James the Cat (partially lost English audio of British children's TV show; 1980s-1990s)

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JamestheCat.jpg

The title card for the show.

Status: Partially Lost

James the Cat is a 1984 British pre-school animated series created by Kate Canning and aired on ITV. The series focuses on James, a fat spoiled house cat who is accidentally left behind when his wealthy owners move away from their corner house and takes up residence in the garden, befriending the many wild animals there. The series ran for 26 episodes and was revived for a second 26-episode season in 1998 for the children's channel Milkshake!, where the story followed James becoming a diplomat traveling the world and meeting important people. This revival aired on Nick Jr. and Sprout throughout the early 2000s, with the Sprout run occurring from 2005 to 2006.[1]

Availability

The series is not available on streaming nor has it ever been rereleased on DVD. The only releases of the series were a set of three VHS tapes in the late 80s- "James the Cat and Friends" and "Out and About with James the Cat" were two tapes released by Tempo Video in 1987, each containing eight episodes. "James the Cat: Neighbours" was released by Screen Entertainment one year later in 1988, containing 10 episodes[2]. All of these episodes, which make up Series 1 of the show, have been uploaded to YouTube.[3]

While Series 1 has been entirely found, Series 2 is almost completely lost, with only one episode fully found and three partially lost out of 26. The episode "Memories" was uploaded to YouTube by "Blackcatcoffee4" on December 14th, 2020 albeit in poor quality[4]. A higher quality but slightly cropped version was uploaded to the "James the Cat Archive" YouTube channel on January 9th, 2024[5]. An incomplete version of the episode "Painted Lady" with the episode missing its first 1-2 minutes was uploaded by YouTuber "MrHammadmossop1988 Ul-Haq" on April 8th, 2023[6]. The user claims to have more episodes in his collection and plans to upload them soon after repairing his VCR, but as of April 2024, this is the only episode the user has ever uploaded.

Between May 7th and July 21st 2023, three more episodes from Season 2 were uploaded in Russian with English subtitles by YouTube user Dadork400. These episodes were "James V.I.P.", "Orange Aid", and "Harry the White Rabbit". The uploader says they have the entirety of Season 2 in Russian with English subtitles, but as of June 2024 these are the only ones they've uploaded.

List of Episodes[7]

Season 1

Episode Number Episode Name Air Date Status Notes
Series 1 Episode 1 Friends Jan 29th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 2 The Rock Garden Feb 5th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 3 The Thunder-Storm Feb 12th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 4 Neighbours Feb 19th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 5 The Seaside Feb 26th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 6 Tea for Toad Mar 4th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 7 Sums Mar 11th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 8 Kites Mar 18th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 9 The Cornerhouse Mar 25th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 10 Big Top Apr 1st, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 11 The Confused Goose Apr 8th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 12 The Playground Apr 15th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 13 James G.P. Apr 29th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 14 Bee Bop May 6th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 15 Pa Rat's Problem May 13th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 16 Lunch May 20th, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 17 Treasure May 27th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 18 Arfur Mark Jun 3rd, 1984 Found Released on Out and About with James the Cat
Series 1 Episode 19 The Take-over Jun 10th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 20 Art Attack Jun 17th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 21 Water-works Jun 24th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 22 The Dentist Jul 1st, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 23 Slim Chance Jul 8th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours
Series 1 Episode 24 The Inventor Jul 22nd, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 25 The Greedy Catterpillar Jul 29th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat and Friends
Series 1 Episode 26 The Birthday Party Aug 5th, 1984 Found Released on James the Cat: Neighbours

Season 2

Episode Number Episode Name Air Date Status Notes
Series 2 Episode 1 James V.I.P. May 7th, 1998 Partially Found Russian audio with English subtitles found.
Series 2 Episode 2 Little Bluey May 14th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 3 Memories May 28th, 1998 Found
Series 2 Episode 4 Orange Aid Jun 4th, 1998 Partially Found Russian audio with English subtitles found.
Series 2 Episode 5 Harvey the White Rabbit Jun 11th, 1998 Partially Lost Russian audio with English subtitles found.
Series 2 Episode 6 It Ain't Fair Jun 18th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 7 New Zealand Lamb Jun 25th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 8 Pyragiro Blues Jul 2nd, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 9 U.S. Capers Jul 9th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 10 Sweetheart Jul 23rd, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 11 Nepali Puzzle Jul 30th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 12 Safari Aug 6th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 13 Fennimore's Friend Aug 13th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 14 Painted Lady Aug 27th, 1998 Partially Lost First 1-2 minutes missing
Series 2 Episode 15 Le Fireworks Sep 10th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 16 Indian Summer Sep 17th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 17 Legal Beagle Sep 24th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 18 Spring Time Oct 29th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 19 Dido the Dolphin Nov 5th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 20 Betsy Purplebottom Nov 12th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 21 Ups & Downs Nov 19th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 22 The Wish Nov 26th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 23 Caramba Dec 3rd, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 24 Catwalk Dec 10th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 25 China Tease Dec 17th, 1998 Lost
Series 2 Episode 26 Higgy Pop Dec 24th, 1998 Lost

References