voices of Captain Pugwash—voicing the characters. All of these changes—namely, the 4-year delay in transmission, the removal of the original title, and the substitution of Peter Hawkins for Kenneth Williams—were designed to conceal as best as possible the fact that the production was simply a remake of the 1972 Jackanory serial which had been based on the same book. A 77-minute animated film Agaton Sax och Byköpings gästabud was made in Swedish in 1976, with a plot loosely based on Agaton Sax and the Criminal Doubles. An English-language version was broadcast in the UK by the BBC in August 1978, adapted by Daphne Jones, under the title Agaton Sax and The Feast at Bykoping, and once again featured Kenneth Williams voicing all the characters. Adapted in 3 parts of 25 minutes each, it aired just six months after the transmission of Williams' second Jackanory serial, The League of Silent Exploders, and was repeated in August 1979. In connection with the film, a three part TV series aired on Swedish television, with the three installments based on Agaton Sax and the League of Silent Exploders, Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery and Agaton Sax and the Colossus of Rhodes respectively. This further series was not adapted by the BBC. However, in 1983, the BBC repeated the earlier 3-part adaptation The Feast at Bykoping with Kenneth Williams, from August 1978, for a second time: this time calling it simply "Agaton Sax" — presumably in an effort to conceal how many repeats it was getting, since in April 1985 this same adaptation was repeated for a third time, i.e. its fourth transmission altogether, on this occasion retitled yet again, now known as Agaton Sax: The Feast of Bykoping. Overall, and including all repeats, the Agaton Sax adaptations totalled 40 broadcasts on BBC1, between the initial transmission on October 9, 1972, and the final repeat, aired on April 5, 1985. This coincided with the character's surge in popularity in the UK, due to the publication of the English translations in book form, both paperback and hardback, between 1965 and 1978. References External links IMDb about Agaton Sax and the Bykoebing Village Festival New York Times about Agaton Sax and the Bykoebing Village Festival Young adult novels Novel series Sax, Agaton Swedish children's literature Children's mystery novels Series of children's books Characters in children's literature