{{Short description|British children's TV series (1955–1976)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox television | genre = [[Puppetry]] (1955-1964)<br>[[Stop motion|Stop-motion animation]] (1976) | creator = [[Gordon Murray (puppeteer)|Gordon Murray]] | writer = Gordon Murray | director = Gordon Murray | creative_director = | developer = | presenter = | starring = | voices = {{Plainlist|[[Derek Nimmo]]<br>Violet Lamb<br>[[Roy Skelton]]<br>James Beattie<br>Pamela Binns<br>Raymond Rollett<br>[[Peter Hawkins]]<br>[[Philip Latham]] }} | narrator = | theme_music_composer = Patrick Harvey (1958-1964)<br>[[Freddie Phillips]] (1976) | open_theme = | end_theme = | composer = | country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_seasons = 3 | num_episodes = 35 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | producer = Gordon Murray | editor = | location = | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = | channel = [[BBC One|BBC1]] | company = | first_aired = {{start date|1955|12|15|df=y}} | last_aired = {{end date|1976|3|22|df=y}} }} '''''A Rubovian Legend''''' is a British [[marionette]] [[children's television series]] created by [[Gordon Murray (puppeteer)|Gordon Murray]]. It centres around a fictional kingdom ruled by King Rufus XIV and Queen Caroline, assisted by Albert Weatherspoon and the Lord Chamberlain.

The series received a [[Live television|live broadcast]] of its first episodes from 1955 to 1956. It was revived with recorded plays from 1958 to 1964. A [[remake]] of the series was broadcast in 1976, but it only lasted for six episodes.

==Premise== The show takes place within a small, fictitious kingdom named Rubovia, ruled by King Rufus XIV and Queen Caroline. Due to its small size, Rubovia is easily managed, with a chicken named Henrietta, who lays golden eggs, negating the need for high taxes. This means that the King and Queen can focus on problems created by Albert Weatherspoon, the latter of which is officially the Royal Gardner, tending to Queen Caroline's prized cabbages. Whenever Rufus needs him to entertain a visitor, such as King Boris of nearby Borsovia, or solve a problem, he creates most of the problems faced in each episode attempting to use magic.<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/history.htm |title=Rubovian History - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref>

Weatherspoon is also a keen inventor, having created the [[speaking tube]], and any Royal Command, given by the Lord Chamberlain, that does not require use of magic will involve it. In those cases, Weatherspoon is not the cause of the problem, sometimes even being successful in solving it. These are usually caused by an Indian named MacGregor, who spends a lot of time outside the garden wall, plotting schemes for personal reasons.<ref name="dragon" /> While Queen Caroline does not usually ask for Weatherspoon's help, she does dabble in various get-rich-quick plans of her own.<ref name="history" />

==Main characters== *King Rufus XIV (voiced by Raymond Rollett in the 1955 plays and [[Derek Nimmo]] from 1958 onwards, with Michael Logan standing in for episodes ''Something in the Air'' and ''The Secret River'')- the fourteenth ruler of Rubovia, whose predecessors all shared the same name. He enjoys playing [[Checkers|draughts]] with the Lord Chamberlain, to the anger of his wife.<ref name="history" /> *Queen Caroline (voiced by Violet Lamb)- the wife of King Rufus, who is usually quite assertive, although when in the company of her pet [[Chinese dragon]] Pongo, she is a lot calmer. She does not usually take part in ruling the kingdom, annoying her husband to do so, except during money-making schemes. *The Lord Chamberlain (voiced by [[Philip Latham]] and then [[Peter Hawkins]] in the 1955 plays, and [[Roy Skelton]] from 1958 onwards)- the senior officer of the royal household, who also enjoys playing draughts with the King. He delivers royal commands and announcements, sometimes to a crowd of citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F9XHQE7satc&pp=ygUHUnVib3ZpYQ%3D%3D |title=Rupert of Rubovia - King for a Day |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2023-05-19}} Actually ''A Rubovian Legend'' - Knight for a Day.</ref> *Albert Weatherspoon (voiced by Peter Hawkins in the 1955 plays and James Beattie from 1958 onwards)- officially the Royal Gardener for Queen Caroline's cabbages, although he assumes many other titles, including Court Photographer and, crucially, Royal Magician. Due to his busy days he cannot practice magic often, and so when he is required to use it, things usually go wrong. He is more successful as an inventor, however, having created the [[speaking tube]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/speaking_tube.htm |title=The True History of the Speaking Tube - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref> *MacGregor - A rogue of the kingdom, who usually commits acts for financial gain.<ref name="dragon" >{{cite web |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kC0a34mii-U&pp=ygUHcnVib3ZpYQ%3D%3D |title=Rubovia - Dragon Doctor |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2023-06-06}}</ref> Originally a black Indian, in the 1976 series he was changed to a Native American for the 1976 series, due to a complaint received during the 1958–1964 series asking why the villain of the series was black.<ref name="history" />

