Boohbah

Boohbah
Created by	Anne Wood
Developed by	Ragdoll Productions
Starring	Emma Insley Alex Poulter Cal Jaggers Phil Hayes Laura Pero
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	104
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Production company(s)	BBC Worldwide Limited Ragdoll Limited GMTV
Distributor	ITV Nick Jr. UK
Release
Original release	14 April 2003 – 6 January 2006
Chronology
Related shows	Teletubbies In the Night Garden...

Boohbah is a British children's television programme created by Anne Wood. It premiered on 14 April 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom, followed by its Nick Jr. UK premiere on 30 September 2003.^[1] The series is produced by Ragdoll Productions.

The series ran for three seasons, with a total of 104 episodes.

Characters

The series focuses on the Boohbahs: five plump, fuzzy, furry, gumdrop-shaped creatures played by actors in full-body costumes. Their fur sparkles and shimmers with tiny lights, and they are hairless with big eyes and rows of lights for eyebrows. They do not speak; instead, they make noises such as squeaks, squeals, "poofs", and clicks. The Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each Boohbah is a different colour.

A list of the Boohbahs is available below.

• Humbah, portrayed by Emma Insley, is a yellow Boohbah.
• Zumbah, portrayed by Alex Poulter, is a purple Boohbah.
• Zing Zing Zingbah, portrayed by Cal Jaggers, is an orange Boohbah.
• Jumbah, portrayed by Phil Hayes, is a blue Boohbah.
• Jingbah, portrayed by Laura Pero, is a fuchsia Boohbah.

The Boohbahs can fly; part of their routine is to assemble into a circle, holding hands like skydivers. Each then emits a different musical note as a flash of coloured light (matching the Boohbah's colour) is sent out from their heads to a central point.

The Boohbahs were designed and made by costume and creature designer, Vin Burnham. The costumes consist of, according to a Telegraph article on the show, "thousands of differently coloured ruffled bits of material hand-painted with a special reflective substance, [and] wired up with 500 tiny lights", are inflated, and include what appear to be radio-controlled eyes, head, and eyebrows.

Storypeople

The Storypeople are a diverse group of familial characters who inhabit Storyworld and there participate in various vignettes inspired by the presents (see below). They are:

• Grandmamma (Linda Kerr-Scott) – An elderly yet spry Caucasian woman. She has white banana hair and wears a dark pink housedress, white sweater, white socks, and red sneakers.
• Grandpappa (Robin Stevens) – An elderly yet spry Caucasian man. He has white hair and a white moustache; he wears a long-sleeved yellow shirt, dark gray slacks, red braces, and white trainers.
• Mrs. Lady (Harvey Virdi) – A heavyset Indian woman. She has dark hair and wears a loose light blue blouse, loose bright pink pants, and pink sneakers.
• Mr. Man (Mark Ramsey) – A husky black man. He is bald and wears a short-sleeved bright pink shirt, white trousers, and black trainers.
• Brother (Manuel Bravo) and Sister (Vee Vimolmal) – Always paired, they both appear to be in their late teens. Brother: A Latino boy with short black hair; he wears a bright blue T-shirt, bright red knee-length shorts, and white trainers with pink laces. Sister: A Thai girl with hip-length black hair in a long ponytail; she wears a bright red T-shirt, bright blue capri pants, and white trainers with pink laces.
• Auntie (Sachi Kimura) – A Japanese woman. She has short black hair and wears a long-sleeved lavender blouse, black trousers, lavender socks, and black shoes.
• Little Dog Fido (Dash) – A Jack Russell Terrier. He wears a red collar.

The Storypeople do not speak. (When Little Dog Fido appears, he gives an "arf!") Though they sometimes exhibit frustration or confusion, the Storypeople rarely, if ever, appear upset or sad. The Storyworld segments are narrated by actor Chris Langham. In each episode the Storypeople magically receive an object sent to them by a child or group of children.

Vignettes

Each episode follows the same sequence of events. This is:

• Opening title. The Boohball flies over at least two out of 15 different countries (Three in the American version) (Australia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States).
• Boohbah warm up dance. The camera comes across each Boohbah in its pod, unseen children wake them up by calling their names out (" Humbah, Zumbah, Zing Zing Zingbah, Jumbah, Jingbah – Booh!"), and then the Boohbahs join each other one by one in a simple dance. After all have joined in, the pace increases until all the Boohbahs are out of control. As a child calls out their names, they then freeze, stand spread-eagled, and retract their heads. When all have stopped, the children yell, "Booh!" and the Boohbahs fly upward into their circle formation.
• Present giving, in which a group of children bring "a present for the Storypeople" and they blow it into Storyworld with the power of Boohbah magic. The present given will be the theme of the segment.
• Storyworld and the Storypeople, which is based on the present given in the last segment. During the segment, one or more of the Storypeople (a diverse cast of familial characters) will find the present and interact with it. Often the Storypeople will encounter a problem, inspiring the unseen but observing children to say the magic word, which is "Boohbah!" This freezes the story and allows the children to blow another gift to the Storypeople, which enables the story to continue and lead to the problem's solution. These segments are filmed in Spain between Malaga and Tarifa.
• Boohbah dance, during which the Boohbahs perform a dance somewhat related to the "Storyworld and the Storypeople" segment. This dance is slightly more complex than the "warm up" dances.
• Look What I Can Do, shown in the American version in which actual children perform dances of their own. Three different dances are featured per show, and are simple so that the home audience can follow along.

