# Once Upon a Time... Man

Once Upon a Time... Man (French: Il était une fois... l'homme) is an educational animated television series created and directed by Albert Barillé. It is the first series in the Once Upon a Time... franchise. It explains human history in a format adapted for children, with the action focused around one group of characters which appear in every episode dealing with the problems of the period depicted. Although historical figures would typically appear as themselves, occasionally they inherit the appearance and some of the personality of one of the archetypes. The series is known for explaining historic events to children from different viewpoints as the main characters come from different civilizations.
The series was produced by French studio Procidis in co-production with France Régions (FR3, France), Société Radio-Canada and ACCESS Alberta (Canada), Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI, Italy), the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SSR, Switzerland), Radiodiffusion-Télévision Belge and Belgische Radio en Televisie (RTBF and BRT, Belgium), Katholieke Radio Omroep (KRO, Netherlands), Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK, Norway), Sveriges Radio (SR, Sweden), Televisión Española (TVE, Spain), and Tatsunoko Production (Japan) who was the one who made the animation. The series premiered in France on FR3, between 30 September 1978 and 14 April 1979, and it was subsequently broadcast on the channels of the rest of the broadcasters that participated in the production dubbed into their own language.
Once Upon a Time... Man was purchased by most public broadcasting channels in Europe later, and by many other broadcasters in other countries around the world, and is well-known by a significant percentage of the population. The show aired in the United States on the History Channel starting in January 1996.

## Music

The series' opening and ending title sequences famously used Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor as the main theme music. Shortening the piece to only two minutes in length, the introduction uses the very beginning, which jumps into the start of the middle section and finally the dramatic ending to coincide with the destruction of Earth at the end of the intro. It is generally unknown what is the original soundtrack they used, and whom is the original artist who performed on the organ.
Although this is the theme that is generally used, there are dubbings in some languages that use other themes. The version in Spanish uses a pop song based on the third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Septet, adapted by Rafael Trabucchelli and Agustín Serrano, with Spanish lyrics by Marisol Perales and José Luis Perales, and performed by the children's group Caramelos. The version in Italian uses two songs: the song "Io di più" composed by Pippo Baudo and Pippo Caruso, with Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese, and performed by Lino Toffolo, featured in the series' run on RAI; and the song "Conosciamoci un po'" written by Alessandra Valeri Manera and Massimiliano Pani, and performed by Cristina D'Avena, featured in subsequent runs. The version in German uses the song "Tausend Jahre sind ein Tag" by Udo Jürgens.

