Noah's Island

Noah's Island
Noah's Island
Format	Children
Created by	European Broadcasting Union
Starring	Ron Moody Sally Grace Jon Glover David Holt Jill Schilling Melissa Sinden
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	39 (3 seasons with 13 episodes each) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	0:28 (per episode)
Broadcast
Original run	29 September 1997 – 21 December 1999

Noah's Island was an animated TV serial made by the creators of The Animals of Farthing Wood and commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union. It was directed by Philippe Leclerc and Alan Simpson and written by Elphin Lloyd-Jones and John M. Mills. Each episode, of which there were 39, ran for 28 minutes. Although not as successful as Farthing Wood, it was fairly popular on Saturday mornings in many of the homes of the United Kingdom, particularly with its younger target audience. The series was praised for its characterization, imaginative storylines and for introducing ecological themes in a way that delighted children.

Plot

The series focused on the adventures of a polar bear named Noah (voiced by Ron Moody) and a bunch of other animals who had been captured and were en-route to a new life in London Zoo. However the ship they were on was wrecked in a storm and the animals escaped. They find themselves on a mysterious floating island, a piece of land which has broken away from the Canadian coastline. The island becomes a sanctuary for a number of homeless animals. They work out how to get the island to co-operate with them and set off on a quest to find an uncharted island called Diamentina, while picking up other animals in peril along the way. Once they arrive there, it turns out to be more sinister than they imagined.

Characters

• Noah, the title character is a lovable, yet eccentric, polar bear. He is looked upon as the leader by many of the other animals and is thus elected Captain of the island. They turn to him when they need advice or help. He is ambitious and idealistic, wishing to turn the island into a safe haven for endangered animals. He develops a very close relationship with Sacha. Noah's most notable catchphrase is "Oh deary me."

• Sacha, a loyal, selfless, friendly, and cheerful desman, is always willing to be of assistance but is mostly ignored by a lot of the other animals, with the exception of Noah with whom he develops a close friendship. It may be said that the relationship between the two is similar to that witnessed between Badger and Mole in The Animals of Farthing Wood. He has a habit of incurring the wrath of others (even Noah) but is always willing to make up for any mistake he makes. Sacha has worked as a circus animal before he arrives on the island and has a dream to open up his own Island Circus. He wishes to use his performing skills to provide entertainment for the other islanders. His catchphrase is "Hoyski Poyski".

• Carmen is a female aardvark who always seems to speak through her long nose. She is friends with Sacha and has a sweet tooth for ants, termites or any creepy crawly. Carmen became friends with a Pangolin.

• Rocco is a silver-back gorilla who is the island's 'Chief Surgeon' due to his medical experience helping the vet back at the zoo. His best friends on the island are Woomera and Reg. He has a tendency to begin a sentence with 'I'm Rocco and...' Rocco is often found thinking about his lost wife Hetty, who drowned when the ship he and the animals were travelling in crashed. He begins to stop dwelling on this when he meets Gurtie.

• Gurtie is another gorilla who is saved by Noah and the Problem Walrus from a plane that crashes on a reef off-shore from the island. Gurtie has what seems to be a Northern English accent and obtained a great deal of information on the island from her "telly" in the zoo. By the end of the show's airing, she became Rocco's mate and they had a daughter together. Gurtie and Woomera did not often see eye to eye.

• Woomera is a kind-hearted and strong minded red kangaroo who can sometimes be very stubborn. Woomera was a nurse to baby joeys back in Australia before she joined the zoo. Because of this, she becomes a nurse alongside Rocco, the island doctor. She is good friends with Rocco but is not too keen on Reg. Woomera has a very pronounced Australian accent. She became mates with a kangaroo named Chip.

• Reg is a big-headed, arrogant mandrill whose lifelong ambition is to become closer to his human relatives. Reg will often be seen trying to read a book or walking on two legs in order to 'be more human.' He is good friends with Rocco but generally remains by himself in a secluded part of the island with his two "doggies" which are actually hyenas.

