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3rd & Bird facts for kids
| 3rd & Bird | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Josh Selig |
| Directed by | Jennifer Oxley |
| Starring | Sam Lewis Eden Jarrett Morgan Gayle Michael Fenton Stevens Anna Nygh Charlotte Leslie-Cameron Preston Nyman David Beckford Candida Gubbins |
| Country of origin | United States United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 51 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Josh Selig Kay Benbow Chris Rose |
| Producer(s) | Josh Selig, Fred Weinberg |
| Running time | 10 minutes approx. |
| Production company(s) | Little Airplane Productions |
| Distributor | Little Airplane Productions BBC Worldwide |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBeebies |
| Audio format | Dolby Surround |
| Original release | 1 July 2008 – 31 July 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Oobi, Wonder Pets! |
3rd & Bird is a children's television series created by Josh Selig. Selig's company, Little Airplane Productions, animated the series and opened a new studio in London to produce it. The show revolves around a community of birds and their adventures. It was broadcast on the BBC's CBeebies channel from 1 July 2008 to 31 July 2010. Described in its initial press release as "a charming new animated series all about community", the show's format generally involves one or more of the characters encountering a problem which must be solved using the social skills which pre-school children must develop in order to make their way in the world.
The show uses an animation style known as "photo-puppetry", in which the animation is created by the use of manipulation of photographs (similarly to Josh Selig's previous venture Wonder Pets).
Contents
Characters
Main characters
- Samuel (voiced by Sam Lewis) - The eldest of the Lovebird children, Samuel is a green lovebird. He acts as a role model to his younger sister, Muffin, and often tries to teach her how to be responsible.
- Muffin (voiced by Eden Jarrett) - A pink lovebird and Samuel's younger sister. Not yet old enough to fly, she usually rides on Samuel's back. Muffin calls Samuel "Sam'el," Rudy "Udy," and Mr. Beakman "Beaky."
- Rudy (voiced by Morgan Gayle) - Rudy is a cockatoo (despite resembling a cockatiel more closely) and Samuel's best friend. She wears a bracelet of colored stones on her ankle.
- Mr. Beakman (voiced by Michael Fenton Stevens) - The children's teacher, a wise but somewhat pompous toucan who frequently acts as the voice of parental authority. He shows an interest in mariachi bands.
Supporting characters
- Mrs. Billingsley (voiced by Anna Nygh) - A New Zealand gardening kiwi and the oldest bird in the treetop community. She wears a sunhat and is incapable of flying, which occasionally causes problems.
- Missy (voiced by Charlotte Leslie-Cameron) - A fashionable great blue turaco who speaks with a thick French accent. She refers to Samuel and his friends as "little birds."
- Quinn - (voiced by Preston Nyman) - A teenage puffin inventor and technical whizz whose creations often feature in the younger birds' activities. The younger birds look up to him.
- Mr. and Mrs. Lovebird (voiced by David Beckford and Candida Gubbins, respectively) - Samuel and Muffin's parents, with Northern English accents. Despite being rarely seen, they care deeply for their children. Mr Lovebird is the tree's caretaker.
- Baby Jordan (voiced by Reiss Lewin) - Mr. Beakman's nephew, who often uses big words like his uncle. He calls Muffin "Uffin."
- Elliot (voiced by George Phillips) - A worm who is friends with Samuel, Muffin, and Rudy.
The cast also includes world champion musical whistler, Michael Barimo, whose whistling accompanies the music of the show.
