Jigsaw (1979)

Genre

comedy

Country

United Kingdom

Length

6 seasons, 50 episodes

Rating

10.0 of 10 from 1 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a children's puzzle show from the late 1970s and early 1980s. A mime artist and other presenters guide young viewers through a series of small puzzles that build toward a larger mystery at the end of each episode.

playfulgentleinteractiveeducationalwhimsicalupbeatnostalgicslow-pacedcozy

What happens

Jigsaw is a BBC show aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 7 that combined elements of puzzle solving and entertainment, which was broadcast from 16 July 1979 until 15 June 1984. It was awarded a BAFTA in 1981. Written and directed by Clive Doig, the show was presented by mime artist Adrian Hedley, Janet Ellis and "Jigg" - a giant floating orange jigsaw piece, voiced by John Leeson later replaced by Tommy Boyd then Howard Stableford. Ellis left in 1983 to become a Blue Peter presenter, at which point she was replaced by Dot, played by Julia Binsted - an anthropomorphism of the "cursor dot" (the dot made by the raster-scanning beam in the analogue CRT television sets of the time). Throughout the show, the presenters and supporting characters came together to solve a number of puzzles; these puzzles would then contribute to one larger conundrum that would be revealed at the end of the show. The viewer was encouraged to take part and solve the puzzles at home. The theme music for 'Jigsaw' was composed by Martin Cook and Richard Denton (also responsible for the theme for Tomorrow's World) using a mixture of electronic keyboards and musique concrète. Cook would later compose a revised theme on his own. The theme used for the Noseybonk segments was "A Hippo Called Hubert," composed by Joe Griffiths and also used in Kentucky Fried Chicken's Charlie Chickenhawk and Frederick Fox advertising in Australia between 1984 and 1987. The titles were made by hand animated stop frame techniques featuring objects which began with the letters JIGSAW. Early titles featured Hedley miming objects. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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