Jimbo and the Jet-Set
Jimbo and the Jet-Set (often shortened to simply Jimbo) is a British animated cartoon series broadcast in the 1980s, featuring the adventures of the eponymous Jimbo, an anthropomorphic aeroplane. Created by Maddocks Cartoon Productions, it originally ran for 25 episodes between 1986 and 1987. The premise of the cartoon is that Jimbo was originally intended to be a Jumbo Jet, but his designer could not tell the difference between inches and centimetres, resulting in his diminutive size.
| Jimbo and the Jet-Set | |
|---|---|
 Jimbo | |
| Created by | Peter Maddocks |
| Voices of | Peter Hawkins Susan Sheridan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Maddocks Cartoon Productions |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 |
| Original release | 6 January 1986 – 6 February 1987 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | |
The television series features various anthropomorphic airport ground vehicles: Tommy Tow-Truck, Claude Catering, Amanda Baggage, Phil the Fuel Truck, Sammy Steps and Harry Helicopter. Other plane characters appear from time to time, such as Old Timer, a Vickers Wellington bomber who gets into the story while flying to or from an airshow; and Gloria, a female counterpart to Jimbo. The story is based at a fictional "London Airport", under the command of an irate controller who frequently ends episodes screaming "I want words with you, Jimbo!"
Credits
- Created, Written and Produced by
- Peter Maddocks
- Music
- Roger Greenaway, Gavin Greenaway
- Series Animation by
- Clive Dawson, Julian Gibbs, Neil Salmon, William Mobberley
- Backgrounds
- Kevin Smith
- Camera
- Chris Williams
- Editing
- Keith Learner
- Trace & Paint
- Guy Maddocks, Vivienne Dempsey, Simon Maddocks
- Directed by
- Keith Learner
- Voices
- Peter Hawkins & Susan Sheridan
Episode listing
| No. | Title | Air date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Little Big Problem" | 6 January 1986 | The origin of how Jimbo came to be starts out at the aircraft factory, where the technicians use centimetres instead of inches, resulting in "half a Jumbo". |
| 2 | "Trouble at Sea" | 7 January 1986 | One day whilst crossing the Atlantic, Jimbo sees a ship in distress and frantically does all he can to gather help to save it. |
| 3 | "First Time Fliers" | 8 January 1986 | Jimbo is to take a class of children on their first ever flight. Despite the Chief's warnings to behave, Jimbo gives the kids a ride they'll never forget—much to their poor teacher's displeasure. |
| 4 | "The U.F.O" | 13 January 1986 | One stormy evening, Jimbo claims to have seen a flying saucer hovering above London Airport. The Chief thinks he is playing another joke until he experiences a "Close Encounter". |
| 5 | "April Fools Day | 14 January 1986 | It is the Chief's birthday which, ironically, is on April Fools' Day. He has a bit of fun with Jimbo whilst testing out fire safety with Captain Squirt of the fire department, but Jimbo gets the last laugh. |
| 6 | "The Old Timer" | 15 January 1986 | One misty day, Jimbo comes across a Wellington bomber plane (the Old Timer) who has lost his way in the fog. Jimbo offers to guide him home but weather (rain, snow and fog) constantly causes the pair to be diverted to one airfield after another. Featured for the first time is The Old Timer. This episode seems to be played out of order as The Old Timer seems to remember Jimbo long before "The Bermuda Triangle". |
| 7 | "The Royal Visitors" | 20 January 1986 | The Chief flies everyone in a blind panic when he hears word that royal visitors are due to arrive at the airfield. Unfortunately for him, the visitors (who turn out be dogs) are not as royal as he was expecting. |
| 8 | "Jet Lag" | 21 January 1986 | Jimbo suffers jet lag after an uncomfortable flight. The Flying Doctor has to get Jimbo to gain his confidence in order to fly again; but when all his methods fail, Tommy Towtruck suggests a bold solution. |
| 9 | "Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud" | 22 January 1986 | Jimbo is low on fuel and wants to get home but finds himself in a "queue" with other planes waiting to land. With help from a large cloud, Jimbo pretends to be Concorde in order to slip in quietly, which causes great confusion at London Airport. |
| 10 | "Holiday Weather" | 27 January 1986 | Fed up with the cold and wet in Britain, Jimbo flies to Hawaii for his holiday for some fun in the sun. All is well until a volcano erupts. Featured in her only speaking role is Gloria, a female version of Jimbo who wears a pink bowtie. |
| 11 | "Winter Wonderland" | 28 January 1986 | Jimbo is sent to take champion skiers to Switzerland for an important championship and shows off a few of his own winter sports. |
| 12 | "Jimbo Down-Under" | 29 January 1986 | Jimbo, tired and weary after a long flight, accidentally lands in the middle of the Australian outback. However, he is rescued by a fellow Australian and a herd of kangaroos. |
