Henry's Cat


Henry's Cat is a British animated children's television series, created by Stan Hayward and directed by Bob Godfrey, who was also the producer of Roobarb and Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk. The show starred a yellow feline, known only as Henry's Cat, and his many friends and enemies. In every episode, narration and character voices were provided by Bob Godfrey.
Henry's Cat was first screened by BBC Television in the United Kingdom on 12 September 1983, and aired 51 episodes. Five series were made in total.

Characters

Henry's Cat and his friends

Henry himself never appeared on screen; the name is thought by some to be an allusion to an earlier one-off Hayward/Godfrey collaboration, Henry 9 'til 5, about a bowler-hatted commuter who escaped his boring everyday life by indulging in daydreams, mostly of a sexual nature. Henry's Cat shared the earlier character's tendency toward wild flights of fancy and laid-back approach to life. Henry's Cat creator Stan Hayward included the official explanation for the character's lack of a name on the official Henry's Cat Special Edition DVD in 2000. The explanation was that Henry, an unseen character in the series, had been Henry's Cat's original owner. He had moved away, and Henry's Cat had forgotten to go with him. He had a terrible memory, and later even forgot his own name, and so became known simply as "Henry's Cat".

Episode list

Series 1 (1983-1984)

Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.
#TitleSummaryOriginal air date
1The RaceHenry's Cat holds a race with all his friends racing with their own talents.12 September 1983
2The HypnotistHenry's Cat is inspired by the TV to try out hypnotism to help his friends, but soon decides to undo his hypnosis.13 September 1983
3The HobbyHenry's Cat is inspired to find a hobby of his own and watches his friends doing theirs.14 September 1983
4The TreasureHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit try to find treasure with a dividing stick.15 September 1983
5The WhaleHenry's Cat goes fishing for a whale to get something new to eat.16 September 1983
6The DietHenry's Cat takes the advice of a weighing machine to cut down on overeating and take exercise.19 September 1983
7The InventionHenry's Cat is inspired to invent a machine and ends inventing something for Captain McGregor.20 September 1983
8The CircusHenry's Cat sees a circus and sees this as an exciting opportunity.21 September 1983
9The HolidayHenry's Cat goes on holiday on a sailing boat at sea.22 September 1983
10The CompetitionHenry's Cat, Chris Rabbit and Mosey Mouse dress up as a one-man band for a competition.23 September 1983
11The FilmHenry's Cat gets an old film cine camera to make a film starring his friends.26 September 1983
12The ArtistHenry's Cat tries to learn about art and how artists see things differently.27 September 1983
13The Moon TripHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go in a balloon for a journey to the moon.28 September 1983
14The Fortune TellerHenry's Cat goes to a fortune teller at a funfair with his future near at hand.29 September 1983
15The Disco DanceHenry's Cat takes his friends to a disco dance competition. When that does not work out, they join a carnival.30 September 1983
16The Ill WindA sick Henry's Cat imagines himself dying and going to the afterlife.13 September 1984
17The DreamHenry's Cat falls asleep after eating a lot, dreaming about vivid things.20 September 1984
18The RobberyHenry's Cat becomes detective, but runs into Mosey Mouse's uncle.27 September 1984
19The ExplorerHenry's Cat goes exploring to find the West Pole.4 October 1984
20The Christmas DinnerHenry's Cat helps Chris Rabbit prepare a Christmas Dinner but get themselves stuck.24 December 1984

Series 2 (1984–1986)

Each episode in this series is 5 minutes long.
#TitleSummaryOriginal air date
21The Secret WeaponHenry's Cat dreams about himself and Chris Rabbit as scientists defending the earth from little blue men.11 October 1984
22The Hot DayOn a hot day, Henry's Cat unknowingly finds himself joining the Foreign Legion in the hot desert.18 October 1984
23The InvitationHenry's Cat is invited to dinner party with Lady Snotgrove, but he feels unprepared without proper table manners.25 October 1984
24The Magic Tummy ButtonHenry's Cat and his friends search a museum for the lost temple of Aki-Kun-Bubu to find the magic tummy button.1 November 1984
25The ActorHenry's Cat decides to become a famous actor and does in the Theatre by accident.8 November 1984
26The VentriloquistHenry's Cat enters a contest as a ventriloquist with Chris Rabbit as his dummy, but it all goes wrong.15 November 1984
27The HeroHenry's Cat imagines his Great Uncle Felix's adventure as an ace fighter pilot against Baron Von Baa Baa.22 November 1984
28The Catseye KidHenry's Cat imagines himself as the cowboy Catseye who is out to stop the cattle rancher, Bandit Baa Baa.29 November 1984
29The Clever TrickHenry's Cat learns a trick to bend objects, which eventually makes him famous around the world.6 December 1984
30The Abominable SnowmanHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go an expedition which winds them up in trouble.13 December 1984
31Caveman CatHenry's Cat daydreams about being a cave cat with his inventing neighbour Chris Rabbit.20 December 1984
32The New Year's ResolutionHenry's Cat is prompted to take exercise for New Year with a backwards running race with his friends.28 December 1984
33The Good News DayOn a day when nothing happens, Henry's Cat dreams he is a heroic captain of a world cruising plane.3 January 1985
34The Merry Men and WomenHenry's Cat dresses as Robin Hood and recruits his friend as his Merry Men and Women.10 January 1985
35The WeathermanHenry's Cat becomes weathermen to report good weather forecasts.4 December 1986

