Alias, as the theme song tells us, was a
time-traveller whose ship developed a fault and deposited him in Britain in the Middle Ages. He is befriended by Meredith, wizard to King Arthur, who gets him a job as the Royal Jester. When danger threatens, Alias, along with his pet Boswell, leap into action to save the day.

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Although it ran for a mere 13 episodes, Alias the Jester managed to win a BAFTA for Best Short Animated Film in 1986, which I'd say is pretty damned impressive. Despite the fact that it's not very well-remembered, AtJ is at least as good as Dangermouse (better than many of the later episodes, in fact), and definitely deserves a DVD release sometime soon. There's a little story from my so-called life that goes with this show too. Sitting comfortably? One day, not long after my tenth birthday, I turned on the TV to watch Alias the Jester with a friend who was visiting. She snorted in disgust and said "You're too old to watch this. Cartoons are for babies". Remember, we were ten. Ten, for God's sake! Flabbergasted, I made two vows on the spot. Number one, that I would never, EVER be too old to watch cartoons. Number two, to get some new friends, quick.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Web page.

• Alias the Jester (yes, that's the title)
  In which we are introduced to Alias and the kingdom of Houghton Bottoms. I never get tired of that place name...
• The Ring
  The first appearance of the evil Black Najjer (snort!!)
• The Viking Airship
  Alias and co. meet Eric the Brainless and his viking crew (point of interest - a bunch of very similar-looking vikings showed up in the Duckula episode "The Mutinous Penguins".
• The Lost Ark
  There's a big flood across the kingdom. In order to save themselves, everyone climbs up to the topmost turret of the castle - but what luck! - an ark floats by. When the flood goes down, the ark is stuck. Some hippopotaflies are released and cause havoc in the castle by flying around and knocking things over.
• The Walking Island
  A theme park-style island walks the countryside captivating the locals (literally) and lulling them into a false sense of security and playfulness.
• Monster of the Lake
  Eric the Brainless, that Viking scourge, pilots a submarine shaped like a fake monster around the lake. Alias and Boswell man their own fake monster submarine and set out to investigate, confronting Eric along the way.
• Enter the Najjer
  
• Amaranth and The Beast
  Amaranth is kidnapped by a mysterious beast who's not quite all he seems.
• The Giant's Visit
  Arthur and Edith are visited by Dennis and Doris, the most boring giants in the world, and their obnoxious son Wayne.
• Revenge of the Najjer
  The Najjer plots revenge on Meredith for turning him into a small slimy thing.

• Little Gems is a great source of info and pics.
  
• Go to TV Cream for an MP3 of the opening theme.

Voices: Richard Briers, Brian Trueman, Brian Wilde, Jimmy Hibbert, Myfanwy Talog Written by: Brian Trueman Music: Keith Hopwood, Malcolm Rowe

Assistant Director: Jean Flynn Director: Chris Randall Producers: Mark Hall and Brian Cosgrove Executive Producer: John Hambley