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Teletubbies

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Teletubbies
From left: Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po, and Tinky Winky
Created byAnne Wood
Andrew Davenport
Developed byRagdoll Productions
StarringDave Thompson
Mark Heenehan
Simon Shelton
John Simmit
Nikky Smedley
Rebecca Marr
Pui Fan Lee
Narrated byTim Whitnall, Toyah Willcox, Eric Sykes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes365 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersDavid G Hiller
Vic Finch
Running time25 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC
Release31 March 1997 –
5 January 2001

Teletubbies is a BBC BAFTA winning children's television series, primarily aimed at pre-school viewers, produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Anne Wood CBE, Ragdoll's creative director, and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. Narrated by Tim Whitnall, the programme rapidly became a critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad (particularly notable for its high production values), and won its BAFTA in 1998. (A woman named Dolly O'Neal had a short-run cable-access TV show about the Teletubbies called Dolly O'Neal with Tubby Talk in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making her and her Tubby backpacks local celebrities.) Although the show is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it is a substantial cult following with older generations, mainly college students[1], who bought the customary regulation T Shirts. The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and the occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to a demographic who perceived the show as having psychedelic connotations. Teletubbies was controversial for this reason, and also for a perception that it was insufficiently educational. Teletubbies is also controversial because of one Teletubby, Tinky Winky, who has a "magic bag" which some belive to be a woman's handbag. "Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"", a single based on the show's theme song, reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies.

Overview

The programme features four colourful characters: Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, who live in a futuristic dome (the "Tubbytronic Superdome"), set in a landscape of rolling hills. The environment is dotted with unusually talkative flowers and periscope-like "voice trumpets". The only natural fauna are rabbits (although birds are often heard, particularly blackcaps and wrens). The climate is always sunny and pleasant save for occasional inclement days, with rain and puddles, and snow at Christmas time. The Teletubbies are played by actors dressed in bulky costumes, although the sets are designed to give no sense of scale. The Teletubbies don't normally wear real clothes other than the colored suits they wear. They have metallic silver-azure rectangular "screens" adorning their abdomens. These screens are used to segue into short film sequences, which are generally repeated at least once. When the series is shown in different countries around the world, the film inserts are to be tailored to suit local audiences. (The British inserts are default.)

The Teletubbies have the body proportions, behaviour, and language of toddlers. The pacing and design of the show was developed by cognitive psychologist Andrew Davenport, who structured the show to fit the attention spans of the target audience. The repetition of practically every word is familiar to everyone who has ever worked with young children.

The Teletubbies speak in a gurgling baby language which is the subject of some controversy among educationalists, some of whom argue that this supposedly made-up talk is not good for children.[2] (A similar complaint was made forty years previously about another children's series, Flower Pot Men.) The Teletubbies are at the stage of understanding speech but not yet fully capable of articulating it, exactly like their target audience. They often simply groan in disapproval in situations where a human toddler would throw a tantrum. The Teletubbies' catch-phrases are "Eh-oh" (hello), as in: "Eh-oh, Laa-Laa", to which Laa-Laa will respond, "Eh-oh, (other Teletubby's name)", "Uh-oh", a common toddler response to anything that's not good, "Run away! Run away!", especially from Dipsy, and "Bye-bye" at least four times in a row. Laa-Laa, when flustered, will explode with "Bibberly cheese!", which is as angry as the Teletubbies get. But perhaps the most common exclamation is "Big hug!" which one or more of the Teletubbies will invariably call for during the course of an episode, resulting in an enthusiastic group hug.

