Truckers (1992 TV series)
Truckers | |
---|---|
Starring | Joe McGann Debra Gillett Rosalie Williams Debra Gillett John Jardine |
Country of origin | ![]() |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 min. |
Original release | |
Network | ITV Network (CITV) |
Release | 10 January – 3 April 1992 |
Truckers is a stop motion animated series, an adaptation the first book of Terry Pratchett's The Bromeliad trilogy, produced in the United Kingdom by Cosgrove Hall for TV, then released on VHS, though edited together into a feature-length film. Cosgrove Hall had plans to produce follow-ups for the remaining two books in the series, but these plans were shelved due to a change of management in the early 1990s. The series consisted of 13 ten-minute episodes. The start of each episode would review the story up until then. At the end of each episode, there would be a cliffhanger, and the program would be continued the following week.
Plot
The first episode begins with five nomes that are on the living outside. They are starving, as they are unable to find any food. A new highway has eaten away the countryside where they live. After one of them, Mr Merts is eaten by a fox the remaining four decide to try and move. Maskin is the leader, there are two older nomes Gran and Torrit (who is supposed to be the leader because he is oldest) and a young girl, Grimma is also with them. They get onto an Arnold Bros. Lorry, which takes them into a department store. In the store, they find other nomes. One of the nomes Angelo shows them around the store. The nomes inside the store believe that the store is all there is and that there is no outside. One of the older nomes was carrying a black box that no one knew what it did. When the box, (the thing) is near electricity it tells the nomes that they are from another planet and that they must try to return home.
The nomes inside the store have begun to notice a number of storage events. Maskin leads a group of nomes up to the manager’s office, where they discover an internal memo that states the store will be demolished in three weeks. Maskin tries to convince the nomes that they will need to move but many still refuse to believe in the outside. Angelo stows aboard a lorry. When the lorry returns he is not on board. Eventually he returns on another lorry. He tells everyone that there is an outside and that the store is closing down. After hearing his story the nomes now believe the store is closing down. The nomes begin to devise a plan to escape from the store. They plan to steal a lorry and get everyone on board with enough food and supplies. The problem is the nomes are only four inches tall. An inventor named Dorcas comes up with a complex system of pulleys and leavers so that the nomes can operate the lorry. The nomes are all ready to go. They begin a practice test of Dorcas's system. They go backwards instead of forwards. When they reverse, they knock over a can of petrol. A security comes over to investigate. He sees the nomes in the lorry. He is surprised and drops a cigarette in his hand. The nomes escape the building moments before the petrol ignites. Just outside the building the lorry stops. The nomes see the store is on fire. They head to an airport where they plan to steal a plane to try to get one step closer to going home. They note that since aeroplanes have fewer wheels than trucks they must be easier to drive. The series finishes here.
Episodes
Episode 1
A police car is chasing a lorry that is driving erratically. The police pull over the lorry. One of the officers gets out to talk to the driver. When he gets to the cab, he discovers the lorry is empty. He returns to his car, the lorry drives off. Now the police car won't start. The Thing announces this is not the end of the story or the start. The story begins with Maskin, a 4-inch-high (100 mm) gnome, hunting for food. He has an argument with the others about the lack of food and the fact they have no fire for heat. Masklin decides that a lorry might take them to a better place. A fox attacks Grimma and Mr Merts is taken away in the fox’s mouth. The fox runs into a highway and is killed. Masklin decides they have to move. They climb on board a lorry. Torrit, discovers that he has lost The Thing. He makes Masklin climb down to get it. The driver returns and the lorry takes off. Masklin is left hanging on the rope. To be continued...
Episode 2
Masklin manages to climb on board. The lorry takes them to a department store loading zone. They look around and discover Angelo. Angelo tells them they are in Arnold Bros., a department store where there are hundreds of gnomes. Angelo believes they are from the outside but many gnomes do. They are brought before Angelo's father the Duke De Haberdasheri. He does not believe their story and becomes angry with them. They walk past an electricity cable, The Thing begins to talk and light up. To be continued...
Episode 3
The thing tells them that they are from another planet, they arrived on earth 15,000 years ago. The Thing tells them they must return home to their planet. They meet Dorcas, an inventor who shows them his inventions. The Thing intercepts a radio transmission saying the store will be demolished in three weeks. To be continued...
Episode 4
Dorcas tells them that no one will believe what The Thing says. He takes them to the Abbott. On the way, they are met by bandits who want to rob them. They refuse to give them what they have and they fight them, the bandits run off. They meet with the Abbott who does not believe them. Gurder, the Abbots assistant tells the gnomes that strange things are happening, items are not being replaced and the Abbott is worried he just won't admit it. Gurder takes them back to see the Abbot, he asks to talk to Masklin and The Thing alone. To be continued...
Episode 5
When the Abbott is alone with Masklin, he says that he has a number of concerns about the future of the store. The Abbott says that he must pretend that everything is okay to keep the peace. The Thing tells the Abbott that the gnomes crash landed on earth 15,000 years ago, from a spaceship.
