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''Teletubbies'' is a BBC Children's Television Series , particularly aimed at Babies and pre-school Toddler s, 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 programme was a rapid critical and commercial success in Britain and abroad, particularly notable for its high production values; it won a BAFTA in 1998. Although the show is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, the show was a substantial Cult hit with older generations, particularly College Students who bought the customary regulation T Shirts. ''Teletubbies say Eh-Oh'', a single based around the show's theme song, reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the top 100 for eight months, selling over a million copies. The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, the 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 the alleged psychedelic inspiration, for a perception that it was insufficiently educational, and for a claim that one of the four (Tinky Winky) was homosexual. OVERVIEW The programme features four colourful tubby creatures: Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, who live within a futuristic dome (the "Tubbytronic Superdome"), set in a landscape of rolling grasslands. The environment is dotted with unusually talkative flowers and periscope-like "voice trumpets". The only natural fauna are Rabbit s (although birds are often heard, particularly Blackcap and Wren ) and it is always sunny and pleasant save for one exception where puddles are required. The Teletubbies are played by actors encased in large costumes, although the sets are designed so as to give no sense of scale. The costumes vaguely resemble bulky spacesuits, although the Tubbies appear not to wear clothes. They are instead furry, and have metallic silver-azure rectangular "screens" adorning their Abdomen s. 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 used by default). The Teletubbies have the bodily proportions, behaviour and language of Toddler s. The pacing and design of the show was developed by a Cognitive Psychologist , Andrew Davenport, who structured the show to fit the attention spans of the target audience. The repeating of practically every word is familiar to everyone who has ever worked with young children. The Teletubbies speak in a gurgling baby language which is the subject of some controversy amongst 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, ''), as in: ''Eh-oh, Laa-Laa,'' to which Laa-Laa will respond, ''Eh-oh, Tubby's name ''; "Uh-oh", a common toddler response to anything untowards; "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 hugs!" which one or more of the Teletubbies will invariably call for during the course of an episode, resulting in an enthusiastic group hug ("Teletubbies love each other very much", confirms the narrator). The Surreal environment is an evocation of a Toddler 's perception of the world, where they are ordered about and told to go to sleep, whilst wonderful and mysterious things happen without explanation. A prominent feature of each episode is a radiant Sun that has an image of a smiling baby superimposed upon it. The baby in the sun occasionally laughs out loud in short bursts. To adults the laughter does not seem to be in response to any stimulus or humorous developments in the plotline of the episode. The Teletubbies' diet seems to consist exclusively of Tubby Custard (which is sucked through a spiral straw bowl) and Tubby Toast (circular toast with a smiley face on it). One of their companions is the Noo-Noo, a sentient, self-propelled Vacuum Cleaner . In 2001 production was cancelled and it was announced that no new episodes would be produced. It is reported that this was due to substantial pay raise demands by the previously anonymous actors portraying the Teletubbies. Since the four years of production had exceeded the target audience's range of ages, it was deemed that continuance was unnecessary, and the existing 365 episodes will be played in re-runs for years to come. In real life the Teletubbies' landscape was an outdoor set located in rural Warwickshire , England , at Sweet Knowle Farm, Redhill Bank Rd, Whimpstone, CV37 8NR (between Stratford Upon Avon and Shipston On Stour , close to the River Stour ; Google map {Link without Title} ). It was reported that by 2002 the set had become overgrown, and pending the 2003 lease expiration it was expected to become farmland again. CHARACTER SUMMARY Tinky Winky ( when in fact he may be Metrosexual . Tinky Winky aroused the interest of Jerry Falwell in 1997 when Falwell alleged that the character was a "gay role model". Falwell issued an attack in his ''National Liberty Journal'', citing a Washington Post "In/Out" column which stated that lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres was "out" as the chief national gay representative—while trendy Tinky Winky was "in". Falwell cited the Teletubby's purple colour, "purse", and triangle antenna as symbolic of homosexuality. These claims have caused some Conservative Christian s to regard Falwell's views as ridiculous. Dipsy (). Loves to dance. Has a darker coloured face than the rest, which may actually indicate Multiculturalism . Laa-Laa ( Nikky Smedley ): Female, yellow, curly antenna. Favourite thing: orange ball. Very concerned with the welfare of all. Thinks she's the best singer. "Drama queen", party-girl and mother type. Po (. Problem solver and best " Spider-fighter ". Tomboy type. Of all the Teletubbies, Po usually becomes most involved with the audience. Loves attention. Known for occassionally disobeying the commands of the Voice Trumpets. She also loves her curly red circular aerial on her head. She has a scooter. TRIVIA The Teletubbies released a single 'Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!', which reached #1 when it was released in December 1997. They released 'The Album' in April 1998, but it only managed to reach #31. Due to the actual size of the teletubbies costumes being well over 6ft the many rabbits seen in the show are actually of a special breed (possibly German