Mop and Smiff
1985 British TV series or programme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mop and Smiff is a children's pre-school television programme, the first episode "The Hang Glider" was broadcast on 4 April 1985 on BBC1, the final episode "The Snow" aired on 1 January 1986. Repeats of the programme were shown on BBC2 until 1988. The show creator Mike Amatt also stars as himself with his dog Mop and cat Smiff.
| Mop and Smiff | |
|---|---|
| Genre | animation/Children's |
| Created by | Mike Amatt |
| Written by | Mike Amatt |
| Directed by | Sid Waddell |
| Voices of | Timothy West (Mop), Prunella Scales (Smiff) |
| Theme music composer | Mike Amatt |
| Opening theme | "Two of a kind" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer | David Brown |
| Running time | 15 minutes (Series) |
| Production company | BBC Manchester |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 1985 – 1986 |
Characters
Mop is a shaggy-haired sheepdog.
Smiff is a bright-eyed tabby cat.
Mike, their owner, is an artist and storyteller.
Setting
The show used a portmanteau format with a small cartoon show embedded inside a narrative. The show starts with detailing a day of Mike, Mop or Smiff in real camera recording format. When they return home later, Mike would use the day's events for artistic inspiration to draw a cartoon. The show cuts into Mike's imagined animated sub-story with Mop and Smiff as talking friends who care for each other and go on their own adventure.
Mike, Mop and the Moke
A spin-off series, Mike, Mop and the Moke, was produced in 1985, and featured Amatt and Mop driving to various seaside towns in an Austin Champ.[1]
Episodes
- The Hang Glider (4 April 1985):[2] Mop wishes a friend would drop in and Smiff goes chasing butterflies.
- The Seaside (18 April 1985):[3] Mop takes a boat trip and Smiff wishes he had kittens.
- The Special Day (2 May 1985):[4] Mop watches a wedding and Smiff dreams up a surprise.
- The Camp (9 May 1985):[5] Mop plays hide and seek and Smiff learns to be a guide.
- The Carnival (16 May 1985)[6]
- The Treasure (23 May 1985):[7] Mop turns detective and leads Smiff on a false scent.