PB Bear and Friends


PB Bear and Friends is a series of children's books by Lee Davis that has also been made into a British children's television series. Much like the Paddington series, the characters are stuffed puppets that are animated with the stop-motion technique. In the UK, the series aired on Channel 5's Milkshake! and was repeated on Tiny Pop & previously on Nick Jr.

Characters

  • PB Bear – A bear who is the main character of the books and the show. He is also Roscoe's best friend and is really friendly. In the books, his name "P.B." is revealed to stand for "Pajamas and Bedtime", as they are stated to be his favourite clothes.
  • Roscoe – A rabbit who is PB Bear's best friend. He is often scared of something and has a cowardly personality. He appears in the TV series and some of the books.
  • Milly – A monkey who likes to pull off jokes on her friends often saying "Tricked you, tricked you!" when she is discovered.
  • Florrie – A frog.
  • Dermott – A male dog which sometimes hangs out with PB Bear and Roscoe.
  • Dixie – A female dog who is friends with PB.
  • Dililah – A duck who has 3 ducklings.
  • Bob – A duck with a competitive personality. Often wears a straw boater hat.
  • Tiny Bear – A very small bear who appears exclusively in the TV series making only squeaks for sounds. Although often present, Tiny is hardly ever addressed by the other characters.
  • Russell – A rabbit that appears in the books, replacing Roscoe.
  • Salty – A seagull.
  • Hilda – A hen who only appears in the books and is sometimes an assistant with PB Bear.
  • Lucy – A lamb who only appears in the books.
  • Penguins – Most of the other characters are penguins. They play numerous roles, such as a postman, a doctor, a fairground worker, a sweet shop owner, an ice-cream stand owner, a police officer, and a park keeper.

Minor characters

Some minor characters have appeared through the show such as:Santa and his elves.Aunty Wonderbear – An American female Superhero Bear who calls PB on the phone.Rudy Bear – PB's cousin who pulled mean jokes on the others.Postman Monkey – a postman who features in some of the stories.

Voices

  • Dan de Montaignac as PB Bear
  • Kate Harbour as the narrator
  • Paul Besterman as Roscoe The Rabbit/Bob The Duck/Penguins
  • Maria Darling as Milly the Monkey/Dixie the Dog
  • Phil Nice as Dermott The Dog
  • Stuart Lock as additional voices

Books

  • PB Bear's Birthday Surprise
  • PB Bear's Treasure Hunt
  • PB Bear's School Day
  • PB Bear's Christmas
  • Time for Bed PB Bear
  • ''PB Bear's Favorite Bedtime Stories''

Television series

The television show aired for one series on Channel 5 from 2 January until 25 December 1998. Each episode is 5 minutes in length.

Episode guide

  1. Pirate Island
  2. The Birthday Bear
  3. The Queen's Bananas
  4. The Kite Chasers
  5. Go Kart Racers
  6. Snow Fun
  7. The Snow Monster
  8. Goal
  9. Abracadabra
  10. Musical Sweets
  11. Let's Play School
  12. Space Poppers
  13. Atchoo!
  14. Rollerbears
  15. Lion in a Box
  16. Camping Out
  17. Too Many Cooks
  18. The Beach Party
  19. Head Over Heels
  20. Roscoe's Robot
  21. The Sneaky Tree
  22. Double Trouble
  23. Duck Shoes
  24. The Fuzzy Detective
  25. Superbear
  26. Fishing for Wishes
  27. Mystic Milly
  28. Absolute Rubbish
  29. Monkey Vision
  30. ''Beary Christmas''

PC game

A CD-ROM game based on the series, titled PB Bear's Birthday Party has been released for Multimedia PC by Dorling Kindersley Multimedia. Aimed at kindergarten students, it has targeting skills of counting, recognizing numbers and shapes, identifying characteristics, sequencing and maze completion.