The Lampies
The Lampies is a British 2000-2002 animated children's television series, created by David Bonner and features a mix of 2D and 3D animation.
| The Lampies | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy Entertainment Adventure |
| Created by | Dave Bonner |
| Developed by | Red Balloo Productions |
| Written by | David Bonner Jimmy Hibbert |
| Directed by | Dean Roberts Mark Marren |
| Voices of | Jimmy Hibbert Eve Karpf Rob Rackstraw Susan Sheridan |
| Theme music composer | Mcasso |
| Composer | Mcasso |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 46 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Theresa Plummer-Andrews James Coldwell |
| Producer | Morgan Francis |
| Editors | Mark Edwards Rory Timoney |
| Running time | 10 minutes per episode (approx.) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBBC |
| Original release | 12 October 2000 – 18 April 2002 |
Created by David Bonner in conjunction with Uli Meyer Animation Studios and music by Mcasso Music, there are 50 eleven-minute episodes that were originally commissioned by the BBC. Financial issues caused the creative and business drive to falter and momentum was lost. In 2003 The Lampies IP was bought from the receiver by a private investor. Surviving episodes of The Lampies remain available on magnetic VHS tape Plush Toys and DVD in the United Kingdom.
Plot
A group of sprite-like power engineers maintain and defend the lamp post H032 which is the critical area of the entire Lighting Network. The Roons, who live in the sewers below, are the creatures who plan to threaten the Lighting Network due to their strong dislike of light. Sewer rats can still also prove to be a pest to the Lampies.
Characters and Voice Cast
The Lampies Crew
- Burnout (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – The laid back Foreman of the Lampies who has to run scheduled switches for the lamp light. He has green skin, white hair and wears a blue jumpsuit.
- Spotlight (voiced by Eve Karpf) – The routine inspector of the Lampies. She acts like mother to the other Lampies. She has green skin, lavender hair and (mostly) wears a pink jumpsuit.
- Charge (voiced by Rob Rackstraw) – The clumsy, day-dreaming assistant worker of the Lampies. He is the most prone to problems. He has blue skin, blue hair and wears a yellow jumpsuit. There is a running gag involving Charge falling into control room through the hole in the ceiling.
- Contact (voiced by Susan Sheridan) – The serious and sensible computer operator of the Lampies. She has reddish skin, red hair and wears a yellow jumpsuit.
- Livewire (voiced by Susan Sheridan) – Contact's niece, who has pale peach skin, pink hair, speaks in a high-pitched voice, and (most of the time) wears a hot, pink jumpsuit. She is often pushed around by the grown-ups, nevertheless she manages to save the day several times. Livewire manages to play with Dustywugg, her pet, whenever she can.
- Dustywugg the Dog (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – A furry sprite who serves as the Lampies' pet and mascot. He has orange fur and can be quite cheeky at times, but the grown-ups, including Contact, always understand.
- Captain Bright Light (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – The absent-minded captain of the Lampies. He has pale skin, brown hair and wears a green jumpsuit. He has an older brother, Flash Light, who is bigger and stronger, yet he is not as brave as Bright Light.
Antagonists
- The Roons (voiced by Rob Rackstraw) – A large group of green-faced creatures, who live in the sewers below the Lampies world. They are afraid of light (even when it comes to small flashlights) and constantly try to break all the streetlights around.
- Arch Roon (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – The leader of the Roons who mostly stays in the yard, even though he doesn't show any signs of fear of the light. The only person he actually fears is his mother.
Other characters
- Brigadier Big Beam (voiced by Jimmy Hibbert) – The superior organiser of the Lighting Network. He has purple skin, white hair and wears a green uniform.
- Phosphorous (voiced by Eve Karpf) – The Brigadier's officer liaison and Charge's love interest. She has pale skin, brown hair and wears yellow shirt and red skirt.
- Captain Spentflint – Formerly the Lampies' captain and now retired. Criticised as a slave driver.
- Spark (voiced by Rob Rackstraw) – The keeper of a bike light. People like him are called Bikeys.
- Neon – A one-off character for the show's series 2 opener - features in the "Light Up the World For Christmas" single.
- Haywire (voiced by Rob Rackstraw) – A one-off character in series 1 episode 11 "Bouncer" who is Burnout's cousin, living in Lamppost HY11 in sector 14.
