Bob the Builder is a British animated children's television series, it was broadcast on 12 April 1999 from BBC Kids and developed by HiT Entertainment. In the US, Nick Jr. opened in 2001, after four years until PBS Kids aired with funding by the United States Department of Education and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
| Bob the Builder | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Keith Chapman |
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Paul K. Joyce |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 18 |
| No. of episodes | 250 (+10 specials) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Original series
|
| Producer | Jackie Cockle |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup |
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| Running time | 10 minutes |
| Production company | HiT Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBeebies |
| Release | 12 April 1999 – 31 December 2011 |
The series centres his life of a construction worker named Bob and his anthropomorphic vehicles to help him fix things. Bob has a partner named Wendy and a cat named Pilchard. The slogan of the series is "Can we fix it? Yes we can!".
There are albums of songs from Bob the Builder. Out of these songs, there are 2 number 1 hits, "Can We Fix It?" and "Mambo No. 5".[2] There is also the number 81 hit "Big Fish Little Fish".[3] There is also merchandise which is based on the show.
Cast and characters
changeVoice actors who have contributed to the original British version include Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate, Richard Briers, and June Whitfield.
Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, and Noddy Holder.
Episodes
change| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||||||||
| Original series | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 13 | 12 April 1999 | 2 August 1999 | UK: CBBC (1999) US: Nick Jr. (starting 2001[4]) | ||||||||
| 2 | 13 | 11 October 1999 | 28 December 1999 | UK: CBBC (1999) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 3 | 13 | 1 September 2000 | 19 September 2000 | UK: CBBC (2000) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 4 | 13 | 1 February 2001 | 19 February 2001 | UK: CBBC (2001) US: Nick Jr. (2001) | ||||||||
| 5 | 13 | 1 April 2002 | 13 April 2002 | UK: CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2001–02) | ||||||||
| 6 | 13 | 2 September 2002 | 14 September 2002 | UK: CBeebies (2002) US: Nick Jr. (2002) | ||||||||
| 7 | 13 | 3 February 2003 | 20 February 2003 | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2003–04) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 8 | 13 | 1 September 2003 | 24 November 2003 | UK: CBeebies (2003) US: VHS/DVD (2004) PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 9 | 13 | 3 April 2004 | 20 December 2004 | UK: CBeebies (2004) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| Project: Build It | ||||||||||||
| 10 | 15 | 2 May 2005 | 20 May 2005 | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 11 | 12 | 1 August 2005 | 16 August 2005 | UK: CBeebies (2005) US: PBS Kids (2005) | ||||||||
| 12 | 14 | 31 July 2006 | 17 August 2006 | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 13 | 12 | 18 August 2006 | 4 September 2006 | UK: CBeebies (2006) US: PBS Kids (2006) | ||||||||
| 14 | 12 | 3 September 2007 | 18 September 2007 | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2007) | ||||||||
| 15 | 15 | 19 September 2007 | 9 October 2007 | UK: CBeebies (2007) US: PBS Kids (2008) | ||||||||
| 16 | 13 | 5 August 2008 | 26 August 2008 | UK: CBeebies (2008) US: PBS Kids (2008–09) | ||||||||
| Ready, Steady, Build! | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 20 | 12 April 2010 | 28 May 2010 | UK: CBeebies (2010) US: PBS Kids (2010) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 1 | 6 | 25 October 2010 | UK: DVD (2010) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
| 18 | 8 | 26 September 2011 | 5 October 2011 | UK: CBeebies (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | ||||||||
| Mini Series 2 | 6 | 31 December 2011 | UK: DVD (2011) US: PBS Kids (2011) | |||||||||
International broadcast
changeBob the Builder is broadcasted internationally and is available in several languages, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Slovene, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi, Serbo-Croatian, Bengali, and others.
Impact
changeBob the Builder was nominated in the BAFTA "Pre-school animation" category from 1999 to 2009,[not in the source given] and won the "Children's Animation" category in 2003 for the special episode "A Christmas to Remember".[5] Of the show's success, Sarah Ball said:
I think diggers and dumpers fascinate kids in the same way that they are drawn to dinosaurs. They both have a timeless appeal. The technique of stop motion is very tangible - the characters look like you can just pick them up and play with them. It’s a safe, lovely, bright, colourful world, which is very appealing. Curtis Jobling did a fantastic job designing the show - it’s very simple and stylized but has such charm.
— Interview with Sarah Ball, Gurgle.com[6]
Reboot series
changeOn 1 September 2015, a reboot series first aired on Cartoonito and Channel 5's Milkshake block and dub American aired on 7 November 2015 with no funding and programmed during weekdays (twenty-first season does not aired and reruns) until three years Cartoonito was left. In 2021, Channel 5 left as it has since ended its run. Two years after the 2015 series ended, the original Bob the Builder also aired on Qubo but it ceased operations on 28 February 2021. A new titled Bob the Builder reboot series is to be announced.
References
change- ↑ "Bob the Builder – Cast and Crew". TV.com. 12 April 1999. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ↑ http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=9384
- ↑ http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=34140
- ↑ "Nickelodeon Commercials - Early 2001". YouTube. 10 April 2022.
- ↑ "Awards Database". Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ↑ "Interview with Sarah Ball, Bob the builder & Chuggington writer and director". Gurgle.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
Other websites
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