• Mammothsbody is a slow, simple-minded male mammoth with a great passion to marry Salomi. In the first series he is always rejected. In the second series he finally succeeds. Although, it was only when he narrowly escapes death that she realised how much he meant to her.

• Salomi is female mammoth who had to endure Mammothsbody's relentless proposals of marriage. Salomi is often found painting in the island's caves and is a strong-willed character. It is her father's map that leads the animals to Diamentena.

• Problem Walrus is the island's councillor and often has one or two of the animals telling him their problems. When not doing this, he spends his time on the beach participating in his most favourite pastime, sleeping.

• Jasper is a gibbon who always speaks 'ape', which is then translated into English by whoever he may be speaking to. Jasper is quite low in the pecking order on Noah's Island and often gets involved in awkward but funny situations. Despite being referred to as a gibbon, his appearance is more that of a proboscis monkey as he has a tail and a big nose, traits that gibbons do not possess.

• Nab is a neurotic orangutan who is "chief engineer" (as he insists on being called) of the island's "firebowl." He is the uncle of Jasper and speaks with a Scottish accent. The character of Nab is reminiscent of 'Scotty' from Star Trek.

• Ursula is a stubborn Russian brown bear. She has a crush on Noah, and her best friend is a panda. She speaks with a Welsh accent. In the episode Some Kind of Bear, she becomes Noah's mate.

• Chang is a timid, soft-spoken panda whose grasp of the English language is a bit shaky, as her native tongue is Chinese. Her best friend is Ursula, and they are always together. Late in the series, we discover she has the power of hypnosis.

• Wombat, sometimes referred to as Wommie, is a member of the island that the gang picked up in Australia whilst rescuing a bandicoot. He is a hyperactive character with virtually no sense of danger and is often seen attempting some kind of life-threatening stunt in his efforts to have fun, such as surfing a shark. Wombat, like Woomera, has an obvious Australian accent.

• Him (Vulture Patrol) is the most featured vulture in the show. 'Him' was the name given to him by the head of the vultures when he was selected to marry the squadron leader's daughter. 'Him' is a fairly dim-witted bird who usually says no more than "Erh."

• Baby Chick Bird is the quiet and shy son of 'Him' and 'Shirley.' He is an adopted nephew of Sacha and speaks very rarely. During a cold snap on the island, he borrows one of the Lion's "best fur balls" to keep warm.

• Squadron Leader, an elderly vulture, is the leader of the Vulture Patrol. In one episode he flies into the fire ball and is blinded temporarily. One characteristic that distinguishes him from the rest of the vultures is his two distinctive feathers that hang like earrings from the sides of his head. His long-suffering daughter is Shirley.

• Shirley is a female Vulture who does not have much of a part throughout the series. She is Him's mate.

• Mildred is another female Vulture. She is sometimes with Shiley and other Vulture.

• Do-Da is a crazy little dodo, hatched from a long lost egg who joins the Vulture Patrol.

• Grandfather Elephant is a 100-year-old elephant featured at the beginning of the first series before leaving the show to die quietly. His grandson is Tusker.

• Tusker is a little elephant who is looked after by Grandfather Elephant. When Grandfather Elephant leaves, he is left in the care of Salomi and Mammothsbody.

• Lion is a Corageous Character who is Strong and Bold, when the Island is Stuck at Antarctica, he gives Chick Bird one of his Fur Balls.

• Rhino is a simple character who is the island's chief "firebowl" valve operator due to his strength. He does not often say much apart from "pom, pom, piddle!", and has occasional outbursts of anger. He became the mate of a female Rhino.

• Wowee is a snobbish French poodle who was washed up on the shores of Noah's Island during a storm aboard a boat. She eventually joins Reg's "doggies" and becomes one of his fondest admirers.

