Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin

Written by	Bruce Stewart, Betty Quinn, Roger Dunne, Rick Maier, Ken Saunders, Robert Guillemot
Directed by	Howard Ruby, Russel Webb
Starring	Gerry Duggan José María Caffarel Bill Conn Ric Hutton Justine Clarke
Opening theme	The Poop Poop Song, composed by Bob Young, lyrics by Roger Mirams
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	24 episodes in six parts
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ian Holmes, Michel Noll
Producer(s)	Roger Mirams
Running time	25 mins (Some networks combined the episodes into the 6 parts of the story)
Production company(s)	Grundy Organisation Revcom Television KRO, Hilversum Televisión Española
Release
Original network	Nine Network
Original release	1986 (1986)

Professor Poopsnagle's Steam Zeppelin was a popular Australian TV show for kids. It was also known as Professor Poopsnaggle and His Flying Zeppelin. This series was a spin-off from another show called Secret Valley.

The show first aired in Australia in 1986 on the Nine Network. It became very popular in the United Kingdom. It was shown there in 1987 and repeated several times. The story is split into 6 main parts. Each part has 4 episodes. Some TV channels even showed these parts as longer movies.

The Story of Professor Poopsnagle
Characters
See also

The Story of Professor Poopsnagle

Professor Poopsnagle held a very important science secret. He was kidnapped, and his disappearance put the world of science in danger. His young grandson, Peter, helped him with his research. Peter asked Professor Garcia for help. Garcia was a long-time friend of the professor.

A group of children were on holiday at the Secret Valley Camp. They helped Professor Garcia and Peter. Together, they built a flying bus! They called it the Poopmobile. They used it to chase the kidnappers. They also tried to finish Poopsnagle's secret work. A special document helped them. Garcia and the children slowly figured out its hidden messages.

But there was a spy among them! Matt was secretly helping the bad guys. Count Sator and his helper, Murk, were the kidnappers. Despite many funny and exciting adventures, Professor Garcia and his young friends won in the end. The children showed great bravery. Matt, the spy, realized his mistake and changed his ways.

Part 1: The Stranger Arrives

Dr. Jose Calandre Garcia was working on a new idea called Mega-steam. He lost touch with his old friend, Professor Poopsnagle. Garcia decided to find Poopsnagle and continue their work. He traveled to Australia in a hot air balloon.

But the evil Count Sator found out Garcia's plan. He sent his henchman, Murk, to shoot down the balloon. Murk shot it down, but Dr. Garcia survived. Some children from the Secret Valley holiday camp rescued him. When they heard his story, they decided to help him. Their mission was to find the 6 special minerals for Mega-steam.

Garcia only had a phone number for Poopsnagle. He called it and left a message. Instead of Poopsnagle, a 12-year-old boy showed up. It was Peter, Poopsnagle's grandson! Together, they decided to build a flying bus. Professor Poopsnagle had designed it.

The children found old junk in a deserted town. They used an old bus wreck as the base. Following Poopsnagle's plans, they built the flying bus. It ran on steam and could fly! Count Sator sent another spy, Willie Dingle. Dingle hired Matt, one of the children, to report on the group.

Peter had an old parchment from his grandfather. It had a secret message written in Latin. After they decoded it, they found the first golden salamander. These salamanders were buried long ago. They showed where each mineral was hidden. Each salamander had a new secret message.

The first salamander led them to a cave. They survived a gas explosion in a mine shaft. They found their way into a hidden valley. There, they found the second salamander and the first mineral.

Part 2: Island Adventure

The message on the second salamander told them to fly towards the sea. They took off in the Poopmobile. A strong storm hit them. The bus was tossed around, and Dr. Garcia struggled to control it.

After a while, they flew out of the storm. They saw an island and decided to land. They needed to check the bus for damage. On the tropical island, they heard strange sounds. They also found giant footprints, suggesting a monster lived there.

The message from the last salamander pointed to this very island. The storm had accidentally taken them to the right place! They split into groups to find the next salamander and mineral.

During their search, pirates captured two of the children. Willie Dingle was also on the island. Murk had flown him there to spy for Count Sator. Dr. Garcia cleverly freed the children. The pirates then captured Willie Dingle. They threw him into quicksand. One of the children felt sorry for him and pulled him out just in time.

With Dingle, the doctor and children continued their search. They climbed down a deep ravine behind a waterfall. There, they found the third salamander. The second mineral was right next to it. Peter fixed the Poopmobile. The group then flew off the island and headed home.

