Bosco
Encyclopedia
Bosco was an Irish
children's television program
me produced during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was produced by the Lambert Puppet Theatre
. Designed by Jan Mitchell
, Bosco was voiced by Miriam Lambert initially; in later years Paula Lambert took over the character. A shared cultural experience for children in Ireland at the time, it ran for 386 episodes, but was repeated before (and later during) The Den
daily until 1998, when it was replaced by The Morbegs
.
puppet, supposedly a five year old boy/girl with bright red cheeks. Bosco's gender was ambiguous. Bosco and the other presenters usually spoke English, but (to help young children learn Irish
) Bosco often peppered English speech with Irish phrases, much as Dora the Explorer
often speaks Spanish
).
Bosco lived in a brightly painted wooden box (hence the name: Irish bosca="box"), only ever wandering far from it to go on excursions to such places as Dublin Zoo
or the H.B. factory.
On 9th May 2011 on the Ray D'arcy Show on Today FM, Bosco let slip that he is a boy, saying that they kept his gender a secret for 33 years.
, Marian Richardson (now an RTÉ programme producer), Frank Twomey (later of Bull Island
), Grainne Uí Mhaitiú, the late Philip Tyler, Susie Kennedy, Gertrude Kerrigan, Mary Garrioch and Peter Fitzgerald.
critters, which are continually engaged in fights or schemes against each other. Faherty's Garden starred the eponymous Faherty a dog, plagued by an amateur crow magician (Cornelius, who would often turn purple, much to his distress) in a series of shorts featuring stop-motion models. Freddy the Fox features a host of well-modelled characters each with distinctive traits, such as Fiachra the Frog. There was also a cartoon featuring a potato family, The McSpuds, that live in a supermarket (Savers). At night, the potato children, Sheila and Seamus, run amok. The Tongue Twister Twins were also regularly featured. These animations were created by Jim Quin from Thurles
, Co. Tipperary.
The show featured arts and crafts
segments, in the style of the BBC
's children's programme Blue Peter
. Another prominent part of the show was story-time and each show featured a song.
Each episode had an on-location section of footage, this was introduced as "The Magic Door". The presenter would step through a chroma key
ed door beyond which the footage would be shown. This section opened with the following rhyme:
website when a page cannot be found. e.g. http://www.rte.ie/bosco
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
children's television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me produced during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was produced by the Lambert Puppet Theatre
Lambert Puppet Theatre
The Lambert Puppet Theatre & Museum is a puppet theatre located in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It is a family run business established in 1972 by Eugene Lambert, and hosts an international puppet festival annually. It used to produce children's television series on Radio Telefís Éireann,...
. Designed by Jan Mitchell
Jan Mitchell
Jan Mitchell was an Australian artist, born in Melbourne, known for her painted bollards and work as a television graphic artist.She spent her formative childhood years near Healesville before working at RTE in Ireland for 18 years in the graphics department...
, Bosco was voiced by Miriam Lambert initially; in later years Paula Lambert took over the character. A shared cultural experience for children in Ireland at the time, it ran for 386 episodes, but was repeated before (and later during) The Den
The Den (television)
The Den was the brand of the children's television strand on Irish public broadcaster RTÉ Two. It first broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ One, before moving to RTÉ Two in September 1988. The strand began to diversify throughout the late 1990s and the 2000s...
daily until 1998, when it was replaced by The Morbegs
The Morbegs
The Morbegs was a popular Irish children's television show which was aired on The Den in Ireland around the late 1990s. It starred two furballs called Molly and Rossa who lived in Morbeg Land...
.
Title character
Bosco (born 25 August) is the main character in the programme. He/she was a small red-hairedRed hair
Red hair occurs on approximately 1–2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations...
puppet, supposedly a five year old boy/girl with bright red cheeks. Bosco's gender was ambiguous. Bosco and the other presenters usually spoke English, but (to help young children learn Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
) Bosco often peppered English speech with Irish phrases, much as Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...
often speaks Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
).
Bosco lived in a brightly painted wooden box (hence the name: Irish bosca="box"), only ever wandering far from it to go on excursions to such places as Dublin Zoo
Dublin Zoo
Dublin Zoo , in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland is the largest zoo in Ireland and one of Dublin's most popular attractions. Opened in 1831, the zoo describes its role as conservation, study, and education...
or the H.B. factory.
On 9th May 2011 on the Ray D'arcy Show on Today FM, Bosco let slip that he is a boy, saying that they kept his gender a secret for 33 years.
Presenters
The roster of presenters included Jonathan RyanJonathan Ryan (Actor)
-Biography:As a pupil at CBC Monkstown in 1963, Jonathan performed rhythm guitar and vocals in a covers band known as Rootzgroop, whose lineup later included Paul Brady....
, Marian Richardson (now an RTÉ programme producer), Frank Twomey (later of Bull Island
Bull Island
Bull Island or more properly North Bull Island is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf , Raheny, Kilbarrack, and facing Sutton...
), Grainne Uí Mhaitiú, the late Philip Tyler, Susie Kennedy, Gertrude Kerrigan, Mary Garrioch and Peter Fitzgerald.
Features
There are various short animations, usually stop-motion, as part of the show. The Plonksters were plasticinePlasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
critters, which are continually engaged in fights or schemes against each other. Faherty's Garden starred the eponymous Faherty a dog, plagued by an amateur crow magician (Cornelius, who would often turn purple, much to his distress) in a series of shorts featuring stop-motion models. Freddy the Fox features a host of well-modelled characters each with distinctive traits, such as Fiachra the Frog. There was also a cartoon featuring a potato family, The McSpuds, that live in a supermarket (Savers). At night, the potato children, Sheila and Seamus, run amok. The Tongue Twister Twins were also regularly featured. These animations were created by Jim Quin from Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, Co. Tipperary.
The show featured arts and crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
segments, in the style of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's children's programme Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. Another prominent part of the show was story-time and each show featured a song.
Each episode had an on-location section of footage, this was introduced as "The Magic Door". The presenter would step through a chroma key
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
ed door beyond which the footage would be shown. This section opened with the following rhyme:
CDs and DVDs
- A DVD containing episodes of Bosco was officially released in November 2005. This was followed up by a second DVD which was released in the run-up to Christmas 2006.
- There was also a CD released in 2006 called Bosco - Songs & Stories which featured some of Boscos favourite songs.
- For Christmas 2007, VodafoneVodafoneVodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
used the theme "Bosco is back" for a seasonal campaign to at http://www.boscoisback.ie
RTÉ.ie - File Not Found
A disappointed looking Bosco is used on the RTÉRTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
website when a page cannot be found. e.g. http://www.rte.ie/bosco