Rubovia / Rubovian Legends

[Alastair Roxburgh]

As part of a major research project that is revisiting all of Gordon Murray's creative output over the years, we are trying to find TV channel, date and time of all New Zealand transmissions of Gordon Murray's Rubovia-related puppetry television series. Any help we receive will be acknowledged, and if you would like, you will also get an acknowledgment on our Worlds of Gordon Murray (under construction).

There were two Rubovia series, a marionette series (B&W) that aired from 1955 - 1964 on BBC-tv, and a stop-motion series of 6 episodes (colour) that was aired on BBC-tv in 1975. The NZBC tended to obtain such series at least a year later than the BBC's showings.

We are also interested in seeing any Rubovia publicity photos that may have be published in The Listener.

Here's a list of episodes that we already know about:

WNTV-1

• 1964-10-26, Mon 5:34-5:55 p.m., Rubovian Legends: A Sinister Visitor
  
• 1965-03-17, Wed 5:32 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Bewitched Boots
  
• 1965-03-24, ---no episode---
  

CHTV-3

• 1964-07-14, Tues 5:32-5:53 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Enchanted Duck
  
• 1964-07-21, Tues 5:37-5:56 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Bees and Bellows (rpt)
  
• 1965-06-03, Thurs 5:30 p.m., Rubovian Legends: The Troublesome Double (The first of four programmes
  )
  
• 1965-06-10, Thurs x.xx p.m. (June 4th, 1965 Listener, page 29), Title?
  
• 1965-06-17, Thurs 5:28 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Calling All Trunks
  
• 1965-06-24, Thurs 5:29 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Fire, Fire, Fire (Final)
  

DNTV-2

• 1965-05-27, Thurs 5:15 p.m., Rubovian Legends: The Troublesome Double (The first of four programmes)
  
• 1965-06-03, Thurs 5:14 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Fire, Fire, Fire
  
• 1965-06-10, Thurs 5:15 p.m., Rubovian Legends: Bewitched Boots
  
• 1965-06-17, Thurs 5:16 p.m., Rubovian Legends: A Sinister Visitor (Final)
  

Thanks!
Al and Jan Roxburgh
Miami, FL
USA

[Dave Homewood]

Hi Alastair,

Just a note to let you know your request has certainly not been ignored here. I managed to find time to start having another look through some old Listner magazines today and have scoured Jan st -Aug 1st 1975 so far. No sign of Rubovia at all - I was keeping an eye out. I hope to get more done this week, completing 1975 and moving into 1976 and beyond as time permits, so if i find anything, I'll let you know.

I did find lots of other gems from the olden days of NZ tele...

[Alastair Roxburgh]

Hi Dave:
I really appreciate your efforts vis-a-vis old NZ Listeners and Rubovia. To be honest, I don't even know if the later 1970s stop-motion Rubovia series (which had a look somewhat reminiscent to Gordon Murray's very successful Trumptonshire series) was ever purchased by the NZBC. The earlier 1950s/1960s marionette series certainly was, however.

BTW, my sincere apologies for putting this inquiry about a UK-based children's TV series into your NZ-made children's TV forum. I only realized that after the fact. In some strange way it may have something to do with the fact that I lived for many years in NZ, and was in fact born there. (Perhaps it was something in the water!) ;D

Best wishes,
Alastair Roxburgh

[Dave Homewood]

Hi Alastair, no problems. I have been finding lots of great stuff as I go through. Today I completed 1975 right till the end of the year. Again, no sign of the show. I will endeavour to get through the late 1970's as soon as time permits, both to see if Rubovia crops up, and for my own research.

As for the thread being in the wrong forum board, no worries, I'll shift it across in a second or two. Not a worry. You'll find it in the Non NZ Tv Shows and Films board, for foreign stuff that screened here.

Personally I don't recall ever seeing the series, but then I don't recall Trumpton either, or many of the other things that are popping up in these old Listeners which I'd thought were never screened here... amazing what you find really

[Dave Homewood]

Did Hattytown Tales have anythign to do with Gordon Murray? Just in case it did, it first aired on NZ's Television One on the 1st of August 1975. Probably useless trivia though.

[Alastair Roxburgh]

Hattytown Tales wasn't Gordon Murray's.

Gordon's puppet series: Gublin Legends, Skip and Fuffy, Rubovia, Camberwick Green, Trumpton, Chigley, Rubovian Legends, Toytown.

Gordon's puppet plays: The Dancing Princess, The Magic Tree, The Crumpot Candles, The King of the Golden River, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Petrified Princess, The Winkleburg Armourer, Beauty and the Beast, The Emperor's Nightingale, The Bird of Truth, The Wonderful Horse, Will O' the Gris.

Gordon also co-produced some of the earlier Captain Pugwash episodes with John Ryan.

He started out as a puppeteer, animating Spotty Dog in "The Woodentops".