Torchy the Battery Boy (Episode 1 - part 1)

[batteryboy1011]

I thought I made battery boy up o.o oh well nd this is a cute show with puppets!

[sythead]

ah memorys.thanks for uploading.

[LiteracyLabyrinth]

As a Gerry Anderson superfan I had to check this out. A beginnning of what would become great supermarionation eventually. The voices are quite good at least - that is:

Torchy Olwyn Griffiths

Mr. Bumbledrop Kenneth Connor

Flopsy Jill Raymond

Bossy Boots Jill Raymond

King Dithers Kenneth Connor

Narrator Jill Raymond

Other Voices Olwyn Griffiths & Patricia Somerset

[azzorroww]

you see the strings no matter everyone was learning in these early days and i would say gerry anderson too what a wonderful innocence the music expressed and the voice actors give a belivability in the script the voices give definition of chrachter respecting age if you did not have the puppets the voices would convey the storys emotion as gerrys puppetiers wonderfully did here through voice.

[Torchymt]

so my nickname is based on this tv series nice.

[MsBkirk]

Bossy Boots would be sent to a psychiatrist now!

[bcobfc]

Brilliant!!! Memories of my childhood came flooding back. Must watch more!

[debidavify]

OMG thought i was the onlyperson in the whole world who remembers torchy,can still sing the song..LOVED it bigTHANKS

[drwhatson]

I was only 5 years old, but remember it vividly, also Twizzle, vaguely. I recall watching "Four Feather Falls", very well.

How long did these shows run on TV, and were they repeated in later years I wonder - or do I just have a good memory for puppets? :-)

[aardvarkmcgillicuddy]

@drwhatson jeeez, i thought i was the only person who remembered four feather falls!!!! i loved space patrol as well...'suasages!"

[drwhatson]

@aardvarkmcgillicuddy I remember 'Space Patrol' as that was several years later I think, but I don't get the "sausages" reference...

PS. My impressionable young sister even had two robots named Robert & Robbie (from 'Fireball X-L5' and 'Lost In Space') among her circle of imaginary friends! (absolutely true!!) Truly a star-child of the sixties! LOL

[aardvarkmcgillicuddy]

@drwhatson husky, the martian was mad for sausages...

[drwhatson]

@aardvarkmcgillicuddy ...you just HAD to tell me that!!! :-D

[Torchymt]

THEY STOLE MY NICKNAME!

[Strawberry7Lynn]

That's what I need, a "toy boy" (I'm 35), ha ha!

[alfiesgirluk]

Oh crikey I never realised that this one a Gerry Anderson show I had always thought that Four Feather Falls was the first Anderson show

[Jazzgriot]

this is so nostalgic for me. I remember this from childhood, and I've being telling my wife about it, but she thought I was making it up. Everytime I mention it, they think its a gag. Yay Torchy...

[iboprofen]

massive tv programme

[shirleyl1000]

perv

[shirleyl1000]

and my Mother wonders where she went wrong - I think Mr Bumbledrop was an old perv - he couldnt watch children play all day these days

[kenfig]

Bumbledrop would never be left alone these days with all those kids in his garden ; fuckers would burn his house down with the poor bastard in it !

[Madgefilmsinc2]

I can see why my dad got nightmares from this when he was a kid.

That puppet freaks the shit out of me.

[kenfig]

@Madgefilmsinc2 Lol

[princesspanda01]

''i have a great idea..ill make a toy boy'' ..somehow..that sounds..wrong

[roberttreboranita]

they should re-run all these old kids shows! maybe a few would like it.

[HOE68YEN]

Goodness! Thanks for posting this! I watched it on TV in Malaysia sometime in 1970 or 1971 when I was only 3. I can't believe I am watching it - nearly 40 years later! The reason is that my son will be born soon, it prompted me to recall what kind of good programmes I had watched as a kid. The amazing thing is - I can still sing the first verse of the song! As I watch this, I am amazed how good it is - the story and the artistry! God bless all!

[Mallernik]

My daughter is 2 yrs old and she absolutely loves this show. She sings the song. A classic. Thanks for putting it up.

[auspete]

I was just about to reply to uncleangler's comment... but something or someone deleted it. What I was going to say was - isn't it a shame when people look at products of an innocent age (such as this) and not only have no concept of that innocence but feel the need to make it dirty as well. Very sad, I think.

[yot5000]

@auspete well wrote

[85mmshell]

@auspete willy plz

[cmgill2]

wow! this is THE first tv progam I ever saw, funny thing is I still remember it and what I was doing at the time?

[terrysteward]

with this,twizzle,and sara and hoppity,no wonder i had so many bloody nightmares as a kid !!!! its abject horror,delivered with a plummy posh english accent !!!

