Boohbah

Boohbah
Format	Children's television series
Created by	Anne Wood
Developed by	Ragdoll Productions for Cole Entertainment
Starring	Emma Ainsley Alex Poulter Cal Jaggers Phil Hayes Laura Pero
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	104
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CITV GMTV PBS Kids
Original run	2003 – 2005

Boohbah is a 2003 children's television series produced by Ragdoll Productions and aimed at children between three and five years old. It premiered in 2003 on GMTV and CITV in the United Kingdom, in the United States on PBS and PBS Kids Sprout. It was created by Anne Wood with scripts by Alan Dapre and Robin Stevens (of Pob fame). Anne Wood also created the children's show Teletubbies (another Ragdoll series). The similarity between this show and Teletubbies, both of which have a science fiction theme, is notable. The website says, "The design of the show – visually and otherwise, draws upon early concepts in science, maths and art and combines these with ‘televisual magic’ to create a uniquely funny television experience." One of the show's trademarks is a child's voice pronouncing the show's name in song (BOOH.....BAH).

There were 104 twenty-five minute episodes. The show was shown in the USA on PBS Kids in HD until 2005 when it was taken off the air along with Teletubbies and Reading Rainbow. Boohbah was also shown in the Netherlands on Nick Jr.. Currently, the series continues to air on Tiny Pop in the UK. "Boohbah" means "doll" in Hebrew, and the rounded shape of the central characters is reminiscent of the bouba/kiki effect, but it is not clear if these ideas influenced the name of the show.

Boohbah is rumored to return on Mini CITV and PBS Kids by January 2012.

The Boohbahs

The Boohbahs are five furry, gumdrop-shaped creatures played by actors in full body costumes. Their thick, shimmery fur sparkles with tiny lights; their Kewpie doll style heads are hairless and feature big eyes with rows of lights for eyebrows. The Boohbahs do not speak, but instead make noises like squeaks, Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each Boohbah is a different color. They are:

• Humbah (Yellow) – Pedro Lopez
• Zumbah (Purple) – Alex Poulter
• Zing Zing Zingbah (Orange) – Cal Jaggers
• Jumbah (Blue) – Phil Hayes
• JIngbah (Pink) – Laura Pero

The Boohbahs can fly; part of their routine is to assemble into a circle, holding hands like skydivers. Each then emits a different musical note as a flash of colored light (matching the Boohbah's color) is sent out from their heads to a central point.

The Storypeople

The Storypeople are a diverse group of familial characters who inhabit Storyland and there participate in various innocent vignettes inspired by the presents (see below). They exist as wholesome archetypes. They are:

• Grandmamma (Linda Kerr-Scott) – An elderly yet spry woman. She has white hair and wears a dark pink housedress, white sweater, white socks, and red sneakers.
• Grandpappa (Robin Stevens) – An elderly yet spry Caucasian man. He has white hair and a white moustache; he wears a long-sleeved yellow shirt, dark gray slacks, red braces (US: suspenders) and white trainers (US: sneakers).
• Mrs. Lady (Harvey Virdi) – A heavyset Indian woman. She has dark hair and wears a loose light blue blouse, loose bright pink pants, and pink sneakers.
• Mr. Man (Mark Ramsey) – A husky African man. He is bald and wears a short-sleeved bright pink shirt, white trousers, and black trainers.
• Brother (Manuel Bravo) & Sister (Vee Vimolmal) – Always paired, they both appear to be in their late teens. Brother: A Latino boy with short dark hair; he wears a bright blue t-shirt, bright red knee-length shorts, and white trainers with pink laces. Sister: A Thai girl with hip-length black hair in a long ponytail; she wears a bright red t-shirt, bright blue capri pants, and white trainers with pink laces.
• Auntie (Sachi Kimura) – A Japanese woman. She has short black hair and wears a long-sleeved lavender blouse, black trousers, lavender socks, and black shoes.
• Little Dog Fido (Dash) – A Jack Russell Terrier. He wears a scarlet collar & barks sometimes. However, he does not make "farting" noises like the rest of the boohbahs.

