The Vital Spark

The Vital Spark is a fictional Clyde puffer, created by Scottish writer Neil Munro. As its captain, the redoubtable Para Handy, often says: "the smertest boat in the coastin` tred". Puffers seem to have been regarded fondly even before Munro began publishing his short stories in the Glasgow Evening News in 1905. This may not be surprising, for these small steamboats were then providing a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides islands of Scotland. The charming rascality of the stories went well beyond the reality of a commercial shipping business, but they brought widespread fame. They appeared in the newspaper over 20 years, were collected in book form by 1931, inspired the 1953 film The Maggie, and came out as three popular television series, dating from 1959 to 1995. The original BBC Series Para Handy- Master Mariner, which ran from 1959-60, starred Duncan MacRae (Para Handy), Roddy McMillan (The Mate), and John Grieve (Dan MacPhail, the engineer). For the short film to accompany the 1963 album Highland Voyage, the cast was augmented by Alex Mackenzie, who appeared as The Engineer, causing Grieve to move to play The Cook. In the second series, The Vital Spark, McMillan took the role of Para Handy, and Grieve reprised his role as McPhail; Walter Carr (Dougie the Mate) and Alex McAvoy (Sunny Jim) completed the crew, and the series ran for two series between 1974 and 1976. The series also featured guest appearances from the cream of British comedy acting such as Fulton Mackay, Eric Idle, Peter Sellers, Richard Wilson and Peter Stachura. In 1994 BBC Scotland produced "The Tales Of Para Handy" which starred Gregor Fisher as in the Lead role alongside Sean Scanlan as Dougie, Andrew Fairlie as Sunny Jim and Rikki Fulton as Dan McPhail. The series also featured a young David Tennant in one of his first acting roles.