- Bouncer (voiced by Eve Karpf) – The chattering, gossiping green grasshopper who has blue eyes. She only appears in Series 1 Episode 11 "Bouncer" and is mentioned by quite a few of the main Lampies members, including Burnout.
Episodes
Series 1
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Captain Who | The Roons invade H032, but the newly recruited Captain Bright Light repels them. | 12 October 2000 | |
| 2 | Dustywugg: Space Marine | With the H032 crew captured by the Roons, Dustywugg inspired by Captain Spectrum, goes superhero. | 19 October 2000 | |
| 3 | Walkabout | Charge runs away from H032, along with Dustywugg the Dog following him. They both get lost in the sewers, but, in the end, Dustywugg finds the way back. | 26 October 2000 | |
| 4 | The Inspection | The H032 crew to try to clean their home in time for the Brigadier's inspection, when an alien called Jeff arrives with just what they need. | 2 November 2000 | |
| 5 | Flash By Name | Captain Bright Light dreads a visit from his brother, Flash Light. However, Flash Light is not what he first appears to be. | 9 November 2000 | |
| 6 | Dustywuppy | Livewire, Dustywugg's owner, adopts a Dustywuppy who turns out to be extremely messy. Eventually, he is returned to his rightful owners, and all is well. | 16 November 2000 | |
| 7 | Bird's Nest Oops | As Charge tries to fix a malfunction in H032, a pigeon mistakes him for her baby. The Lampies solve this and fix HO32. | 23 November 2000 | |
| 8 | A Bit Of A Jam | Fed up with being pushed around by the lamppost's grown-ups, Livewire leaves H032 all by herself, and manages to thwart a Roon plot to short circuit the lamppost. | 30 November 2000 | |
| 9 | Bikey | A Bikey called Spark visits the Lampies and, later that night, Livewire pays him an exchange visit. | 7 December 2000 | |
| 10 | Thunder and Frightening | The Lampies are missing a Denby Attecorn to prevent the worst during a thunderstorm. Contact manages to get one in time to save HO32. | 14 December 2000 | |
| 11 | Bouncer | On a visit to Burnout's cousin Haywire down at a farm, Charge rescues a trapped grasshopper named Bouncer, who in turn saves him from Mousetrap, a fierce-looking cat. | 21 December 2000 | |
| 12 | Boris | A Pipistrelle Bat called Boris rests inside the lamp. As the Roons make a daytime attack, Boris scares them away. | 21 December 2000 | |
| 13 | Decoy | The Roons kidnap Brigadier Big Beam. Using a diversion and the Roons' decoy, the Lampies rescue Big Beam. | 8 January 2001 | |
| 14 | Dick Static | After a sudden knock on the head, Charge believes himself to be his private eye hero, Dick Static. | 15 January 2001 | |
| 15 | Too Many Cooks | Burnout builds a cooking robot to help Spotlight, but the robot hardly improves cooking for the Lampies. | 22 January 2001 | |
| 16 | Striplight | Charge and Contact get lost, and find themselves beneath an airport runway. | 29 January 2001 | |
| 17 | Tooth of the Matter | Charge breaks a tooth, and has to visit the dentist. | 5 February 2001 | |
| 18 | Chief Beef | Deciding that it's time to build up his muscles, Charge visits Chief Beef's gym, but is the muscle bound chief genuine? | 12 February 2001 | |
| 19 | Cyber Lampy | A New Lampie is introduced to H032. He can do everything that the other lampies can do, and they worry they will lose their own jobs. | 19 February 2001 | |
| 20 | Roadworks | The Lampies have trouble sleeping one night, due to some noisy roadworks trying to take over H032. | 26 February 2001 |
Series 2
| # | Title | Summary | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neon | A musician named Neon has arrived at H032, and Livewire, Dustywugg and Spark get to play backup for him. | 28 October 2001 |
| 2 | Saved By the Bikey | Spark officially joins the team as a member of H032 and becomes a Lampie. | 30 October 2001 |
| 3 | The Boy Who Could See The Lampies | PJ, a boy who can see Lampies gets friendly with Spark, Livewire and Dustywugg. | 2 November 2001 |
| 4 | Space Walk | Charge, Livewire and Spark meet Geoff yet again, and they get a taste of life in Outer Space. | 4 November 2001 |
| 5 | Boogie Lights | The Roons Capture Neon as he is on the way to another of his hugely successful gigs. | 6 November 2001 |