Part 3: Lost in the Desert

Back at Secret Valley, they decoded the newest message. Dr. Garcia and the children got ready to find the "Rosy Prize." They knew the direction from the old Torres Parchment. So, they jumped into the Poopmobile and flew off.

Willie Dingle was watching. He told Count Sator they had left. Matt helped Dingle track the Poopmobile. Sator followed in his special computer home. The Poopmobile left tracks on the ground. Dingle and Matt followed them. But the children realized they might be followed. They quickly took to the air.

Sator told Dingle to use a hang glider to watch them from above. Sator and Murk went back to the castle. Poopsnagle had escaped his cell! Dingle, helped by Matt, took off in the hang glider. He crashed but managed to hit the Poopmobile. He used darts to burst its hot air balloon.

The children were not badly hurt. But their flying bus was badly damaged. All the water from the steam engine had evaporated in the desert heat. Jamie believed he could find water using his bushman skills. He took Shorty and Sparks into the desert. He survived, but Shorty and Sparks suffered from thirst.

A traveling actor, Mr. Use-to-Was, saved the boys. His camel, Emanuel, brought them back to camp. Dr. Garcia was very relieved. The children used pulleys from the bus to pull it out of the sand. The brave camel helped them. Jamie then showed them how to collect water. He used plastic to absorb water from under the bus, using the sun's heat.

Meanwhile, Matt felt bad about the children having no water. He secretly brought a large container of water from his own camp. He left it by the Poopmobile at night. Jamie, sleeping under the bus, saw him. The next morning, everyone was amazed to see the container full of water.

When Sator returned, he was angry at Dingle and Matt for losing the water. He ordered them to raid the Poopmobile's camp. They did this at night. But Jamie, painted in ceremonial colors, scared them away. He was trying to use his Aboriginal dream time powers to bring rain.

While the doctor and children looked for Jamie, Sator raided the Poopmobile. He stole Dr. Garcia's notes on Mega Steam. The doctor and children were very upset. The next morning, heavy rains came. The children collected the water to fix the steam engine. Soon, they were flying again. Count Sator's vehicle was stuck in the desert mud.

Carmen realized they were looking at the "Rosy Prize." A wind storm blew some of Dr. Garcia's notes away from Sator. The children found both the Rosy Prize and the salamander. They gathered the notes flying in the wind. Mr. Use-to-Was appeared with more notes he found in Sator's van. He had traded his camel for Sator's comfy vehicle!

The doctor and children returned to Secret Valley, feeling victorious. Sator was left riding the camel, followed by Murk, Dingle, and a regretful Matt.

Part 4: Commando Raid

In the barn at Secret Valley, the doctor and children decoded the latest message. Matt was listening outside. When the others left, he sneaked in and copied the message. He was almost caught but managed to hide a listening device under the table. Dingle was listening nearby.

The lookout saw Dingle's car. Sparks decided to investigate. He found Dingle and learned about the bug in the barn. He ran back to warn the others. They found the device. They then gave Dingle false information to send him in the wrong direction.

The doctor and children left camp to find the next salamander and mineral. Murk, in disguise, followed them. They went to a fishing village. Two children got trapped in a ferry's cargo hold. Murk kidnapped Dr. Garcia and took him to the castle. Sator questioned Garcia and threw him into a cell. Poopsnagle was in a nearby cell, but they didn't know it.

The children suspected Dr. Garcia was captured. They asked the police for help. Sator was very helpful and let them search the dungeons. But they found nothing. Poopsnagle had escaped again! As the police left, the door opened automatically. Poopsnagle tried to run out, but Sator quickly caught him again.

The children planned a night raid on the castle. They were sure Garcia was in the dungeons. They found Garcia but not Poopsnagle. Sator trapped them in a cell that filled with water as the tide rose. Matt, who had been following them, helped the children escape through a high air vent. The Poopmobile was waiting above. They climbed aboard using a ladder. Sator was furious but couldn't stop them.

Once free, the doctor and children flew to an island "joined by sand." This was part of the secret message. They saw it from the air. When they landed, they quickly found the salamander and mineral using a metal detector. Successful again, they headed home to decode the next message.

Part 5: Race to the Finish

The children were already on their way to their next adventure. They needed to find an "M" shaped bend in a river, north of their camp. As they flew, they saw a bush fire and people in trouble. They landed and rescued a man, a woman, and some small animals. The woman was desperate for them to find her daughter, Alice. Alice had left the farm to find her horse, Victory Stride.

