Rubbadubbers

Rubbadubbers
Genre Children's television series
Created by Peter Curtis
Voices of John Gordon Sinclair
Sean Hughes
Maria Darling
Theme music composer KiCK Production
Opening theme "Here Come The Rubbadubbers"
Ending theme "Here Come The Rubbadubbers" (Instrumental)
Composer(s) KicK Production
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 4
No. of episodes 52
Production
Production location(s) Bathsville City
Running time 10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production company(s) HIT Entertainment
Hot Animation
Distributor HIT Entertainment
Release
Original network CBeebies
Original release July 2, 2002 (2002-07-02) – October 5, 2004 (2004-10-05)

Rubbadubbers is a British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment. The series aired on the BBC in the United Kingdom and Nickelodeon in the United States (as part of the Nick Jr. block).[1]

Plot

Seven anthropomorphic bath toys live a peaceful, healthy life at Benjie and Sis's house in fictional Bathsville City. Not every episode begins with the Rubbadubbers in the bathroom. Some episodes begin with the Rubbadubbers in the bathroom where they live, and in other episodes, the Rubbadubbers are found in the hallway, either on the chest of drawers, the hallway floor, or on the windowsill.

After a short while, a character decides to make a wish by saying "If only" followed by whatever he/she wishes (e.g. "If only I could have all the bubbles in the world".) That particular character is then automatically escorted to an alternate reality where that "if only" wish comes true.

It always turns out that if the "if only" goes wrong (e.g. having all the bubbles in the world is actually a bad idea), then exactly the same character wishes another "if only" that automatically escorts him/her from the dream world back to Benjie and Sis's house. Everyone then feels happy again. Every single episode ends with Reg the robot announcing to the other Rubbadubbers that the children, Benjie and Sis, are arriving for their bath.

In the dream worlds, the props and the scenery are made entirely from bathroom equipment, toothbrushes, cotton buds, soap dishes, floor tiles, sponges, shower curtains, towels, mats, radiators, fans, heating vents and even on occasion, musical instruments.

Characters

Main

  • Tubb, a male anthropomorphic frog with a Scottish accent, is the leader of the Rubbadubbers. He has green eyes, pink skin, and he always wears patterned shorts, and a yellow T-shirt with very short traffic light coloured sleeves. He enjoys playing with the other bath toys, cleaning anything with his cotton bud, and floating on a green lily-pad. John Gordon Sinclair voices him.
  • Terence, a male crocodile with an upper-class English accent, can blow bubbles through his nose. He has one white tooth, two yellow eyes, wears a white collar and a red neck-tie, has green skin, and a yellow body. He dislikes getting splashed, and has a red toothbrush for cleaning his tooth with. Terence also has several spots on his back. Voiced by John Gordon Sinclair.
  • Finbar, a male clockwork shark with an Irish accent, has white and blue skin, several triangular teeth, two oval-shaped eyes, and he can cool things down by moving his tail from side to side as well as often describing himself in third person as "The Mighty Shark", often accompanied by a pirate-like phrase, "Arr, Arr, Arr!" Finbar also has two wheels, three fins, and one white clockwork wheel. Sean Hughes voices him.
  • Winona, a female rubber whale who is the only one of the group to not do "If Only" wishes since she cannot speak words unlike the others, instead communicating only through squeaking noises, has purple skin, three wheels on her underside, a small blow-hole, two small eyes, and a mouth in between her fins. She doesn't eat krill unfortunately, like an ordinary whale, but she does make water with her blow-hole. Voiced by Maria Darling
  • Reg, a male mechanical robot with an Australian accent, who dislikes getting wet. Although he is often seen looking out for Benjie and Sis, he enjoys playing with the other Rubbadubbers inside the bathroom. He has orange skin, green eyes, a diamond-shaped hole, a blue stammer for a mouth, and a volume control on his back. When he says a long word, he malfunctions and says an easier word instead. At the end of every single episode, he announces Benjie and Sis's arrival: "Rubbadubbers, Rubbadubbers, the children are coming! Bath Time Scramble!" Voiced by John Gordon Sinclair.
  • Amelia, a female submarine-hybrid who speaks in an enthusiastic Cockney accent, can fly in the air as well as travelling over, on and under the bath water. She has two red wings, a yellow head, a big clown's nose, a red mouth, two blue eyes, a red propeller and three red wheels. Voiced by Maria Darling.
  • Sploshy, a female starfish-shaped sponge with a childish English accent, has suction cups behind her hands, feet, and head. She has magenta skin, five triangular arms, two legs and eyes, and a mouth. She likes to make noise and is normally found stuck to the side of the bath as well as floating on the surface of the bath water and walking and cartwheeling around the bathroom. She loves dancing just as much as Angelina Ballerina does, but she gets annoyed very easily as she tries her best to keep the other Rubbadubbers in order. Maria Darling voices her.

