Underground Ernie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Underground Ernie
Created by	John Deery Sid Rainey
Starring	Gary Lineker Janet Brown Emma Weaver Tim Whitnall Chris Jarvis Howard Ward
Theme music composer	Miles Hunt, Sid Rainey, Martin Bell (The Wonder Stuff)
Opening theme	"The Importance of Being Ernie"
Ending theme	"The Importance of Being Ernie" (Edited)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Deery Sid Rainey
Running time	12 minutes
Production company(s)	3D Films Joella Productions
Distributor	BBC
Release
Original network	CBeebies
Original release	5 June (2006-06-05) – 25 December 2006 (2006-12-25)
Chronology
Related shows	Chuggington Dream Street Bob the Builder

Underground Ernie is a British computer-animated TV show for children. It was made by Joella Productions in the United Kingdom and shown on the BBC channels CBeebies and BBC Two. The show was also sold to other countries by BBC Worldwide.

The series is set in a make-believe place called International Underground. This is a worldwide underground railway network, much like the real London Underground. The show follows the daily adventures of Ernie, a friendly supervisor, Millie, his helpful colleague who knows many languages, and Mr. Rails, the kind maintenance man.

The trains in the show are also characters! There's Bakerloo, Victoria, Circle, Jubilee, and the twin trains, Hammersmith & City. Sometimes, their friends from around the world join them, including trains from Paris, Brooklyn, Moscow, Sydney, and Osaka. The show was made for children aged three to eight. The first series had 26 episodes, each lasting 12 minutes. It first aired on Monday, June 5, 2006, on BBC Two.

How Underground Ernie Was Created

The idea for Underground Ernie came from writer John Deery and musician Sid Rainey. They used to be in a band called Compulsion. In 2000, they started their own production company called Joella Productions. Sid Rainey thought it would be a great idea for a children's TV show to be based on the names of real tube stations. That's how Underground Ernie began!

Meet the Characters and Their Adventures

The show is all about the adventures of Ernie, who is in charge of the International Underground. He works with his team: Millie, a computer expert who loves everything international, and Mr. Rails, the maintenance man who has worked on the railway for over 25 years.

The trains themselves have unique personalities:

• Bakerloo is like a detective of the Underground.
• Hammersmith and City are fast and energetic twins who enjoy quizzes and banking.
• Victoria is the oldest and wisest train. She's like a grandmother, always ready to help and give advice.
• Circle is a calm "hippy chick" who loves nature and animals. She's always happy to help her friends.
• Jubilee is the youngest of the team. He loves gadgets and technology and can be a bit mischievous.

Throughout the series, they meet international friends like the fancy Paris, the gentle giant Moscow, and the fun-loving Brooklyn. In each episode, Ernie faces a problem that he needs to solve. He often gets help from the trains, the passengers, or both!

First Airing of the Show

When Underground Ernie first started, it was shown twice a day, five days a week. It aired first on BBC Two at 9:00 AM, and then was repeated on CBeebies at 4:30 PM.

The very first episode was called "Pop Decoy." In this episode, a pop star named "Sam 7" needs to get to a theatre for a performance. Jubilee, who is very excited, accidentally tells everyone the secret! So, Ernie and Jubilee have to come up with a clever plan to get Sam 7 to the theatre safely, without being mobbed by fans.

Poster for Underground Ernie

How the Show Was Made

Show Design

All the pictures and animations for Underground Ernie were created using CGI computer graphics. This advanced technology made the show look great but also made it quite expensive to produce. The first series was made using special software called LightWave 3D.

Some people have noticed that Underground Ernie is similar to other shows with talking trains, like Thomas the Tank Engine and Chuggington. While the creators agree there are some similarities, they say Underground Ernie is different because it's set in the modern world. Even though the trains are underground metro trains, they often travel above ground through the countryside to different stations, including a seaside resort.

The overall look of the show is inspired by the real London Underground. Transport for London, the company that runs the London Underground, even allowed the show to use parts of their official design, like their famous roundel logo.

Characters in Underground Ernie

People Characters

• Underground Ernie is the main supervisor of the International Underground station. He is voiced by the famous former footballer and television sports presenter Gary Lineker.
• Millie is a computer expert who works on the network. She is also a co-owner of the station and is voiced by Emma Weaver.
• Mr. Rails is the friendly maintenance man, voiced by Howard Ward.

Train Characters

Most of the characters in the show are trains. Many of them are named after lines on the real London Underground network, but in Ernie's world, it's called "International Underground."

