Captain Abercromby
Encyclopedia
Captain Abercromby was a children's TV show that was on BBC Two
in 2002-2003. Its cast was puppets.
, so making the series a race between the two ships.
Each show would open with Abercromby's Grandpa telling his story, in a green wooden bedroom surrounded by characters and props which later fill out the cast of Abercromby's dreams - a suit of armour in the corner (Arthur), a carved mermaid (Siren) and the tree outside (Great Oak). The following shots showed Abercromby climbing into bed (with Pointdexter on the end) and going to sleep, saying "I'll find that watch one day", entering the dream world of the show and starting the title sequence.
Each story would finish with an alarm clock ringing, bringing Abercromby out of his dream and waking up to his Grandpa standing by his bed. Abercromby then begins to tell his Grandpa an excited summary of the episode, volume fading down as the credits and music roll over the scene.
In one episode of the series, "Out of the Hat", Abercromby and his crew briefly find his Grandpa's watch, seen every week in the opening title sequence. However, this copy of the watch is dismissed by Admiral Dobbin as being a fake.
Shortly after this show, Dave Chapman
and Damian Farrell teamed up to create and perform the puppet duo "Tiny and Mr Duk
" on the Saturday Show.
There was a rumour that Abercromby's name was inspired from the popular clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch
.
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 2002-2003. Its cast was puppets.
Series overview
Captain Abercromby was a puppet series about a boy named Abercromby, who is raised by his grandfather. After hearing the tale of how his Grandpa lost his watch, which was given to him by Abercromby's mother, he dreams that he a Captain of a seaship, the "Hope", and that he is on a mission to find the watch. They have a rival crew attempting to find buried treasure, ran by Captain Jake in his ship "Thunderbottom", who mistakenly (but logically) believe that Abercromby is looking for buried treasureTreasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
, so making the series a race between the two ships.
Each show would open with Abercromby's Grandpa telling his story, in a green wooden bedroom surrounded by characters and props which later fill out the cast of Abercromby's dreams - a suit of armour in the corner (Arthur), a carved mermaid (Siren) and the tree outside (Great Oak). The following shots showed Abercromby climbing into bed (with Pointdexter on the end) and going to sleep, saying "I'll find that watch one day", entering the dream world of the show and starting the title sequence.
Each story would finish with an alarm clock ringing, bringing Abercromby out of his dream and waking up to his Grandpa standing by his bed. Abercromby then begins to tell his Grandpa an excited summary of the episode, volume fading down as the credits and music roll over the scene.
Abercromby's crew
- Abercromby - the show's titular character, Abercromby is a boy who dreams of an adventure where he is trying to find his Grandpa's missing watch.
- SirenSirenIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
- Abercromby's shipmate, and the living front of the ship. She believes in Abercromby the most, and is the one who will convince the others to save him. - Great OakOakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
- a talking tree, an Oak Tree in particular, he is the ship's helmsman, and responsible for keeping the ship moving. He is also the fount of knowledge and wisdom on board the ship. - Arthur - a talking suit of armourArmourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
that works on the ship. Arthur is a bumbling character, and is the prominent character in the series, next to Abercromby himself. - Poindexter - the ship's janitor, who is also a purple talking dog. Pointdexter is quite intelligent, as he is shown doing things humans are subject to do. Aside from Captain Abercromby, he is the only character to cross from the "real" world into the "dream" world.
Thunderbottom Crew
- Captain Jake - a pirate, and arch rival to Abercromby. Although Jake is a fully grown man, he often resorts to very childish behaviour. Jake looks like a very typical pirate, but much of his appearance is put on - his eyepatch just covers a perfectly good eye, and his hook is held in one of his hands. Jake's schemes to catch up with Abercromby usually involve a comedic comeupance.
- Bobweb - a spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
, she sits on Jake's shoulder much as a parrot would on a stereotypical pirate. She is the scheming half of the partnership, more intelligent than Jake, but just as likely to get her just deserts. - Russian Dolls - the Thunderbottom is also home to three black and white "pirate-themed" Russian Dolls, varying in size from one bigger than all the other characters on board to a small "Baby skull" doll.
- Seagulls - most of the crew of Thunderbottom is Seagulls who often speak or are randomly assigned a name.
- Clawdia - ship's cat, and most often behind the wheel of the Thunderbottom
- Snappy - the chef. A red lobsterLobsterClawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
, he was voiced in a pastiche of Woody Allen's mannersisms.
Other Characters
- Sultan - the ruler of "Rabadabdab", a seaside exotic port which was the most frequent mooring for the "Hope". Like most of "Rabadabdab"'s inhabitants, he was a bird, a purple puffinPuffinPuffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...
