This eccentric series was created by and starred the fourth Goon, Michael Bentine,
    interacting with a seemingly endless parade of puppets, known as "The Pottys".
    Together, they took us through a "potted" history of Britain and the world, peered
    at various myths and legends, and reimagined our literary legacy from a Potty
    point of view...

    So what is a Potty, exactly? Well, he/she/it is a kind of miniature man whose
    face is hidden by a mop of hair, so that only a bulbous nose can be seen.
    Pottys may or may not have legs, because their appendages are kept out of
    sight beneath a swathe of clothing. These chaps tend to come in pairs (one
    big, one small), and both sizes like nothing more than to gabble in an almost
    helium-like fashion. And it seems they have much to gabble about.

    Each episode, Michael would step out of his drawing room and into the Pottys'
    miniature realm. We visited Hadrian's Wall, Treasure Island, Sherwood Forest,
    Frankenstein's Castle, Camelot and beyond. But no matter where we went,
    numerous Potty encounters, contretemps, debates and debacles would ensue,
    ensuring that wrongs were righted, history rewritten and we left suitably
    re-educated about the world. The scenario was actually rather similar to that of
    The Bumblies from two decades earlier. But "Potty Time" gave Michael the
    oppurtunity to really let his imagination run riot with the aid of some super set
    design and effects. Pottyland looked something akin to a big model railway
    minus the trains. As for the Potty's, well, they were hand puppets who
    "roamed" via carefully disguised slots in the sets which allowed the operators
    to stalk beneath them. Each episode had to be meticulously mapped out in
    advance, because they were recorded live, so all the gesticulations, gibberish
    and effects had to be perfectly timed. The Pottys had a penchant for gunfire
    and explosions, and invariably, our host would be forced to duck out of
    the way of a good old-fashioned cannonball, or two.

    Now you see him

    Many folks still have a soft-spot for the Invisible Potty, who traversed the stage
    purportedly out of sight, but causing so much chaos where ever he went it
    was difficult to avoid him. And if we're looking for origins here, we can trace
    the character - and indeed, the whole Potty Time scenario - back to Michael's
    award-winning series "It's A Square World" (BBC - 1960-1964). That show included
    a regular feature in which Michael would stand next to a miniature flea circus
    narrating a play as the imaginary performers took to the stage.

    Action!

    One Potty we did get to see lots of was young Clarence the clapperboy who
    introduced  each episode with great enthusiasm and a snap of his board.
    That's him in the screen grab, at the top of this page...

 

    Broadcast info

     The series premiered on ITV, 12th November 1973...

 

Leon Thau, Michael Custance
Leon Thau
Joan and Stan Griffiths
Stan Griffiths
The Barry Smith Theatre of Puppets
Michael Bentine

 

     On the web


      Little Gems
      The Big Knights dig up more lost treasure with these Potty
      Time pages. Several episodes are outlined together with a
      stack of screen grabs, theme WAV and more...
      


 
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