Little Howard's Big Question
Encyclopedia
Little Howard's Big Question is a 2009–11 BBC One
/CBBC
children's
edutainment
programme starring Howard Read
as Big Howard and his six-year-old animated
friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes. Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010, and series 3 began on 18 May 2011.
. Each episode typically begins with a short comedy sketch, which inspires Little Howard to blow a loud animated klaxon and ask a "big question" on a related topic. After a credit sequence involving an animated monkey
song-and-dance routine, the remainder of the programme investigates possible answers to the big question, using a combination of research, expert advice, fantasy, and song.
Further assistance is provided by Mother, a pink anthropomorphic
personal computer
that wears clothes and feels emotions.
Although the programme is broadcast on the BBC
, which does not show commercial advertising, each episode features a comedy "advertising break
" with imaginary products vaguely related to the big question. Similarly, a frequent element throughout the series is the use of humorous pop culture references to appeal to an adult audience, and which would fly over younger viewers' heads.
award for Best Children’s Television Script.
, Lucy Porter
, Justin Edwards
, Ishia Bennison
, and David Penn
.
were being aired on BBC One), and the rest of the series on BBC One. The series introduced many new characters, real and cartoon, including Little Howards "Sort-of half-brother, kind-of" Little Albert. Actors who appeared in series 2 included David Schneider
, Sy Thomas
, Lucy Porter
, Siân Lloyd, Jarred Christmas
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
, Marek Larwood
, Barney Harwood
, and Andre Vincent
. Helen Lederer
featured in more than one episode as Big Howard's Mum.
, Ben Moor, Daniel Hill
, Chris Cox, Doc Brown
, Trevor Neal, and Thomas Nelstrop
.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
/CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
children's
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
programme starring Howard Read
Howard Read
Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British comedian, animator and aspiring song writer best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Bernard Manning, Roger T Pigeon, and H:BOT 2000, a...
as Big Howard and his six-year-old animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes. Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010, and series 3 began on 18 May 2011.
Format
Animated boy Little Howard and his live-action guardian Big Howard live together in Purley, LondonPurley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
. Each episode typically begins with a short comedy sketch, which inspires Little Howard to blow a loud animated klaxon and ask a "big question" on a related topic. After a credit sequence involving an animated monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
song-and-dance routine, the remainder of the programme investigates possible answers to the big question, using a combination of research, expert advice, fantasy, and song.
Further assistance is provided by Mother, a pink anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
that wears clothes and feels emotions.
Although the programme is broadcast on 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...
, which does not show commercial advertising, each episode features a comedy "advertising break
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
" with imaginary products vaguely related to the big question. Similarly, a frequent element throughout the series is the use of humorous pop culture references to appeal to an adult audience, and which would fly over younger viewers' heads.
Awards
On 16 November 2011, the episode Why do Things Have to Die? from series 2 won a Writers' Guild of Great BritainWriters' Guild of Great Britain
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds .-Activities:...
award for Best Children’s Television Script.
Series 1
Series 1 began airing on 8 January 2009. Performers who appeared in series 1 included: Kirsten O'BrienKirsten O'Brien
Kirsten O'Brien is an English television presenter and stand-up comic.She is known for presenting SMart, and presented Smile and Totally Doctor Who alongside Barney Harwood on CBBC....
, Lucy Porter
Lucy Porter
Lucy Donna Porter is an English actress, writer and comedienne.She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She has also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel shows, including Quote.....
, Justin Edwards
Justin Edwards
Justin Edwards is an English actor and writer.Born in Hampshire, Justin studied at Manchester University, before training at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. He was a member of sketch trio The Consultants, alongside Neil Edmond and James Rawlings...
, Ishia Bennison
Ishia Bennison
Ishia Bennison is a British actress, best known for her television appearances, although she is also a veteran stage actress. Bennison is originally from Hull in Yorkshire.- Career :...
, and David Penn
David Penn (magician)
David Penn is a leading professional corporate English magician from Northampton. He has been seen in the UK on four major TV series including The Sorcerer's Apprentice on BBC1, The Sorcerer's Apprentice Extra on BBC2, Freaky on Channel 4 and Astounding Celebrities on ITV1 .He is perhaps best...
.
| # | Little Howard's Big Question | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why Do I Need to Go to Sleep? | 8 January 2009 |
| 2 | Why Can't I Fly? | 15 January 2009 |
| 3 | How Did I Get Here? | 22 January 2009 |
| 4 | Can I Get Big Howard Abducted by Aliens? | 29 January 2009 |
| 5 | How Will I Know When I'm in Love? | 5 February 2009 |
| 6 | How Can I be Lucky? | 12 February 2009 |
| 7 | Could Dinosaurs Ever Come Back? | 19 February 2009 |
| 8 | Why Does Time Fly When You're Having Fun? | 26 February 2009 |
| 9 | What is Funny? | 5 March 2009 |
| 10 | What the Gibbing Flump Are You on About Doris? | 12 March 2009 |
| 11 | What is the World's Most Dangerous Food? | 19 March 2009 |
| 12 | Can I Believe My Eyes? | 26 March 2009 |
| 13 | Little Howard's DVD Extras (Clips episode, premiered on CBBC following episode 12) |
26 March 2009 |
Series 2
Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010. The first two episodes were shown on BBC Two (because the 2010 Commonwealth Games2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
were being aired on BBC One), and the rest of the series on BBC One. The series introduced many new characters, real and cartoon, including Little Howards "Sort-of half-brother, kind-of" Little Albert. Actors who appeared in series 2 included David Schneider
David Schneider (actor)
David Schneider is an English actor and comedian.Schneider studied modern languages at the University of Oxford, and studied for a DPhil in Yiddish Drama. During his time at university, Schneider performed a predominantly physical comedy act that contrasted with the trend towards stand-up comedy...