Episode 6
Gurder takes Masklin and Grimma to an escalator. Masklin and Gurder begin to argue when Grimmer goes up the escalator. They arrive at the general managers office. Masklin begins searching the desk, they discover a memo to the staff saying that the store will be demolished. They are disturbed by a security guard (Prices Slashed), they manage to get past him undetected. They return to find that the Abbot is near death. The Abbot says he has been talking to the thing, he tells them to return to their home. The Abbot dies. To be continued...
Episode 7
The episode begins with Gurder presiding over the Abbott’s funeral. The abbot Chose Gurder to replace him as the Abbott, however he does not want the job. Masklin has a plan to save the gnomes, he plans to steal a lorry. Gurder is stricken by fear with this plan. To be continued...
Episode 8
Masklin tells his plan to an umber of officials from other departments. The Duke thinks his plan is foolishness. Masklin gets all the departments to work together, many of the gnomes begin to read. Angelo gets on board a lorry to learn more about how they work.
To be continued...
Episode 9
Angelo climbs on board a lorry, which drives off. Vinto reads about a hostage situation and suggests they could take a human hostage, however Masklin does not think the plan will work. The lorry returns but Angelo is not on board. Masklin climbs down to the lorry and finds Angelo’s jacket. To be continued...
Episode 10
The duke is distressed at the loss of his son. The Duke still does not believe in an outside, but he agrees to help Masklin take the gnomes outside, as there is a small chance of finding Angelo. Vinto finds a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He convince the other gnomes to search the store for a bottle of "Drink Me" to make the gnomes grow bigger. The gnomes begin an extensive search of the store but they find nothing. Angelo returns, he says he saw the store from the outside. The store has a number of closing down signs in the windows. To be continued...
Episode 11
Angelo says he got out of the lorry, but before he could get back on it drove off. He had to live outside until another come by, he learned how to drive a lorry. He tells Masklin that the gears are many times bigger than a gnome. Masklin realizes that it will be impossible for the gnomes to drive it. Vinto brings a book of Gulliver's Travels to Masklin, he sees the ropes the Yahoo used to hold down Gulliver. Masklin believes they can use ropes to make the lorry go. Vinto discovers the demolition has already started. To be continued...
Episode 12
The Thing advises them to get out of the store as soon as possible. The human begin to load the store fittings onto a lorry. Dorcas tells Masklin that he has disabled the door so the lorry can't leave. The Thing tells Masklin there is an airport to the north and they should head to it. The Thing goes silent and leaves Masklin on his own. Masklin becomes overwhelmed by his task, but Grimma encourages him to lead the gnomes out of the store. The gnomes get into a lorry and begin to practice using the system Dorcas designed to drive the lorry. They start the lorry and begin to move, unfortunately they move backwards not forwards. They crash into a petrol drum, which tips over and spills. Prices Slashed comes over to investigate, he is smoking a cigarette. Angelo tells the gnomes that if there is a single spark the fuel will explode. To be concluded...
Episode 13
Prices Slashed sees the gnomes in the lorry, he is startled and drops his cigarette into the petrol. Dorcas forgot to fix the door so the lorry crashes through it moments before the petrol ignites. They stop a shot way down the street. They look back and see the store is on fire. They drive off, they have a number of driver incidents. After a short time, a police car chases them. The police pull over the lorry. One of the officers gets out to talk to the driver. When he gets to the cab, he discovers the lorry is empty. Meanwhile Masklin and Dorcas cut the wires of the police car. The policeman returns to his car, the lorry drives off. Now the police car won't start. This is the scene that featured at the start of episode one.
The lorry comes to a stop in a quarry near an airport. Masklin tells the others that they must move on at some point and try to go home. They see the concorde fly over Dorcas thinks it would be easier to drive than a lorry because it only has three wheels. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Paul Simpson.
Cast
- Masklin — Joe McGann
- Grimma — Debra Gillett
- Granny Morkie — Rosalie Williams
- Torrit — John Jardine
- The Thing — Edward Kelsey
- Angelo De Haberdasheri — Nigel Carrington
- Duke De Haberdasheri - David Scase
- Dorcas — Brian Trueman
- The Abbot — Sir Michael Hordern
- Gurder — Brian Southwood
- Vinto Pimmie — Jimmy Hibbert
Crew
- Directed by Jackie Cockle, Francis Vose, Chris Taylor (each episode had one director)
- Produced by Jackie Cockle
- Executive producer; John Hamberly
- Adapted by Brian Trueman
- Edited by Zyggy Markiewicz
- Animators; Paul Berry, Andrea Lord, Loyd Price, Sue Pugh.
- Music; Colin Towns
- Costume design; Helen Plaumer
Novelization
The series was made into a short hardcover book published by Ladybird Press in 1992. The book included colour photos from the series.