| 13 | "Jimbo and the Astronaut" | 3 February 1986 | Flying a little too high, Jimbo finds himself out in outer space, where he helps a stranded astronaut back to Earth. |
| 14 | "Jungle Jimbo" | 4 February 1986 | An airport in Africa begins using computer technology to keep things running. Jimbo realises how useful computers and elephants are when he helps to put out a forest fire. |
| 15 | "Jimbo and the Whale" | 5 February 1986 | Jimbo's engines are acting up as he flies over the North Pole, causing him to become stranded. He gets airborne again with help from a whale. |
| 16 | "Bermuda Triangle" | 10 February 1986 | Jimbo is to escort the Old Timer to a wartime convention in Miami, Florida, but the two end up becoming trapped in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle and find themselves in World War II. |
| 17 | "The Chief Gets a Rocket" | 11 February 1986 | Jimbo is sent on a top secret mission to help with the launching of a rocket. The Chief, control tower and all, are also sent to launch it, but they end up launching the control tower by mistake. |
| 18 | "The Controller's Apprentice" | 12 February 1986 | The Chief brings along his nephew to teach him how to be a proper airfield chief, much to Jimbo's dismay, but the apprentice's cockiness becomes his downfall. |
| 19 | "Chinese Pandamonium" | 17 February 1986 | Jimbo is sent, along with an animal trainer, to try and capture a rare panda from China. Much to his embarrassment he is disguised as a panda as camouflage, but the Chief ends up laughing on the other side of his face when Jimbo returns with a live Chinese dragon. |
| 20 | "The Pennand Inca Story" | 18 February 1986 | Jimbo sets off with a tropical explorer to find an ancient ink well that writes with pure gold. However, the result is not entirely successful. |
| 21 | "Quiet Please" | 24 February 1986 | A little old lady who lives near the runways is complaining about the noise, which means that Jimbo's engines are constantly muffled. However, the Chief realises his mistake when he does some investigating: the noise nuisance came from a radio-controlled model plane. |
| 22 | "Jinglebells Jimbo" | 23 December 1986 | When Father Christmas's sleigh is stolen, Jimbo is sent to help deliver presents all over the world in time for Christmas. |
| 23 | "The Great Air Race" | 17 January 1987 | A round-the-world air race is set and Jimbo wishes he could take part. He gets his chance when he has to hurry the race judge to the finishing line when he arrives at the start by mistake. Low on fuel, Jimbo relies on rocket power to get to the finish in time. |
| 24 | "The Little Red Devil" | 23 January 1987 | A special display of Red Devil Planes are prepared for a retiring Admiral, but when one of them is unavailable, Tommy Towtruck tries to masquerade Jimbo to look like one of them. However, the paint is not entirely waterproof when a storm breaks. |
| 25 | "The Computer Clanger" | 6 February 1987 | The Airfield Administration decide to build another "Jimbo" for their fleet. To avert another mishap, the Aircraft Factory decide to build the new plane using computers - only this time, they mistake centimetres for yards. |
VHS and DVD releases
In 1987, after its debut on the BBC, twelve episodes were released on BBC Video, then reissued by 'Paradox Films' distributed Total Home Entertainment under licence from BBC Worldwide Ltd (Cat. No. THE 20003) in 1995.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Jimbo and the Jet-Set 1 (BBCV 4074) | 13 July 1987 | "The Little Big Problem", "First Time Fliers", "The Old Timer", "Jimbo Down-Under", "April Fools Day", "Jimbo and the Whale", "The Chief Gets a Rocket", "Jungle Jimbo", "Chinese Pandamonium", "Trouble at Sea", "Quiet Please", "Jinglebells Jimbo" |
In 1999, Castle Home Video released all 25 episodes on two videos but reissued on DVD by Rights Entertainment (distributed by Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd) in 2004 since the VHS versions became out of print in 2002.
| VHS video title | Year of release / Cat.No (VHS) | Year of release / Cat.No (DVD) | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jimbo and the Jet-Set: The Royal Visitors | 1999 (CHV 2015) | 2004 (8228105) | "The Royal Visitors", "First Time Fliers", "Holiday Weather", "Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud", "Jet Lag", "Trouble at Sea", "The Old Timer", "Winter Wonderland", "April Fools Day", "The U.F.O" |
| Jimbo and the Jet-Set: The Little Big Problem | 1999 (CHV 2016) | 2004 (8223728) | "The Little Big Problem", "Bermuda Triangle", "Jimbo and the Whale", "Jungle Jimbo", "Jimbo and the Astronaut", "Jimbo Down-Under", "Quiet Please", "The Chief Gets a Rocket", "The Controller's Apprentice", "Jinglebells Jimbo", "The Pennand Inca Story", "The Great Air Race", "The Little Red Devil", "Chinese Pandamonium", "The Computer Clanger" |
External links
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