‘Postman Pat, Postman Pat, Postman Pat and his alienated cat…’
You might think that using Postman Pat as a focal point for examining socio-economic changes over the last 40 years is an unlikely choice for an article. And you’d be right. But in this essay – sorry, article – I will attempt to show how the changes to Pat mirror the current trend for sequels, reboots, re-imaginings, and re-treads in our current pop-culture landscape, and what that tells us about ourselves, the society we live in, and the society we used to live. Quite a claim, huh? Let’s hope it doesn’t descend into me rambling on about the minutiae of a children’s television show.
Why Pat? Well, as the parent of a small child, you find yourself revisiting things you haven’t seen since your own childhood, and the modern versions of those things, which are at once familiar, and strangely unsettling and anachronistic.
The Pat of the early 1980s pottered about getting lost in the fog, losing his keys to a hen while having a nap, chasing sheep, and having a ride on a sledge. He’d stop to chat with the locals in a picturesque Lancashire valley and do his job mostly as an afterthought. The Pat of 2008 – subtitled ‘Special Delivery Service’ – rushes around trying to meet tight deadlines, while also doubling up as a pilot to fix hazards on railway lines or deliver giant ice cubes. He has access to a fleet of implausibly expensive looking vehicles, including a gyrocopter and a motorbike with a sidecar for Jess – presumably to sell tie-in toys – and his van is now tracked back at headquarters.
The incompetence of the early series, such as Pat falling asleep, is still very much present and often drives the plot, which hinges on Pat making the delivery in time. If he was able to do it easily, they’d be no drama, so events or Pat’s own mistakes conspire to throw obstacles in the way. Pat’s old world was full of humble, bumbling, but well-meaning, people who looked out for each other. It was a world full of cheerful vicars, spinsters on bicycles, and helpful local handymen wearing flat caps. Of course, it was a romanticisation, a rose-tinted nostalgic view of the past, built around the creator’s reimagining of what life would be like if everyone was nice. But it was a calming, soothing vision, expertly realised with appropriately twee music that has entertained and entranced children and adults alike for years.
Every little detail, like the way a character scratched their nose or wiped their brow with a handkerchief, or the satisfyingly realistic clunk-click sound as Pat closes his van door, or the way it rises on its suspension when he gets out, pointed to this being a labour of love. In the old version, Pat stops his van to look under the bonnet, before muttering ‘Just needs a clean.’ There’s no time for such pottering in the new Pat, just as in the early 21 st Century. As has happened many times before, the reboot loses the essence of why the first incarnation was so loved while keeping some of its surface trappings, and in doing so tarnishes the original. The differences between old and new Pat mirror the changes that have happened between 1980 and today. Now we dash about at breakneck speed trying to keep up with the relentless pace of modern life. Late-stage capitalism demands work is done faster, that more is done with less.
The original characters are present but seem out of place, their idiosyncrasies and quaint charm forgotten. They have a superficial resemblance to the characters of old but act differently, like insect aliens are wearing them as suits (weren’t expecting a Men in Black reference, were you?) The new version whiffs of being a cynical cash grab, to capitalise on the success of the original, and parents who will sell it to their kids. Truly the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
The fictional countryside community where Pat lives and works has changed too. It’s fair to say that the cast of Pat in the early 80s was whiter than a pint of semi-skimmed. The 2008 version goes some way to address this, with new characters introduced like Ajay Bains, the train driver. It also feels like a much busier and frenetic place, as the action moves from sleepy Greendale to the small town of Pencaster. The old series was quite balanced at least in terms of gender, including some female characters like Doctor Gilbertson and Mrs Goggins, who weren’t just seen as extensions of their husbands and had important jobs, like being the doctor or running the local post office, and the new series continues this tradition.
While we’re looking at balance and equality, is the term ‘postman’ outdated? Should we be using ‘postal worker’ instead? It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, and it raises questions about other children’s TV characters (Firefighter Sam?) Maybe I’m overthinking it.
There are other TV shows for younger kids which I think get the tone right, like the BBC’s Jo Jo and Gran Gran, about a little girl and her grandmother. Despite its whimsy, it feels very grounded, set in reality, and a section in the middle cuts between real children and the animated show, which wouldn’t be possible with Pat in a rocket in some caper where he has to rescue a kidnapped giraffe or something.
Did I mention that in the new version Pat has a wife and son? His son looks like he was born at 45 and does chartered accountancy work for fun. Rather than this adding much, it just draws attention away from the central idea of the original – a helpful postie doing his rounds and meeting friendly locals. Exemplifying the soullessness of modern work and the shift from self-direction to being a cog in the machine, Pat now has a new boss called Ben, who orders him around from the ‘Pencaster Mail Centre’ a factory-like place.
Of all the reviews I’ve read, the feeling is generally much the same; viewers seem to prefer the old genteel Pat. Perhaps there is still a place for the sedate and relaxing escapism provided by comforting eye and ear blankets like The Clangers, Bagpuss, or Postman Pat, or shows like Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood in the USA. We don’t want shows that mirror the grim logic of corporate consumerism, we want something more hopeful, more optimistic, more authentic, made with a bit of heart. Possibly including a postman, called Pat. And his black and white cat.
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