Charlie Chalk ( TV Series 1987 )





 

Plot

It tells the story of Charlie Chalk - a jolly clown who, after falling asleep whilst fishing out at sea, ends up on a strange island by the name of Merrytwit (as explained in the title sequence before each episode). Characters had to be aware of coconuts which constantly fell from the trees on the island.

 

The pilot episode of the series (entitled 'Shipwrecked Charlie') finds Charlie having just landed on Merrytwit, and after making friends with some of its inhabitants, decides to stay and build a home there. The following episodes follow Charlie and his new friends on various adventures on the island.





Main Characters



 

Charlie Chalk - A clown, he was out on a fishing trip, when he ended up on Merrytwit Island. In the theme tune, he is described as "Got a funny way of walking and a wacky way of chalking". He was voiced by Michael Williams. His 'funny way of walking' was developed when on occasion he would tumble in an acrobatic circus-style through frames, around obstacles, or just to show folks how happy he was. He also had the ability to do magic tricks as well.



Captain Mildred: The boss, who loves to see everyone hard at work and has the practice of listing things that have to be done: "a: do this; b: do that" etc. She lives on the beached ship Buttercup. She shows strong influences of Margaret Thatcher.



 

Mary the Hover Fairy An old fairy whom often proves useful due to her ability to cast spells...provided her magic wand, Houdini, hasn't wandered off again. She is getting old, so has decided to settle down on Merrytwit. She now lives on Buttercup, serving as Mildred's first mate.
Lewis T. Duck: A small duck with a short temper! He is full of ideas, and believes them to be the best, so is quick to inform people that he is "always right". He can be quite friendly, but lacks patience. The 'T' stands for 'The'.



Arnold the Elephant: A pink elephant, who is quite jolly, but also very clumsy, much to the annoyance of Lewis, who always seems to be on the receiving end of Arnold's bouts of clumsiness!



 

Edward: A monkey who spends his time sleeping and has quite a dislike for work.

Trader Jones: Trader is the island's odd job man. Not only does he drive a bike which acts as a taxi and a means of transporting goods, he also owns a general supplies store on the island: 'if you want it, he's got it.' He never accepts money; he trades. A supply of bananas may cost you a days beachcombing.



Bert: A giant monster, discovered by Charlie, Arnold and Lewis in The Mountain that Moaned episode. He lives inside a cave, and whilst an extremely friendly monster, he is quite lacking in intelligence.

 

Litterbug: A tiny little bug who is kept busy tidying up litter around the island. He often complains about the amount of litter, but doesn't realize there'd be far less litter if his sack didn't have a hole in it! Being so tiny, he isn't always noticed, a fact which further frustrates him.

Episode Guide

 

1 Shipwrecked Charlie Charlie lands on Merrytwit and meets Edward, Trader Jones, Captain Mildred, Arnold and Lewis T. Duck. They all agree that the first thing Charlie must do is build a house... but where?

2 Arnold's Night Out Charlie finds a treasure map and he, Lewis and Arnold decide to go looking for it. Arnold is being clumsey and Lewis orders him to find the treasure by himself. Arnold ends up finding it.

 

3 The Coconut Harvest In the middle of the coconut harvest, Trader Jones makes a wish, and before anyone knows what's happened, Mary the Hover Fairy appears. She grants Trader's wish, and he discovers the magic may not be the best way to harvest coconuts.

4 The Sneezes Charlie unfortunately has to cancel the big expedition to find the Bye Bye Beast because he's got the Sneezes. But when Trader Jones' cure for the dread disease happens to include the elusive Beast's favourite food, Charlie's luck changes.

 

5 Jumping Bananas Litterbug, on his constant quest for tidiness, picks up Mary the Hover Fairy's wand when she puts it down half way through a spell. When the poor creature is chased by a crowd of jumping bananas, he finds ut that there could be such a thing as being tidy.

6 The Mountain That Moaned One day Arnold claims that the mountain moaned and everyone doesn't believe him. So Charlie and Lewis decide to set off and see why does the mountain moans. The mountain leads them to a new friend.

 

7 Edward Keeps Fit It's inspection day on Merrytwit and Captain Mildred decides it's time lazy Edward took some exercise.

8 The Feast Charlie is helping Trader Jones beach combing when they stumble upon a cookery book. Trader decides to prepare the first Merrytwit feast, but when coconuts and bananas are the only ingredients available, the feast doesn't quite work out as planned... NOTE: This was the first end of the intro that two Charlie Chalks were green instead of red.

 

9 There Are No Roads On Merrytwit Lewis T. Duck, who's always right, discovers a local atrocity that there are no roads on Merrytwit. So he decides to build one...

10 Mildred's Day Off Captain Mildred is becoming bored of her day to day life of living on her boat she calls a home, so she decided to take her best friend Mary the hover fairy with her on a short holiday.

 

11 Bert's Boring Day The cave monster Bert is having a boring day, he has run out of interesting things to do in Merrytwit, but his day soon livens up when his friends plan a day full of fun. The beginning of the intro yellow square on the pink background was small instead of big.

12 Return Of The Litter It will soon be Litterbugs birthday; Charlie and the other inhabitants of Merrytwit cannot think of a gift to give Litterbug for his birthday, they decide to explore the island for the perfect gift.

 

13 Goodbye, Hello Although Charlie is enjoying his new life on Merrytwit, he also misses the circus and his old friends back home, so Charlie decides to say goodbye to Merrytwit and his newfound friends and go back to his old life as a clown.