The Raggydolls ( TV Series 1986 - 1994 )





 

Plot



The Raggy Dolls is a 1980s British cartoon series for children, following the adventures of a motley collection of rejects from a toy factory, who live in the reject bin.



 

The series was produced for Yorkshire Television from 3 April 1986 to 20 December 1994. Created by: Melvyn Jacobson Scripts, narration & music by: Neil Innes Executive Producer/Director for Yorkshire Television / ITV: John Marsden Produced by: Jo Kemp & Neil Molyneux Production Company: Orchid Productions



Yorkshire Television produced the first two series (26 programmes) of 'The Raggy Dolls' before awarding the commission to Orchid Productions Limited in 1987. This was the first programme ever to be commissioned by Yorkshire Television from an independent production company and Orchid Productions went on to produce over 100 more episodes.



 

The Raggy Dolls still holds the record for being the longest running childrens series of the genre. In celebration of the 50th episode the producers of the series enlisted self-professed fan, ex-Beatle George Harrison, to perform the opening sequence. Harrison agreed and the introduction was used for the remaining episodes. It involves Mr. Grimes Toy Factory where, unless the doll is perfect, it is thrown into the Reject Bin. When no-one is looking, the dolls come to life and climb out of the Reject Bin and have literally hundreds of adventures.



The Raggy Dolls was a delightful and innovative childrens programme designed to help children overcome their own handicaps and/or prejudices as well as teaching kindness, tolerance and humility towards others. Neil Innes (of Monty Python and Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band fame) played a pivotal role by writing great stories, injecting humour and pathos throughout.



 

There are seven principal Raggy Doll characters representing some kind of disability or fault; Back-to-Front whos head is on the wrong way, Hi-Fi who got dropped and therefore stammers, Sad Sack who, due to his size, was not viable for manufacture, Claude (whos French) was rejected because one too many were made, Princess who was accidentally dressed in rags as opposed to riches, Lucy who was sewn with faulty thread  so her limbs keep falling off  and finally Dotty who was perfect, except that she then got splashed with paint.

In addition there is Mr. Grimes himself, a host of secondary characters who came along as the years went by and finally Cynthia, who married Mr. Grimes.

 

The initial animator was Roy Evans, and consequently (vision only) animation director was Mark Mason, before being replaced by Peter Hale.



Characters

 

Sad Sack, a sample of a design that was deemed too expensive to mass-produce; his appearance is somewhat different from that of the others. He is the oldest in the Reject Bin.

Dotty, who had paint spilt on her hair and clothing.

Hi-Fi, "wired up wrong", with a "crackle" to his voice (actually sounds more like a stammer).

Lucy, with poorly-attached limb.

Back-To-Front, with a backward-facing head.

Claude, who fell out of a box of dolls to be shipped to France; he speaks with a French accent.

Princess, whose manufacturer ran out of material and used odds and ends to finish her off; her voice is characterised by H-adding. She's the youngest of the seven, as proven in the intro.

Ragamuffin, introduced in the fifth series, a wandering traveller doll who'd lost his owner and decided to spend his life taking in new sights and experiences.



Episode Guide

 

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1st Series 1986

  1.   1- 1                 3 Apr 86   The Flying Machine
  2.   1- 2                10 Apr 86   The Big Top
  3.   1- 3                17 Apr 86   The Pigeon Race
  4.   1- 4                24 Apr 86   The War of the Wizards
  5.   1- 5                 1 May 86   The Special Offer
  6.   1- 6                 8 May 86   The Litter Bugs



 

2nd Series 1986

  7.   2- 1                20 Nov 86   The Dark Wood
  8.   2- 2                27 Nov 86   The Funfair
  9.   2- 3                 4 Dec 86   Too Many Cooks
10.   2- 4                11 Dec 86   After the Storm
11.   2- 5                18 Dec 86   Christmas Dolls
12.   2- 6                19 Feb 87   The Trouble with Claude
13.   2- 7                26 Feb 87   Happy Birthday



 

3rd Series 1987

14.   3- 1                13 Nov 87   The Genius
15.   3- 2                20 Nov 87   Speaking French
16.   3- 3                27 Nov 87   The Winter Swan
17.   3- 4                 4 Dec 87   The Terrible Twins
18.   3- 5                11 Dec 87   Sports Day
19.   3- 6                 8 Jan 88   To the Rescue



 

4th Series 1988

20.   4- 1                19 Aug 88   Spring Toys
21.   4- 2                26 Aug 88   A Trip to the Sea
22.   4- 3                 2 Sep 88   The Royal Tour
23.   4- 4                 7 Sep 88   Onion Soup
24.   4- 5                14 Sep 88   Moving House
25.   4- 6                21 Sep 88   Factory Mice
26.   4- 7                28 Sep 88   A Trip to France



 

5th Series 1988

27.   5- 1                16 Nov 88   Hot Air Balloon
28.   5- 2                23 Nov 88   Ghosts
29.   5- 3                30 Nov 88   The Tree House
30.   5- 4                 7 Dec 88   The Memory Machine
31.   5- 5                14 Dec 88   Doll Overboard
32.   5- 6                21 Dec 88   The Unlikely Hedghog



