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Teletubbies

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Teletubbies
Teletubbies
Created byAnne Wood
Andrew Davenport
Developed byRagdoll Productions
StarringTinky Winky
Dipsy
Laa-Laa
Po
Narrated byTim Whitnall, Toyah Wilcox, Eric Sykes
Country of originUK
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes367
Production
Executive producersDavid Hiller
Vic Finch
Running time25 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC/PBS
ReleaseMarch 31, 1997 –
January 5, 2001

Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series, particularly aimed at babies and preschool children, 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 was a rapid critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad, particularly notable for its high production values; it won a BAFTA in 1998.

Although the show is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, the show was a substantial cult hit with older generations, particularly university students. "Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!", a single based around the show's theme song, reached #1 on 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 tubby characters: Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, who live within a futuristic dome (the "Tubbytronic Superdome"), set in a landscape of rolling grassland. 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 costumes vaguely resemble large spacesuits, although the Tubbies appear not to wear clothes. They are instead furry, and 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 (a similar complaint was made forty years previously about another children's series, Flower Pot Men).[citation needed] Tubbies 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 Tubby's name]; "Uh-oh", a common toddler response to anything untoward; "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 they get. Perhaps the most common exclamation, however, 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 ("Teletubbies love each other very much", confirms the narrator).

The surreal environment is an evocation of a toddler's perception of the world, 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. To adults the laughter does not seem to be in response to any stimulus or humorous developments in the plot line of the episode.

The Teletubbies' diet seems to consist exclusively of Tubby Custard (which is sucked through a spiral straw bowl) and Tubby Toast (circular toast with a smiley face on it). One of their companions is the Noo-Noo, a sentient, self-propelled vacuum cleaner.

In 2001 production was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced. It is often alleged that this was due to substantial pay rise demands by the previously anonymous actors portraying the Teletubbies. However, since the four years of production had exceeded the target audience's age span, it was deemed that continuation was unnecessary, and the existing 365 episodes will be played in re-runs for years to come.

Some comparisons have been drawn between the Teletubbies and 'Harry Enfield's Television Programme' comedy sketch; 'English For Aliens' (series 2 episode 8 (first broadcast 9/4/1992)featuring three aliens with ariels protruding from their heads speaking in a childlike manner which pre-dated the Teletubbies by five years.

In real life the Teletubbies' landscape was 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.[1][2] It was reported that by 2002 the set had become overgrown, and pending the 2003 lease expiry it was expected to become farmland again.

Character summary

Tinky Winky

(Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, Simon Shelton): Tinky-Winky is the largest of the Teletubbies, is covered in purple terrycloth, has a triangular antenna on his head, and is notable for the red luggage (described by the show as a "magic bag", but often described by other media as a purse or handbag) it carries.

Dipsy

(John Simmit): Male and green with a straight dipstick on his head. Favourite thing: black and white hat (used for role-playing). Dipsy is the most contrary of the characters, and will sometimes refuse to go along with the other Tubbies' group opinion. One example is the episode where Laa-Laa played the guitar. Both Tinky Winky and Po ran away, but Dipsy thought her playing was lovely.

Laa-Laa

(Nikky Smedley): Female, yellow, curly antenna. Favourite thing: orange ball. Very concerned with the welfare of all. Thinks she's the best singer. "Drama queen", party-girl and mother type.

Po

(Pui Fan Lee): Though Po's gender IS unknown by the general population, most speculation points to Po being a female. This would promote the balance of two males and two females. Po is the smallest of the Teletubbies, and often the one who gets into innocent trouble, e.g. Running over the others to make tubbie mince. Favourite thing: Running over the others. Bilingual: Speaks the broadcasting country's language and Cantonese. Of all the Teletubbies, Po usually becomes most involved with the audience.

Tinky-Winky controversy

One of the Teletubbies, Tinky Winky, was the focus of a still hinted-at controversy in 1999 due to his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's purse (although he was first "outed" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to The Face).

A February, 1999 article in the National Liberty Journal, published by Jerry Falwell, warned parents that Tinky could be a hidden homosexual symbol, saying "he is purple—the gay pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle—the gay pride symbol."

A spokesman for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., who licenses the characters in the United States, said it was just a magic bag. "The fact that he carries a magic bag doesn't make him gay. It's a children's show, folks. To think we would be putting sexual innuendo in a children's show is kind of outlandish."

