Bump (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bump the Elephant |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | Charles Mills Terry Brain |
| Written by | Christopher James |
| Narrated by | Simon Cadell |
| Composer(s) | Steve Augarde |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Theresa Plummer-Andrews |
| Producer(s) | Dennis Hooper |
| Running time | 5 minutes (one 10-minute Christmas special) |
| Production company(s) | Queensgate Productions Abbey Broadcast Communications |
| Distributor | Abbey Home Media |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC1 (Children's BBC) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | 14 September 1990 – 26 December 1994 |
Bump is a British animated children's television series which was created by Charles Mills and Terry Brain (who had previously created The Trap Door and Stoppit and Tidyup), produced by Queensgate Productions and originally shown on BBC One from 14 September 1990 to 26 December 1994.
The series' two main protagonists were the eponymous Bump (an elephant who was very clumsy, a trait that was emphasised by a bandage stuck onto his forehead) and his friend Birdie (a bluebird who often gave Bump advice on how he could become more graceful). The two series ran a total of twenty-six episodes, each 5 minutes long. The twenty-seventh and final episode was a Christmas special that was 10 minutes long. The programme was narrated by Simon Cadell (1950-1996) of Hi-de-Hi! fame.
Bump and Birdie regularly encountered animals that had a problem (such as Whizzer the mouse, Munch the tortoise, McDuff the dog, Big Bun and Little Bun the rabbits and Batty the bat) and would help them to find a solution. Most of these animals were recurring characters, and all of the characters' Stoppit and Tidyup-like sounds were generated by analogue synthesizers.
Contents
Episode list
Series 1 (1990)
All thirteen of the first series' episodes were initially shown on BBC One as part of the Children's BBC strand on Fridays at 3:50 pm.
| No. overall |
No. in series |
Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Bump and the Hole" | 14 September 1990 |
| Birdie offers to take Bump to a place where there are no trees to bump into. | |||
| 2 | 2 | "Bump and the Clouds" | 21 September 1990 |
| Bump has a dream about sitting on a cloud and floating around the world. | |||
| 3 | 3 | "Bump's Upside Down Friend" | 28 September 1990 |
| Bump and Batty have something in common - they both like standing on their heads. | |||
| 4 | 4 | "Bump Plays a Trick" | 5 October 1990 |
| Whizzer turns over a new leaf after a game of hide-and-seek. | |||
| 5 | 5 | "A Ride with Bump" | 12 October 1990 |
| Bump has something special to share with his friends. | |||
| 6 | 6 | "Bump's Lost Button" | 19 October 1990 |
| Bump is very upset when he loses one of his buttons, so all of his friends help him to look for it. | |||
| 7 | 7 | "Bump Has a Funny Day" | 26 October 1990 |
| Strange things happen when Bump finds some stones. | |||
| 8 | 8 | "Bump's New Game" | 2 November 1990 |
| Bump decides that walking backwards will stop him bumping into things. | |||
| 9 | 9 | "Bump Learns to Fly" | 9 November 1990 |
| Bump's attempts at flying leave him firmly on the ground. | |||
| 10 | 10 | "Bump and the Monster" | 16 November 1990 |
| Bump has a big surprise when he and Birdie take a stroll by the river. | |||
| 11 | 11 | "Bump Wants to Help" | 23 November 1990 |
| Bump is saddened to discover he is too big to help his friends. | |||
| 12 | 12 | "Bump's Loud Song" | 30 November 1990 |
| Bump's loud trumpeting makes a din and saves the day. | |||
| 13 | 13 | "Bump Goes Away" | 7 December 1990 |
| When Bump feels he is a nuisance, he finds out who his real friends are. | |||
Series 2 (1994)
All thirteen of the second series' episodes were initially screened on BBC One, again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Mondays at 3:45 pm, and although they were produced in 1993, they were not broadcast until 10 January 1994. The sixteenth episode was also renamed to just "Aunty Doreen's Surprise" when shown in the United States, while the twenty-fifth one was renamed to "Bump and the Builder".