All the Teletubbies say "Bye-Bye" three times. The narrator bids each Teletubby goodbye, and they disappear, but reappear a moment later saying "Boo!". The narrator then says "No", (which they copy) and proceeds to say goodbye to each Teletubby again. The sun is then shown setting, and the Teletubbies each say goodbye again, before jumping down a hole in the roof of their house. Finally, one Teletubby says goodbye a fourth time - they pop out of a hole in the house and say "Bye-bye!". For special episodes, and at the end of the "Fun With The Teletubbies" cassette, all four Teletubbies say "Bye-bye" in this way. Many of the occurrences of the show, including the end sequence, and the scene preceding the short film broadcast on a character's tummy were shot only once, and the same scenes are used in each episode. The surreal environment is an evocation of a toddler's perception of the world,[citation needed] where they are ordered about and told to go to sleep, while wonderful and mysterious things happen without explanation. A prominent feature of each episode is a radiant sun that has an image of a smiling baby superimposed upon it. The baby in the sun occasionally laughs out loud in short bursts.

Their diet seems to be almost exclusively "Tubby Custard" mispronounced as Tubby Tustard by the characters (which is created by a Tubby Custard machine and consumed by sucking through a spiral straw) and "Tubby Toast" (circular toast with a smiley face on it), and they are spectacularly messy eaters. In one episode, the "Tubby Toaster", the machine that makes "Tubby Toast" went seriously wrong and filled the Teletubbies' house with toast. Fortunately, one of their companions is Noo-Noo, a vacuum cleaner. Machines like Noo-Noo, the voice trumpets, and the televisions in the Teletubbies' stomachs were designed to show small children, who are born into a world surrounded by strange and powerful electronic gadgets, that technology is benevolent and helpful, not something to be afraid of[3]. The Teletubbies' landscape is an outdoor set located in rural Warwickshire, England, at Sweet Knowle Farm, Redhill Bank Rd, Whimpstone, CV37 8NR (between Stratford upon Avon and Shipston on Stour, close to the River Stour[4]).

In 2001, production was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced. (However, BBC ran a few in-the-can episodes from mid 2001 to early 2002.)[citation needed]It is often alleged[who?] that this was due to substantial pay raise demands by the previously anonymous actors portraying the Teletubbies. [citation needed] However, since the four years of production had exceeded the target audience's age span, it was deemed that continuation was unnecessary,[citation needed] and the existing 365 episodes will be played in re-runs for years to come.

Characters

These are the characters from the show.Most of them have started controversies because of there behavers.[5]

Tinky Winky

Tinky Winky (played by Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, and Simon Shelton) is the first Teletubby. He is the largest of the Teletubbies, is covered in purple terrycloth, and has a triangular antenna on his head. He is notable for the red luggage (described by the show as a "magic bag", but often described by other media as a handbag) he always carries. His character has caused much controversy due to allegations that his character's behaviour and body color carried homosexual undertones.

Dipsy & Laa-Laa

Dipsy (played by John Simmit) is the second Teletubby.He is green and is named "Dipsy" because his horn resembles a dipstick. He likes his black and white furry top hat,which he once lost. Laa-Laa found it, but instead of simply returning Dipsy's hat to the stricken Dipsy, she ran around it for about ten minutes shouting "Dipsy Hat! Dipsy Hat!".He is the most stubbon of the Teletubbies, and will sometimes refuse to go along with the other Teletubbies' group opinion. His face is also notably darker than the rest of the Teletubbies, which is why he's considered to be racist.[6]The creators have atmited that he is Black.[7]Laa-Laa is the third Teletubby. She is yellow, has a curly antenna, and is concerned with the welfare of all.She's the best singer of all the Teletubbies [8] (as well as the best dancer of the Teletubbies)[9], and is a "Drama queen", party-girl, and motherly type. Her favorite thing is a bouncy, orange ball, which is almost as big as she is.

Po

Po (played by Rebecca Marr) is the fourth (and last) Teletubby. She is red, has an antenna that is shaped like a stick used for blowing soap bubbles, is the smallest of the Teletubbies (possibly the youngest), and is most often the one who always gets into trouble. She also says the word "Eh-oh" (hello), a word used by all of Teletubbies, and is cubby and cute. Her favorite object is her scooter, which she calls "scoota" (she also calls it "Po 'cooter!",or just "cooter"). Po often wants attention and can sometimes be mischievous and naughty when she disobeys the commands of the "voice trumpets".She is the only bilingual Teletubby, speaking English (the broadcasting country's language) and Cantonese, is a problem solver and "spider-fighter", and is a Tomboy type.Of all the Teletubbies, Po usually becomes most involved with the audience. She loves both attention and her curly red circular antenna on her head. In the Teletubbies' house, she sleeps at the side of all the other Teletubbies and sometimes eats Tubby Toast while the others are sleeping. Po is voiced by Pui Fan Lee, which is why she can speak in dual languages.