The Boohball

One of the common features in Boohbah is the Boohball. The Boohball, a glowing white ball, is where the Boohbahs live, and it appears out of nowhere in various parts of the show. It travels from country to country when it is called by children. Inside the Boohball is a set of pods on a round, spinning base, where the Boohbahs recharge energy. It resembles five fuzzy ladle-like charger pods with the handles linked; one can also say the pods are the Boohbahs' beds or they resemble five fig halves. The energy is created by the laughter of the children when playing with the Boohbahs, the Boohball, and the Storypeople.

The Boohzone

The main setting of Boohbah is the Boohzone, which is the Boohbahs' habitat. The Boohzone somewhat examples a multi-coloured dome with bubbles on its walls, and a rainbow streak leading up to the Boohball. In the middle of the Boohzone is a coloured walkway leading to a spot that resembles either a rainbow spiral or a blank circle when the Boohbahs come down to that area to dance. In the introductions to the "Storyworld" segments, some children will come into the Boohzone to give a present to the Storypeople, and the Boohball will pick it up and send it to Storyworld.

Episodes

104 episodes were produced, making up three seasons.

Season 1 (2004)

• "Skipping Rope" (19 January 2004)
• "Pearly Shells" (20 January 2004)
• "Rope and Rock" (21 January 2004)
• "Magical Pipe" (22 January 2004)
• "Windows" (23 January 2004)
• "Comfy Armchair" (26 January 2004)
• "Record Player" (27 January 2004)
• "Squeaky Socks" (28 January 2004)
• "Pile of Balls" (29 January 2004)
• "Painting the Fence" (30 January 2004)
• "Big Bass Drum" (2 February 2004)
• "Hammock" (3 February 2004)
• "Squeaky Seesaw" (4 February 2004)
• "Jack-in-the-Box" (5 February 2004)
• "Bubbles" (6 February 2004)
• "Couch and Cushions" (9 February 2004)
• "Big Comb" (10 February 2004)
• "The Big Ball" (11 February 2004)
• "Yellow Woolly Sweater" (12 February 2004)
• "The Bed" (13 February 2004)
• "The High Wall" (12 April 2004)
• "Cakes and String" (13 April 2004)
• "The Door" (14 April 2004)
• "Building Blocks" (15 April 2004)
• "Hot Dog" (16 April 2004)
• "Treasure Chest" (19 April 2004)
• "Flippers" (20 April 2004)
• "Two Hats" (21 April 2004)
• "Bells" (22 April 2004)
• "Shed" (23 April 2004)
• "Shining Armour" (6 September 2004)
• "Flowers and Vase" (7 September 2004)
• "Leaky Hose" (8 September 2004)
• "Parping Horn" (9 September 2004)
• "Island" (10 September 2004)
• "Pencil Sharpener" (13 September 2004)
• "Following the Signs" (14 September 2004)
• "Tunnel" (15 September 2004)
• "Heavy Suitcase" (16 September 2004)
• "Beards" (17 September 2004)
• "Big Switch" (7 February 2005)
• "Paper Plane" (8 February 2005)
• "Droopy Flowers" (9 February 2005)
• "Sticky Wrapper" (10 February 2005)
• "Sailing Boat" (11 February 2005)
• "Bat and Ball" (14 February 2005)
• "Ice Cream Cone" (15 February 2005)
• "Stream" (16 February 2005)
• "Pulling the Rope" (17 February 2005)
• "Falling Oranges" (18 February 2005)
• "Comfy Slippers" (5 September 2005)
• "Banana Split" (6 September 2005)
• "Crossroads" (7 September 2005)
• "Hole in the Fence" (8 September 2005)
• "Little White Cloud" (9 September 2005)
• "Fido's Bone" (12 September 2005)
• "Bucket and Spade" (13 September 2005)
• "Ball and Hoop" (14 September 2005)
• "Closet" (15 September 2005)
• "Camera" (16 September 2005)
• "Umbrella" (2 January 2006)
• "Flying Fish" (3 January 2006)
• "Unwinding Carpet" (4 January 2006)
• "Bouncy Castle" (5 January 2006)
• "Little Rocky Boat" (6 January 2006)

Season 2 (2005–2006)

• "Collecting Mail"
• "Gigantic Carrot"
• "Grass Skirt"
• "Glowing Lanterns"

Broadcast

Boohbah aired in the UK on CITV, GMTV and Nick Jr. (UK and Ireland). In the US it aired on PBS Kids and Sprout. It was shown on ABC in Australia. In Canada it aired on Treehouse TV.

References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20060304094335/http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/boohbah/index.aspx

External links

• Boohbah at the Internet Movie Database
• Will Boohbah be next 'Teletubbies'? (MSNBC)