Boohbah

Boohbah
Created by	Anne Wood
Developed by	Ragdoll Productions for Cole Entertainment
Starring	Emma Ainsley Alex Poulter Cal Jaggers Phil Hayes Laura Pero
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	104
Production
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	Ragdoll Productions BBC ITV
Original release
Release	14 April 1999 (1999-04-14) – 2006 (2006)
Related
Teletubbies Teletubbies Everywhere Teletubbies Nursery Rhymes Teletubbies: Ready, Steady, Go! Teletubbies: Let's Go! Tiddlytubbies In the Night Garden... In the Night Garden... ZinkyZonk Specials

Boohbah is a British children's television programme. It was produced by Ragdoll Productions. It was made by Anne Wood. Alan Dapre and Robin Stevens wrote the scripts. Wood also made Teletubbies.

The programme was made for preschool children between the ages of three and six years old. It is mainly intended to be an exercise show. It is also meant to be silly, and to get children thinking. The show is similar to Teletubbies in that both have a science fiction theme. The Boohbahs are five furry round creatures. They are meant to be atoms of energy.

There are 104 episodes in total. Each episode runs for 25 minutes. In the United Kingdom, the programme started on 14 April 1999 on ITV. It was divided into two series of 52 episodes each. The second series began on 16 March 2006.

In the United States, the programme started on 5 January 2004 on PBS. All 104 episodes were shown as one series in the U.S. The last episode was shown on 17 September 2006. Boohbah is also shown in the Netherlands on Nick Jr. "Boohbah" means "doll" in Hebrew, but it is not known if the show was named for this.

Characters

The series focuses on the Boohbahs, a family of five plump, fuzzy, furry, round microscopic gumdrop-shaped dolls. They are played by actors in full-body costumes. The Boohbahs have sparkles that shimmer and big eyes. Their eyebrows are rows of tiny lights. The Boohbahs do not speak; instead, they make noises such as squeaks, squeals, poofs and clicks. The Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each one of them is a different colour.

A list of the Boohbahs is available below.

• Hum-Hum-Humbah "Hum-Hum-Hum" Boohbah (Emma Insley) is the first Boohbah. She is yellow and the leader of the Boohbahs.
• Zum-Zum-Zumbah "Zum-Zum-Zum" Boohbah (Alex Poulter) is the second Boohbah. He is purple.
• Zing-Zing-Zingbah "Zing-Zing-Zing" Boohbah (Cal Jaggers) is the third Boohbah. She is orange.
• Jum-Jum-Jumbah "Jum-Jum-Jum" Boohbah (Phil Hayes) is the fourth Boohbah. He is blue.
• Jing-Jing-Jingbah "Jing-Jing-Jing" Boohbah (Laura Pero) is the fifth Boohbah. She is pink.

The Storypeople

The Storypeople are a group of characters who live in Storyworld. They are in short stories. They are:

• Grandmamma (Linda Kerr-Scott) – An elderly but active woman. She has white hair and wears a dark pink housedress, white sweater, white socks, and red sneakers.
• Grandpappa (Robin Stevens) – An elderly but active Caucasian man. He has white hair and a white moustache; he wears a long-sleeved yellow shirt, dark gray slacks, red suspenders (UK: braces), and white sneakers.
• Mrs. Lady (Harvey Virdi) – A heavyset Indian woman. She has dark hair and wears a loose light blue blouse, loose bright pink pants, and pink sneakers.
• Mr. Man (Mark Ramsey) – A heavyset African man. He is bald and wears a short-sleeved bright pink shirt, white trousers, and black trainers.
• Brother (Manuel Bravo) and Sister (Vee Vimolmal) – Always paired, they both look like they are in their late teens. Brother: A Latino boy with short dark hair; he wears a bright blue t-shirt, bright red knee-length shorts, and white trainers with pink laces. Sister: An Asian (Thai) girl with hip-length black hair in a long ponytail; she wears a bright red t-shirt, bright blue capri pants, and white trainers with pink laces.
• Auntie (Sachi Kimura) – An Asian (Japanese) woman. She has short black hair and wears a long-sleeved lavender blouse, black trousers, lavender socks, and black shoes.
• Little Dog Fido (Dash) – A Jack Russell Terrier. He wears a red collar.

They do not speak. (When Little Dog Fido appears, he gives an "arf!") Though they sometimes show frustration or confusion, the Storypeople rarely, if ever,look upset or sad. The Storyland segments are narrated by actor Chris Langham. In each episode the Storypeople magically receive an object sent to them by a child or group of children.

The Boohball

One of the common things in Boohbah is the Boohball. The Boohball, a glowing white ball, is where the Boohbahs live, and it appears out of nowhere in various parts of the show. It travels from country to country when it is called by children. Inside the Boohball is a set of pods on a round, spinning base, where the Boohbahs recharge energy. It looks like five fuzzy ladle-like charger pods with the handles linked; and, alternate, pods are the Boohbahs' beds or they look like five fig halves. The energy is created by the laughter of the children when playing with the Boohbahs, the Boohball, and the Storypeople.

Other websites

• Boohbah on IMDb
• Boohbah at TV.com