• Sparky is a little white rabbit who seems to be a mute and communicates with the others by hand/paw gestures and is often referred to as 'Bunny' by the others. His occupation on the Island is not entirely known, yet in one episode he is portrayed as the 'lifeguard.' He has a cameo appearance in most episodes.

• Agatha is a well spoken, snobby giraffe who has a rather small role throughout the series.

• Hetty is Rocco's mate who was drowned in the shipwreck that brought all the animals to the island. She only appears once in the very first episode but is often referred to throughout by Rocco.

• Other animals on the island include a bandicoot, a pangolin, a mongoose, Imshee the Warthog, Calanor the Aye-Eye, a komodo dragon, four hyenas, another vulture, Jeremy the Beetle, Natasha the Golden Mole, another golden mole, several rock hyraxes, several tortoises, two sloths, two parrots, an entire elephant herd, and two other gibbons.

Residents of Diamantina:

• Queen Froggy is a giant frog who is the queen of Diamantina. Although she only likes animals that are frogs, she can hypnotise any animal into behaving like a frog.

• Galeo is Queen Froggy's assistant who does not speak a lot, but is very loyal to her.

• Morris is Queen Froggy's other small assistant. Queen Froggy takes good care of Morris, but he moved onto the island to join Sashu in performing circus tricks.

• Rita is female Mandrill. Early on she dislikes Reg and likes Jasper, but eventually becomes Reg's mate.

• Chip is little male kangaroo. He becomes mates with Woomera.

• Female Rhino is a rhino who becomes mates with the character 'Rhino'.

• Gome is a 100-year-old mammoth who is Salomi's father and Queen Froggy's third strong assistant. He is the leader of Mammothsbody's herd and does not seem to care for what he sees as "invaders" to Diamentina.

• Tina is newborn daughter to Rocco and Gertie.

List of episodes

All episodes were written by Steve Walker.[1]

