3rd & Bird
3rd & Bird | |
---|---|
Title card | |
Created by | Josh Selig |
Directed by | Jennifer Oxley (Creative Director) |
Starring |
Sam Lewis Eden Jarrett Morgan Gayle Preston Nyman Michael Fenton Stevens Charlotte Leslie-Cameron Anna Nygh David Beckford Candida Gubbins |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 50 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Josh Selig Kay Benbow Chris Rose |
Producer(s) | Fred Weinberg |
Running time | 10 minutes approx. |
Distributor | BBC |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | BBC |
Audio format | Dolby Surround |
First shown in | CBeebies |
Original run | 4 June 2008 – 4 April 2010 (Easter) |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Wonder Pets!, Oobi |
3rd & Bird is a British television programme aimed at young children, commissioned by Michael Carrington and broadcast on the BBC, which revolves around a community of birds and their adventures. The series premiered on CBeebies in June 2008. Described in its initial press release as "a charming new animated series all about community",[1] the programme format generally involves one or more of the characters encountering a problem which must be solved using the social skills which pre-school children must develop in order to make their way in the world.
3rd & Bird was created by Josh Selig for Little Airplane Productions. Like Selig's previous venture, Wonder Pets!, the show uses an animation style known as "photo-puppetry", in which the animation is created by the use of manipulation of photographs.
Cast
Main cast
- Samuel - The eldest of the Lovebird children, Samuel is a green lovebird. He acts as a role model to his younger sister, Muffin. Voiced By Sam Lewis (Jake Siegfried in the US Version)
- Muffin - An early preschool pink lovebird and Samuel's younger sister. Not yet old enough to fly, she usually rides on Samuel's back. She is sometimes a little spoilt however due to her being sad at everything she won't get; she would also beg for it, or try to show the community sympathy, but she isn't a very rude character; there is also some manners from her. She calls Samuel "Sam'el", Rudy "Udy", and Mr. Beakman "Beaky". Voiced By Eden Jarrett (Tori Feinstein in the US Version)
- Rudy - Rudy is a cockatoo in the program (however, she resembles a cockatiel more closely), Samuel's best friend. She wears a bracelet of colored stones on her ankle. Voiced By Morgan Gayle (Hayley Feinstein in the US Version)
- Mr. Beakman - Michael Fenton Stevens - The children's teacher, a wise toucan who frequently acts as the voice of parental authority. He shows an interest in mariachi bands, as shown in "Mariachi Muffin!"
- Quinn - Preston Nyman (Theodore Walsh in the US Version) - A puffin who works as an inventor. He occasionally displays arrogance, as he believes that his ability to build unique contraptions makes him better than the rest of the birds.
- Missy - Charlotte Leslie-Cameron - a French Great Blue Turaco.
- Mrs. Billingsley - Anna Nygh - a New Zealand gardening kiwi
Supporting cast
- Mr. and Mrs. Lovebird - David Beckford and Candida Gubbins (Greg Abbey & Rena Strober in the US Version) - Muffin and Samuel's rarely glimpsed parents who appear in some of the episodes.
- Baby Jordan (Reiss Lewin) - Mr. Beakman's nephew, who often uses big words like his uncle, he calls Muffin "Uffin".
- Elliot (Ethann Lewis) - A worm who is friends with Samuel, Muffin, and Rudy.
The cast also includes world champion musical whistler, Michael Barimo, whose whistling accompanies the music of the show.
Episodes
The original press release stated that 49 episodes of 3rd & Bird would be made.[2] To date, 25 episodes have been shown from season 1:
- Fly Muffin! (aired 4 June 2008)
- Bird Theatre! (aired 11 June 2008)
- A Chorus for Us! (aired 18 June 2008)
- To Play or Not to Play (aired 25 June 2008)
- Muffin Express! (aired 2 July 2008)
- The Rudy Show! (aired 9 July 2008)
- Super Slide! (aired 16 July 2008)
- Costume Party! (aired 23 July 2008)
- Meet Elliott! (aired 30 July 2008)
- Pogo Nest! (aired 6 August 2008)
- Samuel's Dance! (aired 13 August 2008)
- Rolling Along! (aired 20 August 2008)
- Perfect Picnic! (aired 27 August 2008)
- Pie Fair! (aired 4 September 2008)
- Muffin's Shop! (aired 11 September 2008)
- Dinosaur! (aired 18 September 2008)
- Go Camping! (aired 25 September 2008)
- Starry Night! (aired 1 October 2008)
- Amazing Muffin! (aired 8 October 2008)
- Ice Skating! (aired 15 October 2008)
- Playhouse! (aired 22 October 2008)
- Cowgirl! (aired 29 October 2008)
- Muffin's Plant! (aired 11 December 2008)
- Baby Jordan! (aired 18 December 2008)
- A Very Squooky Christmas! (aired 25 December 2008)
Another 24 episodes have been shown for Season 2:
- Muffinland! (aired 21 November 2009)
- Meow Kitty! (aired 28 November 2009)
- Mariachi Muffin! (aired 2 December 2009)
- Beach Branch! (aired 9 December 2009)
- Elliot the Budgie! (aired 16 December 2009)
- Art Show! (aired 23 December 2009)
- Down to Earth! (aired 30 December 2009)
- Road Trip! (aired 4 January 2010)
- Paint Job! (aired 11 January 2010)
- Storm! (aired 18 January 2010)
- Scooter! (aired 25 January 2010)
- Race! (aired 1 February 2010)
- Train! (aired 6 February 2010)
- The Moon! (aired 8 February 2010)
- Balloon Ride! (aired 15 February 2010)
- Help Daddy! (aired 22 February 2010)
- Ahoy! (aired 8 March 2010)
- Robot! (aired 15 March 2010)
- Baby! (aired 21 March 2010)
- Muffin's Friend! (aired 28 March 2010)
- Aunt Esther! (aired 4 April 2010)
Merchandising
In January 2009, BBC Worldwide announced plans to release 3rd & Bird merchandise, including wooden stacking toys, pull along vehicles, play sets and musical instruments, as well as wheeled toys, including trikes, scooters, and ride-ons.[3] The product line was released in spring 2010.
Two compact discs featuring the 3rd & Bird theme song (along with many other CBeebies show tracks) were released by CBeebies titled CBeebies: Song Time (2010) and CBeebies: The Album (2012).
DVDs/Books
A DVD containing 8 episodes of the series was released in March 2009.,[4] and will be accompanied by a series of books tying in to the show. The DVD release, entitled Bird's The Word!, contains the following episodes:
Fly Muffin!;
Bird Theatre!;
Muffin Express!;
A Chorus for Us!;
To Play or Not to Play!;
The Rudy Show!;
Meet Elliott!;
Costume Party!
A second DVD, Muffin Land!, was released in June 2009, and contained the following episodes:
Muffinland!;
Muffin's Shop!
Dinosaur!;
Go Camping!;
Playhouse!;
Cowgirl!;
Muffin's Plant!;
Baby Jordan!
References
- ↑ http://www.tvthrong.co.uk/cbeebies/cbeebies-new-shows-carrie-davids-popshop-grandpa-in-my-pocket-3rd-bird
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2008/03_march/bird.shtml
- ↑ http://www.toynewsmag.com/news/30798/TOY-FAIR-09-BBC-reveals-3rd-Bord-partners
- ↑ http://www.licensing.biz/news/2291/Mattel-signs-3rd-and-Bird-licence
External links
- 3rd & Bird website (not functional)
- 3rd & Bird at BBC Programmes
- 3rd & Bird at the Internet Movie Database
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