Space Pirates (series)
Encyclopedia
Space Pirates is a British children's television series originally shown on CBeebies
. It is a mixture of live action and animation, set aboard a space ship which orbits Earth. It stars Luke Toulson as Captain DJ, and features the voice of Radio 1
newsreader Dominic Byrne
as an alien news/weather/travel reporter called Zorst. There are 30 episodes which were first shown from November 3, 2007 until March 22, 2008.
's CBeebies
channel. The show is primarily aimed at children aged from four to six years old, although the show is designed to reach all ages and "bring the whole family together to explore a diverse range of musical performances." According to the BBC
, for six weeks from 9 November 2007, viewers could press the red button on their TV remote controls and choose which of the three songs they wanted to listen to at the end of the show. The show has also featured on the CBeebies slot on BBC Radio 7.
In 2008, the episode "Music to Paint to" was nominated for a Banff World Television Award. The show was also nominated for Best Pre-School Live Action Series at the 2008 BAFTA Children's Awards.
searching for music for the radio show, Guisto Radio. The tenuous storyline in each episode usually involves two space-wise kids, Honk and Tonk, who are played by children. They trick Captain DJ and/or Lippy by selling him something worthless for lots of doubloon
s or junk food
. Lippy is a cheeky microphone
who often makes fun of Captain DJ. Captain DJ's real name is occasionally revealed (it is "Leslie"). Also featured is a newsreader/weather forecaster/traffic reporter, Zorst, who is an alien barnacle
who clings to the stern
of the ship (near the exhaust, hence his name). He always ends his reports with bad jokes. There are three musical acts per episode, one performed live on set (or specially recorded), one pop-video, and one cover song by puppet rats called The Jingles - Windy, Stringy and Brassy. A group of children on Earth, the Pirate Posse, get to vote on which song was the best and who they want to hear again, which plays out the show.
, Chris Moyles
popularised the song by playing it on his radio show, hoping to get it into the UK charts
and beat The X Factor
Christmas single ("When You Believe
" by Leon Jackson
). The result of Moyles' campaign was that the song completely failed to have any impact on the UK singles chart, although the song did spend eleven weeks at position number one on the iTunes
Children's Chart. Moyles later played a mashup
of the song that mixed it with the theme tune from Ghostbusters
, the irony being that the mashup was actually created by Chris Banks himself.
Acts which appear on the show include: McFly
, The Cheeky Girls
, Jamelia
, The Drifters
, The Puppini Sisters
, Julie Felix
, the London Community Gospel Choir
, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
.
The puppets in the show, including Lippy and the three Jingles, were designed and created by Yvonne Stone and Sacha Choat.
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
. It is a mixture of live action and animation, set aboard a space ship which orbits Earth. It stars Luke Toulson as Captain DJ, and features the voice of Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
newsreader Dominic Byrne
Dominic Byrne
Dominic Anthony Byrne is a newsreader for BBC Radio 1 and a presenter on the BBC News Channel.-Biography:Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Byrne attended St Ivo School before attending Bournemouth University for two weeks. However, he dropped out to work at a local radio station...
as an alien news/weather/travel reporter called Zorst. There are 30 episodes which were first shown from November 3, 2007 until March 22, 2008.
Background
Space Pirates was commissioned for the BBCBBC
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 CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
channel. The show is primarily aimed at children aged from four to six years old, although the show is designed to reach all ages and "bring the whole family together to explore a diverse range of musical performances." According to 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...
, for six weeks from 9 November 2007, viewers could press the red button on their TV remote controls and choose which of the three songs they wanted to listen to at the end of the show. The show has also featured on the CBeebies slot on BBC Radio 7.
In 2008, the episode "Music to Paint to" was nominated for a Banff World Television Award. The show was also nominated for Best Pre-School Live Action Series at the 2008 BAFTA Children's Awards.
