Sesame Tree


Sesame Tree is an adaptation of the children's television series, Sesame Street, which was made entirely in Northern Ireland. The series was produced by Belfast based production company, Sixteen South and Sesame Workshop. The first episode aired on BBC Two in Northern Ireland on 5 April 2008, with the first series subsequently airing nationwide on CBeebies in August 2008.
A second series was launched in November 2010, and broadcast on CBeebies and BBC Two from 22 November 2010.

Production

The project had been under consideration since 2004; in Sesame Workshop's presentation on their international projects, Northern Ireland was listed as a goal, with the intent of 'building the Sesame model for respect and understanding curriculum across the sectarian divide."
In January 2006, The American Ireland Fund provided support to realise the project. Additional funding was secured from the International Fund for Ireland and the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation. Funding for the second series was provided by IFI and Northern Ireland Screen.
All the characters were developed by Sesame Workshop and Sixteen South, and the Muppets for the series were built by The Jim Henson Company in New York, who worked with exclusively local writers and Muppet Performers. Martin P. Robinson assisted in auditioning and training local performers, who include Lesa Gillespie, Paul Currie, Michael McNulty, Mike Smith, Helen Sloan and Alana Kerr.
The Northern Irish science fiction writer, Ian McDonald, has contributed scripts to the series, along with local writing trio Kieran Doherty, Danny Nash and Ian Nugent. Each of these four writers has written five episodes each, comprising the full twenty episodes of the first series.

Format

The initial series of Sesame Tree comprised twenty seventeen-minute programmes, aimed at an audience of children aged 2–5. Following a format similar to that of The Hoobs, it is composed of original puppet segments featuring Muppets created specifically for the series, local mini documentaries depicting a child's eye view of life in Northern Ireland, and classic Muppet segments from the library of Sesame Street.
The common area of the programme is the "Sesame Tree" – a hollow tree where children can ask questions and have them answered; the Sesame Tree is the programme's analogue to the street in the original Sesame Street programme. The residents of the Tree are Potto; Hilda and Archie, a new arrival for the second series.
The production also coincides with Tar ag Spraoi Sesame, an Irish dubbed package of Play with Me Sesame, airing on TG4 in Ireland. The title and background music for the programme was composed by artist of Northern Ireland, Duke Special.

Characters

  • Potto – The main character of the series. He is a book loving monster inventor who likes to "potter" around the devices. Potto is best friends with Hilda the Hare and is the cousin of Telly Monster. His puppet is the same AM Monster design that was used for Humphrey from Sesame Street.
  • Hilda – A seven-year-old Irish Hare who is best friends with Potto.
  • Claribelle and Alana Kerr ) – A bespectacled, red Muppet bird.
  • Samson and Goliath – A bunch of Bookworms that live amongst Potto's books.
  • Weatherberries – A bunch of singing fruit. They announce the weather whenever Hilda asks what the weather will be like that day.
  • Archie – A bespectacled red squirrel who loves maths. He was introduced in Season 2.

    Episodes

Series 1

  1. The Bookworms Move House
  2. Food for Thought
  3. Booga Granny Hare!
  4. The Share Necessities
  5. Big Hare Day
  6. Finders Keepers
  7. A Present for Claribelle
  8. CSI Sesame Tree
  9. Beezer Broccoli Birthday Cake
  10. Arty Party
  11. Turn and Turn About
  12. Practice Makes Perfect
  13. Potto's Really Rockin' Pocket Shoes
  14. One Wee Minute
  15. Hilda's Two Birthdays
  16. Same Difference
  17. Potto's Perfect Picnic
  18. Sad Hare Blues
  19. The Goldfish Tree
  20. A Very Special Visitor

    Series 2

  21. Hilda's Beezer Buddies
  22. Best of Furry Friends
  23. Let's Have a Party
  24. Run Potto Run
  25. Out of Tune
  26. Super Squirrel's Super Glasses
  27. Potto's Heard of Cows
  28. Potto's Movie Mania
  29. Squirrel's Day
  30. It's Not Me It's You
  31. Potto's Never Ending Story
  32. Pizza Perfection
  33. Scaredy Squirrel
  34. Treemendous
  35. The Trying Game
  36. Promises, Promises
  37. Squirrel School
  38. The Big Sleepover
  39. Yes We Can
  40. Potto's Big Day Out