## Characters

The episodes of Once Upon a Time… Man typically would follow one family, which most typically used the same set of archetypes that would be reused for the scenario. These same characters would later be used in the later additions to the Once Upon a Time... franchise, with some changes.
* Maestro (Roger Carel) – The wise old man. He usually serves as the head of the tribe, as a religious priest, as an advisor to the king, or as an inventor. Maestro's hair is white and so long that it completely covers his body, and only his facial features, arms, and feet are ever visible; he is also distinguished by two hairs on the top of his head that look like antennae. Maestro often keeps objects in his beard and is sometimes seen fiddling around in it to find the one he wishes to present. He also serves as a mentor to the children of the series.
* Peter / Pierre (Roger Carel) – Another protagonist of the series, with brown hair, presented as an ordinary but likeable man. He is always married to Pierrette and is good friends with Jumbo. He is sometimes referred to as Pierrot. In some of the episodes set in the medieval era, Peter has blonde hair and is named Bert, but his personality and relationships are the same.
* Jumbo / Le Gros (Yves Barsacq) – The strong young man with red curly hair, Jumbo is tall, somewhat clumsy, and very muscular. He prefers to solve problems with his fists, and his best friend Peter often needs to indicate for him not to attack.
* Pierrette (Annie Balestra) – A kind blonde woman, typically married to Peter.
* The Pest / Le Teigneux (Claude Bertrand) – A strong bully and one of two common recurring villains in the series (the other being the Dwarf). He is the major rival opposing Peter and Jumbo, and is either working against them or arguing with them.
* The Dwarf / Le Nabot (Patrick Préjean) – The mastermind behind the Pest, the Dwarf is short and has red hair with three spikes pointing upward. He is often the only one who supports the Pest in his actions, and is often shown as a swindler.
* The Clock – A rectangular box with eyes and hands, typically coloured red, the Clock most commonly simply shows the year that the events on-screen are occurring. Occasionally, the Clock does intervene in the series in a minor role, typically to either have some emotional response like surprise or sadness to an event on-screen, or else to correct Maestro in-series when he has ideas too advanced for his historical time period.
Although historical figures would typically appear as themselves, occasionally one of the archetypes would be used, like Maestro as Leonardo da Vinci.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | "And Earth was created…" (Et La Terre Fut...) | 30 September 1978 (1978-09-30) |
| On the history of the Earth and life before humans to Homo erectus. |||
| 2 | "Neanderthal Man" (L'Homme Du Neanderthal) | 7 October 1978 (1978-10-07) |
| On the Neanderthals on the time of Paleolithic culture to the Ice age. |||
| 3 | "Cro-Magnon Man" (Le Cro-Magnon) | 14 October 1978 (1978-10-14) |
| On the history of European early modern humans. |||
| 4 | "The Fertile Valleys" (Les vallées fertiles) | 21 October 1978 (1978-10-21) |
| On the Neolithic Revolution with the rise of agriculture, as well as ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Babylon, and Israel. Historical Figures: Cleopatra, David, Delilah, Goliath, Joshua, Moses, Ramses II, Samson |||
| 5 | "The First Empires" (Les Premiers Empires) | 28 October 1978 (1978-10-28) |
| On the empires of Babylon, Assyria, Persia, and others from about BC 2000 to BC 323. Historical Figures: Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Solomon |||
| 6 | "The Age of Pericles" (Le siècle de Périclès) | 4 November 1978 (1978-11-04) |
| Mainly on Athens and Sparta during the fifth century BC, ending with Alexander’s empire. Historical Figures: Alcibiades, Alexander the Great, Anaxagoras, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Democritus, Euripides, Herodotus, Hippocrates, Pericles, Phidias (portrayed by Maestro), Protagoras, Socrates, Sophocles, Thucydides |||
| 7 | "The Pax Romana" (Pax Romana) | 11 November 1978 (1978-11-11) |
| On the time of Julius Caesar, before the Pax Romana commenced. At the end of this episode, the birth and crucifixion of Jesus Christ are briefly featured. Historical Figures: Julius Caesar, Jesus, Vercingetorix |||
| 8 | "The Conquest of Islam" (Les conquêtes de l'Islam) | 18 November 1978 (1978-11-18) |
| On the Byzantine Empire, the reign of Justinian I (reigned 527–565), and the spread of Islam between the 7th and 8th centuries. Historical Figures: Belisarius, Heraclius, Justinian I, Khosrow II, Muhammad, Theodora |||
| 9 | "Carolingians" (Carolingens) | 25 November 1978 (1978-11-25) |
| On the Carolingians with the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Frankish Kingdom. Historical Figures: Charlemagne, Charles Martel, Clovis I, Louis the Pious, Judith of Bavaria |||
| 10 | "The Age of Vikings" (L'âge des Vikings) | 2 December 1978 (1978-12-02) |
| On the age of Vikings, ending with the Norman Conquest of England. Historical Figures:Charles the Fat, Charles the Simple, Rollo |||
