Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings is a British-Canadian children's animated series about the adventures of a young boy named Simon, who has a magic blackboard.^[2] Things that Simon draws on the chalkboard become real in the Land of Chalk Drawings, a parallel world which Simon can enter by climbing over a fence near his home with a ladder. The stories often revolve around the unintended effects that Simon's drawings have on the Land of Chalk Drawings, such as when an upset Simon draws a picture of his angry self, which goes on a rampage.

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
Title card
Genre	Children's television series
Created by	Edward McLachlan
Written by	Glyn Frewler
Directed by	Ivor Wood
Narrated by	Bernard Cribbins
Theme music composer	Mike Batt
Composer	Mike Batt
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	24
Production
Editor	Helen Kelsey
Running time	5 minutes
Production companies	FilmFair London Thames Television[1]
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	5 October 1974 (1974-10-05) – 1976 (1976)

The programme is based upon a series of four children's books by Edward McLachlan. It was produced in the mid-1970s by FilmFair Productions in London for ITV and was originally a five-minute programme, broadcast around tea time in Britain. Despite that, it was first screened in Canada during CBC's Children's Cinema program on 5 October 1974 while selected ITV regions didn't start showing the program until 27 March 1976.^[3][4] It also became familiar to North American audiences in the mid-1970s when it was featured on Captain Kangaroo (where it was narrated by Bob Keeshan instead of Bernard Cribbins), later on Pinwheel, and after that, on Romper Room. In Canada, it aired on TVOntario. The writer and performer of the theme song is Mike Batt, with his first wife Wendy on vocals. Mike Batt also wrote the theme for The Wombles, also produced by FilmFair and narrated by Bernard Cribbins.

Original episodes

Series overview

Series	Episodes	First aired	Last aired
1	12	5 October 1974	1975
2	12	1975	1976

Series 1

No. overall	No. in series	Title
1	1	"Simon Meets Henry"
2	2	"Simon Meets the Teacher and the Children"
3	3	"Simon and the Chalk Drawing Band"
4	4	"Simon and the Moon Rocket (part one)"
5	5	"Simon and the Moon Rocket (part two)"
6	6	"Simon and the Caveman"
7	7	"Simon and the Sea"
8	8	"Simon and the Chameleon"
9	9	"Simon's Double"
10	10	"Simon and the Elephant"
11	11	"Simon and the Football Match"
12	12	"Simon and the Return Match"

Series 2

No. overall	No. in series	Title
13	1	"Simon and the Early Morning"
14	2	"Simon and the Chalk Drawing Cars"
15	3	"Simon and the Dinosaur"
16	4	"Simon and the Knight"
17	5	"Simon and the Rainbow"
18	6	"Simon and the Pied Piper"
19	7	"Simon and the Robot"
20	8	"Simon and the Measles"
21	9	"Simon and the Flags"
22	10	"Simon and the Chalk Drawing Sports Day"
23	11	"Simon and the Pop Singer"
24	12	"Simon and the Detective"

2002 revival

Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings
Genre	Children's television
Narrated by	Ernie Coombs (Canadian version)
Country of origin	Canada China
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	13 (65 shorts)
Production
Running time	5 minutes
Production companies	CINAR Corporation Shanghai Animation Film Studio
Original release
Network	Teletoon OTV (Shanghai Media Group)
Release	2 September (2002-09-02)[5] – 18 September 2002 (2002-09-18)[6]

A new series premiered in 2002 on Teletoon in Canada with a new theme song, a new character in that of Lily, who was added to make the show appeal to girl viewers,^[7] an updated and more casual outfit for Simon, a different colour scheme and narrated by Ernie Coombs.

Parody

The series was later parodied on NBC's Saturday Night Live by Mike Myers.^[8] The sketches open with the same musical theme and similar lyrics, but take place in Simon's bathtub, where he shows and discusses his "drawerings" with viewers.

See also

• The Magic Chalk (1949)
• ChalkZone (1998/2002)
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955)
• Penny Crayon (1989)
• Zaczarowany ołówek