Others

  • Lawrence, a male crocodile with an upper-class English accent, is a minor character on Rubbadubbers and is practically identical to Terence. He can do amazing tie-tricks, he also dislikes getting splashed, he has 2 white teeth, the same yellow eyes, he wears the same collar, has the same yellow body, but the only difference is, his necktie that he always wears is blue. He only appears in the episode Terence's Double Trouble. Lawrence has exactly the same spots down his back, but he doesn't have a red toothbrush like Terence. Voiced by John Gordon Sinclair.
  • The two children, Benjie and Sis, are both often referred to by the characters, but they are never seen.

Episodes

Series 1 (2002)

  • 1. Tubb the Pirate
  • 2. Terence's Double Trouble
  • 3. Reg the Monster
  • 4. Sploshy's Tail
  • 5. Tubb the Magician
  • 6. Deep Sea Reg
  • 7. Scary Finbar
  • 8. Train Driver Tubb
  • 9. Sploshy of the Arctic
  • 10. Sploshybird
  • 11. Terence Of Arabia
  • 12. Speedy Terence
  • 13. Amelia the Babysitter

Series 2 (2002)

  • 1. Princess Amelia
  • 2. Rocket Sled Reg
  • 3. Terence the Shopkeeper
  • 4. Tubb the Frog Prince
  • 5. Amelia and the Detectives
  • 6. Footballer Tubb
  • 7. Finbar the Star
  • 8. Spaceman Reg
  • 9. Doctor Terence
  • 10. Super Amelia
  • 11. Sploshy the Stoneseeker
  • 12. Sheriff Terence
  • 13. Tubb's Cake Mistake

Series 3 (2003)

  • 1. Finbar's Rescuers
  • 2. Finbar and the Green Hat Gang
  • 3. Terence the Spy
  • 4. Terence's Bubble Trouble
  • 5. Finbar's Important Part
  • 6. Copy Sploshy
  • 7. Reg's Game Plan
  • 8. Farmer Sploshy
  • 9. Little Red Riding Tubb
  • 10. Silly Sploshy
  • 11. Terence's Ties
  • 12. Reg in Squareworld
  • 13. Amelia the Diver

Series 4 (2004)

  • 1. Finbar's Gift
  • 2. Finbar and the Ghosts
  • 3. Sploshy's Wishes
  • 4. Sporty Reg
  • 5. The House That Tubb Built
  • 6. Terence the Monster Hunter
  • 7. Reg and the Library
  • 8. Tufty Tubb
  • 9. Lighthouse Keeper Reg
  • 10. Tubb's Towers
  • 11. Messenger Terence
  • 12. Skypainter Amelia
  • 13. Finbar the Word Shark

Shorts

  • 1. Row, Row, Row
  • 2. Steamy Mirror
  • 3. Beyond the Bath
  • 4. On A Roll
  • 5. Swimming Races
  • 6. Hide And Seek
  • 7. Great Skate!
  • 8. Swimmin'!
  • 9. Drip
  • 10. High Noon In The Bathroom
  • 11. Being Choosy
  • 12. All Wrapped Up
  • 13. Something Sticky
  • 14. Having A Ball
  • 15. Can You Remember?

Broadcast

Rubbadubbers aired on CBeebies every day at varying times between 2002 and 2004 in the United Kingdom, and in the United States, the programme aired weekly at varying times on both Nick Jr. and PBS Kids Sprout.

Home video releases

Rubbadubbers was released on VHS and DVD in the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout 2003 and 2004 by Hit Entertainment and owned by Hot Animation. Several DVD releases were being made and they still are available in the United Kingdom and in the United States respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "Nick Jr. Parents--Play to Learn with Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Little Bill and More!". Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.