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Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention

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Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention
GenreScience Animation
Created byNick Park
Written byAlex Pascall
Richard Hansome
Directed byMerlin Crossingham
Voices ofPeter Sallis
Ashley Jensen
John Sparkes
Theme music composerJulian Nott
Opening themeBunker Sonix
ComposerBunker Sonix
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersNick Park
Peter Lord
CinematographyDavid Alex Riddett
Running time30 Minutes
Production companyAardman Animation for BBC
Original release
NetworkBBC One
ReleaseNovember 3 –
8 December 2010 (2010-12-08)

Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention is a BBC One science show featuring the animated claymation characters Wallace and Gromit, made by Aardman. The BBC said in a press statement that in the series, "Wallace will take a light hearted and humorous look at the real-life inventors, contraptions, gadgets and inventions, with the silent help of Gromit. The series aims to inspire a whole new generation of innovative minds by showing them real, but mind-boggling, machines and inventions from around the world that have influenced his illustrious inventing career."[1]

Peter Sallis reprised his role as the voice of Wallace. The filmed inserts are mostly narrated by Ashley Jensen, with one in each episode presented in-vision by Jem Stansfield (Wallace's science correspondent who looks at ideas that "never got off the drawing board"). John Sparkes also voices a portion in the unseen character of archivist Goronwy.

Production

The series was commissioned by Jay Hunt, controller of BBC One, and Jo Ball. Alison Kirkham is the series executive producer for the BBC and Miles Bullough is the executive producer for Aardman.[1][2] The series is directed by Merlin Crossingham.

Original run

The series premiered on BBC One and BBC One HD on 3 November 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the United Kingdom and ended on 8 December 2010. It featured six episodes, each one 30 minutes in length. BBC One Scotland dropped episodes five and six in favour of news specials but were broadcast on 17 and 19 December 2010[3]

Special segments

Inventor of the Week
  • Wallace looks at certain particular inventors each week like Trevor Baylis.
It Never Got Off The Drawing Board
  • Jem Stansfield looks at invention ideas or prototype inventions that "never got off the drawing board", such as a fridge made by Einstein.
Curiosity Corner
  • Wallace looks at some particularly unusual inventions from the most unlikely sources, such as how termites inspired air conditioning.
Contraption Countdown
  • Goronwy, an unseen Welsh-accented archive librarian looks at a countdown of inventions regarding an episode's subject matter (sometimes those that weren't sensible)

DVD release

On 13 December 2010, all six episodes of the series were released on DVD. The DVD also includes instructions to build your own inventions.