They do not speak. (When Little Dog Fido appears, he gives an "arf!") Though they sometimes exhibit frustration or confusion, the Storypeople rarely, if ever, appear upset or sad. The Storyland segments are narrated by actor Chris Langham. In each episode the Storypeople magically receive an object sent to them by a child or group of children.

The Boohball

One of the common features in Boohbah is the Boohball. The Boohball is where the Boohbahs live, and it appears out of nowhere in various parts of the show. It travels from country to country when it is called by children. Inside the Boohball is a spinning recharging pod, where the Boohbahs recharge energy. It resembles five deep spoons with the handles linked, or, alternatively, the hammocks resemble five fig halves. The energy is created by the laughter of the children when playing with the Boohbahs, the Boohball, and the Storypeople. It makes cookies in its spare time.

The elements of the program

Each show follows the same sequence of events in every episode. The sequence of events are:

• Fundings. Zing Zing Zingbah hands three white balls to the others. All the Boohbahs play with the balls, and Humbah and Jumbah toss them all into the air. The balls go round and round. A female announcer says, Boohbah is/was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you. The closing is the same. Also, there's another version where the logos are seen on a big projector screen. Zumbah turns on the projector. And the others watch the funders. The voice-over is the same as the balls variant. And there's also a version where the logos are seen on a sky background with clouds. Funders can change. The voice overs can be the same as the ball and projector versions, Boohbah is/was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you., or Boohbah is/was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• Opening title. The Boohball flies over at least 3 out of 15 different countries (Australia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States)
• Boohbah warm up dance. The children call the Boohbahs by their names ("Humbah, Zumbah, Zing Zing Zingbah, Jumbah, Jingbah – Booh!"), and then the Boohbahs join each other one by one, hand in hand, in a simple yet demanding dance. After all have surrendered and joined in, the pace increases until all the Boohbahs are out of control. As a child calls out their names, they then freeze, stand spread-eagled, and retract their heads. When all have stopped, the children yell, "Booh!" and the Boohbahs fly upward into their circle formation.
• Present giving, in which a group of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 children bring "a present for the Storypeople" and they blow it. It enters the Storyworld when the children blow it there. The present given will be the theme of the segment.

	Some examples of presents
bell musical pipe stack of blocks forklift truck seesaw yellow, woolly sweater cakes	bubble-making machine shed bass drum small couch treasure chest suit of armor swim flippers assorted musical instruments	giant camera jack-in-the-box pile of balls play tunnel brick wall a giant hotdog a pile of bananas a rocket ship

• Storyworld and the Storypeople, which is based on the present given in the last segment. During the segment, one or more of the Storypeople will find the present and interact with it. Often the Storypeople will encounter a problem, inspiring the unseen but observing children to say the magic word, which is "Boohbah!" This freezes the story and allows the children to blow another gift to the Storypeople, which enables the story to continue and lead to the problem's solution. These segments are filmed in Spain, unless the segments involve snow, in which case, the respective segment is filmed in Pinewood, England.
• Boohbah dance, where the Boohbahs perform a dance somewhat related to the "Storyworld and the Storypeople" segment. This dance is slightly more complex than the "warm up" dances.
• Look What I (or We) Can Do, shown in the American version in which actual children perform dances of their own. Three different dances are featured per show, and are simple so the home audience can follow along. After this segment, there is a disclaimer on the same background as the funders, telling home audience to learn more about "Boohbah" at pbskids.org.
• End title, in which the Boohball flies off to another country with children calling from far away.

Funding

• Nike, Inc. (2004)
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (2003-2005)
• Viewers Like You (Thank You) (2003-2005)

External links

• Official website
• Boohbah at the Internet Movie Database (2003–2005)
• Boohbah at TV.com