Series 1

#	Title	Summary
1	"The Lost Zoo"[2]	A fireball from the sky causes Noah's home to break free from the Canadian coastline and float away. Now adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, the island runs out of steam in dangerous and freezing waters. Noah is ready to try anything to set the lava flowing again. Elsewhere a ship carrying a collection of animals bound for foreign zoos sinks in the middle of the ocean, leaving many of the surviving caged animals shipwrecked.
2	"Reg Draws a Map"[3]	The island is beset with territorial disputes. Having won the animals interest, Noah is continuing with his efforts to get them to co-operate as one community. However, Reg, believing Noah to be crazy with his eccentric ways, protests against it with his own idea of each animal having their own individual country on the island. When the two animals both argue over their different ideas, Reg wins. Noah is left by himself. While some of the remaining animals try to sort out their problems, Noah recruits a small band of animals who are assigned certain jobs around the volcano. Meanwhile, all of the animals are finding it difficult to adjust to their new territories after suffering setbacks. They crawl back to Noah eventually realising that he was right about them working and living together as a family.
3	"Sacha Finds a Home" [4]	Noah has a shower with the help of Mammothsbody, who uses his trunk as a hose. Noah explains his intentions to the mammoth of rescuing more animals from Spain as they pass the Iberian Peninsula. But as Mammothsbody prepares to refill his trunk with water, a jellyfish lodges itself in his trunk and is accidentally sucked up! Noah has to rush the distressed mammoth to the infirmary where he finds Rocco lying across the operating table, Woomera impatiently attempting to remove him. Upon seeing the stricken patient, the kangaroo knocks Rocco off the table. Rocco fists the jellyfish from Mammothsbody's trunk. At that moment Salomi enters and Mammothsbody proposes to her, but once again he is rejected as the female mammoth spots the jellyfish. A heartbroken Mammothsbody goes to Problem Walrus to seek advice on the matter but the walrus puts him down, telling him he is 'slow, dim, witty and clueless'. Later the island becomes home to a Russian desman named Sacha.
4	"Sacha's Busy Day" [5]	The island runs aground, and A Lion appears.
5	"Elephant Trouble"[6]	Tusker's ability to propel large quantities of paint across the cave walls proves most agreeable with Reg.
6	"Search for the Baby Elephant"[7]	Reg decides that his cave dwelling needs a splash of colour and therefore kidnaps the Baby Elephant to fill the vacancy of interior decorator. Tusker's ability to propel large quantities of paint across the cave walls proves most agreeable with Reg yet unfortunately the little elephant's grandfather does not seem to share in this venture. Grandfather elephant successfully rescues Tusker and dunks Reg in the remainder of the paint. Reg, absolutely furious by this, decides to attempt to drop a large boulder on the elephants yet as always it ends in tears for Reg; who ends up running for his life from an out of control 2 tonne boulder!
7	"Doggies"[8]
8	"The Shipwrecked Desman"
9	"Born To Be Wild"
10	"How To Be A Bear" [9]	As the island travels along the South American coast, the Vulture Squadron circles over the island and comes down to land. But the Squadron Leader accidentally flies into the fire ball and as a result is blinded, leaving him unable to fulfil his duties. The injured vulture is carried to the infirmary where Rocco tells him to breathe in some of the volcano's sulphurous fumes to cure his ailment. The Squadron Leader then announces his resignation. Things get worse for the squadron when Him announces that he wants to be a bear so he can attend Noah's Bear Evening, an event which he holds regularly for the other bears (Ursula and Panda). Noah advises Him to seek out Ursula who asks Panda to demonstrate her 'ferocity' for the hapless vulture. Elsewhere a stream has been diverted by a large log causing the island's water supply to flow in a different direction. Noah, Woamera and Rocco attempt to move it but fail. Grandfather Elephant is 100 years old and informs the rest of the animals he will be leaving the island. He tells Mammothsbody that he has 'a warm heart' who says to Salomi it is 'the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me' before proposing again. As usual he is rejected. Noah then comes to ask the ancient elephant to remove the log. Grandfather Elephant is not attending the Bear Evening as he is not a bear and so spends some time playing with Tusker on the beach. This involves burying a visibly astonished Problem Walrus in sand. Bear Evening is proving unsuccessful as Him upsets the peace and Ursula lunges at him from across the table. Sacha is upset at being unable to attend and plans a circus performance to