Big & Small (partially lost CBeebies comedy puppet series; 2008-2011)
Title card.
Status: Partially Lost
Big & Small is a children's puppet comedy TV series that was co-produced by 3Js Productions and Kindle Entertainment in association with the BBC, Canada's TreehouseTV, and Belgium's Studio 100. It aired simultaneously on Treehouse and the UK's CBeebies from 2008-2011.[1] The TreehouseTV version was voiced by showrunners and puppeteers Todd Doldersum, Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon; the UK dub featured veteran comedian Lenny Henry voicing both Big and Small, with Imelda Staunton and later Tamsin Heatley in supporting roles;
Synopsis
Big and Small was created to help teach children about the ups and downs of friendship and accordingly stars two polar opposite pals: a big, soft-spoken and endlessly patient purple bearlike creature named Big and his newfound roommate, a small, loud and hyperactive orange rabbitlike creature named Small. The two share Big's pretty country cottage with Ruby, a pink scooter-riding mouse artist who lives in a hole in the kitchen wall, and a more ladylike green worm named Twiba (short for "The Worm in Big's Apple") who lives in the nearby apple tree and is very proud indeed of her blonde curls. A pair of bullfrogs in knit caps hang out at the pond below Big's garden and occasionally croak when other characters pass by.
Episodes - which each included a standalone song segment that reinforced the theme - revolved around the day-to-day clashing of the characters' very different personalities, leading to various small conflicts and their often highly creative resolutions.
Status
DVD Releases
After the show ceased airing it fell into relative obscurity, with only 3 official DVD releases localized to each version. In the UK these were handled by ITV.[2]
We're Big and Small! - contains the episodes "Something is Missing," "A Door For Small," "Fish Wish," "A Space For Small," "A Piece of Cake," "The Worm in Big's Apple," "The Case of the Missing Dinosaur" and "Stormy Weather."
Starry Starry Night - containing "Playing By The Rules," "A Sound Idea," "Rain Dance," "My Friend Fang," "Starry Starry Night," "Bad Luck Machine," "The Big Sneeze" and "The Mysterious Woods."
The Biggest Story - containing "The Biggest Story," "Small, Small Let Down Your Hair," "Boingo Boys," "The Rainbow," "The Scare-Small" and "The Box."
There was also a compilation DVD titled The CBeebies Collection Vol. 1 that contained the episode "Moon Race."
Online Uploads
Over the years many episodes of Big and Small have been uploaded online, some by the official YouTube channel and others to various private YT and archive.org accounts. At the moment, however, the Canadian/TreehouseTV original is very hard to find online at all, being currently limited to the intro and a few compilations of episode clips.
The show seems to be much more fondly remembered in the UK, inasmuch as that version's online footprint is much larger. The vast majority of the UK episodes are currently uploaded to the official Big & Smallchannel, with a couple still missing, and several more incomplete; "Dream Team" is missing the last minute of the episode and others, like "Opposite Day", only consist of the song segment.
Episode List
Series 1
This list references the UK dub, which as noted is the only one currently to have full episodes uploaded.
| # | Episode Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Something is Missing | Found |
| 2 | A Door For Small | Found |
| 3 | Fish Wish | Found |
| 4 | There's A Space For Small | Found |
| 5 | A Piece of Cake | Found |
| 6 | The Worm In Big's Apple | Found |
| 7 | The Case Of The Missing Dinosaur | Found |
| 8 | Stormy Weather | Found |
| 9 | Playing By The Rules | Found |
| 10 | A Sound Idea | Found |
| 11 | Rain Dance | Found |
| 12 | My Friend Fang | Found |
| 13 | Starry Starry Night | Found |
| 14 | Bad Luck Machine | Found |
| 15 | The Big Sneeze | Found |
| 16 | The Mysterious Woods | Found |
| 17 | Surprise, Surprise | Found |
| 18 | The Sleepy Toy Thingy | Lost |
| 19 | Smashing Tomatoes | Found |
| 20 | Picture Perfect | Found |
| 21 | Twiba's Treasure Hunt | Partially Found |
| 22 | The Case Of The Clogs | Found |
| 23 | Twiba Takes Flight | Found |
| 24 | Cabin Fever | Found |
| 25 | Five Minute Sled | Lost |
| 26 | The Gwelf In The Garden | Found |
Series 2
| # | Episode Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Tall Small | Found |
| 28 | I Spy A Firefly | Found |
| 29 | Say Cheese | Found |
| 30 | Celery Day | Found |
| 31 | The Singing Gwelf | Found |
| 32 | The Road Not Taken | Found |
| 33 | Party Time | Found |
| 34 | Dream Team | Partially Lost |
| 35 | I See, You Saw | Partially Lost |
| 36 | The Big Race | Found |
| 37 | Abracadabra | Found |
| 38 | Frog Fight | Found |
| 39 | The Broken Scooter | Found |
| 40 | Blame It On The Drain | Found |
| 41 | Small's Branch | Found |
| 42 | Play Date | Found |
| 43 | The Case Of The Missing Kohlrabi | Found |
| 44 | Promises, Promises | Found |
| 45 | Spring Fling | Partially Lost |
| 46 | Never Say No | Found |
| 47 | The Book Of Big | Found |
| 48 | A Quiet Day | Found |
| 49 | The Missing Biscuit (Cookie) | Found |
| 50 | Thar She Buzzes | Partially Found |
| 51 | The Not So Happy Camper | Found |
| 52 | Big & Small Day | Found |
Series 3
| # | Episode Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 53 | Small, Small Let Down Your Hair | Found |
| 54 | Boingo Boys | Found |
| 55 | The Rainbow | Found |
| 56 | The Scare-Small | Found |
| 57 | The Box | Found |
| 58 | The Missing Answer | Found |
| 59 | Millions Of Vegetable Soup | Found |
| 60 | Hot And Bothered | Found |
| 61 | A Room Of Small's Own | Found |
| 62 | Catch A Fallen Star | Found |
| 63 | Thanks For The Memories | Found |
| 64 | Opposite Day | Partially Found |
| 65 | Fishing For Elephants | Partially Found |
| 66 | The Hiccups | Partially Lost |
| 67 | Friends In A Fog | Partially Lost |
| 68 | The Biggest Story | Found |
| 69 | A Room With A View | Partially Lost |
| 70 | Just What I Wanted | Found |
| 71 | Slippery Slide | Partially Found |
| 72 | A Letter From Furthermost | Partially Lost |
| 73 | Balloonatics | Partially Found |
| 74 | An Evening of Delights | Found |
| 75 | The Egg | Partially Found |
| 76 | Gone Fishin' | Partially Found |
| 77 | Hoopalong Small | Partially Lost |
| 78 | Moon Race | Found |
Gallery
Images
The characters Big and Small.
Footage
See Also
- Alphablocks (partially found web-exclusive scenes of CBeebies animated series episodes; 2010-2013)
- CBeebies Springwatch (partially found preschool spin-off of British documentary series; 2006-2008)
- Doodle Do (partially lost CBeebies series; 2006-2010)
- Razzledazzle (found CBeebies CGI animated series; 2005)
- Rubbadubbers (lost unaired pilots of CBeebies stop-motion animated series; existence unconfirmed; late 1990s-early 2000s)
- Space Pirates (found CBeebies live-action animated series; 2007-2008)
- The Wordles (partially found pitch pilot of "Abadas" CBeebies animated series; 2010)
- Zingalong (partially found CBeebies series; 2002-2004)
External Links
References
- ↑ C21 Media article on the series. Retrieved 12 Jul '23
- ↑ AWN article on ITV securing DVD rights to the show. Retrieved 12 Jul '23