Teletubbies!

Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series, primarily aimed at pre-school viewers, produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Anne Wood CBE, Ragdoll's creative director, and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was Tim Whitnall. The programme first aired on 31 March 1997, and was syndicated in the United States on the PBS network on 6 April 1998.^[1] In 2001 production was canceled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced, with the last episode being aired on 5 January 2001. However, a total of 365 episodes had been produced – enough for a full year. ^[2]

The programme rapidly became a critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad (particularly notable for its high production values), and won a BAFTA in 1998.^[3] Teletubbies Everywhere was awarded "Best Pre-school Live Action Series" at the 2002 Children's BAFTA Awards.^[4]

The programme centres around the adventures of Teletubbies Tinky Winky, who is purple, Dipsy, who is green, Laa-Laa, who is yellow, and Po, who is red. In the show, the four colourful Teletubbies play in the cheerful and fun Teletubbyland. They do things that little children like to do, such as rolling on the ground, laughing, running about, and watching real children on the televisions on their bellies. Mysterious pinwheels and telephones rise out of the meadow to show the days' activities. The sun, who has a baby's face, makes baby noises during the show, and it rises and sets to begin and end the show. The baby was portrayed by Jessica Smith.^[5]

Although the programme is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it has a substantial cult following with older generations, mainly university and college students.^[6] The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and the occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to a demographic who perceived the programme as having psychedelic qualities. Teletubbies was controversial for this reason, and also for a perception that it was insufficiently educational.^[3]

The programme was also at the center of a controversy when American cleric and conservative pundit Jerry Falwell claimed in 1999 that Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies, was a homosexual role model for children. Falwell based this conclusion on the character's purple colour and his triangular antenna; both the colour purple and the triangle are sometimes used as symbols of the Gay Pride movement.^[7] However, despite an ensuing boycott,^{[clarification needed]}the programme remained in production for two more years, and "Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"", a single based on the show's theme song, reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies.

Characters:

Tinky Winky (played by Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, and Simon Shelton) is the first Teletubby. He is the largest of the Teletubbies, is covered in purple terrycloth, and has a triangular antenna on his head. He is notable for the red luggage (described by the show as a "magic bag", but often described by other media as a handbag) he always carries. His character has caused controversy due to allegations that his character's behavior, bag and body colour have homosexual qualities (see below).

Dipsy (played by John Simmit) is the second Teletubby. He is green and is named "Dipsy" because his antenna resembles a dipstick. He likes his black and white furry top hat, which he once lost. Laa-Laa found it, but instead of simply returning Dipsy's hat to the stricken Dipsy, she ran around it for about ten minutes shouting "Dipsy Hat! Dipsy Hat!". He is the most stubborn of the Teletubbies, and will sometimes refuse to go along with the other Teletubbies' group opinion. His face is also notably darker than the rest of the Teletubbies, and the creators have stated that he is Black.^[10]

Laa-Laa (played by Nikky Smedley) is the third Teletubby. She is yellow, and has a curly antenna. She likes to sing and dance, and is often seen to look out for the other Teletubbies. Her favourite thing is a bouncy, orange ball, which is almost as big as she is.

Po (played by Pui Fan Lee) is the fourth and last Teletubby. She is the smallest and youngest of the Teletubbies, is red, and has an antenna shaped like a stick used for blowing soap bubbles. Her favourite object is her scooter, which she calls "scoota" (she also calls it "Po 'cooter!", or just "cooter"). Po can sometimes be mischievous and naughty, as when she disobeys the commands of the "voice trumpets". She has been stated by the show's creators to be Cantonese,^[10] and as such, she is bilingual, speaking both English and Cantonese. Although many are unsure of Po's gender, or consider her to be male (possibly because of her scarlet colour and tomboyish antics), she is clearly referred to as female in several episodes, such as "Dad's Portrait" (Episode 216, first broadcast 1998) and "Numbers: 2" (Episode 30). Many refer to her as "he" even though it is "she" (the same happens with Laa-Laa).

Noo-Noo (prononced Nuu-Nuu) seems to be both the Teletubbies' guardian and housekeeper, due to its resemblance to a vacuum cleaner, which is its principal purpose in the house. Noo-Noo hardly ventures outside, instead remaining indoors and constantly cleaning with its sucker-like nose. It does not speak like the other characters, instead communicating through a series of slurping and sucking noises. At times, Noo-Noo gets annoyed with the Teletubbies' antics and can vacuum their food or toys. This usually prompts the Teletubbies to scold Noo-Noo through a cry of "Naughty Noo-Noo!". Usually after this, Noo-Noo flees and the Teletubbies pursue it comically around the house until they grow tired, are distracted by something, or forgive Noo-Noo. This sequence ends with them hugging it, or with it shooting out their absorbed objects.

The show also features the voices of Tim Whitnall, Toyah Willcox, and Eric Sykes, and occasionally Sandra Dickinson and Penelope Keith, all of whom provide narration. The only physical cast members are Tamzin Griffin, who plays the manic "Funny Lady", and Jessica Smith whose face as a seven month old baby depicts the Sun.^[11] Her giggle was included in the single Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!. Although she was not credited, this makes her technically the youngest person ever to have their vocal appear in a number one song.

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