Button Moon
A puppet series about the Spoon family's lunar adventures.
Button Moon is a British children's television programme created by Ian Allen and produced by Thames Television, originally broadcast on ITV from 8 December 1980 to 1 December 1988. The series follows the Spoon family as they visit the titular moon via a homemade rocket, with characters and props based on kitchen utensils and household objects. Each ten-minute episode involved the family experiencing an adventure on Button Moon before viewing a story in another world.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television series; Science fiction
- Creator
- Ian Allen
- Narrator
- Robin Parkinson
- Theme music
- Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson
- Composer
- Peter Goslin
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Series
- 7
Facts from the source article.
Production
Ian Allen conceived Button Moon as a stage show for Playboard Puppets in 1978. In 1980, producers of the children's series Rainbow approached Allen about introducing his concept as a recurring feature, but discussions determined it would be better as a standalone programme. Thames Television green-lit a pilot, which proved popular and led to further commissions. Allen worked with puppeteers including John Thirtle, Francis Wright, Alistair Fullarton, Robin Stevens, Sue Dacre, Chris Leith, Judith Bucklow, Ian Brown, Rhiann West, and Tony Holtham. Robin Parkinson narrated, Peter Goslin wrote the soundtrack, and the theme tune was composed and performed by Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson.
Broadcast history
Button Moon originally aired from 8 December 1980 to 1 December 1988. Repeats later appeared on UK Gold from 1993, The Children's Channel, Nick Jr., and Nick Jr. Classics. In June 2024, all episodes became available on ITVX as part of a Premium subscription. Internationally, the series aired on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 in New Zealand; Mediacorp Channel 5 and Mediacorp Channel 8 in Singapore; Telemundo in Spain; BFBS and SSVC Television in Germany; SSVC also broadcast to the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Belize, and Bosnia; ZBC in Zimbabwe; VOK (later KBC) in Kenya; TVB in Hong Kong; and BBC Prime in Iceland with its original English language.
Litigation
In 2013, Ian Allen filed a lawsuit against Kapow Gifts and its owner Robert Redshaw, alleging copyright infringement on Button Moon and its characters. Allen stated that after he refused to sell the rights to Redshaw, the company manufactured memorabilia based on the show illegally in 2009, which UK Trading Standards later requested be destroyed. The court found Redshaw in breach of copyright and ordered him to pay compensation to Allen along with legal costs.
More in Television Shows Produced by Thames Television
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