Long Ago and Far Away (TV series)

Long Ago and Far Away is a television series that aired on PBS Television from January 28, 1989 to December 5, 1992. It was created by WGBH, a public television broadcast service located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member of PBS, which allowed for the series to be viewed on various other PBS stations.

An opening screenshot from Long Ago and Far Away

Each episode began with host James Earl Jones sitting in a chair in a room with a table, lamp, and window. The walls were blue with white dots in order to make it appear as if the room was sitting out in space or the night sky.

James Earl Jones talks during the short opening section, then acts as narrator for the balance of an episode. This series, aimed at children aged six to nine years old, presents stories based on traditional fairy tales. A number of presentation methods were used to tell these stories, with stop motion animation, live-action or traditional animation being used depending on the episode.

James Earl Jones only hosts in seasons 1 & 2 but does not host in seasons 3 & 4.

Long Ago and Far Away also featured a number of guest narrators, including Tammy Grimes (who narrated "The Happy Circus"); Kim Loughran (who narrated "Bill and Bunny"); David Suchet (who narrated "The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship"); Mia Farrow (who narrated "Beauty and the Beast" and "Pegasus"); Robert Hardy (who narrated "Pied Piper of Hamelin"); and Kevin Kline (who narrated "Merlin and the Dragons"). In the episode "Emperor's New Clothes", Regis Philbin provided the voice of the Emperor, In the episode "The Wind in the Willows", David Jason provided the voice of Mr. Toad and In the episode "The Reluctant Dragon", Simon Callow provided the voice of the dragon.

After the last episode aired, the show went into reruns until October 24, 1993.

Awards
  • National Education Association Award, Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting
  • Action for Children's Television, Achievement in Children's Television Award
  • National Catholic Association of Broadcasters and Communicators, Gabriel Award, Best National Children's Program
  • International Film and Television Festival of New York, Gold Medal
  • Connoisseur Magazine, Connie Award, Best National Children's Series
  • International Reading Association, Broadcast Media Award

Episodes

Season 1 (1989)

Season 2 (1990)
  • Beauty and the Beast (September 8, 1990)
  • Noah's Ark (September 15, 1990)
  • Rarg (September 22, 1990)
  • Circus Dreams (September 29, 1990)
  • More Hungarian Folktales (October 6, 1990)
  • The Boy in the Oak Tree (October 13, 1990)
  • Oh, Mr. Toad! Part 1 (October 20, 1990)
  • Oh, Mr. Toad! Part 2 (October 27, 1990)
  • Bill the Minder (November 3, 1990)

Season 3 (1991)
  • The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (October 5, 1991)
  • The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (October 12, 1991)
  • The Emperor's New Clothes (October 19, 1991)
  • Uncle Elephant (October 26, 1991)
  • Jazztime Tale (November 2, 1991)
  • Merlin and the Dragons (November 9, 1991)
  • Pegasus the Flying Horse (November 16, 1991)

Season 4 (1992)
  • Nightengale (November 21, 1992)
  • Mouse Soup (November 28, 1992)
  • The Talking Eggs (December 5, 1992)
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