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Capt Pugwash and Seaman Who?

The 1960s BBC children's cartoon Capt Pugwash is a show dimly remembered by millions, such that when prodded with mention of the humorous rumor, many claim to remember characters named Seaman Staines, Master Bates, and Roger the Cabin Boy. Supposedly the BBC, upon being informed as to the true nature of the double entendre names, took the show off the air and never rebroadcast it.

Debunked: The UK cartoon series Capt Pugwash had character names that were double entendres.

There were no double entendre character names on the show, although the character named Master Mate comes close to the rumored name Master Bates, a possible cause for the confused recollections of the show. Also adding to the confusion is the sound quality of the dialogue and the enunciation of the voice actors, which produced at least one instance where it does indeed sound like someone says, "I certainly did, Master Bates." See this Capt Pugwash fan site to hear a sound sample (.wav format). The British Newspaper The Guardian erroneously reported the rumor as fact in 1991, and was made to retract the claim and pay damages after being successfully sued by the creator of Capt Pugwash, John Ryan. See Urban Legends Archive: Capt Pugwash Dirty Names for the debunking, and Urban Legends Archive: Capt Pugwash Real Names for the actual names of the Capt Pugwash characters. A doctored video tape of the show has been mentioned as the possible origin of this rumor, but that itself remains a rumor.

References:

• Urban Legends Archive: Capt Pugwash Dirty Names
• Urban Legends Archive: Capt Pugwash Real Names
• Capt Pugwash