. - Lily Limpet - East-end mollusc who serves food and drink at the Limpet Inn, Rabadabdab's drinking hole (soft drinks only!)
- Admiral Dobbin - authority figure, head of the "King's Navy". Admiral Dobbin would often enter the story to sort out a mess.
Episode titles
- Birthday Bash
- Sailor Of The Year
- Captain's Cook
- The Duel
- Extra Pair Of Paws
- Unlucky For Some
- The Right Treatment
- The Rule Book
- The Sultan's Visit
- Mrs Jake
- Athur's Family Tree
- Trumpet Boy
- Out Of The Hat
- Watch Out
- Navy Blues
- Lights Out
- Stowaway Star
- What A Washout
- Gee A Genie
- The Sultan's Challenge
- Big Blue Fish
- Mummy's Little Treasure
- Bobweb's Machine
- Bully For You
- Captain Invisible
- Marooned
In one episode of the series, "Out of the Hat", Abercromby and his crew briefly find his Grandpa's watch, seen every week in the opening title sequence. However, this copy of the watch is dismissed by Admiral Dobbin as being a fake.
Production
The show was produced by Wark Clements for BBC Scotland. Filming took place from February to July 2001 in Glasgow. The series was being filmed at the Media Park in Maryhill, Glasgow but on 22 April a fire took hold of the studio, destroying all sets, props and equipment. The production relocated to another nearby studio to complete the filming, after rebuilding as much as they needed to finish filming.Style
The puppets and design of the show were all created in a child-friendly cartoon style, with the majority of the creatures being Muppet-type puppets (although they were built by Neil Sternberg's studio, not Jim Henson's).Crew
| creator/designer: | John Gorman |
| director: | Doug Williams |
| producers: | Ken Anderson, Dominique Middleton |
| writer: | Keith Brumpton |
| script editor: | Mike James |
| music: | Rowland Lee |
| lyrics: | Rowland Lee, Keith Brumpton |
| puppeteers: | Colin Purves, Dave Chapman Dave Chapman Dave Chapman is an English actor, television presenter, puppeteer and voice artist.-Career:Dave Chapman trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and The Jim Henson Company... , Symon Macintyre, Damian Farrell , Lynn Robertson Bruce, Geoff Felix |
| additional puppeteers: | Neil Sternberg, Victoria Willing |
| puppet workshop: | Grant Mason, Sarah Cowlinshaw |
| with thanks to: | Scottish Mask & Puppet Centre |
| puppet construction: | Daedalus Models, Neil Sternberg |
| set design: | The Quickening, WM Design |
| construction manager: | Neil Querns |
| asst art dir: | Dave Turbitt |
| art director: | Ewen Duncan |
| accountant: | Scott Harper |
| lighting camera: | Gary Morrison |
| camera asst: | Keith Ingram, Shu Lorimer |
| lighting: | Steve Arthur, Chris Batchelor |
| grip: | Lucien Grieve |
| sound sup: | Steve Thom |
| computer graphics: | Pictures on the Wall |
| asst dub mix: | Dave Soutar |
| dubbing mixer: | Mike Powell |
| voices: | Kate Heavenor Kate Heavenor Kate Heavenor is a Scottish children's television presenter for the BBC. She began her career on the then-new BBC digital channel, BBC Choice, presenting The Crew Room, a Saturday morning show. She later moved on to the main BBC services, presenting shows such as Fully booked, FBI, Children In... (mainly Captain Abercromby) |
| |Mark McDonnell (Great Oak and others) | |
| |Jo James (Siren and others) | |
| |Barbara Rafferty Barbara Rafferty Barbara Rafferty is a Scottish actress. She is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, then again from 2008 when the show made a comeback. Other notable television roles include playing Agnes Meldrum the pub landlady in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The... (Bobweb and others) |
|
| |Lewis MacLeod (Arthur and others) | |
| |Ian Sexon (Captain Jake and others) | |
Trivia/Rumour
Several of the puppet characters were reused in different costume to play other characters in the show. Clawdia, Snappy and Admiral Dobbin all had various other guises. Notably, Admiral Dobbin's puppet can be identified as Abercromby's Grandfather in the bookend segments of the show.Shortly after this show, Dave Chapman
Dave Chapman
Dave Chapman is an English actor, television presenter, puppeteer and voice artist.-Career:Dave Chapman trained at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and The Jim Henson Company...
and Damian Farrell teamed up to create and perform the puppet duo "Tiny and Mr Duk
Tiny and Mr Duk
Tiny and Mr Duk were two puppet characters created for The Saturday Show by Dave Chapman and Damian Farrell.-Story:Tiny is a giant hamster, created in an accident in a laboratory...
" on the Saturday Show.
There was a rumour that Abercromby's name was inspired from the popular clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
.