Teletubbies

Production
From left: Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po, and Tinky Winky
Format	Children`s television series
Created by	Anne Wood Andrew Davenport
Developed by	Ragdoll Productions for BBC Television
Starring	Dave Thompson Mark Heenehan Simon Shelton John Simmit Nikky Smedley Pui Fan Lee
Narrated by	Tim Whitnall Toyah Willcox Eric Sykes
Opening theme	Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	365 (List of episodes)
Executive producer(s)	David G Hiller Vic Finch
Running time	25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC PBS Kids
Original run	31 March 1997 – 5 January 2001

Description

Teletubbies is a BBC BAFTA winning children`s television series, primarily aimed at pre-school viewers, produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Anne Wood CBE, Ragdoll`s creative director, and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show`s 365 episodes. The show`s original narrator was Tim Whitnall. The show first aired on 31 March 1997, and was syndicated in the United States on the PBS network on 6 April 1998. It rapidly became a critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad (particularly notable for its high production values), and won a BAFTA in 1998.1 In 2001 production was canceled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced, with the last episode being aired on 5 January 2001. The show centers around the adventures of Teletubbies Tinky Winky, who is purple, Dipsy, who is green, Laa-Laa, who is yellow, and Po, who is red. In the show, the four colorful Teletubbies play in the cheerful and fun Teletubbyland. They do things that little children like to do, such as rolling on the ground, laughing, running about, and watching real children on the televisions on their bellies. Mysterious pinwheels and telephones rise out of the meadow to show the days` activities. The sun, who has a baby`s face, makes baby noises during the show, and it rises and sets to begin and end the show. The baby was portrayed by Jessica Smith.2 Although the show is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it has a substantial cult following with older generations, mainly university students3. The mixture of bright colors, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and the occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to a demographic who perceived the show as having psychedelic connotations. Teletubbies was controversial for this reason, and also for a perception that it was insufficiently educational.14 The show was also at the center of a controversy when American cleric and conservative pundit Jerry Falwell claimed in 1999 that Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies, was homosexual. Falwell based this conclusion on the character`s purple color and his triangular antenna; both the color purple and the triangle are sometimes used as symbols of the Gay Pride movement.5 However, despite an ensuing boycott, the show remained in production for two more years, and "Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!"", a single based on the show`s theme song, reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies.