Timmy Time


Timmy Time is a British stop motion animated television programme for preschoolers created and produced by Bob the Builder producer Jackie Cockle for the BBC's CBeebies and produced by Aardman Animations. It started broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2009. It is a spin-off of Shaun the Sheep, itself a spin-off of the Wallace & Gromit film A Close Shave.
The first two series ran for 26 episodes. In the United Kingdom, its most recent run began in September 2011 on CBeebies. In Australia, series one started in May 2009 on ABC1 and series three in May 2011 on ABC 4 Kids. The series also aired in the United States on Playhouse Disney, later called Disney Junior, beginning on 13 September 2010, but later ended its run in May 2014.
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Premise and format

In the this series, Timmy and his friends have to learn to share, make friends and accept their mistakes. They are supervised by two teachers, Harriet the Heron and Osbourne the Owl. The show is aimed at pre-school-aged children, which the company described as "a natural next step for Aardman".
The show is made up of ten-minute episodes, which do not feature much dialogue, much like Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and A Close Shave. Shaun, his friends, Bitzer and the Farmer are absent. A filming of one episode was featured on the Discovery Channel's How It's Made.
During the show's development, the series was simply called Timmy. CBeebies acquired UK-broadcast rights to the series in October 2007.
In 2018, Aardman collaborated with the British Council to create "Learning Time with Timmy", a show to encourage children aged 2–6 around the world to learn the English language, along with a YouTube-exclusive series and three apps.
In October 2019, Aardman announced a new rebooted version of the existing 78 episodes for CBeebies titled It's Timmy Time that began broadcast later on in the month. These versions feature narration from a selection of pre-school children, and are 5-minutes in length when compared to the original 10-minute episodes.

Characters

Children

  • Timmy is a lamb and the titular character who enjoys being in the spotlight. He is 3 years old in sheep years and later turns 4 in the episode "Timmy's Birthday". In many of the episodes, he gets into trouble; however, he learns from his mistakes and often tries to help the other characters out when he can. He is best friends with Yabba and is very close to Finlay. He also appears in Shaun the Sheep. Timmy's noise is 'baa'.
  • Yabba is a duckling who wears blue goggles and is very similar to Timmy in personality and is best friends with him. Yabba's noise is 'quack'.
  • Paxton is a piglet who is characterised by his appetite for apples and his weight. He wears a blue sweater and is never seen without it. Paxton's noise is ’oink'.
  • Mittens is a kitten who is like other kittens: she doesn't like getting wet or dirty and is rather sensitive. In some episodes, she seems to have feelings for Timmy. She always loves playing with picnics. Mittens' noise is 'meow'.
  • Ruffy is a puppy who is energetic but can sometimes be mentally slow and he is a good friend too. Ruffy's noise is 'ruff'.
  • Apricot is a hedgehog hoglet who is very quiet and skittish. When startled or frightened by someone or something she rolls up into a ball. Apricot's noise is 'hicoo', although she rarely speaks.
  • Stripey is a badger cub who is a bit sleepy and slow as badgers are nocturnal. Stripey's noise is 'honk'.
  • Kid is a goat who has a large appetite like Paxton and chews anything in sight. If the thing he is chewing is taken from him, he does not mind and moves on to something else. Kid's noise is 'meep meep'.
  • Otus is an owlet and Osbourne's son who enjoys helping. He can be typically found reading and is very sensitive, sometimes copying his father. Otus' noise is 'too-wit, too-hoo'.
  • Finlay is a fox kit who is excitable and full of energy. Finlay's noise is 'yip-yap'.

Teachers

  • Harriet is a heron who speaks through caws and clicks. She is one of the two nursery managers. Harriet's noise is cluck.
  • Osbourne is an owl who is the other manager of the nursery and Otus' father. Osbourne's noise is hootay hoo hoo hoo.

Side characters

  • Bumpy is a caterpillar who is not a part of the class but has many background appearances in the show. Bumpy's noise is blee blub.
  • Timmy's Mother is a sheep who is also not a part of the class, but does appear in the opening sequence, "Timmy's Christmas Surprise" and the end credits. She also appears in Shaun the Sheep. Timmy's Mother's noise is baa.