[tarzanlordofthe]

I never even saw Twizzle - thankfully too young but my older brothers used to terrify me with their versions of the stories

[terrysteward]

lol,yeah,pretty scary stuff !!!

[sp1midholm]

Mr Bumbledrop sounds rather like Prof Haggerty from Space Patrol - was it the same actor?

[auspete]

@sp1midholm I think Haggerty was voiced by Ronnie Stevens.  I'm not sure if he was associated with this show.

[JackanapesGmbH]

@auspete definitely not Ronnie Stevens!

[jonnybottle]

@auspete Bumble-Drop was Kenneth Connor who was most famous for his work in the "Carry On" films.

[MRSPIKE001]

@sp1midholm Sorry for the long delay in sending this, i only just found this video. Mr Bumbledrop was voiced by Kenneth Connor best known from the Carry On films. All the best Spike.

[vawlkee]

And to think from this humble beginning the likes of Captain Scarlett were the result!

Bloody amazing!

[thetoadwarrior]

I always keep my rocket by my thatched roof too.

[warrenlaidler]

God bless you, Pom Pom!

[urekis64]

I seem to remember getting the Torchy annual Xmas 1959. For some reason I thought it was spelt Torchie.

That was our 'put down name' my brothers and I used as kids. As in "listen Torchy just do it like this if you don't want a sock in the face". or "Oi Torchy. what do ya think you're doin?"

Other blokes rally hated being called Torchy and looking at the show again I can see why.

[psybinetic]

Sinister but entertaining less the none.

[orriblebob]

I remember watching this when I was a little Fella.

When they stopped showing it, my Mum told me that Torchy's battery had gone flat and they couln't get another one!

We have a good laugh about that now!

[kwesi01]

Wowie!! I'm sitting here, supposed to be doing an essay (one never stops learning!:-)), and this is cheering me up so much, after all these years. thanks a million for posting this here. It's uncanny to have the brain prompted into re-treading early memories in this way. Phenomenal. I agree with "mukatuna"'s comment about how times have changed concerning old men letting children play on their property. We were so free as children in the late 50s/early 60s, and I never realised it at the time.

[unclefesterful]

my god i used to watch this about a hundred years ago

[holmsatlarge]

i have to agree..it seems so very long ago. can`t believe it.:-))

[uncleangler]

@unclefesterful

Then you must be a very old Uncle...like me.

[carolynan]

LOL I have this song on the brain now and when i sing it to the grandchildren the dogs ears prick up and she runs away ha ha.

[sludgefingers]

Yeah Mr Bumbledrop - his house got burned down - funny that.....

[portlanddukk]

ah! this takes me back,that reminds me they are coming tomorow to take me back again.

[mukatuna]

Strange old man letting children play in his garden. These days that kind of behaviour would be considered very suspicious.

[shaz4444]

They seem to be such scary looking puppets,

[riklay246]

i agree

[clotho98]

AWESOME!!!

[rnm1011]

Who's this pussy called Chucky. Look at the evil we had to put up with!!!!

[OriTheEep]

Cop out!

I was wondering how the curlers were going to be put in :)

[mozz58]

a guy with lots of children playing  in his garden, a much more innocent time

[whatisitfawlty]

Now that's what I call entertainment.

[pandorafoxly]

Loved this!! What year did it finish?

[glynbrain]

6:48 "I'll make a Toyboy".

How the meaning of words changes over the years.

[theseus27]

Lol....too true mate.

[MsBkirk]

@glynbrain Oo-er!

[sassysteph1990]

i kept tryin to describe this to every1 and no1 knew what i was on about

i knew i wasnt imagining it

[RKsolicit]

you must be at least 49 then

[sassysteph1990]

nope im 18 actually

[Dawnsworld1]

Oh My goodness...I just LOVED this programme as a 5 year old.... thought I would never see it again... great memories of this..and always remembered the song...Everyone I spoke to couldnt remember it... but I did... so its great to see it here....;-))))))

[wompou]

"what shall i do to my doll today, shall i pull out her eyes or rip her head off". Psykochick in making.

[restcure]

Gouge her little eyes out, BossyBoots!

[frugalcalvinist]

I named my pet budgie after Torchy. He didn't fly a rocket but he was a good flyer.

My wife didn't believe me when I told her about this show (She also doubted the existence of Dodo The Kid From Outer Space).

I watched this when I'd come home from school for lunch. It was broadcast out of Kitchener Ontario. Big Al was the show host.

Wow what a flashback!

[SZF123456]

this has so much youtube poop potential... holy shit

[phnuggle]

Thanks. Still remember the opening song so well - though I moved to Canada when I was 5 1/4 !

From those early sixties I also recall Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben The Flowerpot Men (and their good buddy Weed). Was there a show called something like "The Girl With the Magic Patch" where she made wishes? Also I vaguely recall another show that had a bumbling man that used to fall off the roof etc...

