Bump (TV series)

Bump is a British animated children's television series which was created by Charles Mills and Terry Brain (who had previously created The Trap Door and Stoppit and Tidyup), produced by Queensgate Productions and originally shown on BBC One from 14 September 1990 to 26 December 1994.[1]

This article is about the 1990 British TV series. For the 2021 Australian series, see Bump (Australian TV series).

Bump the Elephant
GenreChildren's
Created byCharles Mills
Terry Brain
Written byChristopher James
Narrated bySimon Cadell
ComposerSteve Augarde
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes27
Production
Executive producerTheresa Plummer-Andrews
ProducerDennis Hooper
Running time5 minutes (one 10-minute Christmas special)
Production companiesQueensgate Productions
Abbey Broadcast Communications
DistributorAbbey Home Media
Release
Original networkBBC1 (Children's BBC)
Picture format4:3
Audio formatMonaural
Original release14 September 1990 (1990-09-14) –
26 December 1994 (1994-12-26)

The series' two main protagonists were the eponymous Bump (an elephant who was very clumsy, a trait that was emphasised by a bandage stuck onto his forehead) and his friend Birdie (a bluebird who often gave Bump advice on how he could become more graceful). The two series ran a total of twenty-six episodes, each 5 minutes long. The twenty-seventh and final episode was a Christmas special that was 10 minutes long. The programme was narrated by Simon Cadell (1950-1996) of Hi-de-Hi! fame.

Bump and Birdie regularly encountered animals that had a problem (such as Whizzer the mouse, Munch the tortoise, McDuff the dog, Big Bun and Little Bun the rabbits and Batty the bat) and would help them to find a solution. Most of these animals were recurring characters, and all of the characters' Stoppit and Tidyup-like sounds were generated by analogue synthesizers.

Episode list

Series 1 (1990)

All thirteen of the first series' episodes were initially shown on BBC One as part of the Children's BBC strand on Fridays at 3:50 pm.

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleOriginal air date
11"Bump and the Hole"14 September 1990 (1990-09-14)[2]
Birdie offers to take Bump to a place where there are no trees to bump into.
22"Bump and the Clouds"21 September 1990 (1990-09-21)[3]
Bump has a dream about sitting on a cloud and floating around the world.
33"Bump's Upside Down Friend"28 September 1990 (1990-09-28)[4]
Bump and Batty have something in common - they both like standing on their heads.
44"Bump Plays a Trick"5 October 1990 (1990-10-05)[5]
Whizzer turns over a new leaf after a game of hide-and-seek.
55"A Ride with Bump"12 October 1990 (1990-10-12)[6]
Bump has something special to share with his friends.
66"Bump's Lost Button"19 October 1990 (1990-10-19)[7]
Bump is very upset when he loses one of his buttons, so all of his friends help him to look for it.
77"Bump Has a Funny Day"26 October 1990 (1990-10-26)[8]
Strange things happen when Bump finds some stones.
88"Bump's New Game"2 November 1990 (1990-11-02)[9]
Bump decides that walking backwards will stop him bumping into things.
99"Bump Learns to Fly"9 November 1990 (1990-11-09)[10]
Bump's attempts at flying leave him firmly on the ground.
1010"Bump and the Monster"16 November 1990 (1990-11-16)[11]
Bump has a big surprise when he and Birdie take a stroll by the river.
1111"Bump Wants to Help"23 November 1990 (1990-11-23)[12]
Bump is saddened to discover he is too big to help his friends.
1212"Bump's Loud Song"30 November 1990 (1990-11-30)[13]
Bump's loud trumpeting makes a din and saves the day.
1313"Bump Goes Away"7 December 1990 (1990-12-07)[14]
When Bump feels he is a nuisance, he finds out who his real friends are.

Series 2 (1994)

All thirteen of the second series' episodes were initially screened on BBC One, again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Mondays at 3:45 pm, and although they were produced in 1993, they were not broadcast until 10 January 1994. The sixteenth episode was also renamed to just "Aunty Doreen's Surprise" when shown in the United States, while the twenty-fifth one was renamed to "Bump and the Builder".

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleOriginal air date
141"Bump's Umbrella"10 January 1994 (1994-01-10)[15]
Birdie comes to the rescue when Bump has problems with his umbrella.
152"Bump and the Talking Tree"17 January 1994 (1994-01-17)[16]
Bump becomes a laughing stock after he is caught talking to a tree.
163"Bump and Aunty Doreen's Surprise"24 January 1994 (1994-01-24)[17]
Birdie tells Bump that Aunty Doreen is waiting for him by the river with a surprise.
174"Bump and the Bucket"31 January 1994 (1994-01-31)[18]
Bump steps back and plants his foot in a bucket whilst trying to get out of Whizzer's way.
185"Bump's First Ride"7 February 1994 (1994-02-07)[19]
Birdie takes his friends for a ride, but then notices that Bump is looking a little sad.
196"Bump's Big Ears"14 February 1994 (1994-02-14)[20]
When Bump pulls on a piece of string hanging from a tree, he is surprised to find it belongs to Cousin Jay.
207"Bump and the Baby Mountain"21 February 1994 (1994-02-21)[21]
Bump makes a flag and is eager to show it to Birdie.
218"Bump and the Statue"28 February 1994 (1994-02-28)[22]
On the way to meet his friends with his truck, Bump encounters a tall, grey figure in the bushes.
229"Bump and the Flying Flowers"7 March 1994 (1994-03-07)[23]
Bump loves flowers, especially those with a nice smell.
2310"Bump's Special Day"14 March 1994 (1994-03-14)[24]
Bump gets very angry with himself because he cannot remember something important.
2411"Bump and the Pouncing Game"21 March 1994 (1994-03-21)[25]
When Bump goes to visit Birdie one morning, he will not leave his tree.
2512"Bump the Builder"28 March 1994 (1994-03-28)[26]
Bump is tidying up his house, but decides to go out and play instead.
2613"Bump and the Windy Day"4 April 1994 (1994-04-04)[27]
Birdie will not come out to play because the wind is blowing too hard.