| 11 | "The Cathedral Builders" (Les bâtisseurs de cathédrales) | 9 December 1978 (1978-12-09) |
| On the Middle Ages in the time of the Crusades. Historical Figures: Frederick Barbarossa, Philip II of France, Richard I of England, Saladin |||
| 12 | "The Travels of Marco Polo" (Les Voyages De Marco Polo) | 16 December 1978 (1978-12-16) |
| On the Mongol Empire and the travels of Marco Polo. Historical Figures: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Marco Polo |||
| 13 | "The Hundred Years' War" (La guerre de Cent ans) | 23 December 1978 (1978-12-23) |
| On the Late Middle Ages, including the Black Death, the Western Schism, and the Hundred Years' War. Historical Figures: Antipope Alexander V, John Ball, Charles VII of France, Antipope Clement VII, Jan Hus, Joan of Arc, John Wycliffe, Pope Urban VI, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor |||
| 14 | "The Quattrocento" (Le Quattrocentro) | 30 December 1978 (1978-12-30) |
| On the Italian Renaissance, focusing on the life of da Vinci. Historical Figures: Donato Bramante, Francis I of France, Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo de’ Medici, Leonardo da Vinci (portrayed by Maestro), Michelangelo, Raphael |||
| 15 | "The Golden Age of Spain" (Le siècle d'or espagnol) | 6 January 1979 (1979-01-06) |
| On Spain and the New World during the Spanish Golden Age. Historical Figures: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand II of Aragon, Hernan Cortes, Isabella I of Castile. |||
| 16 | "Elizabethan England" (L'Angleterre d'Élizabeth) | 13 January 1979 (1979-01-13) |
| On the Elizabethan era, mostly on the voyages of Sir Francis Drake. Historical Figures: Anne Boleyn, Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, Mary, Queen of Scots, Thomas More |||
| 17 | "The Golden Age of the Low Countries" (L'âge d'or des Provinces-Unies) | 20 January 1979 (1979-01-20) |
| On the Dutch Golden Age, in addition to some discussion of the Protestant Reformation and the Eighty Years’ War. |||
| 18 | "The Great Reign of Louis XIV" (Le grand siècle de Louis XIV) | 27 January 1979 (1979-01-27) |
| On the reign of Louis XIV. Historical Figures: Louis XIV of France |||
| 19 | "Peter the Great and his Times" (Pierre le Grand et son époque) | 3 February 1979 (1979-02-03) |
| On the reforms of Peter I, the Great Northern War, and Prussia under Frederick William I. Historical Figures: Charles XII of Sweden, Frederick the Great, Frederick William I of Prussia, Peter the Great |||
| 20 | "The Age of Reason" (Le siècle des Lumières) | 3 March 1979 (1979-03-03) |
| On the Age of Enlightenment. Historical Figures: Catherine the Great, Denis Diderot, Frederick the Great, Ivan VI of Russia, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Grigory Potemkin, Maria Theresa, Peter III of Russia |||
| 21 | "America" (L'Amerique) | 10 March 1979 (1979-03-10) |
| On North America between 1492 and the American Civil War. Historical Figures: Amerigo Vespucci, Charles O'Hara, Christopher Columbus, George III, George Washington, Lafayette, Peter Stuyvesant, Rochambeau, Thomas Jefferson, William Penn |||
| 22 | "The French Revolution" (La Révolution française) | 17 March 1979 (1979-03-17) |
| On the French Revolution, ending with the French invasion of Russia. Historical Figures: Georges Danton, Olympe de Gouges, Éléonore Duplay, Joséphine de Beauharnais, Louis XVI, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Madame du Barry, Jean-Paul Marat, Mirabeau, Napoleon, Maximilien Robespierre, Manon Roland, Jean-Lambert Tallien |||
| 23 | "The Awakening of the People" (Le printemps des peuples) | 24 March 1979 (1979-03-24) |
| On the sociopolitical developments of the mid-19th century, focusing on the revolutions of 1848, the steam engine and rail transport. Historical Figures: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, Alphonse de Lamartine, Louis Philippe I, Napoleon III, Thomas Newcomen, Denis Papin, Thomas Savery |||
| 24 | "The Belle Époque" (Ah ! La belle époque) | 31 March 1979 (1979-03-31) |
| On the Belle Époque on late 19th century and early 20th century, the development of the automobile, the World War I, and the Russian Revolution. Historical Figures: Vladimir Lenin |||
| 25 | "The Crazy Years" (Les années folles) | 7 April 1979 (1979-04-07) |
| On the années folles, the history of aviation, the interwar period, the Great Depression, and World War II. |||
| 26 | "Once Upon a Time… the Earth (and tomorrow?)" (Il était une fois... la terre (Et demain?) | 14 April 1979 (1979-04-14) |
| On the post-war world up to the series' production in 1978, with speculation on the future to 2150. |||

## Home media

A DVD boxed set of all the episodes of the series was produced by the French production company Procidis, and distributed locally by various distributors. The DVD series was produced in French, English (not sold in the UK or US), Finnish, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Polish. In 2011, an English-language, Region 1 DVD box set was made available in Canada and the United States. The set was produced and distributed by Imavision.