Danger Mouse (TV series)

Danger Mouse
Genre Espionage
Comedy
Format Animated series
Created by Brian Cosgrove
Mark Hall
Starring Jimmy Hibbert
David Jason
Edward Kelsey
Terry Scott
Brian Trueman
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of series 10
No. of episodes 89
(+1 unaired pilot episode)
(List of episodes)
Production
Running time 5-25 mins
Broadcast
Original channel ITV Network (CITV)
Nickelodeon (USA)
Picture format 4:3
Original run 28 September 1981 (1981-09-28) – 19 March 1992 (1992-03-19)
Chronology
Related shows Count Duckula (spin-off)

Danger Mouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. It features the eponymous Danger Mouse, an English mouse who works as a superhero/secret agent. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the Danger Man series starring Patrick McGoohan. The show originally ran in the United Kingdom from 28 September 1981 to 19 March 1992. In the English-language version, the titular hero was voiced by David Jason.

Contents

Popularity

The hero wears an eyepatch and his chest is prominently emblazoned with the initials 'DM'. This causes problems for those translating the series into other languages, where a literal translation of the words 'Danger' and 'Mouse' do not have those initials; the Scots Gaelic version, for example, calls the series (and the lead) Donnie Murdo (two given names unconnected either with mice or danger). The Slovene translation omitted the DM initials entirely, however, dubbing Danger Mouse Hrabri mišek ('Brave Mouse'). In French, trying to keep with the initials, the mouse was named Dare Dare Motus, "Dare Dare" being French slang for "as fast as possible".

By 1983, Danger Mouse viewing figures hit all-time high of 21.59 million viewers. In the same week, the movie Superman III only managed to have 16.76 million viewing figures. Danger Mouse was the first British cartoon to break into the American TV market (since the animated shorts Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Ludwig, and Paddington Bear being shown in the 1970s and Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows including Stingray, Thunderbirds, Joe 90 and others in the 1960s) following syndication on 4 June 1984, where, it garnered a tremendous fan following that still exists. Since it went off air, it has been periodically repeated and been released on DVD. In the United States, it was broadcast on Nickelodeon in the 1980s in the late afternoons and in the early evenings as a segue into prime-time hours (as the A&E Network and later Nick-at-Nite) as the series appealed to both pre-teens and adults with its quick-witted English humour.[1]

Although, all the characters in the series are animals, the adventures of Danger Mouse appear to be taking place alongside the human world; there are various examples of a mouse-sized Danger Mouse walking through human-scale sets, standing on table-football tables and, not least, living inside a normal size pillar box. This becomes less consistent as the series goes on, as many later episodes show the characters as being human size. There are also times when the cast attempts to deliberately interact with humans (such as Duckula mind-controlling human Members of Parliament to be as showbiz-mad as he is, as well as the episode, "Trip to America" where, Danger Mouse and Penfold are seen to interact with a Texan).

In Australia, it was first broadcast on ABC TV, then in 1996, it was on Network Ten. It is still best remembered as a Classic ABC programme. It was also the first British cartoon to break into Cheez TV, being shown on the weekdays. In Britain's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows, Danger Mouse came third, beaten only by The Muppet Show and The Simpsons.[2]

Because, a ten minute episode needed 2,000 drawings, as a cost-cutting measure, the cartoons made frequent use of repeated footage and "in the dark" sequences (black with eyeballs visible only, or, in Danger Mouse's case, simply one eyeball). A recurring setting for episodes was "The North Pole" - so chosen because the white, snow-covered backgrounds would require minimal painting and colouring.

Although, rumours of a CGI revival of the show have persisted in recent years, no official announcements have been made. The original Danger Mouse returned to terrestrial television after the BBC purchased episodes of the series to broadcast in its daytime schedules with its first broadcast on 12 February 2007.[3][4]

Other adaptations

A long-running comic strip adaptation, written by Angus P. Allan and illustrated by Arthur Ranson, ran in Look-In magazine and was syndicated in various other magazines. Ranson also provided some backdrops for the TV series. Allan and Ranson's work was highly appreciated by Cosgrove Hall, and the pair were awarded an "Oh Goodness!, Oh Crikey!" award in appreciation of their services. Some of Allan's stories were adapted for the television series, although Allan's name was misspelled "Angus Allen". Artist Ranson later went on to illustrate Judge Anderson in the UK comic 2000 AD.

