Postman Pat's Birthday is the third episode of the first series which was first broadcast on 30th September 1981. It is written by John Cunliffe and entirely narrated by Ken Barrie.
Synopsis[]
Pat always thought he had managed to keep the date of his birthday to himself. He tells Jess not to give his secret away.
But when he arrives at the Post Office, almost all of the post is for Pat. As he goes on his rounds, everyone he meets knows it's his birthday! How did they all know?
Characters[]
- Pat
- Jess
- Mrs. Goggins
- Alf Thompson
- Dorothy Thompson
- Reverend Timms
- Mrs. Pottage
- Katy and Tom Pottage
- Miss Hubbard
- Granny Dryden
- Peter Fogg
- George Lancaster
- Sarah Gilbertson (does not speak, mistakenly called Lucy)
- Sam Waldron (does not speak)
- Bill Thompson (cameo)
- Lucy Selby (cameo)
- Charlie Pringle (cameo)
- Sara Clifton (not named; mentioned)
Vehicles[]
- PAT 1
- The Yellow Tractor
- The Red Tractor
- SAM 1 (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Post Office
- Greendale School
- Greendale Farm
- The Church
- Thompson Ground
- Granny Dryden's Cottage
- Miss Hubbard's Cottage
- Intake Farm
Trivia[]
- This is the official introduction of Granny Dryden, Peter Fogg and George Lancaster.
- From this episode onward, Pat's van has a starter motor sound.
- The music played when Pat arrives at the school is the instrumental to Ted Glen's Handyman song.
- One of the pictures on the wall at the Greendale Farm House is a section of "Rain, Steam and Speed" painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1844.
- When Jess makes an attempt to catch the mouse in the Swedish narration, his second meow is not heard.
- Pat hums the theme tune to the show when he leaves the post office and later on in the episode when he leaves Intake Farm. He would later hum as well as whistle to it again throughout many episodes of the classic series.
- The punnett of strawberries would later appear in Mrs. Tupp's kitchen in "Bertha".
- Pat's birthday cream would later appear in "Gran".
- This is the first mentioning of Pat’s wife Sara (although she is unnamed at this point.) She would later be named and seen in person in Postman Pat takes the Bus. But she is named in the book version.
- When Granny Dryden says "I need a new battery in my hearing aid", she points to her chest. It is likely she is wearing an old fashioned hearing aid, with an earpiece connected by a small wire leading to a battery unit.
- The book version is called Postman Pat’s Secret.
- It is likely that Derek Mogford took over from Ivor's animation from the previous two episodes and he would continue to animate for Woodland Animations until Postman Pat and the Barometer.
Goofs[]
- Sarah Gilbertson is mistakenly called Lucy.
- If Pat's son Julian is meant to be as old as the other children in the series, then where is he when Pat arrives at the school?
- In the last shot of the episode after Pat says "We'll have a little party tonight.", dusk comes instantly.
- This episode should have taken place after Postman Pat's Rainy Day as Peter Fogg pulls up on the red tractor which is stated in the aforementioned episode to be new.
- The narrator says that Pat bought six chocolate kittens, but Mrs. Goggins is only seen giving him one.
- When Pat gathers up his cards and letters and leaves the post office, the window frame can be seen shifting as the sunlight shines in on the wall.
- During the long shots of Pat driving through the valley and the village, he is not wearing his hat and glasses and Jess is not sitting next to him.
- The Thompsons' front room and Granny Dryden's kitchen are clearly the same room redressed with slightly different furniture. They both have a blue door in exactly the same spot, and have marks on the whitewashed walls in the same places.