- Bob and Margaret
Infobox Television
show_name = Bob and Margaret
caption =
format =Animated comedy
runtime = 30 mins
creator =David Fine andAlison Snowden
starring =Andy Hamilton /Brian George as Bob Fish
Alison Snowden as Margaret Fish
Steve Coogan as Various
country = UK,Canada andUSA
network = UK:Channel 4 ,
BBC Two
Canada:Global Television Network
USA:Showtime
Israel: HOT cable network
first_aired =June 22 ,1998
last_aired =December 25 ,2001
num_episodes = 52
list_episodes =
website =
imdb_id = 0122813
tv_com_id = 282"Bob and Margaret" was a Canadian/UK
animated television series that was also shown in theUnited States and all over the world. It was based on the Academy Award winning animated shortBob's Birthday , featuring the same main characters. The award-winning series is one of the few Canadian TV shows to ever have regular American exposure. In Canada, it was the highest rated Canadian made animation series ever when it aired in prime time onGlobal Television .The show revolved around a
married English couple named Bob and Margaret Fish, amiddle class 40-ish working couple with nochild ren and twodog s named William and Elizabeth. Bob is adentist and Margaret is achiropodist (podiatrist for American viewers, though the term was not dubbed and changed during US broadcasts of the episodes). Bob and Margaret struggle with everyday issues and mid life crisis. Stories often revolve around the mundane, but in a way which is imminently relatable. From the trials of shopping to dealing with friends who annoy them, but owe them a dinner.In the first two seasons, Bob and Margaret lived in England, in the
South London community ofBalham . For the third and fourth seasons, however, they moved toToronto , Canada, allowing the writers to explore the humour of culture clash. The move was actually inspired by the realities of funding, with certain Canadian tax benefits dependent on stories actually based in Canada. As such, to keep the series funded, the move was necessary. The creators of the series (real-life husband-and-wife David Fine and Alison Snowden, see below) chose to take an executive role on these latter two series, reviewing scripts and consulting, but not involved in the detail they were for the first two series. Snowden continued to provide the voice of Margaret, but Bob's voice, originally played by Andy Hamilton, was replaced by Brian George. Some of the Canada-based episodes use the "culture clash" theme to parody this pressure and regulation.The programme was shown in the United Kingdom on
Channel 4 andFtn , in the United States onComedy Central , and in Germany and France onARTE . Comedy Central only showed the two "London" seasons. The third and fourth "Toronto" seasons were eventually shown (almost 2 years after Comedy Central showed the last second season episode) on theShowtime cable channel; they currently rerun all four seasons on their specialty "Showtime Women" channel.The series was produced by
Nelvana , a Toronto animation studio, and created by Canadian David Fine and Brit Alison Snowden. The series was based on theshort film "Bob's Birthday", which won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar in1994 .Bob and Margaret currently airs on
Adult Swim Latin America and on Canada's YTV. Cartoon Network Brasil airs its four seasons on the Adult Swim program. The London seasons also get shown in the UK, currently onChannel 4 .The second series can be found on Region 1
NTSC DVDs in Canada and Region 2PAL DVDs in the UK. Season one can still be found on VHS in PAL (at least in the UK) and NTSC (at least in Canada), but not on DVD, as of yet (owing to contractual issues with the distributor of season one)ee also
*
O Canada (TV series) "(Cartoon Network series that featured "Bob's Birthday")"External links
*imdb title|0122813
* [http://old.arte-tv.com/fiction/bobandmargaret/dtext/00.htm Bob and Margaret on Arte TV]
* [http://www.snowdenfine.com/ SnowdenFine.com] — the creators' website
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