Teletubbies

Teletubbies is a BBC BAFTA award-winning children's television programme, mostly made for toddlers, and produced from March 31, 1997, to January 5, 2001 by Ragdoll Productions, with a total of 365 episodes. The show is about the adventures of Teletubbies Tinky Winky, who is purple, Dipsy, who is green, Laa-Laa, who is yellow, and Po, who is red.

It was created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. Narrated by Tim Whitnall, the show quickly became a success both with critics and with the public in Britain and other countries, and won its BAFTA in 1998.

The show remained in production for three more years, and released a single, "Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"", based on the show's theme song, which 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.

In the show, the four colorful 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 land is covered with unusually talkative flowers and microphone-like "voice trumpets". The only natural animals are rabbits (although birds are often heard). The weather is always sunny and enjoyable except for some cloudy days, with rain and puddles, and snow at Christmas time. The Teletubbies are played by actors dressed in stuffy costumes, although the recording site is designed to give no sense of scale (weight). The costumes sort of look like large spacesuits, although the Teletubbies appear not to wear real clothes. They are instead furry, and have pieces of cloth ("screens") on their tubbies.This is where the name "Teletubbies" comes from.Tele is the British word for television, and tubby is the British word for stomach. These screens are used to switch into short movie sequences, which are generally repeated at least once. When the series is shown in different countries around the world, the movie clips are changed to fit the countries' main audiences. (The British versions are the originals.)

The Teletubbies' body shapes, actions, and ways of talking are similar to toddlers. The speed and design of the show was made by writer/co-producer Andrew Davenport, who shaped the show to fit the attention spans of the target audience. The repeating of just about every word is familiar to everyone who has ever worked with young children. There was also help from Shatarra Willis the stage manager who helped the show to become a success. The Teletubbies speak in a baby-like language which is the subject of some controversy among educationalists, some of whom argue that this supposedly made-up talk is not good for children.^[1] (A similar complaint was made forty years previously about another children's series, Flower Pot Men.)

The Teletubbies are at the stage of understanding speech but not yet fully capable of repeating it, exactly like their target audience. They often simply groan in anger in times where a human toddler would throw a tantrum. The Teletubbies' catch-phrases are "Eh-oh" (hello), as in: "Eh-oh, Laa-Laa", to which Laa-Laa will respond, "Eh-oh, (other Teletubby's name)", "Uh-oh", a common toddler response to anything that's not good, "Run away! Run away!", especially from Dipsy, and "Bye-bye" at least four times in a row. Laa-Laa, when flustered, will explode with "Bibberly cheese!", which is as angry as the Teletubbies get. But perhaps the most common exclamation is "Big hug!" which one or more of the Teletubbies will call for during the course of an episode, resulting in a big group hug. Their diet is mainly of "Tubby Tustard" (which is sucked through a circular straw) and "Tubby Toast". They are very messy eaters. In one episode, "The Tubby Toaster", the machine that makes Tubby Toast went seriously wrong and filled the Teletubbies' house with toast. Fortunately, one of their companions is Noo-Noo, a vacuum cleaner. Machines like Noo-Noo,the voice trumpets, and the televisions in the Teletubbies' stomachs were designed to show small children, who are born into a world surrounded by strange and powerful electronic gadgets, that technology is benevolent and helpful, not something to be afraid of^[2].

The Teletubbies' landscape is an outdoor set located in rural Warwickshire, England, at Sweet Knowle Farm, Redhill Bank Rd, Whimpstone, CV37 8NR (between Stratford upon Avon and Shipston on Stour, close to the River Stour^[3]). All the Teletubbies say "Bye-Bye" three times. The narrator bids each Teletubby goodbye, and they disappear, but reappear a moment later saying "Boo!". The narrator then says "No", (which they copy) and proceeds to say goodbye to each Teletubby again. The sun is then shown setting, and the Teletubbies each say goodbye again, before jumping down a hole in the roof of their house. Finally, one Teletubby says goodbye a fourth time - they pop out of a hole in the house and say "Bye-bye!". For special episodes, and at the end of the "Fun With The Teletubbies" cassette, all four Teletubbies say "Bye-bye" in this way. Many of the occurrences of the show, including the end sequence, and the scene preceding the short film broadcast on a character's tummy were shot only once, and the same scenes are used in each episode. A main feature of each episode is a radiant sun that has a picture of a smiling baby on it. The baby in the sun occasionally laughs out loud in short bursts. In 2001, production of the show was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced. (However, BBC ran a few in-the-can episodes from mid 2001 to early 2002.) However, the existing 365 episodes have been played in re-runs years for seven year until January 2008.

Tinky Winky, (played by Dave Thompson, Mark Heenehan, and Simon Shelton), is the first Teletubby. He is the largest of the Teletubbies, is purple, 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. He is also found dancing in a ballet-style tutu from time to time, which is also often worn by Laa-Laa.

Dipsy (played by John Simmit) is the second Teletubby. He is green and is called "Dipsy" because his horn looks like 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 stubbon 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.

