Grotbags has come up with a plan involving a funfair, and soon her booby-trapped merry-go-round has ensnared Rod and Emu. Only the Pink Windmill Kids can save them now! Meanwhile, who are these strange people still living in Tudor times within their invisible screen? If you remember only one Emu Christmas special, chances are it's not this one - the more famous of the two was broadcast in both 1984 and 1986, but (unless I'm mistaken and someone can prove otherwise) this particular episode was screened precisely once ever, on Wednesday, 21st December, 1983.
As alluded to above, this special marks the first appearance of the inhabitants of Boggle's Kingdom to the series - that is, Susan Maughan as Princess Hortensia and Carl Wayne as Odd Job John (plus Rod Hull as King Boggle himself, of course). As such, they haven't yet found the characters that we got to know so well throughout the rest of the decade, but it's a good introduction to this parallel area of Emu's World.
There are five songs to enjoy in this one, the most famous of which being Grotbags's version of Substitutiary Locomotion (from Bedknobs and Broomsticks - but complete with bonus lyrics not in the film). There are also a couple of upbeat renditions of Carnival (by The Kids from Fame) and We Got Us (from the musical Golden Rainbow), but then we hit a bit of a rarity: two 'originals' in one show. We open with a dance to the Emu's World theme tune, and later Rod sings A Friend Like Me, which was actually the B-side to Emu's own 1972 novelty single.
Incidentally, this special is the one that Rod went on TV-am to promote:
• Rod Hull and Emu attac...
I saw Nick Owen interviewed about this recently, and I'm happy to say he remains philosophical about the incident!
Grateful thanks to Jayne for lending me this tape.
(To the best of my knowledge, the contents of this video have never been available commercially anywhere in the world. Please also note that I don't monetise any of my uploads. Nevertheless, if you are a copyright holder and have an objection, please don't hesitate to contact me.)
13 дек 2016
