Mopatop's Shop

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Mopatop's Shop, which premiered on CITV in the UK in 1999, features a large green Muppet named Mopatop and his red duck-like assistant Puppyduck. Together they run Mopatop's Shop, a shop where you can buy anything you could ever think or dream of. 260 ten-minute episodes were made, and aired daily. It was a co-production between Jim Henson Productions and Carlton Television.

Another main character is Moosey Mouse, a young mouse who lives in the loft above the shop with Father Mouse, Mother Mouse and his baby sister Meesy Mouse. There's also local deliveryman Lamont the Sloth, neighbor Claudia Bird, and fix-it rabbit Odd-Job Gerald.

The show was produced and written by Jocelyn Stevenson, who started working with the Muppets as a lead writer on Fraggle Rock. Stevenson explained, "The aim of Mopatop's Shop is to teach young children to embrace language and communication skills in a form where they can expand the boundaries of their imagination. It promotes goodness and wellbeing."

Each episode features background Muppets from The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and other Henson TV shows, as customers.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Released Episodes 3 Episode List 4 Credits 5 External links

[edit] Characters

Main Characters:

Mopatop - performed by Mak Wilson in Seasons 1 & 2

Mopatop - performed by William Todd Jones in seasons 3 & 4

Moosey Mouse, Lamont, Mary The Gorilla, Roly Moley and about 200 (some sources say 195) guests - Nigel Plaskitt

Puppyduck and Mother Mouse - Victoria Willing

Father Mouse, Odd-Job Gerald, Wendell Wizard - Brian Herring

Various Guests:

Lettuce, Mrs Carey Sharey, Upsy Daisy, and others - Susan Beattie

Grace The Delphinuium, and others - Alison McGowan

Princess Lulabelle, Phoebe The Fortune Teller, Shula The Shark, and others - Louise Gold

Bonnie The Bunny, and others - Alison McGowan

[edit] Released Episodes

• Animal Choir: Mr. Warble wants to buy an animal choir. (Cameo: A Turkey, Paul the Pelican, a Sheep, a Chicken, a Penguin, Morton the Beaver)

• Flatcap Frankie's Shop: A monster named Flatcap Frankie has his own shop. (Cameo: Flower-Eating Monster)

• Hairy Fairy: Mary the Gorilla comes in wearing a pink tutu, and announces that she wants to be a fairy princess. Written by Sally-Ann Lever. (Cameo: Lenny the Gorilla, Leapovitch the Frog)

• Hiccups: Rudy Monster would like to have hiccups. He has never tried it before and even his goldfish has had it. (Cameo: Mudwell the Mudbunny)

• Moon Dreams: Space alien Clicksniz has lost his dream and wants to buy a new one. (Cameo: Begoony)

• Nowhere For a Square: Mrs. Corner loves squares so she had ordered a lot of them. However Puppyduck had ordered circles by mistake. She let her be talked into loving circles by Puppyduck. (Cameo: Quongo)

• Princess Lulabelle: Princess Lulabelle looks for a frog to kiss and turn into a prince. Moosey Mouse hopes to get in the way of her kisses and become the prince himself. Written by Sally-Ann Lever. (Cameo: Shakey Sanchez, Leapovitch the Frog)

• Rude Dude: A loud abrasive customer named Rude Dude invades the shop, and speaks so loudly that he frightens the Fuzzlies that Mrs. Carey-Sharey has brought in. He wants to buy a Fuzzly, but he has to learn to speak quietly or they won't come to him. Written by Mellie Buse. (Cameos: Wander McMooch, The Beast)

• Singa Songa: Bradley Cheetah wants to find a perfect song for his friend Lazlo the Lion. (Cameos: Chuck the Lion, Swifty the Cheetah, Lenny the Gorilla, Guthrie the Vulture)

• Singalotti: Italian opera star Singalotti comes to the shop to find a partner to sing with. Puppyduck and Moosey hope to be Singalotti's partner, but he insists that the partner must be small, green, round and leafy. Written by Sally-Ann Lever. (Cameo: Blustering Bellowpane Monster)

• Surprise Party: Bonnie the Bunny is throwing a party, and she buys decorations, food and party clothes. It turns out that she hasn't invited anybody, so they decide to throw the party in the shop. Written by Sally-Ann Lever.

• This Way to the Garden: Roly Moley buys a sign that points the way to his garden, and then a fence to put around it -- and then comes back to buy the garden. Written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

• Trouble with a Puddle: Ozzie the Squid has new wellington boots, and he wants a puddle to splash in. Mopatop doesn't think he can help -- until he sees that Moosey's bathwater is leaking down into the shop. Written by Sally-Ann Lever.

• Upsy-Daisy: Upsy Daisy, a possum inventor, installs a button that turns the shop upside down whenever it's pressed. The button sticks, so she comes back to fix it and return the shop to its regular position. Written by Jocelyn Stevenson.

• The Wizard's Wand: Mopatop finds a wand that belongs to Wendell Wizard. Apparently the wand turns everyone into pigs, until Wendell shows up and turns them back to normal. Written by Jocelyn Stevenson. (Cameo: Randy Pig, Lenny the Lizard, a Penguin)

[edit] Episode List

[edit] Credits

Puppeteers:

Mak Wilson (Season 1 & 2 only), William Todd Jones (Season 3 & 4 only), Nigel Plaskitt, Victoria Willing, Brian Herring, Susan Beattie, Alison McGowan, and, Louise Gold

• Music and Songs by Ed Welch

• Puppets designed by Ed Eyth

• Characters by Jim Henson's Workshop: Goran Sparrman,Hannah Bledstein, Erin Slattery,Deborah Glassberg, Larry Jameson, Tim Miller, Jason Weber, James Wojtal

• Executive Producers: Brian Henson, Angus Fletcher, David Mercer

• Producer: Jocelyn Stevenson, Sue Taylor, Angus Fletcher, and, Pete Coogan

• Directors: Simon Spencer, Tom Poole, and, Ian McLean

[edit] External links

• CITV - Mopatop's Shop at itv.com