Spider!

Spider!
The main title frame of Spider!
Genre	Children's
Directed by	Graham Ralph
Voices of	Jeff Stevenson, Casey Stevenson, Holly Stevenson
Theme music composer	Brian Stephens
Composer	Richard Warner
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Theresa Plummer-Andrews, Iain Harvey
Producer	John Cary
Editors	Paul Coppock, Karen Bruce
Camera setup	Animated opticals, Peter Jones Rostrums, Rostrum cameras
Running time	5 mins approx.
Production company	Hibbert Ralph Entertainment
Original release
Network	BBC1, Children's BBC
Release	26 September – 30 December 1991

Spider! is a musical children's television series made by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment for the BBC that originally aired in 1991. It follows the adventures of a spider, the protagonist, and a young boy. The stories are told through song, performed by Jeff Stevenson with his children, Casey and Holly, singing backing vocals. The style of music varies from rock 'n' roll to haunting and melancholic, and was produced by Rick Cassman. A BBC Video entitled "Spider! - I'm Only Scary 'cos I'm Hairy!" (BBCV 4753) which contained all 13 episodes was released soon after the series ended. A DVD version was also released later.

Episodes

The series consists of thirteen five-minute episodes, which are listed below:

1. Spider in the Bath (26 September 1991) The song is the voice of the boy, who tells the audience how he likes every kind of animal, except for spiders. He finds Spider in his bath, and so he tries to put him down the drain, but Spider keeps coming back and laughing.[1]
2. Just a Spider (3 October 1991) Spider's lot is a tough one, especially when he is being persecuted by the mischievous boy. After squashings, drownings and downright meanness, Spider manages to escape in an unexpected way.[2]
3. In My Tent (10 October 1991) When the boy finds himself trapped in his own makeshift tent and Spider's on his side of the bedroom door, he musters all his resources by using attack as the best form of defence.[3]
4. Monkey Business (17 October 1991) When life is pretty boring and you don’t know what to do...the boy, his older sister and his younger brother create chaos in their bedroom to ward off the rainy day blues. In the process they bring new meaning to the phrase "the little monkeys".[4]
5. Hedgehog Hunt (24 October 1991) The boy, his older sister and his younger brother set out on a mock safari - for Hedgehog, while their parents try to pack the car. Little do the kids know that Spider has second-guessed their efforts to track down the elusive prickly animal. Every tactic of the hunt is foiled until they are sent packing.[5]
6. Spider's Song (31 October 1991) The boy builds a house of cards which collapses. Only when he notices Spider's persistence does he realize that "try try again" will get him to his ultimate goal. The boy tops out the completed house of cards with his newly won friend, Spider![6]
7. Little Miss M (7 November 1991) Little Miss "M" is a fat self-indulgent girl who thinks nothing of scoffing a picnic by herself. However, this time she meets more than her match when Spider decides to spike her greedy pastime, and see her off the premises.[7]
8. Frog Change (14 November 1991) Spider is a witness to a romantic episode about a lady and a frog. Her sadness turns to joy when the frog turns into a handsome man. Unfortunately for Spider, his own affections for the lady are rebuffed rudely.[8]
9. Hamster Chase (28 November 1991) The boy accidentally opens his hamster's cage and lets him out. The unfortunate creature finds he's sharing a dangerous world with the household cat who looks on him as an excellent supplement to dinner. Luckily, Spider sees the hamster's plight and helps him to escape the kitten's claw and return to the cage.[9]
10. Panda Comes to Stay (5 December 1991) The boy, who is settling down for the night, cannot believe his eyes when he sees a giant stuffed panda in his bedroom. Wonder turns to astonishment as the panda jumps into life and does a song and dance act. Spider joins the panda in creating fantastical entertainment for the boy.[10]
11. Classroom Distractions (12 December 1991) The boy's first day back at school is a gloomy one and full of distractions. But with the help of his best friend, Spider, he overcomes the blues to emerge triumphant in front of his classmates.[11]
12. C-Rocker (19 December 1991) The boy, his older sister and his younger brother decide to have a concert party. They dress up their favourite animals and give them musical instruments. Their fantasy comes to life as the crocodile becomes a rock singer backed by Hedgehog on the lead guitar, Frog on the saxophone, Panda on piano, Hamsters as backing singers and of course Spider on the drums.[12]
13. True Friend (30 December 1991) The boy and Spider have been through so much together, and we see a lyrical sequence telling us about their deep friendship for each other, which is not without its problems.[13]

Reception

On its original airing, Spider! was generally well received by both T.V. critics and viewers. Most praise was directed towards the combined plot and humour elements, the varied styles of the musical numbers and the simple animation. Some critics and adults have also commented on how the show appeals to both younger and older audiences. For these reasons, in the past few years, the series was repeated on U.K. children's T.V. channels like CBeebies and Nick Junior before being taken off the air. And was known as Damhan Allaidh in Scots Gaelic and was shown on BBC Two Scotland in the morning. Spider! has now attracted a cult following of an older audience on old children's videos and DVDs. Various episodes have also been uploaded to video networking sites like YouTube and Veoh.

There was also a popup book based on the first episode, which was written by Ron van der Meer and illustrated by the director, Graham Ralph.

On 12 May 2005, Silver Fox Films announced it is developing "Spider's Silly Show". The format will be extended from 5 minutes to 11 minutes and 52 episodes are being planned for the new series. It will be hosted by Andrew Sachs. However this series never seemed to be made.