Pigeon Street: pigeons for children

Title:Pigeon Street
Year: 1981
Director: Alan Rogers and Peter Lang
Running time: 15 min.
Country: United Kingdom

Pigeon Street is a pre-schoolers oriented television series which describes the life in a British city in and around Pigeon Street. It includes many characters related to different roles in society and it also includes pigeons... many pigeons. In the figure below we can see the main characters.

Pigeon Street characters and pigeons.

The contents of the series are politically correct, including for instance, Clara, a long distance lorry driver. Another interesting character is Bob. He is the owner of a bike shop who breeds homing pigeons. In the picture below we can see how after transporting pigeons in his motorbike (note the pigeon symbol on the helmet) he opens the basket and frees the pigeons which head back to their home. This is Bob's pigeon song -I really like the expression they feather the sky-.

Bob's pigeons are ever so clever
You'll never seen pigeons quite as clever as Bob's
Whatever the weather they feather the sky
to fly home and dry 

 home and dry

to Bob

Bob (behind the basket) frees the homing pigeons.

Homing pigeons cross the city heading back to their home.

The music is very remarkable. Most of the theme tunes can be downloaded from the Pigeon Street Official Site. This site also includes a list of episodes and characters. Another resource for music and character descriptions is Little Gems.

I would also like to mention the main theme of the series which is played at the intro. I don't understand why, but I have this song playing in my head all day long....

 

If you lived in Pigeon Street,
Here are the people you could meet,
Here are the people who would say
Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye
Every day

If you lived in Pigeon Street,
Here are the people you could meet,
Here are the people who would share
the sights, the sounds, the air
Where pigeons beat their wings, wings beat.
Pigeons beat their wings, wings beat
to meet in Pigeon Street

Most of episodes are online. For instance, Noisy Neighbours can be seen here.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: Pigeon Street  Starring moment: in all the episodes
• Pigeon activity: They are non-shy-friendly-urban pigeons which like to stay close to and interact with humans.
• Symbolism: Pigeons are described as friendly animals that live together with humans. I think that this is a very positive message for children.
• Relevance: Medium. Although several pigeons appear in each episode, they only occasionally feature in the plot. Usually they are relegated to secondary characters. 
• Training level: Non applicable.

Battlestar Galactica: an other-worldly pigeon

Title: Battlestar Galactica
Year: 2004
Director: Ronald D. Moore (Creator), Michael Rymer, Michael Nankin, Rod Hardy, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Robert M. Young, Edward James Olmos, Jeff Woolnough, Wayne Rose
Running time: 50 min.
Country: United States

The legend says that in a distant part of our galaxy, thousands of years ago, humans lived on a planet called Kobol. Then, there was an exodus and humans inhabited a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies. Caprica is an Earth-like planet belonging to the Twelve Colonies. It hosts the federal capital of the colonies.

Caprica city. A futuristic metropolis... with pigeons!!!

On Caprica, humans lived with an advanced technology level and created a cybernetic race known as the cylons. At the beginning cylons and humans lived together in peace and joy but they followed the same path towards a ruined relationship: while their romance was a comedy.... their marriage became a drama.

Mr. Adama Jr. A pigeon-maniac.

Anyway, we are not going to focus on the cylon-human relationship but the human-pigeon one. We will see that this is also another drama. One of the main characters in Galactica is Mr. Lee Adama Jr. At the beginning he is captain of the colonial fleet but later he becomes Vice President of the Twelve Colonies, having an active role in the series.  In some way, he is a hero…. but a hero with a dark past and a hidden hatred. In the picture on the left side, we can appreciate a spark of rage in his eyes.

During his youth (in the episode this is shown in a flashback) he arrives completely drunk at his apartment and finds a pigeon inside. Without thinking twice he grabs a broom and tries, unsuccessfully, to scare away the poor animal. In this case, his military training didn't help to solve the situation. 

It is very interesting to note one fact: humans emigrated from Kobol to Caprica… and they took all the valuable items…. technology, spaceships and pigeons!!! Actually, there are very few animals in the complete series and it is very remarkable to see as an exception, the pigeon appearance.  The complete scene can be seen here.

This is the first example in this blog of an unearthly pigeon. Are pigeons actually spread all over the universe?

 

Pigeon flying with wings fully extended while keeping an eye on Mr. Adama. Jr.

Pigeon observing Mr. Adama. Jr. It can't understand the hostile welcome that it receives.

 

Mr. Adama Jr. is prepared to attack the innocent pigeon.

The proof of the evil aggression of Mr. Adama Jr.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: Battlestar Galactica. 4x19 Daybreak  Starring moment: 0:30:40
• Pigeon activity: It is a typical urban pigeon which enters inside the apartment of a pigeon-maniac guy. It suffers a very hostile attack with a broom. I would like to remark that the pigeon suffers actual harm and we can see that it is very scared. This scene reaches levels of real violence that are comparable to the ones found in Borat.
• Symbolism: The pigeon is used to highlight that the supposedly honorable character has several weaknesses and he is not honorable at all. 
• Relevance: Low. The pigeon is only used to describe with more depth one of the characters.
• Training level: It is a stunt pigeon that suffers a real aggression and safely escapes. A very risky interpretation.  

The Tudors: decorative pigeons

Title: The Tudors
Year: 2007
Director: Michael Hirst, Ciaran Donnelly, Jeremy Podeswa, Dearbhla Walsh, Steve Shill, Brian Kirk, Alison Maclean, Charles McDougall, Jon Amiel, Colm McCarthy
Running time: 55 min.
Country: Ireland

This is the first example of the contribution of pigeons to Decorative Arts. In most films pigeons are living creatures that briefly appear during the recording. However, in The Tudors series, we can see a pigeon appearance in King Henry VIII's court. This pigeon is not a living specimen but a dead decorative object. In the scene, Henry is in the search of a new wife. He talks with the French ambassador and inquires about possible candidates. During the conversation, Henry’s assistants serve a sumptuous meal and we can see the decorative pigeon in this scene. More precisely, a wood pigeon. An interesting taste.