 

6th Series 1989

33.   6- 1                19 Jul 89   Easter Bunny
34.   6- 2                26 Jul 89   In Days of Old
35.   6- 3                 2 Aug 89   The Old Clock Lady
36.   6- 4                 9 Aug 89   Peace and Quiet
37.   6- 5                16 Aug 89   We are Not Amuse
38.   6- 6                23 Aug 89   The Lost Puppy
39.   6- 7                30 Aug 89   Horse Sense
40.   6- 8                11 Dec 89   The Terrible Storm
41.   6- 9                18 Dec 89   The Stolen Parrot
42.   6-10                 8 Jan 90   Crazy Golf



 

7th Series 1990

43.   7- 1                28 Jun 90   Pumpernickles Party
44.   7- 2                 5 Jul 90   So Safari
45.   7- 3                12 Jul 90   Making Faces
46.   7- 4                19 Jul 90   The Old Windmill
47.   7- 5                26 Jul 90   The Little Carthorse
48.   7- 6                 2 Aug 90   Making Jam
49.   7- 7                 9 Aug 90   The Teddy Bears Picnic
50.   7- 8                16 Aug 90   Mr Maramalade
51.   7- 9                23 Aug 90   The Treasure Hunt
52.   7-10                30 Aug 90   Rupert the Roo
53.   7-11                 6 Sep 90   Witch is Which?
54.   7-12                13 Sep 90   Bonfire Night
55.   7-13                20 Sep 90   Rainbows End
56.   7-14                27 Sep 90   Lost in Space
57.   7-15                 4 Oct 90   Roman Ramblers
58.   7-16                11 Oct 90   The Great Expedition
59.   7-17                18 Oct 90   The Twitcher
60.   7-18                25 Oct 90   Too Bossy
61.   7-19                 1 Nov 90   The Toy Fair
62.   7-20                 8 Nov 90   Ragamuffin
63.   7-21                15 Nov 90   Grand Prix Dolls
64.   7-22                22 Nov 90   Fond Farewells
65.   7-23                20 Dec 90   Doctor Dolls



 

8th Series 1991

66.   8- 1                 6 Sep 91   Old Fashioned Dolls
67.   8- 2                13 Sep 91   Lady Luck
68.   8- 3                20 Sep 91   Invisible Dolls
69.   8- 4                27 Sep 91   The Great Outdoors
70.   8- 5                18 Oct 91   The Lonely Echo
71.   8- 6                25 Oct 91   Homeward Bound
72.   8- 7                 1 Nov 91   Railway Dolls
73.   8- 8                 8 Nov 91   Windy Weather
74.   8- 9                15 Nov 91   Purple Diamonds
75.   8-10                22 Nov 91   The Giant Bumblebee
76.   8-11                29 Nov 91   The Return of the Roo
77.   8-12                 6 Dec 91   The Boomerang Games
78.   8-13                13 Dec 91   Down on the Farm
79.   8-14                20 Dec 91  



 

9th Series 1992

80.   9- 1                 8 Sep 92   The Royal County Show
81.   9- 2                15 Sep 92   Open Day
82.   9- 3                22 Sep 92   The Town Carnival
83.   9- 4                29 Sep 92   Cave Dolls
84.   9- 5                 6 Oct 92   Barbeque Ball
85.   9- 6                13 Oct 92   High and Dry
86.   9- 7                27 Oct 92   Smugglers Cave
87.   9- 8                 3 Nov 92   William the Conker
88.   9- 9                10 Nov 92   Bonnie Scotland
89.   9-10                17 Nov 92   On the Town
90.   9-11                24 Nov 92   Danger Men at Work
91.   9-12                 1 Dec 92   Sight Seeing Dolls
92.   9-13                 8 Dec 92   Dolls on Wheels



 

10th Series 1993

93.  10- 1                28 Sep 93   Robot Canteen
94.  10- 2                 5 Oct 93   Mister Mole
95.  10- 3                12 Oct 93   The Empty House
96.  10- 4                19 Oct 93   Mon Repose
97.  10- 5                26 Oct 93   The Runaway Monkey
98.  10- 6                 2 Nov 93   Lucys Greenhouse
99.  10- 7                 9 Nov 93   The Horrible Princesses
100.  10- 8                16 Nov 93   The Town Gala
101.  10- 9                23 Nov 93   Mr Grimes in Love
102.  10-10                 7 Dec 93   Wedding Bells

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11th Series 1994

103.  11- 1                11 Oct 94   Off on a Honeymoon
104.  11- 2                18 Oct 94   A Mediterranean Cruise
105.  11- 3                25 Oct 94   Stormy Weather
106.  11- 4                 1 Nov 94   When in Rome
107.  11- 5                 8 Nov 94   Just a Minotaur
108.  11- 6                15 Nov 94   The Eyes of Rani
109.  11- 7                22 Nov 94   Elephants Do Forget
110.  11- 8                 6 Dec 94   Whats the Time
111.  11- 9                13 Dec 94   The Russian Doll
112.  11-10                20 Dec 94   Bored