Once Upon a Time... Man

Once Upon a Time… Man
Created by	Albert Barillé
Voices of	Roger Carel; Annie Balestra; Patrick Préjean; Claude Bertrand; Yves Barsacq; Vincent Ropion
Narrated by	Roger Carel
Composer	Yasuo Sugiyama
Country of origin	France, Japan
No. of episodes	26
Production
Running time	26 minutes
Production company	Procidis
Release
Original network	FR3 (France); CBC/SRC (Canada); RAI (Italy); +SSR (Switzerland); RTBF (French Belgium); BRT (Flemish Belgium); KRO (Netherlands); NRK (Norway); SR (Sweden); RTVE (Spain); Access (Alberta); Kultura (Russia); Tatsunoko (Japan);
Picture format	SECAM (576i)
Original release	1978
Chronology
Followed by	Once Upon a Time... Space (1982)
External links
	Website
	Production website

Once Upon a Time... Man (French: Il était une fois... l'homme) is a French animated TV series from 1978 directed by Albert Barillé. It is the first in the Once Upon a Time... franchise. The series explains world history in a format designed for children. The action focuses around one group. The same familiar characters appear in all episodes as they deal with the problems of their time.

This animated was purchased by most public broadcasting channels in Europe (and in many other countries) and is well-known by a significant percentage of the population. The program is known for explaining events to children from different viewpoints as the main characters come from many civilizations. Despite its age, the number of factual errors is very low and most countries re-run the animated series every few years.

The series' opening and ending title sequences famously used Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as the main title theme music. Shortening the piece to only 2 minutes in length, the introduction uses the very beginning, which jumps into the start of the middle section and finally the dramatic ending to coincide with the destruction of Earth at the end of the intro.

The show aired in the United States on the History Channel starting in January 1996.[1]

Regional releases

A DVD box set of all the episodes of the series has been produced by the French production company Procidis, and distributed locally by various distributors. The DVD series was produced in French, English (not sold in the UK or US), Finnish, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish and Polish. In 2011, an English-language, Region 1 DVD box set is available in Canada and the United States. This set is produced and distributed by Imavision.

Characters

The episodes of Once Upon a Time… Man typically would follow one family, which most typically used the same set of archetypes that would be reused for the scenario. These same characters would later be used in the later additions to the Once Upon a Time... series, with some changes.

Maestro (Roger Carel) – The wise old man. He usually serves as the head of the tribe, as a religious priest, as an advisor to the king, or as an inventor. Maestro's hair is white and so long that it completely covers his body, and only his facial features, arms, and feet are ever visible; he is also distinguished by two hairs on the top of his head that look like antennae. Maestro often keeps objects in his beard and is sometimes seen fiddling around in it to find the one he wishes to present. He also serves as a mentor to the children of the series.
Peter / Pierre Carel (Roger Carel) – Another protagonist of the series, with brown hair, presented as an ordinary but likeable man. He is always married to Pierrette and is good friends with Jumbo. He is sometimes referred to as Pierrot. In some of the episodes set in the medieval era, Peter has blonde hair and is named Bert, but his personality and relationships are the same.
Jumbo / Le Gros (Yves Barsacq) – The strong young man with red curly hair, Jumbo is tall, somewhat clumsy, and very muscular. He prefers to solve problems with his fists, and his best friend Peter often needs to indicate for him not to attack.
Pierrette (Annie Balestra) – A kind blonde woman, typically married to Peter.
The Pest / Le Teigneux (Claude Bertrand) – A strong bully and one of two common recurring villains in the series (the other being the Dwarf). He is the major rival opposing Peter and Jumbo, and is either working against them or arguing with them.
The Dwarf / Le Nabot (Patrick Préjean) – The mastermind behind the Pest, the Dwarf is short and has red hair with three spikes pointing upward. He is often the only one who supports the Pest in his actions, and is often shown as a swindler.
The Clock – A rectangular box with eyes and hands, typically coloured red, the Clock most commonly simply shows the year that the events on-screen are occurring. Occasionally, the Clock does intervene in the series in a minor role, typically to either have some emotional response like surprise or sadness to an event on-screen, or else to correct Maestro in-series when he has ideas too advanced for his historical time period.

Although historical figures would typically appear as themselves, occasionally one of the archetypes would be used, like Maestro as Leonardo da Vinci.