Giants) in order to create the impression that the Teletubbies are of a normal size. L'AFFAIRE TINKY-WINKY One of the Teletubbies, Tinky Winky, was the focus of a still hinted-at controversy in 1999 due to his carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's purse (although he was first " Outed " by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter of July 1997 to '' The Face ''). A February, 1999 article in the '' National Liberty Journal '', published by Jerry Falwell , warned parents that Tinky could be a hidden Gay symbol, saying " {Link without Title} e is purple—the Gay Pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle—the gay pride symbol." In one episode, Tinky Winky is also seen trying on some form of skirt. A spokesman for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co. , who licenses the characters in the United States , said it was just a Magic bag. "The fact that he carries a magic bag doesn't make him gay. It's a children's show, folks. To think we would be putting sexual innuendo in a children's show is kind of outlandish." However, this did not stop people from wrongly interpreting the sounds that the original version of the Talking Po doll produced as "''faggot faggot''," or "''fatty fatty''," when in fact they were "''fai dee, fai dee''" ( Cantonese for "faster, faster"). However some of those who knew about the "fai dee, fai dee" in the Cantonese community (people from Southern China and Hong Kong ), were still outraged, believing that it created an "overly optimistic" Stereotype . Eventually the actor playing Tinky Winky was replaced with another, and the bag was removed. The producers of the show never conceded that they replaced him because of the controversy regarding the original actor's sexual orientation (actually it was because one of his previous jobs was a strip-o-gram). The fact that the Teletubbies are in full-body costumes throughout the show made this change, with the exception of the bag, unnoticeable. Some think the removal from the show was due to the "Here comes the Tubby Custard" episode rumoured to have happened on-set but after hours although this too has (understandably) not been confirmed either. SPOOFS AND REFERENCES At the height of the show's popularity it was heavily parodied. Several episodes of '' as part of an angry mob who work for PBS , '' Days Of Wine And D'oh'ses '' where a character called Gaa Gaa says "hurt everyone" which goes unnoticed because of the character's "cute name", in '' Lisa The Treehugger '' the Couch Gag has The Simpsons as the Teletubbies, and in '' Marge Vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples And Teens, And Gays '' the Teletubbies make a live appearance in a parody of a Raffi concert, where the Teletubbies serve themselves Tubby custard and the predominantly toddler audience becomes excited at this seemingly simple act. In the British sitcom The Vicar Of Dibley , Alice Tinker has her Bridesmaid s dressed in Teletubby costumes for her wedding in the episode ''Love And Marriage''. In the '' Family Guy '' episode " A Hero Sits Next Door ", Stewie is momentarily hypnotised by the Teletubbies. In the '' South Park '' episode " Ike's Wee Wee ", Gay elementary school teacher Mr. Garrison is watching Teletubbies while High on Marijuana . In Retarded Animal Babies , a popular internet flash movie series, Bunny brings costumes of his favorite TV show characters, the Telefuckies. The Australian sketch show, Full Frontal , included many sketches of the fictional Telestubbies named Lager Lager, Pisspo, Drinky Winky, and Tipsy. These four Teletubby look-alikes emblazoned with Australian Beer labels would wander around aimlessly committing crimes. At the Drag Strip Santa Pod in the UK one of the track cleaning machines is painted, lettered and referred to (over the public address system) as Noo-noo, offering a little light relief for spectators when there is debris or oil on the track. CONTROVERSY The most wide-ranging controversy is (as mentioned) the alleged gender confusion caused by Tinky Winky's supposedly Homosexual traits. At least one young children's teacher in Brazil conducted unsubstantiated experiments involving children's reaction to some episodes, and concluded that they experienced problems with the Gender Role s of the characters and their own identification with them. Apparently some parents, as a result have forbidden their children to watch the program; others do allow this but with direct supervision to ensure the children Identify only with the perceived heteronormative ' Straight ' characters. Other commentators have complained about the " was taken to be a direct reference to the drug Ecstasy . This was commented on by Hal Sparks in an episode of I Love The 90s , in which he says the Teletubbies is like "an acid trip for children needed ". The owners of the series have also been extremely strict in the protection of their Copyright and, as such, have refused to allow the Teletubbies characters to be used in school plays or any production outside those commercially controlled by the production company. A Boston Lawyer once accused Dipsy, as a bath toy, of child endangerment. He was put on a 10 most dangerous toy list, later joined by the Laa-Laa bath toy. Their antennas were hard plastic and understandably a jabbing concern in a slippery, wet tub. In the show's native UK most of these controversies either went by largely unnoticed, and indeed reports of the controversies of Tinky Winky's alleged homosexuality and the alleged psychedelic nature of the programme from other countries were met with amusement by the media. However, controversy over the Teletubbies speech possibly harming the linguistic development of children which had wide media exposure, but ultimately nothing came of it. In another instance a boy's Tinky Winky toy purportedly said "I got a gun". {Link without Title} ALTERNATIVE NAMES Teletubbies has been reversioned for many different countries, sometimes involving a change of title.
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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