[redsnapper1959]

"The Girl With The Magic Patch" you mention was actually "Bizzy Lizzy" who wore a dress with a wishing flower on it. She was on "Watch With Mother" in the 1960s, firstly as part of "Picture Book" and then with a series all of her own.

[petermines]

Dont think I ever missed an episode of it.

Any one remember the annual.

[DSVOP]

That might be 'Mr Pastry' who fell off the roof.

[lunacrouton]

did he ever get his dog back?

I'm 56 & remember this, Twizzle & dear old Hoppity, watching when I came home from school - we were so innocent then

[RKsolicit]

twizzle - i can twizzle - i remember thinking he was a peeping tom..lol....and quite scary with a punk hairdo..haha...excellent

[salvadorsalvona]

when i was a little kid thats what i used to call my penis!lol!

[wanawatchit2]

wouldn't we all like a recipe to make a toy boy lol

[daisypodd]

cheers for that...yeh the terrible ten..blimey so many years ago!!!

[lesnickell]

for many years I couldn't remember if "Torchy" was real,an advert for batterys,or just my imagination until I tried this.Thanks for this marvelous trip down memory lane.

[robrobxl5]

Had the same argument with friends - I swore it was real...(that and Captain Zeppos)

[saphopoem]

awesome thanks for posting!

[LLesleee]

childhood memories

thank you

[cheeseisgood33]

OMG!!!!!!!!

[wordavee]

I remember this from my childhood, never thought I'd see it again!!

[daisypodd]

anyone here fifties period recall tv series from australia about a bunch of kids..on a ranch i think? i used to love it but canr remember what it was called..very corny acting but great!!

[buzzenald]

I remember an Australian series called Ten Town (or something similar). Is that what you're thinking of?

[jonnybottle]

The "Terrific Adventures of the Terrible Ten" was the full title. Quite right it was Great Stuff, especially the villian, Spider McGurk -believe he opened for Australia a few years letter.Or am I thinking if Rick McCosker

[glamfoxbuster]

Thank you, thank you! I thought I was the only person in the world who remembered "The terrible ten"!

[jonnybottle]

I loved it - I suppose it was a bit of a Spanky and our Gang rip-off, with all the same types: man of action, brainiac, bossy but resourceful female etc.

I really liked episode where they souped-up an old jalopy using a top secret fuel - developed in 5 mins by Doc (? the one with big glasses?) using a gurgling apparatus made from all the stuff we used in chemistry lessons retorts, liebig condensers etc. - and won a race.

[dnorfed]

it was the terrible ten i think

[lkijju]

brilliant. seems like yesterday I was watching this, not 50 years ago.

[radioman970]

This reminds me of the old Rankin/Bass stuff.

Thanks for uploading this. Very pleasant watch.

[kiwiibabii92]

yeah and seamen staines

:O in captain pugwas not just being cheeky XD

[thetiktokman]

Actually this show was screened in Australia in the early 60's - I watched it as a little kid! But that was a long time ago...

[jonnybottle]

And who, nowadays, would let their children play in the garden of an old bachelor with an Irish accent, for fear he's a retired priest defrocked for all the wrong reasons ;0)

[LLesleee]

hahahahahahahah

very true

those were much more innocent times....or were they?

[jonnybottle]

It's all good stuff, isn't it? Torchy the Toy Boy and the Jolly Jack Tarts. What an age of innocence. Wasn't there also a Master Bates in Captain Pugwash?

[jonnybottle]

Naw! - it'll be the solvent in the varnish :0>

[dwarfgnome]

is it just me or is he really drunk?

[2hot4paper]

What year is this from?

[bigimprint]

1957 i think thats if it came before space patrol its 50s that fer sure...put it this way it werent last week..its too good for that!

[GandSAfan]

Actually it's 1959, Four Feather Falls followed this a year later..followed by Supercar, after that.

[bigimprint]

another Roberta Leigh creation

[twiggystick]

Oh,wow,just when you think childhood telly can't catch up with you, here comes Torchy! Absolutely loved this as a kid, but think it's a bit creepy now - how sad is that?? Many, many thanks for posting.

[ignoblius]

If I could make kids stay out of my yard by tying their toys to kites, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[TWENTIETHCENTURYBABY]

I wish I could make a toy boy lol

[phantomxr]

yes busman1950, you did see the strings but 50 years is a long time in human terms,we tend to forget the irrelevent aspects of any experience and over time our remarkable brains filter out the wheat from the chaff , as it were. this was for me and i suspect you, a wonderful boyhood era ,PS ,I NEVER SAW THE STRINGS EITHER!!!

[robcmoseley]

the very first thing i saw on tv a wonderful little trip down memory lane..... many thanks for posting it!