==Production== Created by [[Gordon Murray (puppeteer)|Gordon Murray]], who wanted to break the mold of British puppet shows,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/production_marionette_series.htm |title=''A Rubovian Legend'' (The Marionette Series) Production - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref> the first four plays were transmitted live from 1955 to 1956. They featured the voices of Raymond Rollett, Violet Lamb and [[Peter Hawkins]], with [[Philip Latham]] in the first play. Kim Allen designed the puppets used in this series, which were 1/5 in size,<ref name="settings" >{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/production_settings.htm|title=Settings and Costumes - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref> and they were operated by [[Audrey Atterbury]], Bob Bura, John Hardwick, Molly Gibson, Elizabeth Thorndike and Joan Garrick. Each of these three plays had a different setting and costume designer, with Gordon Roland for the first, ''The Queen's Dragon'', and Donald Horne for ''Clocks and Blocks''. The third play, ''The Dragon's Hiccups'', marked the debut of costume designer Andrew Brownfoot's involvement with the series, designing every subsequent episode, although not being the main designer for this play.<ref name="settings" /> After ''The Mystery of Rubovia Castle'', Gordon decided to revamp, designing his own, 1/3 scale puppets.

In 1958 the first of twenty-five new, recorded plays were broadcast, sporadically running until 1964. Only Lamb reprised her voice role from the previous plays, with [[Derek Nimmo]], [[Roy Skelton]] and James Beattie now providing voices. Puppeteers Gibson, Thorndike and Garrick also left, leaving Atterbury, Bura and Hardwick as the only three. Gordon would sometimes fund the plays himself if [[BBC]] budget was too low. Andrew based his model of Rubovia Castle from [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]]. During filming of the first of these plays, a remake of ''Clocks and Blocks'', the castle prop was damaged by an electric cable.<ref name="settings" /> A twenty-sixth play, entitled The Giddy Ghost, was never broadcast, due to [[Color television|colour television]] being just a few weeks away, with the [[BBC]] abandoning many of its black-and-white programmes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/FAQs.htm|title=F.A.Q. - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref>

Like many BBC programmes of the 1950s and 1960s, little of ''A Rubovian Legend'' survives in the archive, save for a four-minute clip of the 1961 episode Knight for a Day which appeared in a 1988 episode of [[DEF II]] hosted by [[Stephen Fry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/chronology_2_Legends.htm|title=''A Rubovian Legend'' Episode Guide - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref>

==1976 revival== In 1976, following the success of [[Gordon Murray (puppeteer)|Gordon Murray's]] [[Trumptonshire]] trilogy, ''A Rubovian Legend'' was remade in a similar style, simply renamed ''Rubovia'', and vastly watered down in its writing compared to its predecessor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/production_stop.htm|title=''Rubovia'' (The Stop Motion Series) Production - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref> Gordon himself, as well as [[Roy Skelton]] provided the voices. Although thought lost, all six episodes have shown up on [[YouTube]] from time to time. An LP containing the soundtracks of two episodes was released by BBC Records. It is rumoured the castle seen in Gordon's later series ''[[The Gublins (TV series)|The Gublins]]'' is the same used here.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia/gallery3.htm|title=Picture Gallery: 1976 - Realm of Rubovia |access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref>

