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
GenreComedy
Entertainment
Adventure
Created byDave Bonner
Developed byRed Balloo Productions
Written byDavid Bonner
Jimmy Hibbert
Directed byDean Roberts
Mark Marren
Voices ofJimmy Hibbert
Eve Karpf
Rob Rackstraw
Susan Sheridan
Theme music composerMcasso
ComposerMcasso
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes46
Production
Executive producersTheresa Plummer-Andrews
James Coldwell
ProducerMorgan Francis
EditorsMark Edwards
Rory Timoney
Running time10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Release
Original networkCBBC
Original release12 October 2000 (2000-10-12) 
18 April 2002 (2002-04-18)

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
1Captain WhoThe Roons invade H032, but the newly recruited Captain Bright Light repels them.12 October 2000
2Dustywugg: Space MarineWith the H032 crew captured by the Roons, Dustywugg inspired by Captain Spectrum, goes superhero.19 October 2000
3WalkaboutCharge 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
4The InspectionThe 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
5Flash By NameCaptain Bright Light dreads a visit from his brother, Flash Light. However, Flash Light is not what he first appears to be.9 November 2000
6DustywuppyLivewire, 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
7Bird's Nest OopsAs 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
8A Bit Of A JamFed 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
9BikeyA Bikey called Spark visits the Lampies and, later that night, Livewire pays him an exchange visit.7 December 2000
10Thunder and FrighteningThe 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
11BouncerOn 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
12BorisA Pipistrelle Bat called Boris rests inside the lamp. As the Roons make a daytime attack, Boris scares them away.21 December 2000
13DecoyThe Roons kidnap Brigadier Big Beam. Using a diversion and the Roons' decoy, the Lampies rescue Big Beam.8 January 2001
14Dick StaticAfter a sudden knock on the head, Charge believes himself to be his private eye hero, Dick Static.15 January 2001
15Too Many CooksBurnout builds a cooking robot to help Spotlight, but the robot hardly improves cooking for the Lampies.22 January 2001
16StriplightCharge and Contact get lost, and find themselves beneath an airport runway.29 January 2001
17Tooth of the MatterCharge breaks a tooth, and has to visit the dentist.5 February 2001
18Chief BeefDeciding 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
19Cyber LampyA 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
20Roadworks 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
1NeonA musician named Neon has arrived at H032, and Livewire, Dustywugg and Spark get to play backup for him.28 October 2001
2Saved By the BikeySpark officially joins the team as a member of H032 and becomes a Lampie.30 October 2001
3The Boy Who Could See The LampiesPJ, a boy who can see Lampies gets friendly with Spark, Livewire and Dustywugg.2 November 2001
4Space WalkCharge, Livewire and Spark meet Geoff yet again, and they get a taste of life in Outer Space.4 November 2001
5Boogie LightsThe Roons Capture Neon as he is on the way to another of his hugely successful gigs.6 November 2001
6Pump It UpSpark gets a puncture, and he has to make visit to a human bike shop.7 November 2001
7Charge's Sausage Mole15 November 2001
8SackedThe Lampies of H032 face being sacked by Brigadier Big Beam.17 November 2001
9Roon Goo AttackThe 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
10HO32 SquadronSpark drives a remote controlled plane, to rescue Dustywugg the Dog, causing chaos in a hardware store.22 November 2001
11Bike GoneSpark earns his own bike, but after the Roons steal it, he and Livewire go on a daring mission to recover it.23 November 2001
12Moth MagicLivewire 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
13Football RoonigansH032 are invited to a football match by a Lampy who works in the floodlights at the football ground.6 December 2001
14Lampies, UnpluggedSpark and Livewire foil a fiendish plot to turn the lights out in H032.27 December 2001
15An Open and Shut CaseTwo 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
16The Haunted LampCharge'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
17Lights on LegsSpark and Livewire befriend a little frog in the power conduit.6 March 2002
18A House CallSpark and Livewire meet some very dull house-Lampies.8 March 2002
19The VacationGeoff the Alien takes Spark and Livewire to the holiday planet of Triluria.27 March 2002
20Watching Over LoisSpark's Granny is captured by the Roons.8 April 2002
21A Red Light at NightThe 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
22The Good RoonThe Arch Roon, an enemy of the Lampies, plans to infiltrate H032 by pretending to have turned over a new leaf.10 April 2002
23All That GlittersThe Lampies help a leprechaun who has had is crook of gold stolen by the Roons.12 April 2002
24A Day At The MoviesSpark 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
25A Roon AlertWith a nationwide blackout in progress, the crew of HO32 must make it through 48 hours of total Roon Apocalypse alive.16 April 2002
26A Bright Light in LoveCaptain 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

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