The Shiny Show facts for kids

The Shiny Show was a fun and educational British TV program. It aired on channels like CBeebies, BBC One, and BBC Two. The show was made by Open Mind Productions. It first came out in 2002. Each episode was a quiz with six questions. These questions covered many different topics. The show featured four main characters: Tigs the Tiger, Mukka the Monkey, Dogsby the Dog, and a machine named Alarmorama.

Meet the Characters

Tigs the Tiger

Tigs is an orange tiger. She is often very confident and a bit boastful. Tigs is super lively. She usually gets the main role in the short plays or poems the group performs. These acts happen between the quiz rounds. Tigs has a special lucky item. It is a plastic lump of Cheese called Mr. Cheese. It squeaks when she squeezes it! Sue Monroe provided Tigs' voice.

Mukka the Monkey

Mukka is a purple monkey. He is known for being extremely hyperactive. Mukka has his own lucky item. It is called Fluffy Stuff. He also has a pet lump named Lumpy. Wim Booth was the voice of Mukka.

Dogsby the Dog

Dogsby is a brown dog. He is the most sensible member of the group. Dogsby usually stays calm no matter what happens. His lucky item is a purple and yellow Hat called Lucky Hat. Dogsby never wears it. He says he might get "too lucky!" Dogsby also sometimes struggles with getting colors right. Sally Preisig voiced Dogsby in series 1. Sam Mason took over for series 2. Liz Fost voiced him in a special Christmas appearance.

Alarmorama the Machine

Alarmorama is a toy machine. It sits on one of the walls in the living room. Alarmorama does not speak. Instead, it uses different noises to communicate. This machine performs many important actions in the show:

• It plays the show's theme song to start the episode.
• It chooses who will be the "quizzer." This person asks all the questions for that episode.
• It plays a special song for the quizzer.
• It starts each of the quiz rounds.
• It gives out "shinies" and the "Super Shiny" to the audience.
• It waves with one hand to signal the end of the show.

Sometimes, when Mukka and Tigs were being loud, Dogsby would thank Alarmorama. He would say "Thank you, Alarmorama" or "Saved by the Alarmorama" in a relieved voice. This happened when Alarmorama started the next round.

How the Quiz Works

The quiz has three rounds. Before answering questions, the three animal contestants watch a short film. The goal is to answer as many questions correctly as possible. You want to beat the other player or players. For every correct answer, you "give yourself a shiny." The player who answers the most questions correctly wins the Super Shiny. If there is a tie, both players win the Super Shiny! The quizzer always told the viewers at home that if they answered many questions correctly, they were also winners.

Between the three quiz rounds, the characters act out a story. Dogsby the dog, Tigs the tiger, and Mukka the monkey perform these plays. The stories are usually related to the films shown in the quiz. Some of the conversations in these parts are clever. They work on two levels. This made The Shiny Show entertaining for parents too.

Episodes Overview

The Shiny Show had two main series. In total, there were 91 episodes.

Series 1 (2002)

The first series was made in 2000. However, it first aired in 2002. This was when the CBeebies channel first launched. There were 40 episodes in this series. They were shown every day. You could watch them at 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM, and 4:30 PM on CBeebies.

Series 2 (2002)

The second series began on March 25, 2002. It also aired on CBeebies every day. Like the first series, it was shown at 8:30 AM, 12:30 PM, and 4:30 PM. This series added more episodes to the show's run.

The Shiny Show at BBC Programmes