Button Moon is a British children's television programme broadcast from 8 December 1980 to 1 December 1988 in the United Kingdom on ITV network. Thames Television produced each episode, which lasted ten minutes and featured the adventures of Mr. Spoon who, in each episode, travels to Button Moon in his homemade rocket ship. All the characters are based on kitchen utensils, as are many of the props. Once on Button Moon, which hangs in 'Blanket Sky', they have an adventure, and look through Mr. Spoon's telescope at someone else such as The Tortoise and the Hare, before heading back to their home on 'Junk Planet'. Episodes also include Mr. Spoon's wife Mrs. Spoon, their daughter, Tina T. Spoon and her friend Eggbert. The series ended in 1988 after 91 episodes.

Production

Button Moon was originally conceived by Ian Allen as a stage show for Playboard Puppets in 1978. Two years later, Allen was approached by the producers of popular Thames Television children's series Rainbow, who were looking to introduce new recurring story features for the programme – a search that also resulted in Cockleshell Bay stories also being incorporated into episodes before being spun off into its own series – and were interested in incorporating stories revolving around the Button Moon premise as a recurring feature in the series. However, through these initial meetings, it was quickly felt that there was enough potential for Button Moon to instead be launched as its own TV series for Thames. Following a successful pilot – which would go on to be broadcast as the first regular episode – the first series of thirteen programmes was transmitted in 1980. A further six series of thirteen programmes followed, making a total of ninety-one different Button Moon adventures. The series was repeated on a yearly basis for Thames TV up until 1988. All 91 episodes have been shown on satellite channel UK Gold since spring 1993. Every episode was at least 10 minutes. Narration was by Robin Parkinson. Puppeteers included Ian Allen, John Thirtle, Francis Wright, Alistair Fullarton, Robin Stevens, Sue Dacre, Chris Leith, Judith Bucklow, Ian Brown, Rhiann West, Tony Holtham and others. The incidental music for the series was written by Peter Goslin. The show's theme tune was composed and performed by Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson, who were married at the time. A live stage show toured England in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

Litigation

The creator of the show successfully sued the manufacturer of lookalike memorabilia Mr Robert Redshaw of Kapow Gifts, in 2013. This case was featured on an episode of The Sheriffs Are Coming on BBC One.

Episode list

Series 1 (1980–1981)

Series 2 (1981–1982)

Series 3 (1983)

Series 4 (1985)

Series 5 (1986)

Series 6 (1987)

Series 7 (1988)

VHS and DVD releases

DVD

"Button Moon – Boat Race" was released on 6 July 2009 in the UK. It comprised 10 episodes. "Button Moon – Talent Show" was released in 2010 in the UK. It comprised 3 episodes which are: "Button Moon Talent Show", "Dolly Teapot" and "The Fox and Hen". (Series 1): "The Good Luck Bird"; "The Persian Market"; "Barn Dance"; "Music in the Air"; "Cinders and the Magic Beans" (Other series): "Button Hole Pond"; "Cows on Button Moon"; "Buttonhole Pond"; "Boat Race"; "Buttonhole Pond" "Button Moon The Complete Collection (Series 1-7)" was released on 30 September 2024 in the UK. It contains all 91 episodes. (iTunes): Season 6 of Button Moon can now be purchased on iTunes UK.

Streaming

As of June 2024, all 91 episodes (across 7 series) of Button Moon are available for streaming on ITVX with a Premium subscription.

Broadcast history