BB3B

infobox Television
show_name= BB3B


picture_format = 16:9
caption =
rating = TV-G
format = Animated sitcom
runtime = 20 minutes
creators = Will Brenton, Iain Lauchlan
starring= Teresa Gallagher, Stefan Ashton Frank, Gary Martin
country = UK
network = BBC, ABC
first_aired =1 January, 2005
last_aired =
num_episodes = 13 episodes
list_episodes = List of BB3B episodes
imdb_id=0455888|

BB3B is an animated UK children's television series produced by TellTale Productions in 2005. The entire series consists of thirteen episodes of twenty minutes each. It is shown on CBBC in the UK and ABC in Australia. Since it first went on air in early 2005 it has never been off, and has been voted the best section of "Dick 'n' Dom in da Bungalow" and "Smile" by viewers in two separate polls.

It was created by Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton, who also created and produced "The Tweenies", "Boo!", "Fun Song Factory" and "Jim Jam and Sunny".

Plot

The series centres on the life of twin children, a brother and sister, Lucy and Louie, and their fears about their new baby brother, Billy Bob. BB3B actually stands for Billy Bob Third Baby. The plot generally involves a circumstance where the twins suspect the brother as usual of being an extraterrestrial, and they go on a wild adventure trying to prove it and stop him from launching an invasion. The twins are babysat by Chubba, a teenage boy with a fondness for pizza. Chubba often goes along with the idea of an alien brother, sometimes very seriously, and at one point he cracks and tells the parents of the twins plans to build a time machine. The show is set in the fictional American city of Sunnyfield, which is shown as having a central urban area and outer suburban area, the latter being the home of the family portrayed. The twins' grandmother lives in a trailer in the house's front garden.

Details

Each episode begins with the local postman attempting to deliver a piece of mail to the family mailbox. This ends in him being disfigured or attacked somehow by some strange force within the box – for instance, being turned into a fish. He reappears sometimes later in the episode. The first time he appears is followed by the opening credits.

The series is set in America, where, according to the plot, the father's mother moved from England. The children's grandmother has affections for the man who lives across the street, Mr. Wienburger, and there is a running gag in that his face is never visible; the viewer seeing either just a silhouette or the back of his head.

The Sprogs (registered trademark owned by Dawn Melvin 2000) are baby-like creatures who emit green foul smelling gas. The series never features a real invasion, though it does go across the threshold of science fiction from reality when the postman appears during the episode and at the end the Sprogs always appear to be coming towards the Earth, however generally the theories of the twins are disproved.

The song played by Bis is played again during the end credits rather than the opening theme.

Characters

Louis & Lucy

Louis and Lucy are the two eldest children in the Jenkins family and are twins. The twins seem to be of around five or six years old and have an obscure fascination of science fiction and fighting aliens. Throughout the show, the twins have been seen playing games which to them they are fighting to defend Earth, but in fact are not and are really playing like a kid would. They make it their mission throughout the show to try and defeat the evil Sprog alien trying to take over Earth; the Sprog in question being their little brother. When not wearing a costume or going to bed, Lucy's clothes are a yellow shirt with some sort of science fiction planet with spikes coming out of it and short pink skirt. Louis wears a blue shirt with a picture of a planet with rings around it, and he wears blue shorts. They both have brown curly hair.

Billy Bob

Billy Bob is the newly-born baby brother of Louie and Lucy. Billy Bob is a normal baby, but in Louie and Lucy's eyes they see him as a mind controlling sprog alien whose means are to enslave earth. Billy Bob is simply known as The Sprog or BB3B to the kids, and is called Billy Bob mostly by their mum but she sometimes also calls him BB3B. Billy Bob is always seen wearing a striped green shirt and diaper.

Jazz & Simon (parents)

Jazz and Simon are the parents of Lucy, Louis and Billy Bob, and are often seen tired most of the time having to run around keeping track of the kids and keeping them out of trouble. Jazz does not appear to have a job but is very creative; she is said to be the glue that holds the family together. Simon is an architect whose plans never seem very practical nor work. The kids think that their parents are now zombies controlled by Billy Bob because of their slow mobility due to tiredness. Jazz wears a green long sleeve turtle neck and purple polka-dot skirt and Simon wears a striped red shirt with brown pants.

Nana

Nana is Simon's mum who lives in a trailer in the front yard of the Jenkins' house. As explained in the lyrics of the show's opening theme song, she moved from England to America. She is a relatively large woman who has an apparent love for Mr. Wienburger and has gone to extreme measures to get to him. She also has a western set of clothes and loves country music.

Mr. Wienburger

Mr. Wienburger lives across the road from the Jenkins and is a msyterious man who we never see the face of. He appears to have an important job, as most people seem to know him. He is afraid of Nana and constantly hides from her.

Chubba

Chubba is the teen babysitter of the Jenkins kids. He is a teenager of around 15 years old, and calls virtually everyone "Dude". His interests are science fiction shows/movies (anything on the television for that matter), eating pizza, watching old B movies, listening to punk music and hanging out with the kids. Chubba is a laid-back kind of person and goes strange after too long without TV. He gives the kids information on whatever they ask even if he has no clue. His real name is George as mentioned in the episode when he gets a job at NASA

Bis

The catchy theme song of the series was performed by Scottish rock band Bis. Members Steven Clark (Sci-fi Steven), John Clark (John Disco), and Amanda MacKinnon (Manda Rin), along with their fictional drummer, appear at some point in all bar the first episode performing a song relating to the plot (which would be heard again during the closing credits). They turned up to sing in a variety of strange places during the series' run: the roof of a toy store; the back of a truck travelling along the street; the roof of the Jenkins' home; and even in a large tank at the local aquarium (though how they were able to perform whilst underwater is anyone's guess!). However, Bis played no part whatsoever in the storylines; they never interacted with the show's characters, and the characters never seemed to see and/or hear them either – which is a bit of a shame, as knowing Nana, she would probably have enjoyed bopping along to the songs. Perhaps it's just as well, as the Jenkins family's lives were complicated enough without them wondering why a rock band was constantly appearing in the neighbourhood, performing a very catchy number in the strangest of locations, and then disappearing as mysteriously as they had arrived!

ee also

*CBBC
*CBBC Channel
*BBC

External links

*imdb title|0455888