Windfalls
| Windfalls | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television Educational television |
| Created by | Jenny Kenna[1] |
| Written by | Jenny Kenna[1] |
| Directed by | Jenny Kenna[1] |
| Voices of | Peter Hawkins |
| Narrated by | Peter Hawkins |
| Theme music composer | Joan Alexis |
| Composer | Joan Alexis |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Graham Clutterbuck |
| Producer | Maya Kemp |
| Editor | Andi Sloss |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production companies | FilmFair Central Independent Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 14 April – 7 July 1989 |
Windfalls is a British stop motion-animated children's television series created, written, and directed by Jenny Kenna. The Windfalls stories teach children about reading signs in nature, herbal medicine, and the plants of the British countryside. All of the animated characters are real leaves, grasses, and pressed flowers.
The stories follow three friends: Berry, Butterbur, and Rosebay. They are Windfalls, and they live in Windfall Land. They meet many other Windfalls on their adventures. The programme features a cast of 21 supporting characters, each designed from a different plant: Daisy, Evening Primrose, Pampas, Fern Polypody, Thistle, Cowslip, Delphinium, Uncle Onion, Cornflower, Lucky Four Leaf Clover, Vi, Ola, Pansy, Bella Donna, Twitch Grass, Couch Grass, Holly, Ivy, Nettle, Dock, and Daffodil.
Windfalls was produced by FilmFair and Central Independent Television for ITV; it premiered on 14 April 1989, and ran for 26 episodes. Two episodes were transmitted back-to-back for each broadcast. When the series was syndicated on other networks, such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia, Knowledge Network in Canada and Channel 5 in Singapore, the episodes were broadcast singly. The series was also broadcast on the military channel BFBS in Germany as well as in several countries including Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Bosnia and Belize but with the series transmitted back to back with two episodes just like its original UK television airings.
The programme was animated by Isabelle Perrichon, who later worked on the FilmFair animated series Rod 'n' Emu (1991).
Episode list
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Fine Weather Friend" | 14 April 1989 |
| 02 | "Bella Donna" | 14 April 1989 |
| 03 | "An Evening with Primrose" | 21 April 1989 |
| 04 | "Rosebay Willowherb Needs a Home" | 21 April 1989 |
| 05 | "The Wild Ones" | 28 April 1989 |
| 06 | "Nettle and Dock" | 28 April 1989 |
| 07 | "Pampas" | 5 May 1989 |
| 08 | "Weather Signs" | 5 May 1989 |
| 09 | "Springtime" | 12 May 1989 |
| 10 | "Flying Flowers" | 12 May 1989 |
| 11 | "Green with Envy" | 19 May 1989 |
| 12 | "Creatures of the Night" | 19 May 1989 |
| 13 | "Cowslip Needs Protection" | 26 May 1989 |
| 14 | "The Sting" | 26 May 1989 |
| 15 | "Light and Shade" | 2 June 1989 |
| 16 | "Honey Day" | 2 June 1989 |
| 17 | "Lucky" | 9 June 1989 |
| 18 | "Scarecrows" | 9 June 1989 |
| 19 | "Country Cousins" | 16 June 1989 |
| 20 | "The Oak Tree" | 16 June 1989 |
| 21 | "Butterbur's Marsh" | 23 June 1989 |
| 22 | "Bramble Shrub" | 23 June 1989 |
| 23 | "The Red Toadstool" | 30 June 1989 |
| 24 | "Autumn in Windfall Land" | 30 June 1989 |
| 25 | "The Invaders" | 7 July 1989 |
| 26 | "Winter in Windfall Land" | 7 July 1989 |
Video releases
Little Croft Studios distributed 18 of the 26 episodes of the series on three VHS videotapes, sold separately. Each volume has six stories:
- Learn to Love Nature with the Windfalls
- "Light and Shade", "The Oak Tree", "The Red Toadstool", "Autumn in Windfall Land", "The Invaders", "Winter in Windfall Land"
- Learn to Love the Countryside with the Windfalls
- "Country Cousins", "Weather Signs", "Lucky", "Flying Flowers", "Bramble Shrub", "Nettle and Dock"
- Learn to Love the Flowers and the Trees with the Windfalls
- "Fine Weather Friend", "Bella Donna", "An Evening with Primrose", "Butterbur's Marsh", "Cowslip Needs Protection", "Honey Day"
Notes
- ^ a b c "Jenny Kenna". Books by Jenny Kenna. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
References
- Windfalls at the BFI Film & TV Database. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- Template:Bcdb. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- Windfalls at IMDb. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
External links
- Windfalls, an episode guide at Toonarific. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- 1989 British television series debuts
- 1989 British television series endings
- 1980s British children's television series
- British children's animated adventure television series
- ITV children's television shows
- English-language television shows
- British stop-motion animated television series
- Television series by FilmFair
- Television series by DHX Media
- Television series by ITV Studios
- Television shows produced by Central Independent Television
- British animated television shows featuring anthropomorphic characters
- 1980s British animated television series