Series 3 (1986)

Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.
#TitleSummaryOriginal air date
36The Treasure HuntHenry's Cat dreams of being a member of his own crew at sea after reading Treasure Island.8 January 1986
37The Day of Terrible JokesHenry's Cat fascinated by Medieval Knights dreams that he is a bold knight winning a jousting tournament against Sir Loin of Lamb. After that he is sent to capture a three-headed dragon.15 January 1986
38The Case of the Pilfered PearlsHenry's Cat imagines himself as Sherlock Holmes on the trail of Rum Baba who has been using his magic shows as a means to steal expensive jewellery from the rich.22 January 1986
39The Lost WorldHenry's Cat fascinated by a TV program called Tarzan dreams that he himself is a jungle man with the huge responsibility to take care of the Lost World. The next day Henry's Cat has to stop Rum Baa Baa from capturing the dinosaurs.29 January 1986
40The ComputerHenry's Cat goes to a computer exhibition. There he rents a small computer robot he calls Pooter. Trying to buy Pooter is hard and keep his house orderly is difficult for Henry's Cat.5 February 1986
41The Correspondence CourseAfter seeing a cartoon advertisement on TV, Henry's Cat decides to become an animator himself. This episode features a character called Big Bob, who is a caricature of Bob Godfrey.12 February 1986

Series 4 (1986–1987)

Each episode in this series is 15 minutes long.
#TitleSummaryOriginal air date
42Once Upon a TimeHenry's Cat imagines himself meeting various fairy tale characters – and a wolf who wants to eat Little Red Riding Hood's Granny.22 December 1986
43The Birthday CaperFed up on his birthday, Henry's Cat decides to go to Hollywood.13 February 1987
44The Funny FeelingMosey Mouse catches Clownitis, a disease a year on Mid-Summer's Day after he drank Moo-Moo Juice. Henry's Cat rushes to the Moo-Moo Juice factory to stop Rum Baa Baa.20 February 1987
45Out for the CountHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit are in a blowing gum match, but get lost and enter the creepy castle of Count Rum Baa Baa. Together they thwart his experiments.22 September 1987
46The JingleHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit go to Cyril Chipper to help in his advertising campaign becoming successful.1 December 1987
47The Great AdventureHenry's Cat and his friends go to space in a flying carrot, eat food tablets, and try to stop Rum Baa Baa.8 December 1987

Series 5 (1992-1993)

Each episode in this series is 13 minutes long.
#TitleSummaryOriginal air date
48The Mystery of the Missing SantaHenry's Cat and Chris Rabbit as detectives goes on a caper to find the a kidnapped Santa. They both break in the chateau, rescue Santa and get Count Baa Baa arrested.24 December 1992
49When Time Went WrongAfter attempting to fix his cuckoo clock, Henry's Cat along with Chris Rabbit travel in time to the Prehistoric Times. As they try to go back to the Present, they travel from one Epoch into another.30 December 1992
50The New PresidentHenry's Cat applies to be the new president of the United States of America so he can have his face carved into Mount Rushmore. Chris Rabbit tells him about the history of America featuring George Washington, Charlie Chaplin and the Seven Dwarfs.
51Valentine's DayHenry's Cat has a brand new TV set, and sees Pansy Pig, so he hosts "Blind Dates". With contestants: Rum Baa Baa, Sam Pig and Ted Tortoise.
Note: This episode coupled with 'The President's Day' won a Cable Ace Award in 1994 for Best Children's TV Series. Also Channel No. 5 on Henry's Cat's new TV resembles to the future TV channel, Channel 5.

Credits

Series 1

Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1983

Series 2

Stan Hayward Bob Godfrey Films Ltd. 1984

Series 3

VHS TitleRelease DateEpisodes
Henry's Cat And Friends: The Hobby and other stories 14 March 2001'The Hobby'; 'The Race'; 'The Circus'; 'The Competition'; 'The Moontrip'; 'The Film'; 'The Holiday'; 'The Treasure'; 'The Ill Wind'; 'The Diet'; 'The Fortune Teller'; and 'The Explorer'.
Henry's Cat And Friends: The Whale and other stories 13 June 2001'The Whale'; 'The Invention'; 'The Dream'; 'The Robbery'; 'The Christmas Dinner'; 'The Hypnotist'; 'The Disco Dance'; 'The Artist'; 'The Magic Tummy Button'; 'The Secret Weapon'; 'The New Year's Resolution'; and 'The Good News Day'.
Henry's Cat And Friends: The Cat's Eye Kid and other stories 3 September 2001'The Cat's Eye Kid'; 'The Hot Day'; 'The Merry Men and Women'; 'The Actor'; 'The Weatherman'; 'The Invitation'; 'The Ventriloquist'; 'The Clever Trick'; 'The Hero'; 'Caveman Cat'; and 'The Abominable Snowman'.