Episodes

# Title Director Original air date
1"Nature Knows Best"Merlin Crossingham3 November 2010 (2010-11-03)
Wallace and Gromit explore the wonders of the natural world, and look at inventions inspired by Mother Nature. They visit some incredible flying penguins and other elegant Manta Ray-inspired robots at Festo in Germany and visit Namibia, where scientists are studying the intricate structures of termite mounds to create self-cooling houses of the future. In Holland, they meet the brilliant sculptor Theo Jansen as he demonstrates his latest amazing contraption, the Animaris Siamesis. But Wallace's invention, the Jumbo-Generator -which was used to power the studio- is wrecked (due to its power source, an elephant named Kevin, going after Wallace's iced buns).
Segments
1. Marine biology into technology
2. Insect-powered machines
3. Inventor of the Week: Theo Jansen
4. Curiosity Corner: Termites
5. Contraption Countdown: Top 5 animal-inspired contraptions
6. It Never Got Off The Drawing Board: Artificial gills.
2"Reach for the Sky"Merlin Crossingham10 November 2010 (2010-11-10)
Wallace and Gromit explore the mysteries behind man's fascination with flight, from homemade space rockets in Manchester to jetpacks in the UK. There is also a look at some planes that unfortunately do not fly in another Contraption Countdown. On location in the USA, the team explore the most advanced flexible spacesuits being developed by NASA, which are designed to allow wearers to perform cartwheels on Mars, and in Germany they look at the life of Gustav Mesmer. During the episode Wallace accidentally locks Gromit in the rocket from A Grand Day Out and he didn't look at the Auto-lock Sign, Wallace had made the rocket shoot off with Gromit inside who phones him to get his attention but Wallace's cup had rested on another button which reads "Self Destruct" and Wallace is shocked to find his rocket was missing ("Hey! What have you done with me rocket?").
Segments
1. Steve Bennett's home-made rockets
2. Bio-Suit
3. It Never Got Off The Drawing Board: Magnus Effect wind turbines
4. Contraption Countdown: Top 6 flying failures
5. Curiosity Corner: Gustav Mesmer
6. Jet-pack flying
3"Home Sweet Home"Merlin Crossingham17 November 2010 (2010-11-17)
Wallace and Gromit look at ingenious inventions for the home. From 1940s household robots and strange humanoid butlers to cutting-edge labour saving devices, we travel around the world to explore the social history of domestic life through inventions. We visit the home of iconic inventor Trevor Baylis - the man who revolutionised the radio - and visit 'George', one of the first walking humanoid robots ever built, as he is brought to life for the first time in sixty years by his creator, Tony Sale. During this episode Wallace had invented a L.A.D. (Labour Assisting Device) bot (which bears some resemblance to the Cooker from A Grand Day Out) replacing Gromit, who becomes jealous of it. At the end, when Wallace (inspired by footage of the Beer Launching Fridge) reprograms the L.A.D. to throw tea to him, Gromit pours some himself inside the bot when Wallace was not looking. Then the L.A.D. was out of control and starts to throw things at Wallace and Gromit refuses to help. No "Curiosity Corner" segment here, though Gromit was seen relaxing in it at the end of the episode.
Segments
1. Housekeeping robots and George
2. William Kamkwamba's windmill
3. History of the Teasmade
4. It Never Got Off The Drawing Board: Einstein fridge
5. Inventor of the Week: Trevor Baylis
6. Contraption Countdown: Top 5 most useful household gadgets
4"Come to Your Senses"Unknown24 November 2010 (2010-11-24)
Wallace and Gromit experience the world through the five senses, exploring the fact and fiction behind invisibility cloaks, bomb-detecting bees and the top sensory inventions. In London, scientists are creating prototype invisibility cloaks using metamaterials to bend light around objects, and we discover the science behind new technology allowing the blind to 'see' through taste using hi-tech sunglasses. In Kentucky, USA we visit the small town where a local farmer invented wireless telephones over 100 years ago. Or did he? Finally in Tasmania, we meet our Inventor of the Week who, after being told it was impossible, invented and made his own unique prosthetic arm.
Segments
1. Sight - Invisibility cloak
2. Contraption Countdown: Top 5 sense-inspired inventions
3. Sound - It Never Got Off the Drawing Board: Stubblefield mobile telephone system
4. Touch - Inventor of the Week: Mark Lesek
5. Smell - Curiosity Corner: Bee bomb detection
6. Taste - Experimental glasses allowing the blind to see by taste.
5"Better Safe Than Sorry"Unknown1 December 2010 (2010-12-01)
Wallace and Gromit have always taken their safety into their own hands, and in this episode of the science series they consider other inventors with the same philosophy. They tell the tale of 1940s Hollywood starlet Hedy Lamarr, who had a side-line in inventing, and who devised a radio-controlled 'secret-communication' system for steering torpedoes to help allied forces in the war. They also look at the most futuristic surveillance drones and the history of spy technology. Gromit really goes through the wars in this episode (he keeps suffering from accidents instigated by Wallace throughout apart from curiosity corner).
Segments
1. History of ejector seats
2. Pigeon spy cameras
3. It Never Got Off The Drawing Board: Hedy Lamarr's frequency-hopping torpedo system
4. Curiosity Corner: Arthur Pedrick
5. EMU Spacesuit
6. Contraption Countdown: Top 6 health-and-safety nightmares
6"From A to B"Unknown8 December 2010 (2010-12-08)
Wallace and Gromit explore incredible transportation inventions from around the globe. In the 'Contraption Countdown' the focus is on peculiar transport devices, and the duo find out how to cross the River Thames in a plastic bag. They discover the intention behind laser propulsion in the creation of flying saucer technology, and meet Cedric Lynch, an illustrious engineer who invented electric tricycles. Wallace also invents a runabout steam chair to get around, but it overheats in the end and falls apart. Wallace though doesn't let it go to waste and repurposes it as a dual water boiler and oven.
Segments
1. Mikhail Puchkov's mini-sub (Note: Mikhail Puchkov is the only guest who doesn't speak English so a translator had to talk for him)
2. Electric motors and Cedric Lynch
3. Contraption Countdown: Top 6 most peculiar forms of transport
4. Curiosity Corner: Flying saucer and Lightcrafts
5. Inventor of the Week: Sir Clive Sinclair
6. It Never Got Off The Drawing Board: Brunel's atmospheric railway.

References

  1. ^ a b Rushton, Katherine (29 August 2009). "Wallace and Gromit to front science show". Broadcast. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  2. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (29 August 2009). "Wallace and Gromit to present BBC1 science and inventions show". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  3. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trcc9/broadcasts/2010/12
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