Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

[Nuttybott]

...at that silly pub rumour that did the rounds for years and years, and which some people still believe? You know the one...that Pugwash's pirates had smutty double entendre names like Seaman Staines, Master Bates, Roger the Cabin Boy, etc.

I first heard this story from my brother-in-law, who seemed to think it was extremely funny. I, being a big fan of Captain Pugwash since childhood, found it offensive, especially since I knew it wasn't true. I remembered fully well that the cabin boy's name was Tom, not Roger, and I knew for certain that none of the other pirates had the names suggested in the rumour.

Anyway, a little research easily proved my brother-in-law wrong, and I took great pleasure in informing him that this titillating little story which had so amused his dirty little mind was just so much codswallop, made up by some scurrilous so-called "journalist" who worked on the Guardian, who was later forced to admit he had made the whole thing up, and offer compensation and a written apology to Pugwash creator John Ryan.

I hate it when people try to "dirty" the innocence of childhood, which is a priceless thing and something to be preserved and cherished.

It was good though, because my brother-in-law can't stand being proven wrong about anything...

[pedro]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

Yes a good Urban Myth but a programme I watched recently "Best 100 childrens progs "or something debunked the legend

[Buzz]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

This reminds me of a few years ago when some self professed "expert" tried to interpret the true meanings of nursery rhymes.

He said Humpty Dumpty was actually about being gay (or unsure of sexuality)
When he was sat on the wall he was neither one thing or the other.!!
When he fell off the wall he had decided he was gay.
The kings horse and men tried to "mend" him and make him straight again.!!

Jack and Jill is supposedly about contraception.

The great fall is supposedly because Jack or Jill didnt take precautions and became pregnant.
The vinegar and brown paper scenario is supposedly something to signify an abortion.

.There were many more but can only remember these two at the moment.

Utter **** I say !!

Buzz

[Buzz]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

Oh yes remembered another one.

Jack Horner in the corner eating his plum pie is supposed to be about "self abuse"!! ( ahem!!)
Him pulling out a plum is more or less the result of his actions. (if you see what I mean)

Please note, these are NOT my interpretations, but those of some self proclaimed expert.
I believe none of it !!

Buzz

[Pluto]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

And don't even think about TINKY-WINKY!
:cry:

[Oggy]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

How dare they blacken the good captain name..how about Sir Prancelot?

[MommaMystique]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

The one thing that I refuse to change are the words to Baa Baa Black Sheep.... we are supposed to teach our children its Baa Baa Sheep Sheep now. I recall reading in one of the daily newspapers a few years ago an article calling for Piglet to be removed from the Winnie the Pooh stories. This caused great uproar with even Jewish and Moslem people telling the PC brigade to get real. Political correctness is the language of cowardism!
Sorry for blathering on... I'll shut up now!

[Woffski]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

Captain Pugwash cartoon, which originally ran on the BBC between 1958 and 1967, is widely believed to have featured characters with risqué maritime names such as Master Bates, Seaman Staines, and Roger the Cabin Boy. In fact, the crew of the famous Black Pig ship included sailors with no such names: present on board were Master Mate, Tom the Cabin Boy, and Pirates Barnabas and Willy. (No character with the designation of 'Seaman' appeared in the show.) Series creator John Ryan successfully won retractions and settlements from the Sunday Correspondent and the Guardian after both newspapers claimed that the show's characters did indeed have smutty names, and that the BBC had taken it off the air as a result. The Guardian's statement ran as follows:

In the Young Guardian of September 13 [1991] we stated that the Captain Pugwash cartoon series featured characters called Seaman Staines and Master Bates, and for that reason the series had never been repeated by the BBC. We accept that it is untrue that there ever were any such characters. Furthermore, the series continues to be shown on television and on video. We apologize to Mr. Ryan, the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash films and books. We have agreed to pay him damages and his legal costs.

C&P for you

[Nuttybott]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

The one thing that I refuse to change are the words to Baa Baa Black Sheep.... we are supposed to teach our children its Baa Baa Sheep Sheep now. I recall reading in one of the daily newspapers a few years ago an article calling for Piglet to be removed from the Winnie the Pooh stories. This caused great uproar with even Jewish and Moslem people telling the PC brigade to get real. Political correctness is the language of cowardism!
Sorry for blathering on... I'll shut up now!

What??? What is supposed to be wrong with Piglet? Or Baa Baa Black Sheep, for that matter? God, I am so sick of political correctness!

[Nuttybott]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

C&P for you

I have seen this before, as a matter of fact. Case closed, I think. But it still made me angry that this dirty little rumour ever got circulated in the first place, and that so many people believed it.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

Surfing through some old threads and came across this one.

I work in primary schools, and some years ago I was singing nursery rhymes with five year olds. I came across the 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' issue, but in a rather different way. It was fine to sing it, as long as it was immediately followed by an otherwise identical rendition where we sang 'white sheep' instead!

I was also once told I couldn't teach "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly", because she died horribly in the end from eating that horse!

[Flash Gordon]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

I've hardly ever seen captain pugwash but seaman staines and rodger the cabin boy are legend.
Buzz, that is so funny, I can't believe someone came up with that (presumably american)!
Someone's been reading too much Freud and projecting their own mind-baggage onto childrens' tv!

[Richard1978]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

There was a book on children's tv printed in the early 1990s which had to be recalled because it mentioned those names.

There used to be a copy at my local library where the paragraph in question had been covered up by a sticker, but someone had peeled it back to reveal the original text.

Another source is supposedly was an episode that had been redubbed for a BBC Xmas tape, similar to the "blue" episode of Rainbow made for in-house use only.

When I was younger I watch a fair about of TV which seemed just funny at the time, but slightly dodgy in later years when I was more clued up about innuendo & past cultural references.

[Derekflint]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

There was a book on children's tv printed in the early 1990s which had to be recalled because it mentioned those names.

There used to be a copy at my local library where the paragraph in question had been covered up by a sticker, but someone had peeled it back to reveal the original text.

Another source is supposedly was an episode that had been redubbed for a BBC Xmas tape, similar to the "blue" episode of Rainbow made for in-house use only.

When I was younger I watch a fair about of TV which seemed just funny at the time, but slightly dodgy in later years when I was more clued up about innuendo & past cultural references.

There seem to be a lot of people that believe that the Rainbow episode was broadcast, and they must have watched the video! It is so obvious that they know what they are saying, since the phrasing is so overboard it goes beyond the usual level of condesending.

If you want to be really creeped out, try the opinions on fairy tales (or even what the originals were like). Sleeping Beauty doesn't sound too suitable for the kiddies.

[Richard1978]

Re: Captain Pugwash: Did You Get Angry...

Untintentionally some real editions of Rainbow had dialogue that sounded suspect when heard out of context.

I remember seeing a documenty on the Grimm brothers which mentioned how dodgy some of the originals were.