Noo-Noo

Noo-Noo (prononced Nuu-Nuu) seems to be both the Teletubbies guardian and housekeeper, due to its resemblance to a vacuum cleaner, which is its initial purpose in the house. Noo-Noo hardly ventures outside, instead remaining indoors and constantly cleaning with its sucker-like nose. It does not speak like the other characters, instead communicating through a series of slurping and sucking noises. At times, Noo-Noo gets annoyed with the Teletubbies antics and can vacuum their food or toys. This usually prompts the Teletubbies to scold Noo-Noo through a cry of "Naughty Noo-Noo!". Usually after this, Noo-Noo flees and the Teletubbies pursue it comically around the house until they grow tired, are distracted by something, or forgive Noo-Noo. This sequence ends with them hugging it, or with it shooting out their absorbed objects.

Other

The show also features the voices of Toyah Willcox and Eric Sykes, and occasionally Sandra Dickinson and Penelope Keith, all of whom provide narration.The only physical cast member is Tamzin Griffin, who plays the manic "Funny Lady".The Sun is personified with the face of baby Jessica Smith, who is believed to have been around seven months old at the time of filming[10]. Her giggle was included in the single Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!. Although she was not credited, this does make her technically the youngest person ever whose vocal appeared on a number one song.

Character mnemonics

For parents and others who don't watch the show, but want to tell the characters apart, say, for a toddler who wants you to get them a particular doll, the antenna shapes provide mnemonic clues:

  • Triangle: "Tinky-Winky"
  • Dipstick: "Dipsy"
  • curLy: "Laa-Laa"
  • circle: "O" shape rhymes with "Po"

Tinky Winky controversy

Tinky Winky started a still hinted-at controversy in 1999 due to his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's handbag (although he was first "outed" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to The Face). He aroused the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1999 when Fallwell alleged that the character was a "gay role model". Falwell issued an attack in his National Liberty Journal, citing a Washington Post "In/Out" column which stated that homosexual comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out" as the chief national gay representative -- while trendy Tinky Winky was "in". He warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a hidden homosexual symbol, because "he is purple, the gay pride colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the gay pride symbol".[11] This has caused many Christians to boycott Teletubbies.

The BBC, who co-produced the program, made an official response, "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag." Ken Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment, who distributed the show in the USA, commented, "He's not gay. He's not straight. He's just a character in a children's series."[12]

In May 2007, Polish Ombudsman for Children Ewa Sowińska revisited the matter, and planned to order an investigation.[13] She said in the May 28 2007 edition of Wprost that the handbag-carrying Tinky Winky could promote homosexuality. Journalists from Wprost mentioned claims that the Teletubbies promote homosexuality, to which Sowińska replied that she had heard of the issue. The journalists then asked about Tinky Winky. "I noticed that he has a woman's handbag, but I didn't realize he's a boy", Sowińska told the magazine in an interview that her office approved before publication, adding, "Later I learned that there could be some hidden homosexual undertones." Sowińska said she would ask her office's psychologists to look into the allegations "and judge whether it can be shown on public television and whether the suggested problem really exists."

But on May 30 2007, Sowińska said in a public statement that she no longer suspected the Teletubbies of promoting homosexuality. She said: "The opinion of a leading sexologist, who maintains that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible. As a result I have decided that it is no longer necessary to seek the opinion of other psychologists."[14]

In an unrelated incident, reported in 2000, a girl's Tinky Winky toy reportedly said "I got a gun". Kenn Viselman claimed the toy actually said "Again, again!", a catchphrase from the show. [15]

At the height of the show's popularity, it was referred to widely in other shows and publications.

