Teletubies
The Teletubies started in the U.K. and proved to be a popular children's show. In April 1998, the U.S.A. picked up the Teletubies on PBS, and proved to be popular with American children too. Teletubies is a show about creatures known as Teletubies (so called because they're tubby, and have TV screens in their stomachs). The Teletubies live in Teletubbyland, and faraway place inhabited...
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The Teletubies
- The Teletubies are played by actors dressed in bulky costumes, although the sets are designed to give no sense of scale. The costumes vaguely resemble large spacesuits, although the Tubies appear not to wear clothes. They are instead furry, and have metallic silver-azure rectangular "screens" adorning their abdomens. These screens are used to segue into short film sequences, which are generally repeated at least once. When the series is shown in different countries around the world, the film inserts are to be tailored to suit local audiences (The British inserts are default).An immediate sensation in its native Britain, Teletubies was also a ratings smash in the U.S. as well, although Tinky Winky became the center of a media controversy in 1999 when Christian leader Jerry Falwell suggested the character was secretly gay.
- The Teletubies speak in a gurgling baby language which is the subject of some controversy among educationalists, some of whom argue that this supposedly made-up talk is not good for children (a similar complaint was made forty years previously about another children's series, Flower Pot Men).[1] Tubbies are at the stage of understanding speech but not yet fully capable of articulating it, exactly like their target audience. They often simply groan in disapproval in situations where a human toddler would throw a tantrum. The Teletubies' catch-phrases are Eh-oh (hello), as in: Eh-oh, Laa-Laa, to which Laa-Laa will respond, Eh-oh, [other Tubby's name]; "Uh-oh", a common toddler response to anything untoward; "Run away! Run away!", especially from Dipsy; and "Bye-bye" at least four times in a row. Laa-Laa, when flustered, will explode with "Bibberly cheese!", which is as angry as they get. Perhaps the most common exclamation, however, is "Big hug!" which one or more of the Teletubies will invariably call for during the course of an episode, resulting in an enthusiastic group hug ("Teletubies love each other very much", confirms the narrator).
- Tinky-Winky is an odd one. He's the biggest Teletuby, and he's certainly a gentle creature, often to be seen ambling around Teletubbyland, mumbling to himself, or skipping around holding the now legendary red handbag (or red purse, if you're American) in the bend of his arm. You might also catch him wearing the communal Teletubbyland tutu. So, well, okay; everybody has their own preferences, right? Tinky-Winky's are just a bit less conventional than the norm. In 2001, production was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced. It is often alleged that this was due to substantial pay rise demands by the previously anonymous actors portraying the Teletubies.