• Bakerloo (voiced by Howard Ward) is a bit unusual and wears a deerstalker hat, like the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. This is a nod to the fact that the Bakerloo line used to end at Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes lived.
• Hammersmith (voiced by Tim Whitnall) is one of the twin brothers. He's a fast and energetic train who is very good at general knowledge quizzes. He wears blue glasses.
• City (voiced by Chris Jarvis) is Hammersmith's twin brother. He's also fast and energetic, but he's an expert in math and money. This is a reference to the City of London, where many banks and financial businesses are located. He wears pink glasses. Hammersmith and City usually travel together, coupled back-to-back.
• Victoria (voiced by Janet Brown) is the oldest train and acts like a mother figure to the others. She wears a crown, linking her to Queen Victoria.
• Circle (voiced by Chris Jarvis) is a "hippy chick." She's always helpful and stays calm, no matter what.
• Jubilee (voiced by Tim Whitnall) is the youngest train. He loves computers, music, the internet, emails, games, and all the latest gadgets. He can be a bit mischievous but is still well-liked by everyone.

There are also five international trains that Millie visits when she travels abroad every weekend. She always brings back exciting stories and a souvenir for Ernie:

• Brooklyn (voiced by Howard Ward) is from New York City and is decorated with the American Stars and Stripes.
• Sydney (voiced by Emma Weaver) is from Australia and always wants to go to the beach.
• Moscow (voiced by Howard Ward) is from Russia. He is strong, fast, and likes to clear snow off the tracks. He sometimes uses funny English phrases by mistake.
• Paris (voiced by Chris Jarvis) is from France. He can be a bit snooty but is kind.
• Osaka (voiced by Tim Whitnall) is from Japan and has a super-speed booster. He wears a Rising Sun-decorated bandana.

Episode Guide

In each 12-minute episode, Ernie faces a problem that he needs to solve with the help of the trains. These problems often involve different locations on the International Underground or visitors arriving by train.

Where Underground Ernie Was Shown

Channel 4 was originally going to show the series. However, after much thought, the BBC bought the rights to the show in 2005. During its first run, Underground Ernie was broadcast at 9:00 AM on BBC Two. It was then repeated on the CBeebies channel at 4:30 PM later that afternoon.

BBC Four also showed an episode as part of their special "Tube Night" on March 18, 2007.

Underground Ernie Merchandise

Toys

In November 2005, a company called Halsall International Ltd. announced they had the rights to make toys and other products related to Underground Ernie. These products started to appear in stores by September 2006, with a full range available in 2007. Using the names and designs of the London Underground trains was a planned step to create toys that children would love. The money made from these toys was shared with Transport for London. Halsall International Ltd. stopped making Underground Ernie models after 2009.

From 2007 to 2009, another company called Bachmann made an HO scale model train range for Underground Ernie. This range was stopped after the show was no longer on air.

DVDs

Warner Vision International released four DVDs with episodes from the show. These were later put together into a box set that included the complete first series. These DVDs are now out of print, which means they are no longer being made and can be hard to find.

Day Out with Underground Ernie Events

In 2008, a railway in Hampshire called the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway got permission to host special children's events featuring Underground Ernie. They held four "Day Out with Underground Ernie" events each year.

Small versions of 'Jubilee' and 'Ernie 1' trains were built, and passengers could ride behind them. Visitors could also meet a larger-than-life version of Underground Ernie. The last Ernie event took place in late December 2009, ending in early January 2010. After that, "Day Out with Thomas" events took over at the railway.

Charity Evenings

Besides the "Days Out with Ernie," two special fundraising events were held at the railway in 2008 and 2009. These "Underground Ernie" charity evenings were hosted by The Karen Ingram Foundation. The first event raised over £3,500 for the hospital that cared for Karen Ingram, in whose memory the events were held. John Deery, one of the show's creators, also attended this special charity evening with his family.

Theme Song

The show's theme song is called "The Importance of Being Ernie." It was performed by members of The Wonder Stuff band, under the name "HRB Music." The title is a clever reference to a famous play by Oscar Wilde called The Importance of Being Earnest. (Ernie is a short form of Ernest).

What's Next for Underground Ernie?

A second series of Underground Ernie has been discussed since 2006. John Deery, one of the creators, has been trying to get £5.5 million in funding. This money would help the show enter the US market, and some of it would also go towards making a second series. However, this hasn't happened yet.

According to Adam Batham, the creative director, problems between the two production companies, 3D Films and Joella Productions, prevented another series from being made.

• Underground Ernie at BBC Programmes