 | | Mini Sam and Gene take to the airwaves |
With the series about to start, BBC Radio Manchester thought they’d get the plastic stars and their creators, director Geoff Walker and puppet maker Paul Cavella of Altrincham’s Hot Animation, into the studio to talk to Eamonn O’Neal and Dianne Oxberry about why a mini Sam and Gene have been made – and it turns out it’s for more than just the trailer. "One of the episodes opens with an animated sequence like Camberwick Green," Paul explained, "Sam is in his bed, having a hallucination, a bit like the test card girl in other episodes." The humour and nostalgia of the animation has made it an instant hit with the audience, but it’s not just those watching that have the fun. "It’s fantastic, because we don’t usually get to do something like this," Geoff grinned. "It’s quite dark, like Camberwick Green on a Saturday night after the pubs have closed." | "It’s quite dark, like Camberwick Green on a Saturday night after the pubs have closed." | | Geoff Walker on the Life On Mars animation |
Of course, just like the series itself, the puppets have been made to look as authentic as they could to the original Camberwick Green standards, as Paul explained: "We wanted to make them the way they did it originally, so the heads are made out of ping pong balls and the bodies are wire and balsa wood. "So it’s authentic, but also cheap! That’s how Gordon Murray, the creator of Camberwick Green, made his. "It took about two weeks to build the puppets, but I did take the ping pong balls home and work on them obsessively to get the likeness right." | 