| 6 | Pump It Up | Spark gets a puncture, and he has to make visit to a human bike shop. | 7 November 2001 |
| 7 | Charge's Sausage Mole | 15 November 2001 | |
| 8 | Sacked | The Lampies of H032 face being sacked by Brigadier Big Beam. | 17 November 2001 |
| 9 | Roon Goo Attack | The Roons plan to stop the Lampies "once and for all", by using their patent "Roon Goo", which could bring about the end of H032 permanently. | 21 November 2001 |
| 10 | HO32 Squadron | Spark drives a remote controlled plane, to rescue Dustywugg the Dog, causing chaos in a hardware store. | 22 November 2001 |
| 11 | Bike Gone | Spark earns his own bike, but after the Roons steal it, he and Livewire go on a daring mission to recover it. | 23 November 2001 |
| 12 | Moth Magic | Livewire looks after a moth which burns both its wings on the Lamp. Meanwhile, the Roons attack the Lampies of H032 with a honeycomb. | 5 December 2001 |
| 13 | Football Roonigans | H032 are invited to a football match by a Lampy who works in the floodlights at the football ground. | 6 December 2001 |
| 14 | Lampies, Unplugged | Spark and Livewire foil a fiendish plot to turn the lights out in H032. | 27 December 2001 |
| 15 | An Open and Shut Case | Two undercover agents visiting H032 are captured with Charge by the Roons, and Spotlight saves them posing as the Arch Roon's mother. | 3 March 2002 |
| 16 | The Haunted Lamp | Charge's past sins catch up with him, as he learns that you cannot run from your own mistakes... or bury them all. | 4 March 2002 |
| 17 | Lights on Legs | Spark and Livewire befriend a little frog in the power conduit. | 6 March 2002 |
| 18 | A House Call | Spark and Livewire meet some very dull house-Lampies. | 8 March 2002 |
| 19 | The Vacation | Geoff the Alien takes Spark and Livewire to the holiday planet of Triluria. | 27 March 2002 |
| 20 | Watching Over Lois | Spark's Granny is captured by the Roons. | 8 April 2002 |
| 21 | A Red Light at Night | The Roons topple the H032 lamp post. The Lampies try to find a way out before the lamp is crushed at the dump. | 9 April 2002 |
| 22 | The Good Roon | The Arch Roon, an enemy of the Lampies, plans to infiltrate H032 by pretending to have turned over a new leaf. | 10 April 2002 |
| 23 | All That Glitters | The Lampies help a leprechaun who has had is crook of gold stolen by the Roons. | 12 April 2002 |
| 24 | A Day At The Movies | Spark takes Livewire to meet a pair of Lampies who work in a cinema, only for him to be bored stiff by some home movies. | 14 April 2002 |
| 25 | A Roon Alert | With a nationwide blackout in progress, the crew of HO32 must make it through 48 hours of total Roon Apocalypse alive. | 16 April 2002 |
| 26 | A Bright Light in Love | Captain Brightlight is Captured by Roons when he goes to Visit a Female Lampy he fell for while on a lamp-commanders training course. | 18 April 2002 |
Reception
TV distribution rights for Series One were sold into 33 countries."International Songwriting Competition Results". 2006. When series one was broadcast in 2001 it regularly achieved over 40% of target viewing audience. This figure reached over 50% during 2002. Series two of The Lampies was completed in March 2002 and generated similar audience figures with prime slots on BBC 1 and 2.
Releases
HIT Entertainment released a single UK-only VHS tape release of the programme entitled "Captain Who and Other Stories" in 2001. ‘ The Lampies Rare Plush Bean Toys Launch 2001 Includes Livewire Dustywugg Roon & Charge After the sale of the series to LP Productions, the company began relaunching the series. An introductory DVD – Switch Onto the Lampies was launched on 7 April 2008. A full DVD release containing the first half of the first series - "A Bit of A Jam and Other Stories", was released on 19 May 2008.
LP Productions formed a partnership with Save the Children in 2008, where £2 from the sale of the introductory DVD went towards the Save the Children protection work.
References
External links
- The Lampies at IMDb
- The Lampies at toonhound.com
- Uli Meyer Animation Studios (TV section)
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