, Sy Thomas
Sy Thomas
Sy Thomas is a British TV presenter, stand-up comedian and actor.-Early years and career:Thomas attended Aberystwyth University, Wales, where he studied drama from 1998 to 2001 and received a BA upper second....
, Lucy Porter
Lucy Porter
Lucy Donna Porter is an English actress, writer and comedienne.She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She has also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel shows, including Quote.....
, Siân Lloyd, Jarred Christmas
Jarred Christmas
Jarred Christmas is a comedian from New Zealand who makes his living in the United Kingdom. He does much work with the BBC, and won the Chortle Comedy Award for Best Compere. He is also known for being in Pot Noodle adverts....
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
, Marek Larwood
Marek Larwood
Marek Larwood is an English comedian and actor in television, radio and theatre. He is best known for the BBC Three sitcom/sketch show, Rush Hour and for being one third of the comedy trio We Are Klang....
, Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood
Barney Harwood is an English television presenter and actor, known for his work with CBBC.-Television:For CBBC, he presented Prank Patrol and was a voice-over commentator for The Smokehouse, while on BBC Two, he co-presented Basil's Swap Shop , alongside Basil Brush.Previous work for CBBC included...
, and Andre Vincent
Andre Vincent
Andre Vincent is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor. Vincent sits on the board of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society...
. Helen Lederer
Helen Lederer
Helen Lederer is a Welsh comedienne, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s.-Career:...
featured in more than one episode as Big Howard's Mum.
| # | Little Howard's Big Question | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why Can't I Get Hold of Sawblaind the Municipal? | 6 October 2010 |
| 2 | How Can I Make a Monster? | 13 October 2010 |
| 3 | How Can I Learn Superpowers? | 20 October 2010 |
| 4 | Is There Anything Smellier Than Big Howard? | 27 October 2010 |
| 5 | How Can I Make Big Howard Famous? | 3 November 2010 |
| 6 | Who's Been Eating My Porridge? | 10 November 2010 |
| 7 | Why Can't I Be You? | 17 November 2010 |
| 8 | Can I Wrestle Control of the Weather from Sian Lloyd's Evil Grip? | 24 November 2010 |
| 9 | Can I Dig to Australia? | 1 December 2010 |
| 10 | Why Do Things Have to Die? | 8 December 2010 |
| 11 | Can Father Christmas Star in Our Nativity Play? | 15 December 2010 |
| 12 | Can Big Howard Live Without His Mobile Phone? | 5 January 2011 |
| 13 | The Best of Little Howard's Big Questions | 12 January 2011 |
Series 3
Series 3 began airing on 18 May 2011. Actors who appeared in series 3 included: Rusty GoffeRusty Goffe
Rusty Goffe is a British dwarf actor and entertainer. He has featured in a number of high-profile roles, including as the "bouncing weatherman" for L!VE TV. He appeared as an Oompa-Loompa in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and as a Jawa in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
, Ben Moor, Daniel Hill
Daniel Hill (actor)
Daniel Hill is a British actor known primarily for his television work.His most notable role was as the avaricious Harvey Bains, manager of the retirement home in Waiting for God, alongside Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden; though he had also appeared with Martin Clunes and William Gaunt in the...
, Chris Cox, Doc Brown
Doc Brown (rapper)
Doc Brown is a former British rapper, currently an established comedian, actor, screenwriter and voiceover artist.- Early Work :...
, Trevor Neal, and Thomas Nelstrop
Thomas Nelstrop
Thomas Nelstrop is an English actor.-Early life and career:Born in York and growing up in Hebden Bridge, Thomas gained a B.A. degree in Actor Musicianship at Rose Bruford College in 2002 and has since garnered a successful acting career...
.
| # | Little Howard's Big Question | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why Can’t I Be Bigger? | 18 May 2011 |
| 2 | How Can I Be In Two Places At Once? | 25 May 2011 |
| 3 | Can I Catch a Mermaid? | 1 June 2011 |
| 4 | How Can I Change Someone’s Mind? | 8 June 2011 |
| 5 | Why Am I Afraid? | 15 June 2011 |
| 6 | Am I Normal? | 22 June 2011 |
| 7 | Can I Read Big Howard’s Mind? | 29 June 2011 |
| 8 | Why Can’t I Be In Charge? | 13 July 2011 |
| 9 | Am I Art? | 20 July 2011 |
| 10 | Where Is Big Howard? | 27 July 2011 |
| 11 | Can I Sing For A Whole Episode? | 3 August 2011 |
| 12 | Why Do I Have To Share? | 10 August 2011 |
| 13 | The Little Howard’s Big Question Awards | 17 August 2011 |