coincide with the event. Lion? is somewhat bemused to find himself the main attraction and when Sacha encourages him to be fierce, he takes it literally and threatens to eat the desman. Sacha's pleas are heard by Salomi and Mammothsbody who are out for a walk on the beach. Salomi calls for help. Noah and the other Bear Evening attendees hear the commotion and Him flies off to the rescue, wanting to prove he is once again a vulture. Rocco is hosting a Monkey Night at the same time in Reg's home. When Reg walks in, he isn't happy at the intrusion. He then reveals he blocked the stream to create a waterfall. Rocco tells him that Grandfather Elephant is about to destroy all his work and Reg runs off to watch the destruction. Later the animals gather on the beach to watch Grandfather Elephant as he leaves. He tells Salomi and Mammothsbody to take care of Tusker from now on. Tusker is very upset. Noah's final narrative reveals he was best friends with the departed elephant.
11	"Woomera Runs Away" [10]	It is a normal day on Noah's Island until the silence is broken by the discovery of some dolphins on the beach. The animals assist Woomera, who gets a personal attachment to the situation, in enticing the dolphins back to the sea; alas the next day the dolphins have been washed up on the beach once again. By this time the entire island's population has fallen ill with the 'meese': a contagious virus similar to measles. So with the majority of the animals quarantined in the infirmery Woomera has no choice but to save the dolphins herself. All night she tries but her efforts are in vein, for at dawn she confides in Noah that 'they're all dead.' With a great sense of personal loss Woomera decides to leave the island and asks Noah to steer the island as near to South America as possible so she can swim ashore. When Rocco gets wind of Woomera's plan he races to the beach to stop her. But he is unfortunate enough to be in the firing line of a coconut, accidentally rolled off a cliff above by Sacha and his little cockroach friend. Knocked unconscious by this heavy fruit, Woomera turns to see Rocco face down in the surf. In an attempt to turn back to assist, from some offshore rocks she slips into the ocean and is taken ashore by yet another dolphin. She pulls Rocco from the water and realises her place is on Noah's Island.
12	"The Skating Rhinoceros"	In an attempt to reach the legendary Diamentina as soon as possible Noah decides to take a short cut around Cape Horn; an area of sea renounded for its vicious storms. During the passage through this treacherous stretch of water a massive wave crashes through the island and extinguishes the firebowl rendering the island merciless to the ocean currents. The animals are furious with Noah for not only has their only power source been lost but Mammothsbody has been seriously injured from the storm. Noah now a broken bear wanders off and Reg, never missing a trick, takes over and self-elects himself as captain. The island is drifting further and further south and the temperature is dropping and when snow starts to fall it is a welcome relief for the animals that Mammothsbody has recovered and Salomi has accepted his proposal of marriage. Whereas Noah, who is trying to square things with Reg, is far too occupied to bless the happy couple. Reg threatens Noah that he will 'set his doggies' on him if he doesn't leave but Noah isn't giving up that easily and with a little assistance from some visiting penguins Reg relinquishes his post and Noah returns to his rightful position.
13	"A Dodo Do-da Day "	Noah's Island has ended up floating very near to Antarctica which causes a rather chilly unpleasant environment for the island's animals. With snow and ice everywhere the animals all turn to Reg with his human genius to make them a fire. After some subtle persuasion Reg agrees and makes the animals a large fire in his cave. Meanwhile Sacha and Carmon have been exploring the winter wonderland and come across an uncovered egg. Intrigued they take the egg to Reg's cave where the fire hatches it. Nab, one of the only animals present at the hatching, recognises it instantly as a 'Do-Da', a famous extinct bird. Whilst these events are happening Noah, Sacha and Sacha's nephew (the baby vulture) are hot on the trail of a shooting star which has landed and become lodged at the highest point on the island. Also down in the Mammoth cave the long awaited wedding of Salomi and Mammothsbody is well underway with the majority of the island's animals present. One of the procedures at a mammoth wedding is to 'stomp' around for several hours and the animals reluctantly respect this ancient tradition yet the vibrations cause the ice above ground to crack. This in turn dislodges the shooting star from its resting place and causes it to roll down the hill side at tremendous speed, fortunately right into the firebowl freeing the island's energy once again. Enjoy