A series of video games based on the character also appeared. The first was Danger Mouse in Double Trouble and Danger Mouse in the Black Forest Chateau (both in 1984) followed by Danger Mouse in Making Whoopee! in 1985.[5][6][7]

Characters

Heroes

In the episode where "Agent 57" had sneezing fits, Danger Mouse asked him if he could transform himself into his original appearance; Agent 57 obliged, and Danger Mouse looked down at the floorboard of the Mark III and was horrified by the sight (unseen by the audience). After gathering himself from the shock, Danger Mouse asked Agent 57 to please transform into something heavier; Agent 57 transformed into a hippo, and the excess weight dropped the Mark III.

Villains

Others

Episodes

DVD releases

United Kingdom

FremantleMedia released six Region 0 in 2001-2003, featuring 6-8 random episodes in each set. In September 2006, to celebrate 25 years of Danger Mouse, Fremantle Media released a further six DVDs and a 12 DVD Complete Boxset. The 25th Anniversary DVD set has all 161 episodes of Danger mouse but some were originally aired in five-minute segments, so these have been edited together to make a total of 89 episodes. This means much of David Jason's linking narration is not present on the DVDs. Although the box set has received mostly positive reviews some cited the lack of chronological order of the episodes as a disappointment. A 10-disc 30th Anniversary Edition box set was released on 26 September 2011. To conicide with the 25th anniversary, Cosgrove Hall also licensed rights to a number of companies to produce a range of new anniversary merchandise including Blues Clothing (women’s and girls’ underwear and sleepwear) and Concept 2 Creation (collectible figurines).

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Vol. 1: Close Encounters of the Absurd Kind!
6
5 March 2001
  • Biographies.
  • First ever Count Duckula episode.
Vol. 2: Danger Mouse Saves the World... Again!
6
4 June 2001
  • No special features.
Tower of Terror[fn 1]
6
15 October 2001
  • No special features.
Project Moon
8
11 March 2002
  • Original theme tune ideas.
Viva Danger Mouse
8
9 September 2002
  • No special features.
Who Stole the Bagpipes?
8
10 March 2003
  • No special features.
Rogue Robots
9
4 September 2006
  • Quiz.
  • Photo gallery.
The Spy Who Stayed in with a Cold
9
4 September 2006
  • "Where's Penfold?" game.
  • Photo gallery.
The Hickory Dickory Dock Dilemma
7
4 September 2006
  • Can You Drive DM's Car to Safety?!
  • Photo gallery.
The Ultra Secret Secret
7
4 September 2006
  • Interview with Mark Hall (from BBC Inside Out North West).
  • Photo gallery.
The Statue of Liberty Caper
8
4 September 2006
  • Behind the scenes feature (from Splash).
  • Photo gallery.
Rhyme and Punishment
7
4 September 2006
  • Behind the scenes feature (from CB-TV).
  • Photo gallery.
25th Anniversary
89
4 September 2006
  • All 12 previously released UK DVDs in silver card packaging.
30th Anniversary Edition
89
26 September 2011
  • 10 disc set.
  • The complete collection in episode for the first time ever.
  • "Danger Mouse and Friends" (exclusive to this DVD collection and never previously available).
  • Pilot Episode.
  • Interviews with Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall.
  • Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
  • Danger Mouse games.
  • Original theme tune ideas!
  • Biographies.
  • Stills galleries.

United States

A&E Home Video is licenced by FremantleMedia to release Danger Mouse in the United States.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
The Complete Seasons 1 & 2
17
31 May 2005
  • The Lost and Never-Broadcast Pilot Episode "The Mystery of the Lost Chord".
  • Character Descriptions.
The Complete Seasons 3 & 4
14
25 October 2005
  • Theme Song Sing-Along.
  • Character Descriptions.
The Complete Seasons 5 & 6
37
28 March 2006
  • "One Stormy Night" - Episode from Count Duckula.
The Final Seasons
21
26 September 2006
  • "Town Hall Terrors" - Episode of Count Duckula.
  • Alternative Danger Mouse Theme Song Options.
  • Danger Mouse Theme Song Karaoke.
  • Character Descriptions.
The Complete Series
89
28 August 2007[8]
  • 9 disc set.

Credits

Seasons 1-8

Season 9-10

Broadcast history

Europe

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Middle East

Notes

  1. ^ Released just over a month after the Twin Towers terrorist attacks, this DVD was later repackaged as "The Great Bone Idol" with a yellow cover, showing Danger Mouse and Penfold about to jump out of their car. It was re-released with a third cover on 4 October 2004, this time the cover was blue, and featured DM and Penfold in similar pose to the "Volume 2" DVD.

References

External links