Here we can see the pigeon on the top of a tray full of culinary delights.

The pigeon can be see on the lower-right corner.

Details of the pigeon starring

• Source: The Tudors Episode 3x06. Starring moment: 0:05:20

• Pigeon activity: None. It is a mere decorative object.

• Symbolism: This pigeon was used as a simple decorative artefact. Was it considered to be an exotic/luxury animal in the 16th century?

• Relevance: None. It is a short appearance.

• Training level: None. It is a stuffed pigeon.

The walking dead: pigeons don't care about zombies

Title: The walking dead
Year: 2010
Director: Frank Darabont, Michelle MacLaren, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Johan Renck, Ernest R. Dickerson, Guy Ferland, Phil Abraham, Bill Gierhart
Running time: 45 min.
Country: United States

Deputy Rick Grimes is desperately looking for his family. National authorities recommend finding refuge in Atlanta where a quarantined safe-zone is established. When Rick arrives in the city, riding a horse, he realises that the safe-zone is no longer safe and the city is completely infected by zombies. However, everything is not death and devastation: we can notice a peaceful/harmless pigeon walking (not dead) on the street. Its search for some herbivorous food was suddenly interrupted by Rick and his horse and it decided to fly away to a more quiet area.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: The walking dead. Episode 1x01. Starring moment: 0:58:29

• Pigeon activity: The pigeon was walking around a city that was totally infected by zombies. This is a clear example of how pigeons can survive in hostile environments. Then, the bird was suddenly scared by a guy on a horse and flies away. From the pigeon's point of view: a horseback rider never provides any food so it is better to elude him.

• Symbolism: It represents typical pigeons that we can find in any city. Once more, pigeons appear in the most intense moment of the episode. In this case, it is used for showing us that this devastated city still keeps some remains of its old life.

• Relevance: Very low. The pigeon has some protagonism in the scene (it is actually situated in front of the main character) but the whole scene lasts just few seconds. Additionally, the pigeon relevance for the rest of the episode is negligible.

• Training level: High. This pigeon isn't actually a casual wild animal but it was left there by a professional team. It is a well trained pigeon.

Spartacus: leveraging pigeons for getting a gladiator's friendship

Title: Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
Year: 2011
Director: Steven S. DeKnight, Rick Jacobson
Running time: 40 min.
Country: United States

In Capua, 75 B.C., the relationship between Crixus and Barca is becoming unbearable. That morning, Barca's lover has been killed by Crixus during a tough fight in the arena. Crixus is a tough guy, but he has a sense of companionship, so he wants to make peace with Barca. In the scene, Barca is alone and his only company is the pigeon which he raises. This is not the only example of fighters with feathered pets.  Just try to Google Mike Tyson + dove.

Returning to the episode, Crixus asks himself: What is the best strategy to make peace with the beast of Barca? Very simple: to try to be the friend of his favorite pet. Consequently, Crixus goes to talk with Barca and offers him a piece of bread for his pigeon. Cool, right?

The first scene is interesting: we can see a pigeon that is the protagonist for 3 seconds. Crixus comes in but -because of the pigeon protagonism- he is completely blurred.

Then we can see Barca, who is initially staring at his pigeon, and then, he faces Crixus -with a highly constrained rage.Thanks to the pigeon, the peace and friendship between two gladiators is reestablished.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Episode 2x04. Starring moment: 0:20:49

• Pigeon activity:  resting in the gladiator's hands.

• Symbolism:  My hypothesis is that the pigeon has a crucial role in the scene, as it represents a catalyst that prevents the clash of these two characters.

• Relevance: In a cruel Roman world, a tough gladiator (Barca) uses pigeons to get some peace. Perhaps during that morning, he bravely killed several men during a killing rampage, but in the afternoon he takes care of his beloved creatures. In this character the pigeon transmits peace and calm, which is efficiently exploited by Crixus to make peace. What if Barca had been training with a sword instead of stroking a pigeon? Probably they would fight to the death, completely changing the course of this tv series.

• Training level: very high. This is a domestic pigeon explicitly used during the movie recording.  

Game of thrones: is Daddy a pigeon now?

Title: Game of Thrones
Year: 2011 
Director: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Timothy Van Patten, Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Alan Taylor
Running time: 55 min.

Country: United States
 


In the ninth episode, at King's Landing, Lord Eddard Stark's situation is becoming critical. In fact, he  is publicly beheaded in presence of his daughter Arya. During this tragic act, Arya can't  bear to see how  her father's head is severed and she looks at the sky. What does she see? A flock of pigeons. 

 

 

Details of the pigeon starring

Note: The following terms are related to the pigeons, not the girl. 

• Source: Game of Thrones. Episode 1x09. Starring moment: 55:00.  

• Pigeon activity:  A flock of pigeons flying away.

• Symbolism: I think it's interesting to relate the death of Lord Eddard to the pigeons. My hypothesis is that the birds symbolize the soul of Lord Eddard, which is now free to fly away from the insane universe of Game of Thrones. In this case, the presence of pigeons has an important significance because it is a point of relief for Arya.  My interpretation of this scene is that Lord Eddard's soul becomes a flying dove.  

• Relevance: The use of pigeons creates in Arya a relief from the traumatic experience of her father execution. Perhaps because of the pigeons she doesn't get hysterical and she eventually can escape from the Lannister clan.

• Training level: None. They are wild pigeons.

King Pigeon Jr.