| No. overall |
No. in series |
Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Bump's Umbrella" | 10 January 1994 |
| Birdie comes to the rescue when Bump has problems with his umbrella. | |||
| 15 | 2 | "Bump and the Talking Tree" | 17 January 1994 |
| Bump becomes a laughing stock after he is caught talking to a tree. | |||
| 16 | 3 | "Bump and Aunty Doreen's Surprise" | 24 January 1994 |
| Birdie tells Bump that Aunty Doreen is waiting for him by the river with a surprise. | |||
| 17 | 4 | "Bump and the Bucket" | 31 January 1994 |
| Bump steps back and plants his foot in a bucket whilst trying to get out of Whizzer's way. | |||
| 18 | 5 | "Bump's First Ride" | 7 February 1994 |
| Birdie takes his friends for a ride, but then notices that Bump is looking a little sad. | |||
| 19 | 6 | "Bump's Big Ears" | 14 February 1994 |
| When Bump pulls on a piece of string hanging from a tree, he is surprised to find it belongs to Cousin Jay. | |||
| 20 | 7 | "Bump and the Baby Mountain" | 21 February 1994 |
| Bump makes a flag and is eager to show it to Birdie. | |||
| 21 | 8 | "Bump and the Statue" | 28 February 1994 |
| On the way to meet his friends with his truck, Bump encounters a tall, grey figure in the bushes. | |||
| 22 | 9 | "Bump and the Flying Flowers" | 7 March 1994 |
| Bump loves flowers, especially those with a nice smell. | |||
| 23 | 10 | "Bump's Special Day" | 14 March 1994 |
| Bump gets very angry with himself because he cannot remember something important. | |||
| 24 | 11 | "Bump and the Pouncing Game" | 21 March 1994 |
| When Bump goes to visit Birdie one morning, he will not leave his tree. | |||
| 25 | 12 | "Bump the Builder" | 28 March 1994 |
| Bump is tidying up his house, but decides to go out and play instead. | |||
| 26 | 13 | "Bump and the Windy Day" | 4 April 1994 |
| Birdie will not come out to play because the wind is blowing too hard. | |||
Christmas special (1994)
The twenty-seventh episode was initially shown on BBC One, once again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Boxing Day 1994 at 7:55 am.
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | "Bump's Christmas Story" | 26 December 1994 |
| On his way to see Santa Claus at the North Pole, Bump meets a snowman who convinces him that Christmas may never happen. | ||
Credits
Series 1
- Narrated by: Simon Cadell
- Animation: CMTB Animation
- Artwork & Music: Steve Augarde
- Stories by: Christopher James
- Executive Producer: Theresa Plummer-Andrews
- Produced by: Dennis Hooper
- © Bump Enterprises Ltd. 1990
Series 2
- Stories by: Christopher James
- Narrated by: Simon Cadell
- Animated by: CMTB Animation
- Edited by: Nick Upton
- Art & Music: Steve Augarde
- Art Director: Peter Corri
- Executive Producer for the BBC: Theresa Plummer-Andrews
- Executive Producer for Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc: Anne Miles
- Directed by: Terry Brain
- Produced by: Dennis Hooper
- © Bump Enterprises Ltd. 1993
- An Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc. Videal Productions - GMBH Production
- © Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc. Videal Productions - GMBH 1993
UK VHS releases
Two VHS tapes, which contain all thirteen episodes of the first series between them, were released by Abbey Home Media in the UK in 1991. The first one was later reissued on DVD under the title Bump: My First DVD in 2004 (three episodes from the second series and the Christmas special were also released on another DVD, Bump: Christmas Story, in 2006, but they were never previously released on VHS).
| VHS title | Release date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Bump: My First Video | 11 February 1991 | Bump Has a Funny Day, Bump Learns to Fly, Bump and the Monster, Bump's Loud Song, Bump and the Clouds, A Ride with Bump |
| The Adventures of Bump | 4 March 1991 | Bump and the Hole, Bump's Upside Down Friend, Bump Plays a Trick, Bump's New Game, Bump Goes Away, Bump's Lost Button, Bump Wants to Help |