They dropped the rescued people off at Rivers Bend town. The children then searched for Alice. They found her. Carmen stayed with Alice, while the Poopmobile guided them from above. They escaped the fire. Sparks, back at Secret Valley, helped by warning nearby towns about the fire. He also accidentally found the salamander's location. He passed this information to the doctor.

The latest salamander was attached to the Jambaroo Shield. This was a trophy for the winner of a horse race called the Jambaroo Shield Stakes. The children decided to enter the race with Victory Stride. But the horse needed a trainer.

Dingle was sent to buy all the other horses. Sator wanted to win the race himself. He bought a horse called Black Eye and hired a jockey. Dingle then watched the children. He saw them looking for the mineral along the river.

Old Sid Chesney, a horse trainer, agreed to train Victory Stride. He also knew where the fifth mineral was. He had found the salamander originally. After they safely had the mineral, they were about to go to the race. But Murk had sabotaged their bus! He had sawn through the drive shaft.

Race day arrived. Sator was angry to see the Poopmobile flying to the race course. Victory Stride was slung underneath it! Sid Chesney had trained the horse well. Alice couldn't ride due to an accident, so Jamie was ready to race.

The race began. Dingle tried to trick Jamie with a confusing sign. Sator's jockey threw dirt in Jamie's face and tried to push him off the horse. But Jamie held on. Even though Sator put a fresh horse on the track, Jamie still won the race. Sid helped him at the last moment.

The salamander was theirs! But they were shocked. There was no secret message on it. To make things worse, Dingle had put a hidden camera on the Poopmobile. Even Matt didn't know about it.

Part 6: The Last Mineral

As they returned from their last adventure, Peter used a clever trick. He revealed the secret of the last salamander's message. At their base camp, they decoded it. To their surprise, the last mineral was under the Sydney Opera House! How would they find it?

Sator was very amused. He could see their every move on the hidden camera. He bragged to a terrified Poopsnagle. Sator had also arranged for Matt to let Dingle and Murk into Secret Valley late one night. They took the minerals and salamanders from the safe. Sator blackmailed Matt into helping him get the doctor's notes. Now Sator had everything he needed to make Mega Steam.

The children held a "kangaroo court" for a very sad Matt. He tried to convince them he had a plan to get their things back from Sator. At first, the children and the doctor didn't want to listen. But they realized they had no plan without Matt's help. They decided to give him one last chance.

Matt had been given a special communicator as payment. He used it to contact Sator. They recorded Sator's voice. They needed it to trick the computer guarding his castle. But first, they had to get Sator to leave.

Divina Devaga worked at a museum in Sydney. Sator had never met her but knew she had a strong European accent. Carmen used Peter Poopsnagle's voice changer and some makeup. She pretended to be the mysterious Divina. She completely fooled Sator! While she was dining with him at Roberto's Restaurant, the others got back the minerals, notes, and salamanders from Sator's stronghold.

But Sator returned before they finished! He captured Peter Poopsnagle. This was when Peter was sadly reunited with his grandfather.

Not giving up, the doctor and children went to the Opera House. They successfully found the final mineral: water! Back at the doctor's lab, they worked on the Mega Steam problem. Sator contacted them on Matt's communicator. He told the doctor that if he didn't get the notes back by morning, they would never see Peter or his grandfather again.

Garcia pretended to give up. But after the call, he managed to make a small amount of Mega Steam. They used this Mega Steam in the Poopmobile. They pulled out a side wall of Sator's computer room. They saved Peter and Professor Poopsnagle from Baby Julius, Sator's scary caged pet.

Sator had fired Dingle earlier. So, Sator was left alone and couldn't get help. He met a bad end with Baby Julius. The others escaped with their precious cargo. Murk's fate was not shown. The secret of Mega Steam was safe. It could be used for a pollution-free world. The Poopmobile was now free to fly on to new adventures!

Characters

Professor Poopsnagle (Gerry Duggan)
Carmen (Justine Clarke)
Matt (Kelan Angel)
Peter (Philip Henville)
Mike (Marc Gray)
Jamie (Rory Bromhead)
Sparks (Mark Kazuhiro Pearce)
Robyn (Melissa Kounnas)
Doctor García (José María Caffarel)
Willie Dingle (Bill Conn)
Count Sator (Ric Hutton)
Murk (Ron Blanchard)
Shorty (Ken Talbot)
Joanne (Tonya Wright)
Used-to-Was (Leonard Teale)