[burgo55]

If you were lucky enough to get a picture -strings were not easy to see.

[busman1950]

P.S. How come we never noticed the strings. I suppose it's the innocence of youth. Where did it all go... Sob!

[busman1950]

Ahhhhh. Such fond memories. Why did they all have such scary eyes tho'. Check out Twizzle if you dare..

[poolfarm2]

1.Dogs a sqweeler.

2.The kids should put a 'no win no fee' clain against bumbledrop

[qotu01]

I was so in love with Torchy when I was about 3-4, you wouldn't believe it. I probably wanted to marry him. I totally remembered the song when it came up. My mother thought it was hilarious when I went all misty over this puppet - once in a personal development course when we did "shame", guess what came up ?!

[1960Torchy1960]

Thanks for the memory of my gran and her neighbour who gave the nickname torchy to me as i used to so look forward to this program the nickname is still used today by my family and some close friends rip Ethel thanks again nice one

[xeasternxz]

Thanks for listing this, sure brings back memories. Shame about some of the puerile comments.

[pops933]

Thanks for that.I lost my dog a few days ago and feel real down at the moment but at least this has brought back a little sunshine into my life.

[chitlika]

Sorry folks I know I'm a sick puppy I just couldnt resist it

[auspete]

You should have.

[chitlika]

Star Update Torchy is now employed fulltime as a C.I. A asset He has for the last few years been fully occupied trying to find Osama Bin Laden with his magic beam Despite the years of failure Torchy still has President Bush's Highest confidence

[chitlika]

Stars update Bossy Boots works in the Earls court area of London as a Professional Dominatrix specialising in cock & ball torture and Golden & brown showers.. Bogey is a regular client

[chitlika]

Stars update. Flopsy the rag doll is a hoplesssly addicted 20 dollar crack whore soliciting in the meat packing district of New york

[tomtomxl5]

sound pal

[chitlika]

Yes Sorry if I've offended anyone It was only a bit of silly fun I thought anyone who had seen the series on tv would be old enough to take it as it was meant

[Barndancer61]

Utter nonsense! Offended, why? Some people here would be offended looking at the crack of dawn. Your satire was clever and well done! Here, here!!

[chitlika]

stars update. Bogey is now an investment banker in the city of London. He is resisting extradition to the USA on insider dealing charges

[chitlika]

stars update Mr bumbledrop got a two yr suspended

sentance for kiddie fiddling is on the sex ofenders register escaped prison due to his technical brilliance and is now at the Nellis air force base back engineering fighter jets from crashed UFO's

[trillian2170]

I used to watch this in Sydney in the mid 60's. It was my favourite show back then. It was definitely shown outside of the UK.

[auspete]

Thanks for your comment Trillian. I've amended the description accordingly.

[coling57]

'I'll make a toy boy' He said.

Sounds like my Mum!

[dingdong52]

Chucky more like.......scarry opening

[eyupmeducks]

Well i never though i would see this again...Brilliant

[spookyphill]

this was from 1959....i think

[escort259]

This is brilliant...Gerry Anderson has never been fully recognised for his brilliant contribution to British TV

[Duncanbuzz]

This was the start of a lifelong love of Gerry Anderson's puppet shows for me. I watched it as a child in the late fifties/early sixties and thought that Torchy's space ship was fantastic! Great stuff! Thanks for sharing.

[kweezycongo]

Wonderful to see again...I remember this from my childhood...now my kids really think I am ancient..anyone remember Four Feather Falls?

[colinire15]

Wow you remember "Four Feather Falls" as well - I think it was the forerunner of such programmes as Thunderbirds and Stingray. Boy this all brings back some wonderful memories. I was a kid of 4 growing up in Belfast at the time. Happy memories :-)

[Rattmutter]

Oh My God - I was beginning to think I had dreamt is as of my friends I am the only one who remembers this as well as Four Feather Falls

[colinire15]

Wow you remember "Four Feather Falls" as well - I think it was the forerunner of susch programmes as Thunderbirds and Stingray. Boy this all brings back some wonderful memories. I was a kid of 4 growing up in Belfast at the time. Happy memories :-)

[kk99ll]

When was it made?

[lafawnda2]

I'm so glad I've found this! I was beginning to think I had imagined it.. I know nobody who can remember it I loved it. Big Thanks for sharing it xx

[OnionPixie23]

If that was me I would give those kids a slap!.

[andy9will]

My mum said I watched this as a toddler but I can't remember it! She had the theme song perfectly though, so it made an impression on her.

[adgie123]

Absolutely brilliant. I have talked about Torchy the Battery Boy on many occasions with friends who remember seeing the programme on TV. I never thought that I would ever get the opportunity to see it again. Thank you so much. Are there any more episodes? I seem to recall Pongo the Pirate.