Boo! (TV series)

"Boo!" is a children's television series shown in the United Kingdom on the CBeebies channel, and occasionally on BBC One or BBC Two. It features several cartoon characters who play something similar to hide and seek in a variety of different settings. The commentary is by an adult narrator and a chorus of children. The series was produced by the independent programme maker Tell-Tale Productions, which was also responsible for "Tweenies".

The show was created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, who as well as the "Tweenies" have also created and produced "Fun Song Factory", "BB3B!", and "Jim Jam and Sunny". Brenton also designed the characters.

The series was directed by Mark Taylor and produced by Teresa Reed. Animation was handled by the Bristol based studio A Productions.

The voices of Growling Tiger and Sleeping Bear were provided by Justin Fletcher and the voice of Laughing Duck was supplied by Kate Harbour. The children's voices were a supplied by a group of junior school children including Daniel Hardoon, Franklin Taylor Moore (son of Mark Taylor), Corey Lewis and Laura Reed. The male narrator is ex Freak Power singer Ashley Slater and the female narrator is Sharon D. Clarke.

The original design was created by Rebecca Elgar, a children's author and illustrator.

The series ran to 104 episodes and one Christmas special and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2002-03.

At the end of the programme a song is sung, usually about matching characters or objects to their shapes or colours.

The visual style of "Boo!" is very distinctive, using 3D CGI with rounded shapes and cel-shading. The music and songs are generally in an early-70s funk/R&B idiom, similar to some of "Sesame Street"'s music.

Characters Voices

*Justin Fletcher
*Kate Harbour

Narrator/Singers

Sharon D. ClarkeAshley SlaterSharon White

Children

* Billie-Jo Boyd
* Raef Commissar
* Sophie Eaton
* Daniel Hardoon
* William Howe
* Tiana Johnson
* Nina Kissaun
* Corey Lewis
* Lawrence Michelowski
* Peter Mooney
* Shanice Noble
* Jack O' Connor
* Michelle Osborne
* Laura Reed
* Sarah Slimani
* Shannon Stroud
* Jessica Suffield
* Melissa Suffield
* Franklin Taylor Moore
* Alexandra Thomas-Davies
* Charles Thomas-Davies
* Jonathan Thomas-Davies
* Matthew Thomas-Davies
* Luke Thornton
* Ella Williamson

Characters

* Boo - a pear-shaped patchwork creature with an orange (colour) star-shaped topknot. The main object of the program is to find Boo in his various hiding places. Half-way through each episode, Boo magically adopts attributes of his surroundings (e.g. becomes "Penguin Boo" in the Antarctic).

* Laughing Duck - a yellow soft-toy duck, who laughs when "found".

* Sleeping Bear - a brown teddy bear who is usually asleep, yawning or stretching when "found". The catchphrase associated with Sleeping Bear is "Shhh... tippy-toe, tippy-toe".

* Growling Tiger - a friendly soft-toy tiger with fluffy white ears. Says "Roar!" ("not" "Growl!") when found. His associated catchphrase is "Run away! Run away!"

Other characters, both human and animal vary from one episode to another, but all are depicted in a style reminiscent of Playmobil toys.

Episode Guide

Episode 1
*Pond
*Art Gallery
Episode 2
*Desert
*Harbour
Episode 3
*Bedroom
*Pre-historic Land
Episode 4
*Rockpool
*Supermarket
Episode 5
*Theatre
*African River
Episode 6
*Cave
*Coral Reef
Episode 7
*Train Station
*Canadian River
Episode 8
*Indian Jungle
*Café
Episode 9
*Deep Blue Sea
*Castle
Episode 10
*African Waterhole
*Kitchen
Episode 11
*Arctic
*Fun Fair
Episode 12
*Space
*Garden
Episode 13
*Hospital
*Woods at Night
Episode 14
*Library
*Mountain
Episode 15
*Australian Bush
*Swimming Pool
Episode 16
*Forest Floor
*Circus
Episode 17
*Swamp
*Funhouse
Episode 18
*Playgroup
*Antarctic
Episode 19
*Ski Resort
*Jungle
Episode 20
*Farm
*Bathroom
Episode 21
*Park
*Zoo
Episode 22
*Enqlish Riverbank
*American Ranch
Episode 23
*Bamboo Forest
*American Prairie
Episode 24
*Junior Gym
*Meadow
Episode 25
*Tropical Island
*City at Night
Episode 26
*Pirate Ship
*City Farm

Worldwide

"Boo!" can be seen in the United States on qubo's digital channel and Australia's ABC. "Boo!" is also available in Canada on the French educational public broadcaster TFO. See official site for more information: [http://www.tfo.org]

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/characterpages/boo/ CBeebies - "Boo!"] at bbc.co.uk
* "Variety" story from MIPCOM 2002: [http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=mipcom2002&content=story&nav=news&head=news&articleID=VR1117874081 BBC goes 'Boo!']
* Biographical information for Karl Woolley, sometime Managing Director of Tell-Tale Productions: [http://www.liontv.co.uk/_london/about/karl_woolley.html]
* Link to A Productions [http://www.aproductions.co.uk]
* [http://qubo.com/channel/boo-episode.asp Qubo: Boo! Episode Guide]