio, television, after a break between the war years (1939-46) returned. For the Children was the show that introduced youngsters, at least those few fortunate enough to have a television in 1946, to a mule named Muffin. The puppet had originally been made in 1933 by Ann Hogarth, a leading British puppeteer who, with her husband, founded Hogarth Puppets. Muffin the Mule appeared on television with scripts by Ann Hogarth and was presented by Annette Mills. It became an instant hit. As a result, a number of companies approached Hogarth and Mills seeking the opportunity to market a variety of goods to tie-in with the puppet, but, as inconceivable as it seems now, asked the two ladies to pay them for the privilege. Fortunately, Hogarth and Mills had the foresight to refuse these offers and formed "The Muffin Syndicate Ltd" which would take care of all commercial products. The first item produced, copyrighted in 1948, but not released until late 1950 ("Just in time for Christmas" according to an advert in Television Weekly), was by E.V.B. Plastics of Surrey and was a small plastic television in which 'film strips' could be displayed a frame at a time in a back-lit screen using a special key. Presumably, the child or their parent would then make up their own story as they turned the pictures. Other popular toys were a diecast figure of Muffin made by Moko, a company that eventually changed its name to Lesney and later still to Matchbox, and a wooden version made by Pelham Puppets.

In November 1950, the BBC launched a Saturday afternoon children's show called Whirligig, the very first children's programme to be broadcast live from the BBC studios in Lime Grove. Although the series didn't appear each week (it alternated with another children's programme: Telescope), it introduced a number of characters that soon became popular with young children, such as Hank the Cowboy and Mr. Turnip. Both Hank and Mr. Turnip figures were soon produced. Andy Pandy, who appeared in Watch with Mother, became another children's toy which was established in 1951.

By now television was gaining ground then in 1953 that all changed. With the transmission of The Coronation .

Two days after ITV was launched in 1955, The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene was broadcast and very quickly established Richard Greene as a household name. The series was aimed at older children and was full of adventure, intrigue, sword play and derring-do. Toy producers were quick to capitalize on the show's popularity, especially those manufacturers who specialised in figures of soldiers. Benbros Ltd was one of the first to release an ITV tie-in toy with its ten miniature hollow-cast figures of Robin Hood characters. Another set of figures also became available through Kellogg's which was a set of plastic self-coloured figures that were found in boxes of their Robin Hood promotion breakfast cereals.

As other television programmes became popular, more and more TV tie-in toys were manufactured. Whilst British television-related toys such as a pair of Pinky and Perky stringed puppets were big sellers, so too were toys related to a number of American television shows. Not all these shows were made for children. ITV were at that time broadcasting a number of successful prime-time Western series such as Wagon Train and Bonanza with a strong appeal for children. And this too was reflected in the TV tie-in toy market. But in 1957 a new television series aimed squarely at children appeared on the ITV network. And although nobody realised it in those early days, The Adventures of Twizzle would be the catalyst for perhaps the most successful range of TV tie-in toys of the next decade.

Twizzle was a 'living' boy doll who had the ability to extend his arms and legs to amazing lengths. He drove a red breakdown truck and set about rescuing broken toys. Roberta Leigh was the creator of Twizzle, but it was Gerry Anderson who bought the doll to life in a ground-breaking puppet series. The Adventures of Twizzle was first broadcast on November 13^th 1957 at 4.30pm and soon toy manufacturers wanted to produce toys. Cautiously there were records, annuals and card sets but only one stringed puppet. With Torchy the Battery Boy, merchandising began to pick up and the cowboy puppet series called Four Feather Falls proved to be the turning point. Then came Supercar in 1961 and captured the imagination of its young audience like no other series before it. Now, instead of wanting to be a cowboy, every child wanted to be a spaceman so came Fireball XL5 set in the year 2063, so not long to go now.

But when Doctor Who began in 1963 nobody expected it to capture the imagination of the television watching public quite the way it did. No one quite expected the popularity of the Daleks.

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Peter

You Write:

Steve Timms asks:-

Hi Peter, I am looking for the above chap from my past, possibly lived in Central Road, had a couple of brothers. He came away with us in '67 for a week on the Norfolk Broads. He the lad in the white shirt.

Terry Writes:-

Leonard Martin was born on Thursday April 17th 1919 in Australia and he came to Britain since 1953 for a holiday also the following year when he joined BBC Sport in Sportsview Introduced by Peter Dimmock and the famous voice of British Pathe Newsreels alongside Bob Danvers Walker. Saturday October 11th 1958 BBC Television Sports Programme Grandstand & Today's Sport Len's famous voice for the classified football results and the sport news service & horse racing,rugby results read by John Langham at Lime Grove Studios in London when Tim Gudgin arrived since 1965. His nightmare score is East Fife 4 Forfar 5 during 1963-64 season. Len made his final broadcast on Saturday July 29th 1995 for Grandstand. Sadly on Monday August 21st 1995 when he passed away after a short illness in London at the age of 76 years. The Great Memories of The Famous Voice of The Classified Football Results on BBC Television Sports Programme Grandstand icon from October 1958 to July 1995 for the last 37 years is the late Leonard Martin

News and Views:

On this day 20^th March 1960-1965

On 20/03/1960 the number one single was Running Bear - Johnny Preston and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 20/03/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Dickie Henderson Show (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 20/03/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was French Algerian War ends

On 20/03/1964 the number one single was Little Children - Billy J Kramer and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was 10 found guilty of Great Train Robbery.

On 20/03/1965 the number one single was The Last Time - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones Number 2 - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.