Noddy (TV series)

Premise

The stories take place in the Noddy Shop, where NODDY stands for Notions, Oddities, Doodads and Delights of Yesterday. Siblings Kate and Truman Tomten, along with their friend Daniel "DJ" Johnson, play at their grandfather Noah's vintage toy shop in Littleton Falls. Their unseen parents collect them at day's end, suggesting episodes occur after school, during holidays, or on weekends. The toys in the shop come alive when nobody is looking.

In the second season, Truman gains the ability to talk to the toys, and Noddy takes a more prominent role in live-action segments. Most episodes convey a moral message through a Noddy story, usually told by Kate using Noddy dolls, shown as re-dubbed and re-scored Noddy animations. A song sung by the shop's anthropomorphic toys reinforces the moral, and sometimes a second song re-enacts a popular folk tale. These songs were written by Nashville-based composer Dennis Scott.

Characters

Noah Tomten, a former sailor, runs the Noddy Shop. His granddaughter Katherine, called Kate, lives with him, as does her younger brother Truman. Their friend Daniel goes by D.J. Noah’s scatterbrained younger sister, Agatha Flugelschmidt, owns a hat shop next door and is the great aunt of Kate and Truman. Littleton Falls has two crossing guards over the series.

The first, Officer Carl Spiffy, is overly confident about suspicious goings-on and retires after the first season. He is replaced by Bud Topper, a younger guard who enjoys practical jokes and wild chases, starting with the episode “Little Swap of Horrors.” Davy Gladhand is a salesman who tells jokes and is close with Noah; he usually wears a straw boater hat, but switches to a red bowler for the Christmas episode. Hilda Sweetly sells ice cream while dressed in an ice cream costume, and she and Noah develop a romantic relationship by the end of the series.

April May McJune is an animal wrangler who handles creatures like rabbits, parrots, and skunks with care. Charlene von Pickings is a wealthy, snobbish woman with a British accent who is hard to please. Jake is a teenager who visits the Noddy Shop to deliver directions when Noah is sick. Itchy is Aunt Agatha’s grandson.

In Sports Day, two kids named Rox and Grit challenge Kate and D.J. to a race. Sam becomes Truman’s friend; after taking a mermaid without asking, Truman tells him the Noddy story about setting a trap for Sammy Sailor. Robbie MacRhino is a mascot who wears a green rhino costume with a Scottish kilt.

Cast

Sean McCann portrays Noah Tomten, a former sailor who runs the Noddy Shop. Katie Boland plays Kate Tomten, Noah's granddaughter. Max Morrow plays Truman Tomten, Noah's grandson. Kyle Kassardjian plays Daniel "D.J." Johnson, Kate and Truman's friend.

Jayne Eastwood plays Agatha Flugelschmidt, Noah's scatterbrained sister who owns the hat shop next door; the children call her Aunt Agatha, and she is married but her husband is unseen. Dan Redican plays Officer Carl Spiffy in season one only. Neil Crone plays Officer Bud Topper in season two only. Taborah Johnson plays Miss Hilda Sweetly, an ice cream vendor pushing a cart dressed as a giant strawberry ice cream cone (vanilla in an early episode); there is implication of romantic attraction between her and Noah.

Gerry Quigley plays Davy Gladhand, a salesman. Gina Sorell plays April May McJune, a Brownie leader and friend of Aunt Agatha's.

Albert Rosos plays Jake, a teenager who visits the Noddy Shop. Stephen Joffe plays Itchy, Aunt Agatha's nephew. Jake Goldsbie plays Grit, a boy in Sports Day.

Lauren Collins plays Rox, a girl in Sports Day. Daniel Magder plays Sam, Truman's new friend. Burke Lawrence plays Robbie MacRhino, a mascot dressed as a green rhino in a Scottish kilt. Greg Cross plays Ed Caruso, Robbie MacRhino's singing presenter.

Jim Calder plays Lurk Goblin, the father in a family of goblins living in a small doll's house; he speaks mainly gibberish with a few recognisable words. Nikki Pascetta plays Snipe Goblin, the mother, who also speaks gibberish. Gil Filar plays Boobull Goblin, the son, who speaks proper English. Carol Kane appears as the Tooth Fairy.

Fiona Reid appears as Charlene von Pickings. Marc Donato appears as Dewey. Harry Anderson appears as Jack Fable. Gilbert Gottfried appears as Jack Frost.

Gerard Parkes appears as Wally the Wanderer. Betty White appears as Annabelle. Colin Fox appears as the Sandman.

Graham Harley appears as Rodney Styx. Cass Van Wyck appears as Julie. Michael Cera appears as Butch.

Reception

In its first season on PBS, the show averaged 2.5 million viewers per episode, higher than Sesame Street's average during the same year. Due to its success in the US and Canada, BBC Worldwide distributed the series overseas. The Christmas episode "Anything Can Happen at Christmas" aired on CBBC in the UK in 1998. The first season later aired in the UK from 1999 to 2000, and also in Australia, Malaysia, and several other English-speaking countries, using the original soundtrack for the Noddy animations and unaltered live-action segments.

The second season was not reversioned for the UK or Australia but was dubbed for other countries. The series was dubbed for Poland, Spain, France, Israel, Mexico, Greece, and Portugal. A music video featuring the character Johnny Crawfish, titled "Special", was made to promote overseas airings. The series received several award nominations: Jayne Eastwood and Sean McCann each received Gemini Award nominations for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series in 1999, and Juul Haalmeyer won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling in 2000.