==Episodes== ===Series 1 (1955-1956)=== {{Episode table |background=#B40000 |overall=6 |title= |airdate=24 |episodes= {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = The Queen's Dragon | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1955|12|15|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = B40000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Clocks and Blocks | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1956|04|19|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = B40000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = The Dragon's Hiccups | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1956|05|17|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = B40000 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = The Mystery of Rubovia Castle | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1956|05|31|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = B40000 }} }}

===Series 2 (1958-1964)=== {{Episode table |background=#F0B030 |overall=6 |title= |airdate=24 |episodes= {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = Clocks and Blocks | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1958|10|28|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = The Dragon's Hiccups | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1959|03|17|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = Mystery of Rubovia Castle | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1959|05|26|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = The Wonky Wand | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1959|12|08|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = Zaza Knows All | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1960|05|24|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Spray Fever | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1960|08|09|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 7 | Title = Chickweed Wine | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1960|10|04|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 8 | Title = Knight for a Day | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1961|01|17|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 9 | Title = Crafty Art | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1961|03|21|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 10 | Title = Fit and Well | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1961|04|11|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 11 | Title = Something in the Air | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1961|06|20|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 12 | Title = The Bell | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1962|05|29|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 13 | Title = Gala Performance | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1962|06|19|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 14 | Title = Bees and Bellows | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1962|10|02|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 15 | Title = The Enchanted Duck | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1962|10|16|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 16 | Title = The Trap | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1962|10|30|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 17 | Title = The Clue | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|01|01|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 18 | Title = A Cranky Banquet | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|01|22|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 19 | Title = The Secret River | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|01|29|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 20 | Title = Stop Press | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|02|12|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 21 | Title = Fire, Fire, Fire | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|08|13|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 22 | Title = Calling All Trunks | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|11|19|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 23 | Title = The Troublesome Double | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|12|03|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 24 | Title = Bewitched Boots | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1963|12|17|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 25 | Title = A Sinister Visitor | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1964|03|17|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = F0B030 }} }}

===''Rubovia'' (1976)=== {{Episode table |background=#C0A0FF |overall=6 |title= |airdate=24 |episodes= {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 1 | Title = The Unreliable Wand | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|02|16|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 2 | Title = Dragon Doctor | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|02|23|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 3 | Title = The Magic Scent Bottle | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|03|01|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 4 | Title = The Magic Duck | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|03|08|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 5 | Title = The Enchanted Clock | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|03|15|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} {{Episode list | EpisodeNumber = 6 | Title = Tunnel Trouble | OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|03|22|df=yes}} | ShortSummary = | LineColor = C0A0FF }} }}

==See also==

*[[Trumptonshire]] * [[Grand Fenwick]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.roxburgh.org/rubovia Realm of Rubovia] - the official ''Rubovia'' website as decreed by creator Gordon Murray * {{IMDb title|id=0220932}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubovian Legend}} [[Category:BBC children's television shows]] [[Category:Fictional European countries]] [[Category:1955 British television series debuts]] [[Category:1960 British television series endings]] [[Category:1976 British television series debuts]] [[Category:1976 British television series endings]] [[Category:British television shows featuring puppetry]] [[Category:1950s British children's television series]] [[Category:1960s British children's television series]] [[Category:1970s British children's television series]] [[Category:British stop-motion animated television series]] [[Category:Television shows set in Europe]] [[Category:Television series set in fictional countries]] [[Category:Television series about kings]] [[Category:Television series about queens]] [[Category:Television series about dragons]]