Postman Pat has the Best Village

Postman Pat Has the Best Village

Air Date	8th May 1997 (UK) 29th August 1997 (Australia)
Previous	Postman Pat Follows a Trail
Next	Postman Pat Paints the Ceiling

Postman Pat has the Best Village is the sixth episode of the second series which was broadcast on 8th May 1997. This episode was written by John Cunliffe.

Summary[]

The villagers prepare to enter a best village competition. Will Greendale win first prize - and where has Ted's lorry got to?

Characters[]

Pat
Jess
Sara Clifton
Mrs. Goggins
Ted Glen
Dorothy Thompson
Reverend Timms
Mrs. Pottage
Katy and Tom Pottage
P.C. Selby
Doctor Gilbertson
Mr. Pringle
Miss Hubbard
Sam Waldron
Peter Fogg
Major Forbes
Alf Thompson (does not speak)
The Radio Greendale Speaker (unseen)
John the Weatherman (unseen)
Caroline (mentioned)
The Judges (mentioned)

Vehicles[]

Locations[]

Greendale
Pat's House
Post Office
Greendale Farm
Ted Glen's Workshop
The Surgery
Thompson Ground
The Vicarage
Greendale Radio Station (unseen)
Garner Bridge (mentioned)
Pencaster (mentioned)
Pencaster Station (mentioned)
Scotland (mentioned)

Cast[]

Ken Barrie as Pat, Ted Glen, the Rev. Timms, P.C. Selby, Mr. Pringle, Sam Waldron, Peter Fogg, Major Forbes, the Radio Greendale Speaker, John the Weatherman and the Main Narrator
Carole Boyd as Sara Clifton, Mrs. Goggins, Dorothy Thompson, Mrs. Pottage, Katy and Tom Pottage, Doctor Gilbertson and Miss Hubbard

Differences between the book and TV version[]

In the book version, the Best Village Competition is sponsored by the Royal Mail.

In the book version, Pat rides his bicycle to the Green after hearing about Ted’s Lorry.

At the ending of the book version, Pat and the others own up to Ted and show him what they did to his lorry.

Trivia[]

In real life, the Best Village Competition exists under the name of the "Best kept village", when a village wins one of the annual county competitions in the United Kingdom for its tidiness, appropriateness and typicality.
One of the toy soldiers from Postman Pat and the Toy Soldiers can be seen in the front window of the post office.
On the way to Ted's Workshop, Pat passes by the tree stump of the fallen tree in Postman Pat's Windy Day.
The flower pots, the tubs and the flower beds would become permanent features in Greendale after the episode.
Radio Greendale was only translated in the Norwegian dubs.
Ted says "Eh up Pat." and Pat says "Hello Ted." when they meet again at Ted's workshop for Ted to clean Pat's van of the white spots of paint. Those two lines are reused from Postman Pat Misses the Show when Pat phones Ted. Ted also says "Ta-ra Pat." when Pat leave with his van all cleaned. That line was reused from Postman Pat and the Hole in the Road.
P.C. Selby says "What's all this?" when he sees Peter Fogg and Mr. Pringle with Ted's Lorry. The audio was reused from Postman Pat and the Toy Soldiers. Yet the other line he said in both that special and this episode "What's going on?" was not reused from the special, but was rerecorded by Ken Barrie for this episode.
This is the final episode that the travel music (The Greendale Run) is heard.

Goofs[]

Mrs. Pottage some how manages to get back to Greendale Farm instantly.
Mr. Pringle and Peter Fogg should know they can not move Ted's lorry without his keys.
If Ted had asked Pat to look after the lorry for him, he should have left him the keys or even a spare set, so then someone could have got Pat to come and move it or left the lorry at Pat's house rather than in the middle of the village.
Peter Fogg should have known where Ted was, as Ted mentions he had Peter lined up to give him a lift to Pencaster Station on his motorbike. It could be likely that Ted forgot or didn't tell Peter that he had parked the lorry in the village.
When Pat is pushing a wheelbarrow of flowers, the pins which were used to hold the puppet to the set can be seen under his feet.

Quotes[]

P.C. Selby: "A date to remember."
Major Forbes: "It certainly was."
Ted: "Has anyone seen my lorry? I left it in the village before I went to Scotland and... Well, I don't seem able to find it now."
Major Forbes: "There's a mystery for you, P.C. Selby; Ted's lost his lorry. *chuckles*
P.C. Selby: "Er no. Nobody seems to have found a lorry. *chuckles* However, all I've heard... *starts to laugh* Is- Is about flower- Flowers! *laughs* Bushes and flowers, lots of them!
P.C. Selby and Major Forbes both laugh while Ted looks confused at why they are laughing*
Ted: "Will somebody tell what the joke is?"
Major Forbes: *he and P.C. Selby continues to laugh* "Turn a lorry into a bunch of flowers! Ha ha! Eh what?"
P.C. Selby and Major Forbes still continues to laugh while Ted still looks confused*