Episodes
Season 1 (2008–09)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Fly, Muffin" | 1 July 2008 |
| 2 | 2 | "Bird Theatre" | 8 July 2008 |
| 3 | 3 | "A Chorus for Us" | 15 July 2008 |
| 4 | 4 | "To Play or not to Play" | 22 July 2008 |
| 5 | 5 | "Muffin Express" | 29 July 2008 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Rudy Show" | 5 August 2008 |
| 7 | 7 | "Super Slide" | 12 August 2008 |
| 8 | 8 | "Costume Party" | 19 August 2008 |
| 9 | 9 | "Meet Elliott" | 26 August 2008 |
| 10 | 10 | "Pogo Nest" | 2 September 2008 |
| 11 | 11 | "Samuel's Dance" | 4 November 2008 |
| 12 | 12 | "Rolling Along" | 11 November 2008 |
| 13 | 13 | "Perfect Picnic" | 18 November 2008 |
| 14 | 14 | "Pie Fair" | 25 November 2008 |
| 15 | 15 | "Muffin's Shop" | 2 December 2008 |
| 16 | 16 | "Dinosaur" | 9 December 2008 |
| 17 | 17 | "Go Camping" | 16 December 2008 |
| 18 | 18 | "Starry Night" | 23 December 2008 |
| 19 | 19 | "Amazing Muffin" | 30 December 2008 |
| 20 | 20 | "Ice Skating" | 14 February 2009 |
| 21 | 21 | "Playhouse" | 21 February 2009 |
| 22 | 22 | "Cowgirl" | 28 February 2009 |
| 23 | 23 | "Muffin's Plant" | 4 March 2009 |
| 24 | 24 | "Baby Jordan" | 11 March 2009 |
| 25 | 25 | "A Very Squooky Christmas" | 18 March 2009 |
Season 2 (2009–10)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | "Muffinland" | 25 March 2009 |
| 27 | 2 | "Meow Kitty" | 3 April 2009 |
| 28 | 3 | "Mariachi Muffin!" | 10 April 2009 |
| 29 | 4 | "Beach Branch!" | 17 April 2009 |
| 30 | 5 | "Elliot the Budgie" | 24 April 2009 |
| 31 | 6 | "Art Show" | 31 April 2009 |
| 32 | 7 | "Down to Earth!" | 7 May 2009 |
| 33 | 8 | "Road Trip!" | 14 May 2009 |
| 34 | 9 | "Paint Job!" | 21 May 2009 |
| 35 | 10 | "Storm!" | 28 May 2009 |
| 36 | 11 | "Scooter!" | 4 June 2009 |
| 37 | 12 | "Race!" | 11 June 2009 |
| 38 | 13 | "Train!" | 18 June 2009 |
| 39 | 14 | "The Moon!" | 25 June 2009 |
| 40 | 15 | "Balloon Ride!" | 2 July 2009 |
| 41 | 16 | "Help Daddy!" | 9 July 2009 |
| 42 | 17 | "Ahoy!" | 16 July 2009 |
| 43 | 18 | "Robot!" | 23 July 2009 |
| 44 | 19 | "Baby!" | 30 July 2009 |
| 45 | 20 | "Muffin's Friend!" | 10 October 2009 |
| 46 | 21 | "Aunt Esther!" | 17 October 2009 |
| 47 | 22 | "Prince!" | 24 October 2009 |
| 48 | 23 | "Night Hike!" | 31 October 2009 |
| 49 | 24 | "Play Nicely!" | 28 November 2009 |
| 50 | 25 | "Talent Show!" | 14 March 2010 |
| 51 | 26 | "Jamaica!" | 31 July 2010 |
Broadcast
In 2009, BBC Worldwide sold the rights of the show to Canadian TV network Treehouse TV. In 2010, Disney Channel bought broadcast rights to the show and aired it on Playhouse Disney. Following the change of the channel name in September 2011 to Disney Junior, the program continued to air and was rolled out to foreign countries including the United States, where it aired dubbed into American English, as well.
Merchandising
In January 2009, BBC Worldwide announced plans to release 3rd & Bird merchandise, including wooden stacking toys, pull along vehicles, play sets and musical instruments, as well as wheeled toys, including trikes, scooters, and ride-ons. The product line was released in spring 2010.
Two compact discs featuring the 3rd & Bird theme song (along with many other CBeebies show tracks) were released by CBeebies titled CBeebies: Song Time (2010) and CBeebies: The Album (2012).
DVDs/Books
A DVD titled Bird's The Word! and containing 8 episodes of the series was released in March 2009, accompanied by a series of books tying into the show. A second DVD, Muffin Land!, was released in June 2009.