The Slow Norris
A children's series of moral tales with anthropomorphic creatures.
The Slow Norris was a British children's TV show on CITV from September 1995 to December 1999. It used talking animals to tell moral stories and fables. HTV and Hat Trick Productions made it for CITV. An American version, produced by Hollywood Ventures, aired on PBS in autumn 1997.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 10 minutes
- Developer
- Animated Extras
- Voices
- Nick Ryan
- Buddie Maddicott
- Gary Martin
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Theme music
- John Du Prez
- Language
- English
- Company
- Hat Trick Productions; HTV
- Network
- ITV (CITV)
Facts from the source article.
Main characters
The Slow Norris, voiced by Nick Ryan, is a large, hairy Slow loris-like creature who is not very clever and somewhat naive but willing to learn. He lives in a cave-like dwelling within a forest. Allie, voiced by Buddie Maddicott, is the only human character and the group's natural leader; she travels through the woods on her bicycle to visit the Slow Norris and carries a magic book that shows him what things are or an animated story featuring Jane the Fairy and her frog Ferdy. Buddie Maddicott is a relation of the show's producer Dan Maddicott. Ben Beetle, voiced by Gary Martin, is a wise insect who spends much of his time on a toadstool with his walking stick. Walter the Worm lives in a mud house and talks with a slight stutter. Jane the Fairy is an animated fairy who appears only in Allie's magic book, wearing a lilac dress and a leaf hat. Ferdy the Frog is Jane's froggy companion, very sensitive and sometimes naughty. Hodgehug is a baby hedgehog. Stork, a white stork, appears in the episode "Things That Fly" and is only seen throughout the 1996 series.
Episodes
Allie uses her magic book to show the Slow Norris a story about someone baking a cake. In a different episode, the Slow Norris avoids cleaning his cave. Allie then shows him a tale about a fairy named Jane, whose roof has a hole causing a leak. Jane’s friend, a frog called Ferdy, is meant to fix the roof but does not. The two take a train to have a picnic with Jane’s grandmother; when they return, rain has flooded Jane’s house. This convinces the Slow Norris to tidy his cave. Another episode involves Walter the Worm misplacing his tail cosy, which the Slow Norris later turns out to have. In a later series, the opening theme music was given lyrics performed by Allie. Episodes from 1995 include Making Friends (4 September 1995), Colours (11 September 1995), Things With Wheels (18 September 1995), Being Yourself (25 September 1995), Food (2 October 1995), Birthdays (9 October 1995), Feeling Poorly (16 October 1995), Schools (23 October 1995), Where We Live (30 October 1995), Being Kind (7 November 1995), Games (14 November 1995), Big And Small (21 November 1995), Being Teased (28 November 1995), 2 Legs 4 Legs 6 Legs And No Legs (4 December 1995), and The Slow Norris Party (11 December 1995). Episodes from 1996 include Things That Fly (9 September 1996), Day And Night (16 September 1996), Keeping Fit (23 September 1996), Being Worried (30 September 1996), Penfriends (7 October 1996), Things That We Wear (14 October 1996), Making Music (21 October 1996), Being Angry (28 October 1996), Things That Grow (4 October 1996), Bones (11 November 1996), Things That Swim (18 November 1996), Friends And Relations (25 November 1996), The Shape of Things (2 November 1996), Putting Things Off (9 December 1996), and The Four Seasons (16 December 1996). Episodes from 1997 include Families (1 September 1997), Holidays (8 September 1997), Babies (15 September 1997), Pictures And Stories (22 September 1997), Harvest Time (29 September 1997), Dreams (6 October 1997), Being Different (13 October 1997), Water (20 October 1997), Decorating (27 October 1997), Keeping Secrets (3 November 1997), Money (10 November 1997), Things In The Sky (17 November 1997), Playing Games (24 November 1997), Magic (1 December 1997), Milk And Eggs (8 December 1997), and Sizes (15 December 1997).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created The Slow Norris?
The Slow Norris was created by Animated Extras.
How many episodes of The Slow Norris are there?
The Slow Norris has 60 episodes across 5 seasons.
More in Television Shows Produced by Harlech Television
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