Me Too! (UK TV series)

Me Too!
Genre	Children's
Starring	Jane McCarry Rosemary Amoani Chris McCausland Donald Cameron Matthew McVarish Elaine McKenzie Ellis Samantha Seager Ross Allan Joyce Galugbo Michelle Rodley
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	26 series 1. 26 series 2.
Production
Location(s)	Glasgow Edinburgh Newcastle upon Tyne Manchester
Running time	28 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Original run	2006 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Balamory
External links
Website

Me Too! is a live-action television series on BBC Two and CBeebies for preschool children based around the large (fictional) community of Riverseafingal in Scotland. In reality the programme is filmed in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne, with some exterior shots of Manchester Metrolink trams also being used.

Me Too! is produced by Glasgow-based production company Tattiemoon.

The Series

The series follows six parents and their children including Lisa, Jack, Rebecca, Kai and a dog called Sampson who are apart during the day as the children go to Granny Murray's and the parents go to work. At various points in the programme the parent will think of their child and a 'think puff' will travel across the city to Granny Murray's. The programme then alternates between what the parents are doing at work and what the children are doing with Granny Murray. One of the aims behind the series is to reassure children of working parents who go to childminders that their parents are always thinking of them. In addition, children get a view into an adult's working day (simplified and more entertaining than a real work day for children's benefit). Each day's plot hinges on a problem that develops at work and the main character's "race against time" to sort it out. Granny Murray has always provided a kernel of wisdom during the programme's opening that helps in solving the problem. The programme features much usage of clocks and time, and hence also aims to teach young children to tell the time.

Return

The show returned to CBeebies in December 2006. However some viewers were annoyed to find that the original songs had been "re-composed", but with the original lyrics remaining in place. The reason for this is still unclear. Fans on the BBC Parenting message board have observed that there were previous complaints about the original songs being too fast, unmemorable and difficult for children to learn. The question of copyright issues was also raised as a possibility, unverified. A Tattiemoon representative states only that the staff of the programme have been "working on the new songs for a long time." (Tattiemoon email letter sent to multiple enquirers.)

Main characters

Adults

Children

Animals

Episodes

• 1) "I Want to Dance" No-one wants to buy Raymond's chocolate mousses in the buffet car. He finally has a buyer, but there are disastrous consequences.
• 2) "Fireworks" Granny Murray and the children are going to see the firework display at the castle, and Bobby is worried that Kai might get scared.
• 3) "Tummy Rumbles" Mickey John is so busy making a model pirate ship out of shapes that he forgets to eat his lunch.
• 4) "I Want to See the Parade" Feeling glum about missing the carnival parade, Dr J creates her own carnival atmosphere in the hospital.
• 5) "The Waterfall" Rudi works his stall in the rain but his friends cheer up the grey day for him.
• 6) "The Puncture" The children are having an energetic day at Granny Murray's. The old swing in the garden has been thrown out but Tina's sure there's one in the taxi garage that she can pass on as a replacement.
• 7) "Bumps in the Night" It's a really stormy windy night in Riverseafingal and Bobby is feeling more and more jittery. Her broom breaking is the final straw.
• 8) "Cheese and Tomato Toasties" Raymond has a big run on his tasty cheese toasties and runs out of bread. He goes to the best bakery in Drumtown to stock up.
• 9) "Paper Mountain" The children and Granny Murray are having fun with paper, and Mickey John starts recycling in the classroom.
• 10) "Baby" The children are learning about the past. Mickey John compares Raymond's fast new train to old steam engines of days gone by.
• 11) "Road Works" There are roadworks everywhere in Riverseafingal. When they move next to Rudi's stall in the market, he recruits some helpers to sell fruit and veg from trays away from the roadworks.
• 12) "Everything Has Its Place" Micky John muddles up all the fruit on Rudi's market stall just so it will look nice for his film.
• 13) "The Planetarium" MJ is taking GM's children to look at the stars with his telescope.
• 14) "Story Bus" Bobby makes a special picture book for Kai from old bus adverts.
• 15) "Rubbish" Rudi's Fruit Cups are a big success with the customers - but everyone is leaving the cups on the ground when they're finished.
• 16) "Parking" Today, Tina is going to do her shopping before collecting Lisa from Granny Murray's.
• 17) "Lolly Sticks" Granny Murray takes the children to the fair. Mickey John uses the fairground to teach the children about shapes, colours and numbers.
• 18) "The School Trip" Raymond has to sort out the packed lunches when Micky John takes the chldren on a school trip.
• 19) "The Disco Taxi" Its Lisa's birthday and Granny Murray's throwing a party for her.
• 20) "Midnight Dancing" Tina and Raymond are dancing while the Ferry Boat Band play on TV.
• 21) "The Lost Mouse" Tina and Raymond are going to get Lisa a pet, but they can't decide what.
• 22) "Silly Day" Everyone is raisng money for the hospital, but Rudi is getting annoyed with all the silliness.
• 23) "Seaside Run" It's the taxi drivers' annual day trip to the seaside with the children.
• 24) "Hat Parade" The hat parade is on at the People's Palace in the park - everyone is busy making hats!
• 25) "Cow Near the Line" The train is delayed due to a cow on the line and Raymond has to organise food and drinks for everyone.
• 26) "Snooze" Raymond falls asleep in the sunshine and nearly misses the train. He learns to take one thing at a time.
• 27) "Harlequin Day" Dr J has been too busy working and sorting out the Harlequin Day to organise the opening.

The above list is the episodes from the first series. Series two is missing.

Places

Within Riverseafingal, there are many locations:

• Granny Murray's House
• Castle Market
• The Castle
• Harlequin Hospital
• The School
• Riverseafingal Bus Depot
• Taxi Garage
• Train Station and Train buffet car
• London

Songs

All the music has been composed by Lester Barnes and during the course of each episode, a wide range of songs are played:

• Me Too Theme Song (Played twice, beginning and end)
• Granny Murray's House (Only a short two line song)
• The Way to Work AKA I Do Love My Walking Time (A song the adults sing. Viewers are meant to shout 'left', 'right', 'up', or 'down' when the adults say: "which way do I go?")
• I'm In In In In In A Hurry!! (An alternative song to 'The Way to Work', the adults only sing it if they are in a hurry and do not have time to walk to work. Introduced in the new series)
• I Love My Train (Raymond's main song)
• Bobby Boogie-Woogie (Bobby's main song)
• Big Pink Taxi (Tina's main song)
• The Market (Rudi's main song)
• The School House (Mickey John's main song)
• Race against Time Song (When the main adult character has a task to do in a small amount of time)
• Granny Murray's Song (What Have We Done Today?)

References

External links

• Me Too! at the Internet Movie Database
• CBeebies - Me Too! at bbc.co.uk
• online parents'/viewers' discussion
• Tattiemoon production company,email address contact posted