Postman Pat and the Beast of Greendale is the twelfth episode of the second series, which was broadcast on 5th September 1997. It was written by John Cunliffe.
Summary[]
A strange creature is on the loose all over Greendale. It chews up Pat's sandwiches and Dorothy's carrots, ruins Granny Dryden's washing on the line, knocks Miss Hubbard off her bike, breaks Major Forbes' flower pots and makes a racket in the village church. Who can it be?
Characters[]
- Pat
- Jess
- Ted Glen
- Dorothy Thompson
- Reverend Timms
- Mrs. Pottage
- P.C. Selby
- Lucy Selby
- Doctor Gilbertson
- Miss Hubbard
- Granny Dryden
- Major Forbes
- Lucy Selby's Pony
- Peter Fogg (cameo)
Vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Greendale Post Office
- Ted Glen's Workshop
- Thompson Ground
- Greendale Farm
- Greendale Church
- Granny Dryden's Cottage
- Garner Hall
Cast[]
- Ken Barrie as Pat, Ted, the Reverend Timms, P.C. Selby, Granny Dryden, Major Forbes and the Main Narrator
- Carole Boyd as Dorothy, Mrs. Pottage, Lucy, Doctor Gilbertson and Miss Hubbard
Differences between the book and TV series[]
- In the book version, Pat bumps into Miss Hubbard's bike while delivering the post, but in the TV version, he accidentally knocks it over when he was pulling the postal trolley. Also, the dialogue between Pat and Miss Hubbard does not happen in the book version.
- In the TV version, Pat delivers Dr. Gilbertson her letter while she was talking to Granny Dryden in the village and then drives to Ted's workshop and gave Ted his post, which he doesn't do in the book version.
- In the TV version, when Pat was delivering post to Greendale Farm, he has a quick cup of tea with Mrs. Pottage before he finds Jess on the van's roof and his sandwich box on the ground, which didn't happen in the book version. Also, Pat chats with Mrs. Pottage about him bumping Miss Hubbard's bike in the village in the TV version, which didn't happen in the book version.
- In the TV version, when Pat gives Dorothy her letters at Thompson Ground, he tells her that he bent Miss Hubbard's bike a bit in the village before he tells her that someone's eaten his lunch at Greendale Farm, but he just tells her about his lunch and Jess bring terrified in the book version.
- In the book version, after Pat tells Dorothy about his lunch being pinched at Greendale Farm, Dorothy gives Pat some meat pie from the oven in her kitchen, which didn't happen in the TV version.
- In the book version, after Pat and Dorothy find the carrot patch in a mess, Dorothy rings P.C. Selby on her phone about the beast, which didn't happen in the TV version. Also, Dorothy mentions the beast might be a lion or tiger escaped from the circus in the book version, but she mentions it as a dangerous monster from who knows where in the TV version.
- In the book version, Miss Hubbard's bike fell into a ditch on the roadside after she met the beast, and it pinched the apples out of her bike's basket, and Pat helped lift the bike out of the ditch, which didn't happen in the TV version. Also, Miss Hubbard tells Pat that she took a swipe at the beast with her umbrella in the TV version, which she didn't do in the book version.
- In the book version, Lucy's pony trampled on Major Forbes' flower beds, but in the TV version, it trampled on his flowerpots.
- In the book version, Pat and Major Forbes walked through prickly bushes and muddy patches on their way to the church, which didn't happen in the TV version.
- In the book version, the text says P.C. Selby threw the pillow case over the pony's head, which wasn't said in the TV version. Also, P.C. Selby has dialogue while he was handling the pony in the bell tower room in the TV version, but not in the book version.
- In the book version, Lucy's pony ran out of the church, which didn't happen in the TV version.
- In the TV version, Lucy gave her pony some sugar cubes inside the church, but in the book version, she gave it an apple outside the church.
Trivia[]
- This is the first and only appearance of Lucy Selby’s pony.
- A reference to Postman Pat and the Magpie Hen is made after the "beast" ate Pat's lunch at Greendale Farm, and Pat is sure it couldn't be the hens that stole his lunch this time.
- Miss Hubbard says, "Goodness me, Pat. I hope you'll take more care. It's taken a bit of a knock." after Pat accidentally ran her bike over with the postal trolley. The audio was reused from Postman Pat Has Too Many Parcels.
Goofs[]
- Pat, P.C. Selby and the Major should have taken off their hats when they entered the church.
- Lucy's riding helmet seems to appear out of nowhere.
- When Major Forbes pushes Pat into the church and says "Off you go," there is suddenly a bit of silence at the point where he would have said "old" before he says "chap". In the same scene, the sound heard when the Major pushes Pat in the church, sounds more like Pat’s van traveling off-road.