Storyline
The space ship Guisto is led by Captain DJ, who is very vain and stupid. It orbits planet EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
searching for music for the radio show, Guisto Radio. The tenuous storyline in each episode usually involves two space-wise kids, Honk and Tonk, who are played by children. They trick Captain DJ and/or Lippy by selling him something worthless for lots of doubloon
Doubloon
The doubloon , was a two-escudo or 32-reales gold coin, weighing 6.77 grams . Doubloons were minted in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Nueva Granada...
s or junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
. Lippy is a cheeky microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
who often makes fun of Captain DJ. Captain DJ's real name is occasionally revealed (it is "Leslie"). Also featured is a newsreader/weather forecaster/traffic reporter, Zorst, who is an alien barnacle
Barnacle
A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile suspension feeders, and have...
who clings to the stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
of the ship (near the exhaust, hence his name). He always ends his reports with bad jokes. There are three musical acts per episode, one performed live on set (or specially recorded), one pop-video, and one cover song by puppet rats called The Jingles - Windy, Stringy and Brassy. A group of children on Earth, the Pirate Posse, get to vote on which song was the best and who they want to hear again, which plays out the show.
Music
The theme tune to the series, written by Darren Loveday and former Busted keyboardist Chris Banks, was released as a single available for download on iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
popularised the song by playing it on his radio show, hoping to get it into the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and beat The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
Christmas single ("When You Believe
When You Believe
"When You Believe" is an Academy Award-winning song by American recording artists Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The song was written and composed by Stephen Schwartz for the 1998 DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. A version of "When You Believe" was produced as a single with...
" by Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008...
). The result of Moyles' campaign was that the song completely failed to have any impact on the UK singles chart, although the song did spend eleven weeks at position number one on the iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
Children's Chart. Moyles later played a mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
of the song that mixed it with the theme tune from Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
, the irony being that the mashup was actually created by Chris Banks himself.
Acts which appear on the show include: McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
, The Cheeky Girls
The Cheeky Girls
The Cheeky Girls are a pop duo consisting of twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia, from Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, Romania, but based in Britain. After appearing as auditionees in Popstars: The Rivals, they achieved success in the charts with four top ten hits between 2002 and 2004...
, Jamelia
Jamelia
Jamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
, The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
, The Puppini Sisters
The Puppini Sisters
The Puppini Sisters are a vocal trio. Arion Berger described them as part of "Retro's futuristic vanguard" and described their sound as "swing-punk". The group has sought to be associated with a burlesque revival....
, Julie Felix
Julie Felix
Julie Ann Felix is a folk rock recording artist, who was notably produced by Mickie Most on his RAK Records label.-Career:...
, the London Community Gospel Choir
London Community Gospel Choir
The London Community Gospel Choir is a successful gospel choir located in the United Kingdom.-History:The London Community Gospel Choir was founded in 1982 by the Reverend Bazil Meade with the assistance of Lawrence Johnson, Delroy Powell and John Francis.Initially the idea was for a single concert...
, and The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is a musical ensemble featuring ukuleles in different registers and a bass ukulele .-History:...
.
Cast
- Captain DJ (aka 'Leslie'): Luke Toulson
- Lippy: Adam Carter
- Honk: Kirsty Rider
- Tonk: Connor Panayi
- The Jingles:
- Stringy: Brian Herring
- Brassy: Sarah Burgess
- Windy: Dave ChapmanDave ChapmanDave 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...
- Zorst: Dominic ByrneDominic ByrneDominic Anthony Byrne is a newsreader for BBC Radio 1 and a presenter on the BBC News Channel.-Biography:Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Byrne attended St Ivo School before attending Bournemouth University for two weeks. However, he dropped out to work at a local radio station...
- Jolly Rogers: Stephen Cannon
- Assistant Puppeteers: William Banyard, Yvonne Stone, Warrick Brownlow-PikeWarrick Brownlow-PikeWarrick Brownlow-Pike is a British puppeteer.* Space Pirates, CBeebies* Carrie and David's Popshop, CBeebies, Scotland* Oucho T.Cactus, Puppeteer for CBBC with presenter Ed Petrie...
The puppets in the show, including Lippy and the three Jingles, were designed and created by Yvonne Stone and Sacha Choat.
Episodes
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