Series 2

('work in progress)

#	Title	Summary
1	"The Promised Land"
2	"The Once Plentiful Bandicoot"	Noah's Island has come alongside the great continent of Australia and Woomera is feeling homesick. Tired of being bossed around by 'a blinking gorilla' named Gurtie, who is orchestrating a mass replanting of the island from an Australian oasis, Woomera decides to check out her old stomping ground and heads off into the outback. After being challenged by Gurtie that bandicoots have now become extinct, Woomera sets off on a mission to find one but instead meets a wombat (Wommie). Wommie informs Woomera that the bandicoots have all been eaten by the Bunyip yet she is undeterred by this and is insistent on finding one. Meanwhile back on the island Jasper has spotted a tornado heading directly for them; it is then Noah's task to bring Woomera back to safety and so the island can resume its journey. Woomera is successful in finding her bandicoot and the gang leave Australia in one piece.
3	"Something to Squawk About"
4	"Visit to the End of the Whirlpool"	Rocco is very proud on the day in question as his first 'silver hair' has appeared on his back. Being a Silver Back Gorilla it is a momentous occasion for him. Meanwhile Reg has become sucked into a whirlpool that has appeared on another end of the island. Reg is fascinated by his discovery of a giant clam containing a huge pearl at the bottom of this watery apparition. The rest of the animals attempt to save him but all inevitably fall in as well. With a little assistance from Noah and Salomi, the stranded animals are rescued. However, Mammothsbody, on the escape from the whirlpool's depths, strangely pulls out and eats Rocco's silver hair.
5	"The Butterfly House"	Wombat (Wommie), a new member of the island has made a didgeridoo and its strange sound is attracting butterflies from everywhere. When Reg discovers this strange instrument's talent he relieves Wombat of it and takes up butterfly collecting. He soon discovers that Noah's Island is about to pass an uninhabited island which is likely to be a great chance to hunt down some new specimens to add to his collection. After tricking Rhino into adjusting the firebowl valve, Reg swims ashore, with Sacha and Noah in hot pursuit of him. The trio shortly discover that the only indigenous life on this island is a formidable, meat eating plant that seems to cover most of the island floor. Sacha is the first to fall victim to these evil plants' dinner plate but Noah comes swiftly to the rescue, swinging from the trees above in a Tarzan re-enactment to rescue his little friend. The other animals soon realise that the three are missing and turn back to the island and rescue them.
6	"Much Ado About Vultures"	Whilst Reg is mucking around on the beach, an old foe of Mammothsbody's surfaces: the shark. Squadron leader saves Reg from the wrath of this vicious marine creature but is fatally wounded and is convinced his time is up. With the Squadron Leader's impending death he decides that a competition must be held to determine who will succeed him as leader of the vulture patrol. A variety of contests take place including "Whelk Slurping" and "Pin the Tail on the Wildebeast", who is actually Mammothsbody (who is terrified that the vultures will "eat" him). Even though Reg is appointed as chief judge, many of the vultures end up in the infirmary. Then through a strange course of events 'Baby Chick Bird' wins and becomes designated the new squadron leader. After a brief speech at his inauguration ceremony the weak, old 'Squadron Leader' realises he still has "much to teach" his vulture patrol and conveniently rearranges his appointment with the Grim Reaper.
7	"Sacha the Termite Queen"
8	"A Mongoose in a Monsoon"	The Island has some univited visitors in this episode. Snakes arrive to wreak havoc by biting nearly every animal they meet. With the casualties mounting Noah looks to the vulture patrol to bring a mongoose from the mainland to help them. The vultures come up trumps and locate such a mongoose who then treats the bitten with his herbal medicines. Noah however gets spat at by the snake ring leader (a cobra) and is blinded. Luckily for him the effects are only temporary and his sight returns. The snakes are forced into retreat. Meanwhile Mammothbody fights the shark using problem walrus as a club. the snakes are loosed onto the sharks tail leaving island for good.
9	"The Golden Mole"
10	"Bad Gnus on Noah's Island"
11	"Aye-aye Captinski"
12	"Rocco Fights a Dragon"
13	"Taking Tortoises to Diamentina"

Series 3

#	Title	Summary
1	"Problems in Paradise"
2	"The Maniac Gibbon"
3	"An Old Mammoth's New Tricks"
4	"Sacha the Newshound "
5	"The Sheriff of Diamentina"
6	"The Great Wall"
7	"Reg Qualifies as a Frog"
8	"Nice Enticing Ice"
9	"Rocco Hates Raffia"
10	"Diamentina Rose"
11	"The Coral Reef"
12	"Some Kind of Bear"
13	"Adios Diamentina"

Cast

• Ron Moody—Noah/Rocco/Various Animals
• Sally Grace—Various Animals
• Jon Glover—Various Animals
• David Holt—Various Animals
• Jill Schilling—Various Animals
• Melissa Sinden—Salomi/Various Animals

See also

• List of BBC children's television programmes
• European Broadcasting Union
• List of Animals of Farthing Wood episodes

External links

• Noah's Island at the Internet Movie Database
• Official EBU Website
• Eurovision Children and Youth Television Programmes
• Steve Walker's Biography & CV