The Herbs and The Adventures of Parsley
CLASSIC BBC KID'S ANIMATION DEVISED & WRITTEN BY MICHAEL BOND
The Adventures of Parsley - " Works of Art by Dill "
Released on February 12th,2007
Produced by Abbey Home Media
Abbey reference no. - AHEDVD 3207
EAN Number - 5012106932074
1 Disc - 8 x Adventures of Parsley episodes
1. Works of Art by Dill
2. The Crystal Ball
3. Dill's Day
4. The Quiz
Total Running Time - Approx. 62 minutes
Extras - Yes.But very basic,even for the toddler's they're aimed at
MULTI-SERIES COMPILATION DVD
"Santa's Favourites" was a compilation dvd released at the end of 2006,featuring seasonal episodes
from lots of different Filmfair series -including one from The Adventures of Parsley.
So a similar "taster" idea to the newspaper freebies,except that this was a commercial release.
And,if you ever needed proof of Filmfair's contribution to kids tv,then how's this for a cv.......
The Adventures of Parsley,The Wombles,Paddington Bear,Huxley Pig,Nellie the Elephant,The Perishers
Oh,and Moschops.
Moschops ? A mid-80's effort featuring colourful,cuddly dinosaurs.Good fun too,allbeit one of the less
successful efforts.
And,all-in-all,this is a great little window into what kids' animation used to be like before CGI.
And a fitting way to end the page I think.
COMPLETE BOXSET
Following some piecemeal releases (all listed below),a complete boxset finally arrived on May 19th,2008.
Produced by Abbey Home Media
Abbey reference no. - AHEDVD 3319
EAN number - 5012106933194
Disc 1 - All 13 Herbs episodes Disc 2 - All 32 Adventures of Parsley episodes
Total Running Time - Approx. 3 Hours 20 Minutes.
Extras - None
NOTE Unfortunately, a problem surfaced with the first batch of pressings.Episode 7 of The Herbs,"Miss Jessop Tidies Up" ,ended abruptly lopping off the last few minutes of footage.And whilst it was obviously rectified for subsequent pressings,if you find you've been affected you can email Lizzie Haines at the distributors, AbbeyHomeMedia to get a free replacement.
THE 5 PREVIOUS RELEASES.
Obviously,the arrival of the boxset has made these somewhat redundant.
That said,they're still handy if you're looking to buy and just want a taster rather than every episode.But not such good news if you bought them when they came out and are looking to sell.Because they're caught in downward price squeeze between a cheap boxset (8.99 brand new online incl deliv),and some very cheap newspaper promo's,listed further down and readily available on ebay for next-to-nothing.
Of course,ideally we'd have gone straight to the boxset,and bypassed these completely.But it's just as well they sold well,or we'd never have got one.And you can't fault the commercial reasoning behind it all.
The Herbs -" The Snake Charmer "
Released on February 12th,2007
Produced by Abbey Home Media
Abbey reference no.- AHEDVD 3208 EAN Number- 5012106932081
1 Disc - 5 x Herbs episodes
1. Pashana Bedhi,the Snake Charmer
2. Miss Jessop Tidies Up
3. Parsley and the Circus Lion
4. Sage's Singing Lesson
5. Strawberry Picking
Total Running Time - Approx. 50 minutes
Extras - Yes.But very basic,even for the toddler's they're aimed at
The Herbs -" Parsley's Tail "
Released on February 27th,2006
Produced by Abbey Home Media
Abbey reference - AHEDVD 3152 EAN Number - 5012106931527
1 Disc - 5 x Herbs episodes (the first 5 broadcast,in order)
1. Parsley's Tail
2. Sage's Nest blows Down
3. Belladonna the Witch
4. Tarragon and the Eggs
5. The Chives Catch Colds
Total Running Time - Approx. 70 minutes
Extras - Yes.But very basic,even for the toddler's they're aimed at
The Adventures of Parsley -" Cowboys and Indians "
Released on February 27th,2006
Produced by Abbey Home Media
Abbey reference - AHEDVD 3172 EAN number - 5012106931725
1 Disc - 12 x Adventures of Parsley episodes (the first 12 broadcast,in order)
1. Cowboys and Indians
2. Aunt Mint's Barbecue Party
3. Toothache
4. Dill's Who's Who Entry
5. Parsley's Invention of a Mechanical Dog
6. Holiday's at Home
Total Running Time - Approx. 60 minutes Extras - Yes.But very basic.
NOTE The "First time on DVD" sleeve note actually means the 1st release by AbbeyHomeMedia.See below.
7. Parsley at a Loose End
8. Dill's Restaurant
9. Sage's Birthday
10. Buried Bones
11. The Conch Shell
12. Putting on a Show
" Parsley the Lion & The Herbs " - A mix of both series and the first ever dvd release.
Release Date - Unknown. But deleted Autumn 2005
Produced by Universal
Universal reference - 822 342 4 EAN number - 5050582234244
1 Disc: 8 x Adventures of Parsley episodes and 2 x Herbs
1. Sage's Birthday
2. Buried Bones
3. The Conch Shell
4. Putting on a Show
5. Works of Art by Dill
6. The Crystal Ball
7. Dill's Day
8. The Quiz
1. The Birthday Party
2. Tarragon & the Egg
FREE PROMOTIONAL DVD'S
Distributor,AbbeyHomeMedia,has the rights to handle the entire Filmfair back-catalogue,and not just the 2 Herbs series.And these dvds were given away by newspapers as part of a promotional blitz to publicise the company's own retail website as much as anything.Although as it only sells stuff they have the rights to and isn't any cheaper than the big online retailers,then I'm not sure why anyone would bother quite frankly.
But fair do's.They were free and it was clearly a great way of re-igniting grown-up interest.And may also have persuaded a few of their kids that some "old" stuff is at least watchable,and that animation isn't all about CGI
Although I'm not holding my breath about that sadly.
The Express Herbs dvd had 2 episodes.
The Express Adventures of Parsley dvd had 6
And both came out in August 2007
The Times one had 5 Herbs episodes
And came out in January 2008
5. Dill's Television
6. Eggs and the Golf ball
7. On Strike
8. The Pop Group
Total Running Time - Approx. 52 minutes
Extras - None.
