Review of Captain Pugwash: The Complete Classic

Introduction

Avast there me hearties! Stuttering Starfish!

Yes, this old favourite has finally made it to DVD. But first, let`s just clear something up.

Many people labour under the false impression that this show featured characters with dodgy double entendre names such as Master Bates, Seaman Staines, and Roger the Cabin Boy.

This is not true.
This is not true.
This is not true.
This is not true.

The crew of the Black Pig was in fact:-

Captain Pugwash
Master Mate
Tom the Cabin Boy
Pirate Barnabas
Pirate Willy

This DVD features all 30 5 minute episodes from the show, which is now an amazing 48 years old, and still a classic. It is only available from HMV at the time of writing.

Video

All 30 episodes on this DVD have been digitally restored from a set of tapes used in the 1970s, removing dirt, scratches, dust and all other sorts of nasties. There is a feature about this in the extras section.

And this show does look surprisingly good given its age. The clean up has made it watchable again, and should stop modern audiences being put off. The animation itself is incredibly simple but still effective.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, which is the original mono replayed over both channels. Again, this has been tidied up from old tapes, and all sounds fine. Peter Hawkins was the man behind all the voices.

Be careful when watching this DVD, as you`ll soon have that theme tune lodged in your head, and be whistling it for days. A friend of mine has it as his ringtone!

Features

One extra of note, which is "Pugwashed". This is probably aimed at older viewers, and explains about the show being cleaned up for the DVD. It also gives a side by side comparison of the original and restored film so you can see just how much rubbish they`ve removed from the original picture.

Also included in the extra features are a photo gallery and weblink.

Conclusion

Oh, it`s great to finally have Pugwash on DVD. It`s another of those childhood classics which brings back fond memories. Pugwash first appeared as a cartoon in the Radio Times in 1950, and then made it on to BBC TV in 1957. Coming from this era makes it a timeless classic. Even today, kids still love pirates, and this is a show that your children will love and you`ll be able to watch it with them.

I`ve said it loads of times before, but I have to repeat myself. This really is a reminder of a forgotten era, when TV shows for children were about education and entertainment, not huge marketing and merchandising campaigns, and seeing how many stupid number one singles and nasty processed food tie-ins you can wring out of your characters before confining them to the scrap heap and getting children hooked on the next fad. Yes, I am bitter about modern TV for children, but seeing Pugwash out on DVD makes me happy.

One for all you nostalgic types out there. The picture and sound quality are great considering their age, so this is a DVD for you to snap up!