The Herbs And Parsley Complete Collection [DVD]

My son (8) and particularly my daughter (10) were very taken with this 'The Herbs & Parsley' complete collection, and rated these old late 1960s childrens programmes very highly at 5*. This DVD set has all the episodes of 'The Herbs' and the later 'Parsley the Lion' spin-off. The earlier episodes of 'The Herbs' are longer at 13 minutes each, while the later 'Parsley the Lion' ones only last 5 minutes. The Herbs episodes also have the opening introduction and "Herbidacious!" bit, while the latter have the Parsley spoof of the MGM lion. In the 'The Herbs' Parsley doesn't speak and just reacts to what is going on, with his thoughts being voiced by the narrator.The Herbs was a television series for young children made for the BBC by Graham Clutterbuck's 'FilmFair' company. It was written by Michael Bond (of 'Paddington Bear' fame), and directed by children's TV legend Ivor Wood using 3D stop motion model animation. Ivor was born in Leeds to an English dad and French mum, and spent his later teenage years being educated in Lyon France. This was Ivor Wood's second project after animating The Magic Roundabout series for French TV, and he went on to produce The Wombles, Parsley, Hattytown tales, Postman Pat, Gran, Bertha and Charley Chalk amongst others. The Herbs first transmitted in February 1968 in the BBC1 15 minute Watch with Mother timeslot. There were 13 episodes in The Herbs series. The spin-off series entitled 'The Adventures of Parsley' was transmitted from April 1970 in the 5-minute slot between the end of children's TV and the BBC Evening News. This had 32 episodes, some of which were later released on VHS as 'Parsley the Lion and Friends'. Although aimed at youngsters 4+, the series sophisticated style and Parsley's dry sense of humour made 'The Herbs' a hit with older kids and their parents alike.We have a few of 'The Herbs' episodes on VHS video and I was a bit surprised that picture quality isn't much better on DVD (though it is a great deal more stable) - probably due to the original colour film and the 'fuzzy' oil painting feel to the images may be deliberate. I expect this DVD will only be bought by parents or those who remember the series from when it was aired back in 1968, but it clearly is a hit with the new young generation as well. It is just as 'different' now as was back then, and time hasn't really dated it despite the 'stately home' setting. It's mostly just a series of gently amusing stories with a little mild 'cartoon violence', as Parsley the lion and Dill the dog always get into trouble, although the witch Belladonna is a bit of a vicious veggie. The series is also quite musical, as each herb has their own song, e.g. The Parsley Song:I'm a very friendly lion called Parsley.I am always very glad to see you wave.But please don't shout or speak to me too harshly.Because I'm not particularly brave.The set is rated U (any age) and it's old style 4:3 TV not wide-screen. If you can't find this complete collection cheap from Amazon or their resellers, try ebay. Watch out if buying second hand as there was a problem with the first batch of pressings where Episode 7 of The Herbs "Miss Jessop Tidies Up" ended abruptly lopping off the last few minutes of footage. Apparently it was rectified for subsequent pressings (and the distributors AbbeyHomeMedia offered a free DVD replacement), although to be honest I doubt my kids would notice either way. Our  The Herbs/Parsley The Lion - Complete Collection [1968] [DVD ] was ordered from Amazon resellers the 'Book Depository' for £10 in March 2011 and plays perfectly (we also go to the credits in 'Miss Jessop tidies up'). There's no subtitles, it's English audio only, and the two DVDs are Region 2 PAL UK locked (DVD1: The Herbs 13 episodes, DVD 2: Parsley the Lion 32 episodes).The Herbs intro [narrated by actor Gordon Rollings]: "Long ago, people believed herbs had some kind of magic power. Some people believe it still. I know a secret herb garden behind that door, where all sorts of strange things happen. I just have to say a magic word. 'Herbidacious'."

Yes, I could have said "Herbidacious" as the title, but you'd be expecting that! At least you would if you had seen the series.Ivor Wood had left Serge Danot's company in the late 1960s and had headed for blighty to try his hand at doing his own thing. He ended up in a concern called FilmFair which did animation for the BBC and the various ITV companies during the 1970s and while there he was involved in creating a group of characters called The Herbs. In some ways you could certainly compare The Herbs with the regulars in Le Menage Enchante (Magic Roundabout to you!) but there were plenty of differences. One thing they certainly had in common was the bit of children's TV that they did just before the early evening news, a slot that made Dougal and company famous and was destined to do the same for Parsley the Lion and Dill the Dog as FilmFair created a spinoff from The Herbs called The Adventures of Parsley.The Herbs was a series of thirteen episodes created for showing as part of the BBC "Watch with Mother" segment shown on BBC 1 at about 1.30pm on weekdays. First appearing in 1969 and continuing to be shown on and off for many years, the main foil for the series was Parsley, the Friendly Lion. He was often the first character to pop up at the start of the show and often the one that closed the door to the walled garden where the various herbs lived at the end of the show. The characters were meant to be characatures of various herbs - hence Parsley's green mane that looked a little like the herb of the same name - including herbs such as Dill (a rather hyperactive dog), Sir Basil (the often absent minded king of the herbs), Lady Rosemary (Sir Basil's other half) and Bayleaf (a typical country gentleman gardener). Each character had a signature song which would often be sung on arrival and at various points after.Some characters have not dated well in the series. It should be remembered that social values were somewhat different back then so if you are offended by characatures such as Pashana Bedhi (a typical Indian characature of the time, right down to the snake charming, curry cooking and sleeping on beds of nails, all in a loin cloth and turban) then this might be a series to avoid.The Adventures of Parsley differs from the original series in that the various animal herbs - Parsley, Dill and Sage the Owl - all talk. In fact a lot of the show depends on the interplay between Parsley and Dill with side references to the other herbs with jokes that were a little more subtle than the original series. Actually there are a lot of similarities between Parsley and Eric Thompson's version of Dougal from the Magic Roundabout. Which is where we came in, methinks.No, I don't know who "Cookie Jar Inc." is, nor do I care, but this is another blast from the past that I decided to enjoy. And enjoy it I did!

You have to be a certain age to remember 'The Herbs'. It seemed to disappear at some point in the mid-70s, along with a fair number of other 'Watch with Mother' shows that illuminated my early childhood, such as 'Andy Pandy' and 'The Woodentops'; but distance hasn't diminished the charm of this series, which has retained a hold on the memory ever since. I still think of the characters whenever I see herbs lined-up on the supermarket shelf, and it's no wonder. These characters are instantly memorable and prove to be an imaginative take on a novel idea, making Basil and Rosemary slightly dim aristocrats, Bayleaf a cap-doffing 'oo-arr' gardener, Sage a grumpy owl, Parsley a less-than-ferocious lion, and Dill a manic dog with crazy hair. The series also has that same brilliant use of colour that Gordon Murray's Trumptonshire trilogy had when British TV was poised to switch from monochrome.The fifteen-minute 'Herbs' episodes were aimed at pre-school children and have a sedate pace that is very seductive and calming in the Postgate vein, whereas the spin-off, 'The Adventures of Parsley', aired in the later, 'Magic Roundabout' five-minute slot before the news and consequently acquired a cult adult audience, with Parsley's laconic humour and various cultural references that went over my head during their original broadcast. It's great to have both in one package and this set provides 40-somethings with enchanting time-travel TV from a time when children's television had a quality threshold it rarely dipped beneath.

Keeps kiddies quiet

Bought for a bit of a joke. Well worth it