The Flowerpot Men

In the 1950s, BBC television ran a series of childrens' programmes under the collective title of "Watch with Mother". There was a different programme on each weekday, one of which was The Flowerpot Men.

The programme took place in a garden, behind a potting shed, while the Gardener was away eating his lunch. There was a Little Weed, of indeterminate species, somewhat resembling a sunflower with a smiling face, and when the Gardener was away, the piles of flowerpots resolved themselves into two flowerpot men, Bill and Ben. They spoke their own unintelligible language; for example, `Hello, Little Weed' came out as `Flobb-dobb, Ickle Weed', to which the Weed would inevitably reply `Weeeed'. This language, like that of the Teletubbies in the 1990s, was criticised for hindering children from learning proper English.

Fortunately, this series was before the 1960s, or there would probably also have been considerable comment about the Weed. However, behind the garden shed there was a magic land which Bill and Ben would frequently visit...

At that time, the series was in black and white, and Bill and Ben were puppets; there has been a recent revival of the series, and they are now computer animated, and in colour.