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"And Earth was created…"	23 March 1979 (1979-03-23)
On the evolution of life before Man to the Stone Age.
2	"Neanderthal Man"	30 March 1979 (1979-03-30)
On the time of Paleolithic culture to the Ice age.
3	"Cro-Magnon Man"	6 April 1979 (1979-04-06)
On the history of Cro-Magnon culture.
4	"The Fertile Valleys"	13 April 1979 (1979-04-13)
On the rise of agriculture, as well as ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Babylon and Israel. Historical Figures: Cleopatra, David, Delilah, Goliath, Joshua, Moses, Ramses II, Samson
5	"The First Empires"	20 April 1979 (1979-04-20)
On the empires of Babylon, Assyria, Persia and others from about BC 2000 to BC 323. Historical Figures: Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Solomon
6	"The Age of Pericles"	27 April 1979 (1979-04-27)
On Ancient Greece. Historical Figures: Pericles, Socrates
7	"The Pax Romana"	11 May 1979 (1979-05-11)
Actually on the time of Julius Caesar, before the Pax Romana commenced. In the last part of this episode, the birth and life of Jesus Christ are told. Historical Figures: Julius Caesar, Jesus
8	"The Conquest of Islam"	18 May 1979 (1979-05-18)
On the Byzantine Empire, the reign of Justinian I (reigned 527–565), and the spread of Islam between the 7th and 8th centuries. Historical Figures: Heraclius, Justinian I, Muhammad
9	"Carolingians"	25 May 1979 (1979-05-25)
On the Carolingian Empire. Historical Figures: Charlemagne
10	"The Age of Vikings"	1 June 1978 (1978-06-01)
On the Vikings. Historical Figures: Leif Erikson
11	"The Cathedral Builders"	8 June 1978 (1978-06-08)
On the Middle Ages in the time of the Crusades. Historical Figures: Richard the Lionheart
12	"The Travels of Marco Polo"	15 June 1978 (1978-06-15)
On the history of Marco Polo. Historical Figures: Genghis Khan, Marco Polo
13	"The Hundred Years' War"	22 June 1978 (1978-06-22)
On the end of the Hundred Years' War.
14	"The Quattrocento"	5 September 1981 (1981-09-05)
On the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Historical Figures: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo
15	"The Golden Age of Spain"	12 September 1981 (1981-09-12)
On the history of the Spanish Golden Age. Censored in Spain. Historical Figures: Christopher Columbus
16	"Elizabethan England"	19 September 1981 (1981-09-19)
Mostly on the voyages of Sir Francis Drake. Historical Figures: Francis Drake
17	"The Golden Age of the Low Countries"	26 September 1981 (1981-09-26)
On the history of the Dutch Golden Age. Historical Figures: Peter the Great
18	"The Great Reign of Louis XIV"	1 October 1981 (1981-10-01)
On the history of Louis XIV. Historical Figures: Louis XIV
19	"Peter the Great and his Times"	8 October 1981 (1981-10-08)
On the history of Peter the Great. Historical Figures: Frederick the Great, Peter the Great, Frederick William I
20	"The Age of Reason"	16 October 1981 (1981-10-16)
On the history of the Age of Enlightenment.
21	"America"	22 October 1981 (1981-10-22)
On the New World between 1492 and the American Civil War.
22	"The French Revolution"	29 October 1981 (1981-10-29)
On the history of the French Revolution. Historical Figures: Georges Danton, Louis XVI, Jean-Paul Marat, Mirabeau, Maximilien Robespierre
23	"The Awakening of the People"	5 November 1981 (1981-11-05)
On the mid-nineteenth century and the development of railroad.
24	"The Belle Époque"	12 November 1981 (1981-11-12)
On the later decade of the nineteenth century, the development of automobiles and the twentieth century up to World War One. Historical Figures: Vladimir Lenin
25	"The Crazy Years"	19 November 1981 (1981-11-19)
On the development of aviation, Roaring Twenties, Great Depression and World War Two.
26	"Once Upon a Time… the Earth (and tomorrow?)"	26 November 1981 (1981-11-26)
On the post-war world up to the series' production in 1978, with speculation on the future to 2150.

References

Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 596. ISBN 978-1476665993.

External links

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[1] Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 596. ISBN 978-1476665993.