Underground Ernie

Infobox Television
show_name = Underground Ernie


caption =
format = Animated children's television series
camera =
picture_format =
audio_format =
runtime = 12 minutes
creator = John Deery
Sid Rainey
developer =
producer =
executive_producer = John Deery Sid Rainey
starring = Gary Lineker
Janet Brown
Emma Weaver
Tim Whitnall
Chris Jarvis
narrated =
theme_music_composer = Miles Hunt, Sid Rainey, Martin Bell a.k.a. HRB Music Performed by The Wonder Stuff in 2003
opentheme = "The Importance of Being Ernie"
endtheme = "The Importance of Being Ernie" (Edit)
country = UK
language = English
network = CBeebies/BBC Two
first_aired = June 5, 2006
last_aired = present
num_episodes = 26
list_episodes =
chronology =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website = http://www.undergroundernie.com/
imdb_id = 0939516
tv_com_id =

"Underground Ernie" is a Computer-animated children's television series produced by Joella Productions in the UK and shown by the BBC on both CBeebies and BBC Two. It is set in International Station, a fictional worldwide underground network, and focuses on the everyday adventures of Ernie, a friendly Underground supervisor, Millie, his multilingual colleague and Mr Rails the lovable maintenance man. The trains under Ernie's watchful eye all have characters of their own. There's Bakerloo, Victoria, Circle, Jubilee and the twins, Hammersmith & City. From time to time they are joined by their friends from across the world including; Paris, Brooklyn, Moscow, Sydney and Osaka.

The show is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 8 years old. The initial series has 26 episodes each lasting 12-minutes. Its first showing on was on Monday 5th June 2006 on CBeebies.

Premiere

In its premiere run, "Underground Ernie" was broadcast twice a day five days a week - firstly on BBC Two at 9 a.m. and then repeated on CBeebies at 4.30 p.m.

In the first episode, "Pop Decoy", pop superstar "Sam 7" is performing at the theatre and Jubilee has to get him there without hundreds of fans finding out. Alas, the excitable Jubilee can't keep a secret and he and Ernie have to come up with a plan to get Sam 7 safely to the theatre.

Design

All the visuals for the show are produced using CGI computer graphics and that largely explains the high cost of the production (USD$7 million/£4 million) [http://www.commercialexploitation.org/news/totstvtoys.htm] . The first series was produced using LightWave 3D software. [http://www.joellaproductions.com/News.aspx?CF=News&NewsID=6]

Some critics have pointed out the similarities between "Underground Ernie" and "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", in that both series feature anthropomorphised talking trains. Whilst acknowledging a similarity, the producers make it clear that this is very different form Thomas and is very much based in the 21st century. Despite being underground trains, they often travel overground around open countryside to various stations including seaside resort.

The overall design is inspired by the real London Underground, and Transport for London has allowed the series to use design elements directly taken from their brand, in particular the use of their distinctive Underground logo, or 'roundel' as it's known.

Characters

Human characters

* The eponymous Underground Ernie is a supervisor (voiced by ex-footballer and television sports presenter Gary Lineker [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/exclusives/gary.shtml] ).
* Millie (voiced by Emma Weaver) is a computer expert working on the network.
* Mr. Rails is the maintenance man.

Trains

The majority of the characters are trains most of which take their names from lines of the London Underground network, though in Underground Ernie's world it is called "International Underground".*

* Bakerloo (voiced by Howard Ward) is an eccentric and has a hat similar to the style of Sherlock Holmes (the Bakerloo line used to end at Baker Street, where the fictional detective lived at number 221b) but has a profile resembling that of the Duke of Wellington, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, after the Waterloo station (Bakerloo is short for "Baker Street & Waterloo Railway").

* Hammersmith is twin brother to City, a fast and furious train who is a general knowledge "whizz". He wears blue spectacles.
* City is Hammersmith's twin brother and is also fast and furious but is an expert in mathematics and finances (presumably a reference to "the" City, where many of London's financial institutions are based. He wears pink spectacles. Hammersmith and City are usually coupled back end to back and run together as one train.
* Victoria (voiced by Janet Brown) is the oldest train and is like a mother to the other trains. She wears a crown to suggest the link between herself and Queen Victoria but visually appears more like a caricature of the present Queen, Elizabeth II. Although Victoria is presented as the oldest character in the series, the real life Victoria Line is actually one of the newest lines - only the Jubilee Line is newer.
* Circle (voiced by Chris Jarvis is a "hippy chick" - always helpful and rarely loses her cool.
* Jubilee (voiced by "Teletubbies" narrator Tim Whitnall) is the youngest train and is into computers, music, internet, emails, games and all the latest gadgets and technology. He can be mischievous but is still well-liked.

International trains

There are also five international trains, which Millie visits when she goes abroad every weekend. She always bring back exciting stories for Ernie, as well as a souvenir:
*Brooklyn, from New York, is decked out in the American Stars and Stripes.
*Sydney, from Australia, always wants to go to the beach.
*Moscow is from Russia.
*Paris is from France.
*Osaka is from Japan, and has a super-speed booster. He is decked out in a Rising Sun decorated bandana.

torylines

In each twelve-minute episode Ernie faces a problem, which he needs to fix with the help of the trains. This will typically involve one of the locations on International Underground or visitors coming via the Underground - often both.

Merchandising

In November 2005, Halsall International Ltd. announced that they had secured the rights to produce merchandising linked to "Underground Ernie" [http://www.toysnplaythings.co.uk/News_detail.asp?TnP_NewsID=157] . They hope to have products on sale by the autumn of 2006 with a comprehensive range available in 2007. The use of London Underground names and trains is a deliberate step to lead into merchandising suitable for children's gifts the revenue from which will be shared with Transport for London.

Theme Song

The show's theme song, performed by members of The Wonder Stuff under the name "HRB Music", [cite book | last=Roach|first=Martin | title=The Eight Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Eat Itself| publisher=Independent Music Press | year=2006| id=ISBN 0-9549-7040-3|pages=107] is called "The Importance of Being Ernie". This is a reference to Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest" (Ernie is short for Ernest).

References

External links

* [http://www.undergroundernie.com Underground Ernie website]
*
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/exclusives/gary.shtml Gary Lineker talks about his role as Underground Ernie - audio option]
* [http://www.joellaproductions.com/ Joella Productions website]
* [http://tfl.gov.uk/ Transport for London website]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/metro/article.asp?id=1076 TfL article about Underground Ernie]
* [http://www.commercialexploitation.org/news/totstvtoys.htm Article about merchandising and children's TV which mentions Underground Ernie]
* [http://www.room512.com/ernie.htm Article about Underground Ernie]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4326588.stm BBC News item about the new series]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk23/mon.shtml#ernie BBC Programme copy]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk23/feature_undergroundernie.shtml BBC Press Office interview with Gary Lineker about Underground Ernie]
* [http://www.toysnplaythings.co.uk/News_detail.asp?TnP_NewsID=157 Toys and Playthings article about merchandising for Underground Ernie]
* [http://www.deecee.tv/images/2_3d_gallery/underground_ernie.mpg An MPEG clip of the show]