  • In the webstrip Sluggy Freelance dated 9 March 1999, the characters Torg and Riff discuss the fact that "Drinky Winky" from the "Teletubbles" is "an abusive drunk because of the bottle of booze he carries", says Torg reading from a newspaper. Riff counters saying "That's not a bottle of booze! It's his magic bottle that makes his problems go away! (...) never mind." Torg goes on reading, "The abusive side of Drinky Winky is demonstrated by..." to which Riff argues "Tipsy and Hoe had it coming!"
  • In 1998, Tom Fulp of Newgrounds created a spoof of Teletubbies called "Teletubby Fun Land"[16]" which resulted in a law suit from the BBC[17]. This resulted in a boost of notoriety and media exposure,and the video was renamed "Tellybubby Fun Land".

Teletubbies in other media

  • In the 2007 episode of BBC's Doctor Who, The Sound of Drums, the Doctor's nemesis The Master watches television and upon encountering the Teletubbies, marvels at the evolution that has given them televisions in their chests.

CD single

Main article: Teletubbies say Eh-oh!

In December 1997, BBC Worldwide released a CD single from the series, Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!", a remix of the theme song performed by the series characters written by Andrew McCrorie-Shand and Andrew Davenport. Produced by McCrorie-Shand and Steve James, the single sold over a million copies. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 7 December 1997 where it remained for two weeks; it remained in the Top 75 for a total of 32 weeks.[21]

References

  1. ^ Gutenko, Gregory. "Deconstructing Teletubbies: Differences between UK and US college students' reading of the children's television program". Kansas City, Missouri, USA: College of Arts & Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City. Archived from the original on 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-30. Unexpectedly, the four furry alien-like "techno-baby" Teletubbies and their surreal Tubbyland world have also generated a cult following among college students. (The campus activities calendar at Imperial College includes the airtimes and episode highlights for each show).
  2. ^ Literacy Today article regarding a study which found Teletubbies had a negative impact on toddlers in both vocabulary size and expressive language use.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Sweet Knowle Farm is at coordinates 52°07′32″N 1°42′12″W / 52.125515°N 1.703446°W / 52.125515; -1.703446 (Sweet Knowle Farm)
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ [3]
  7. ^ http://pbskids.org/teletubbies/parentsteachers/progfaq.html
  8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evpGgrhnsL8
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxciMdQ8iq8
  10. ^ "Singles : Artists : Age". Record Breakers and Trivia. EveryHit.com. Retrieved 2008-09-30. Jessica Smith played the part of 'Baby Sun' in the Teletubbies TV programme. Her giggle was used on The Teletubbies 1997 chart-topper "Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!" Though not credited for this 'performance,' she is the youngest person to have appeared on a no.1 single. We are currently trying to ascertain her precise age at the time of recording; it is certainly less than one year old and thought to be around the seven month mark.
  11. ^ Falwell Sees 'Gay' In a Teletubby, New York Times, February 11, 1999
  12. ^ Marwan Kraidy (2005), Hybridity, Or the Cultural Logic of Globalization, pp. 106–107, ISBN 9781592131440
  13. ^ Adam Easton (28 May 2007), Poland targets 'gay' Teletubbies, BBC News
  14. ^ Polish watchdog backs away from Teletubbies probe, CBC, May 30 2007 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Dotinga, Randy (April 12, 2000). "Lawsuit to Target Teletubbies for Gun Talk". APBNews.
  16. ^ Newgrounds Presents: Teletubby Fun Land
  17. ^ Newgrounds Literature
  18. ^ "Jeep Touts Timeless Fun" - Ad Week, July 30, 2007
  19. ^ "Just Call Matsuzaka ‘Dipsy’" - The New York Times, September 17, 2007
  20. ^ "Tonioli: Wozniak is a Telletubby gone mad- Entertainment". Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  21. ^ Teletubbies top the charts, BBC, 1997-12-07, retrieved 2008-12-29

See also

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