In an incident reported in 2000, a girl's Tinky Winky toy reportedly said "I got a gun". Kenn Viselman, then chairman of the Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., claimed the toy actually said "Again, Again." [3]

Spoofs and references

File:BSpearsRstone99.jpg
Britney Spears with a Tinky Winky doll on the cover of Rolling Stone

At the height of the show's popularity it was heavily parodied. Several episodes of The Simpsons contain references to the Teletubbies. Notable episodes include "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" where Milhouse not only watches the show but owns a pair of Teletubbies underpants; "Missionary: Impossible" in which the Teletubbies appear as part of an angry mob who work for PBS; "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" where a character called Gaa Gaa says "hurt everyone" which goes unnoticed because of the character's "cute name"; in "Lisa the Treehugger" the titles couch gag has the Simpsons dressed in Teletubbies costumes; in "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" the Teletubbies make a live appearance in a parody of a Raffi concert, where the Teletubbies serve themselves Tubby custard and the predominantly toddler audience becomes excited at this seemingly simple act; and in "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" where Homer tries to entertain Maggie by dressing up as a Teletubby and tying the TV to his stomach, but getting shocked after turning it on; in "Blame it on Lisa" Bart watches a Brazilian children's learning show called "Teleboobies" which has a different premise but the title is an obvious pun.

In the British sitcom The Vicar of Dibley, Alice Tinker has her bridesmaids dressed in Teletubby costumes for her wedding in the episode "Love And Marriage".

In the Family Guy episode "A Hero Sits Next Door", Stewie is momentarily hypnotised by the Teletubbies. In "Road To Europe", Stewie attempts to run away to join a London-based Teletubbies-style TV show, but he and Brian end up on a plane for Saudi Arabia. They later find out that behind-the-scenes, the apparently lovely cast turn out to be unruly Victorian Cockneys.

In the South Park episode "Ike's Wee Wee", elementary school teacher Mr. Garrison is watching Teletubbies while high on marijuana.

In King of the Hill, in an episode called "Daletech," a tv show resembling teletubbies is seen, with the 4 teletubbies hugging and giggling.

The Australian sketch show, Full Frontal, included many sketches of the fictional Teletubbies named Lager Lager, Pisspo, Drinky Winky, and Tipsy. These four Teletubby look-alikes emblazoned with Australian beer labels would wander around aimlessly committing crimes. New Zealand show Mai Time had a sketch entitled Smellie Grubbies, the characters names being Stinky Winky, Dipstick, Mars Bar and Poo.

At the drag strip Santa Pod in the UK, one of the track cleaning machines is painted, lettered and referred to (over the public address system) as Noo-noo, offering a little light relief for spectators when there is debris or oil on the track.

On one episode of The Fairly OddParents, Timmy Turner's imaginary friend, Gary, stacks him with the stuff Timmy liked when he was five years old, including Teletubby toys.

On an episode of Grounded for Life, Claudia thought that Jimmy was high on drugs because he was laughing while watching Teletubies. Eddie then asked Jimmy why he was laughing. Jimmy responded "Oh. Po tripped over Laa-laa and fell in the flower bed." Eddie then explained it to Claudia.

In an episode of Arthur, Buster claims Muffy as "the fifth Teletubby" in "The Contest", the first segment of "The Contest/Prove It". There also seems to be at least three Teletubbies equivalents in the series, known as "Love Ducks", "Vidiboobies", and "Silly Squirrels".

In an episode of the British cartoon sketch show 2DTV, "The Talibannies" are featured, one of them being "Bin-LaLa", referencing The Taliban and its leader Bin Laden.

In the webstrip Sluggy Freelance, dated 03/09/99, 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! (...) nevermind." Torg goes on reading "The abusive side of Drinky Winky is demonstrated by...", to wich Riff argues "Tipsy and Hoe had it coming!"

On the website www.fugly.com, on videos, search for teletubbies and a video will come out with the teletubbies dancing.

Alternative names

Teletubbies has been reversioned for many different countries, sometimes involving a change of title.

See also

References

  1. ^ Live Local map/photo
  2. ^ Google map/photo
  3. ^ Dotinga, Randy (April 12, 2000). "Lawsuit to Target Teletubbies for Gun Talk". APBNews.
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