Laa-Laa is the third Teletubby. She is yellow, has a curly antenna, and is concerned with the welfare of all. She is the best singer of all the teletubbies, and is a "Drama queen", party-girl, and motherly type. Her favorite thing is a bouncy, orange ball, which is almost as big as she is.

Po is the red Teletubby. he is the fourth (and last) of the Teletubbbies, has an antenna that is shaped like a stick used for blowing soap bubbles, is the smallest of the Teletubbies, and is most often the one who always gets into trouble. he also says the word "Eh-oh" (hello), a word used by all of Teletubbies.

Po's favorite object is her scooter, which he calls "scoota" (he also calls it "Po 'cooter!",or just "cooter"). Po often wants attention and can sometimes be mischievous and naughty when he disobeys the commands of the "voice trumpets".

Po is bilingual, meaning he can speak more than one language. Those languages are English (the broadcasting country's language) and Cantonese. he is a problem solver and the best "spider-fighter". he is also a Tomboy type, and of all the Teletubbies, Po usually becomes most involved with the audience. he loves both attention and his curly red circular aerial on his head.

In the Teletubbies' house, he sleeps at the side of all the other Teletubbies and sometimes eats Tubby Toast while the others are sleeping. he is voiced by Pui Fan Lee, which is why he can speak in dual languages.

A girl's talking Po doll was thought to be saying "faggot faggot, faggot faggot, faggot faggot, bite my butt!", as well as "fatty, fatty". (Supporters of the interpretation of Tinky Winky as gay pride symbol might take this as evidence.) The toy was recalled and it was revealed to have said "fidit, fidit," inspired by the Cantonese for "faster, faster."^[4]

Although many are unsure of Po's gender, or think he is female (probably because of her scarlet (red) color and tomboyish antics), she is clearly said to be male in several episodes, such as "Dad's Portrait" (Episode 216, first broadcast 1998) and "Numbers: 2" (Episode 30). Many refer to her as "she" even though it is "he" (the same happens with Laa-Laa).

The show also features the voices of Toyah Willcox and Eric Sykes, and occasionally Sandra Dickinson and Penelope Keith, all of whom provide narration. The only physical cast member is Tamzin Griffin, who plays the manic "Funny Lady". The Sun is personified with the face of baby Jessica Smith, who is believed to have been around seven months old at the time of filming^[5]. Her giggle was included in the single Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!. Although not credited, this makes her technically the youngest person ever whose vocal appeared on a number one song.

The antenna shapes of each Teletubbie provides mnemonic clues as to the character's name:

• Triangle: "Tinky Winky"
• Dipstick: "Dipsy"
• curLy: "Laa-Laa"
• circle: "O" shape rhymes with "Po"

• Tinky Winky: saxophone, flute, bassoon, clarinet, piccolo, oboe, recorder, English horn, and contrabassoon
• Dipsy: trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, cornet, sousaphone, and euphonium
• Laa-Laa: xylophone, triangle, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, timpani, castanets, maracas, tambourine, and glockenspiel
• Po: harp, violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, banjo, and mandolin

Tinky Winky started a still talked-about controversy in 1999 due to his carrying a bag that looks like a woman's handbag, (although he was first called gay by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to The Face), and gained the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1997 when Fallwell said that the character was a "gay role model" (an example of a "gay" person). Falwell wrote about it in his National Liberty Journal. He said that in the Washington Post "In/Out" column someone had written that lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out", or uncloseted, as the main gay model, while the fashionable Tinky Winky was "in", or closeted. Falwell said it was because of the Teletubby's purple color, the "purse", and the triangle antenna which all represented homosexuality.This has caused many Christians to boycott Teletubbies because it makes them think that Teletubbies support homosexuality.Also,Tinky Winky dances in a tu-tu, which supporters of the thought that Tinky Winky is gay may take as evidence. A February 1999 article in the National Liberty Journal, published by evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell, warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a hidden homosexual symbol, because "he is purple, the gay pride colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle, the gay pride symbol". ^[6] A spokesman for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., who licenses the characters in the United States, said that it was just a magic bag. "The fact that he carries a magic bag doesn't make him a homosexual. It's a children's show, folks. To think we would be putting sexual innuendo in a children's show is kind of outlandish", he added. In an unrelated incident reported in 2000, a girl's Tinky Winky toy reportedly said "I got a gun". Kenn Viselman, then chairman of the Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company, said the toy was actually saying "Again, again!", a catchphrase from the show. ^[7]

Teletubbies has been broadcast in many different countries, thus involving a foreign title.

• Direct TV (1999-2000)
• KB Kids.com (1999-2000)
• Kellogg's Frosted Flakes (1997)
• Payless Shoe Source (2000-2001)
• Viewers Like You (1997 Present)

• Boohbah
• List of Teletubbies episodes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Teletubbies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teletubbies.

• Official UK website
• Official USA website
• Official PBS website
• Official BBC/ CBeebies website
• Teletubbies at AllMovie
• Teletubbies on IMDb