Christmas special (1994)

The twenty-seventh episode was initially shown on BBC One, once again as part of the Children's BBC strand, on Boxing Day 1994 at 7:55 am.

No.TitleOriginal air date
27"Bump's Christmas Story"26 December 1994 (1994-12-26)[28]
On his way to see Santa Claus at the North Pole, Bump meets a snowman who convinces him that Christmas may never happen.

Broadcast history
  • United Kingdom: After the series finished its original run on BBC One, it was later repeated on BBC Two, The Children's Channel, Nickelodeon (alongside that network's own cartoons from that time period, Doug, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life and Aaahh!!!) and CBeebies.
  • Australia: When the series was exported to Australia, it was shown on ABC, Nickelodeon (alongside their cartoons) and Nick Jr..
  • South Africa: When the series was exported to South Africa, it was broadcast on SABC2 and e.tv over there.
  • Singapore: When the series was exported to Singapore, it was screened on Mediacorp Channel 5 in that country.
  • New Zealand: When the series was exported to New Zealand, it was transmitted on TVNZ Kidzone for that country.
  • Republic of Ireland: When the series was exported to the Irish Republic, it was seen on RTÉ2 in that country.
  • Canada: When the series was exported to Canada, it was screened on both YTV and YTV Jr..
  • Germany: When the series was exported to Germany, it was seen on the military television network BFBS (and SSVC Television, which was the name the aforementioned BFBS network was known by between 1985 and 1997).
  • India: When the series was exported to India, it was screened on Discovery Kids there.

Credits

Series 1
  • Narrated by: Simon Cadell
  • Animation: CMTB Animation
  • Artwork & Music: Steve Augarde
  • Stories by: Christopher James
  • Executive Producer: Theresa Plummer-Andrews
  • Produced by: Dennis Hooper
  • © Bump Enterprises Ltd. 1990

Series 2
  • Stories by: Christopher James
  • Narrated by: Simon Cadell
  • Animated by: CMTB Animation
  • Edited by: Nick Upton
  • Art & Music: Steve Augarde
  • Art Director: Peter Corri
  • Executive Producer for the BBC: Theresa Plummer-Andrews
  • Executive Producer for Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc: Anne Miles
  • Directed by: Terry Brain
  • Produced by: Dennis Hooper
  • © Bump Enterprises Ltd. 1993
  • An Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc. Videal Productions - GMBH Production
  • © Abbey Broadcast Communications Plc. Videal Productions - GMBH 1993

UK VHS releases

Two VHS tapes, which contain all thirteen episodes of the first series between them, were released by Abbey Home Media in the UK in 1991. The first one was later reissued on DVD under the title Bump: My First DVD in 2004 (three episodes from the second series and the Christmas special were also released on another DVD, Bump: Christmas Story, in 2006, but they were never previously released on VHS).[29]

VHS title Release date Episodes
Bump: My First Video 11 February 1991 Bump Has a Funny Day, Bump Learns to Fly, Bump and the Monster, Bump's Loud Song, Bump and the Clouds, A Ride with Bump
The Adventures of Bump 4 March 1991 Bump and the Hole, Bump's Upside Down Friend, Bump Plays a Trick, Bump's New Game, Bump Goes Away, Bump's Lost Button, Bump Wants to Help

References
  1. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 36. ISBN 9781476672939.
  2. BBC One London - 14 September 1990 - BBC Genome
  3. BBC One London - 21 September 1990 - BBC Genome
  4. BBC One London - 28 September 1990 - BBC Genome
  5. BBC One London - 5 October 1990 - BBC Genome
  6. BBC One London - 12 October 1990 - BBC Genome
  7. BBC One London - 19 October 1990 - BBC Genome
  8. BBC One London - 26 October 1990 - BBC Genome
  9. BBC One London - 2 November 1990 - BBC Genome
  10. BBC One London - 9 November 1990 - BBC Genome
  11. BBC One London - 16 November 1990 - BBC Genome
  12. BBC One London - 23 November 1990 - BBC Genome
  13. BBC One London - 30 November 1990 - BBC Genome
  14. BBC One London - 7 December 1990 - BBC Genome
  15. BBC One London - 10 January 1994 - BBC Genome
  16. BBC One London - 17 January 1994 - BBC Genome
  17. BBC One London - 24 January 1994 - BBC Genome
  18. BBC One London - 31 January 1994 - BBC Genome
  19. BBC One London - 7 February 1994 - BBC Genome
  20. BBC One London - 14 February 1994 - BBC Genome
  21. BBC One London - 21 February 1994 - BBC Genome
  22. BBC One London - 28 February 1994 - BBC Genome
  23. BBC One London - 7 March 1994 - BBC Genome
  24. BBC One London - 14 March 1994 - BBC Genome
  25. BBC One London - 21 March 1994 - BBC Genome
  26. BBC One London - 28 March 1994 - BBC Genome
  27. BBC One London - 4 April 1994 - BBC Genome
  28. BBC One London - 26 December 1994 - BBC Genome
  29. Bump's Christmas Story (DVD): Amazon.co.uk: DVD & Blu-ray
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