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Each show would open with
Abercromby's Grandpa telling his story, in a green wooden bedroom surrounded by characters and props which later fill out the cast of Abercromby's dreams – a suit of armour in the corner (Arthur), a carved mermaid (Siren) and the tree outside (Great Oak). The following shots
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Captain
Abercromby was a puppet series about a boy named Abercromby, who is raised by his grandfather. After hearing the tale of how his Grandpa lost his watch, which was given to him by Abercromby's mother, he dreams that he is a captain of a seaship, the "Hope", and that he is on a mission to find
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The show was produced by Wark
Clements for BBC Scotland. Filming took place from February to July 2001 in Glasgow. The series was being filmed at the Media Park in Maryhill, Glasgow but on 22 April a fire took hold of the studio, destroying all sets, props and equipment. The production relocated to
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Each story would finish with an alarm clock ringing, bringing
Abercromby out of his dream and waking up to his Grandpa standing by his bed. Abercromby then begins to tell his Grandpa an excited summary of the episode, volume fading down as the credits and music roll over the scene.
236:– the ship's janitor, who is also a purple talking dog. Poindexter is quite intelligent, as he is shown doing things humans are subject to do. Aside from Captain Abercromby, he is the only character to cross from the "real" world into the "dream" world.
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In one episode of the series, "Out of the Hat", Abercromby and his crew briefly find his
Grandpa's watch, seen every week in the opening title sequence. However, this copy of the watch is dismissed by Admiral Dobbin as being a fake.
255:, but much of his appearance is put on – his eyepatch just covers a perfectly good eye, and his hook is held in one of his hands. Jake's schemes to catch up with Abercromby usually involve a comedic comeupance.
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the watch. They have a rival crew attempting to find buried treasure, run by
Captain Jake in his ship "Thunderbottom", who mistakenly (but logically) believe that Abercromby is looking for buried
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showed
Abercromby climbing into bed (with Poindexter on the end) and going to sleep, saying "I'll find that watch one day", entering the dream world of the show and starting the title sequence.
330:– the ruler of "Rabadabdab", a seaside exotic port which was the most frequent mooring for the "Hope". Like most of "Rabadabdab"'s inhabitants, he was a bird, a purple
216:, an Oak Tree in particular, he is the ship's helmsman, and responsible for keeping the ship moving. He is also the fount of knowledge and wisdom on board the ship.
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another nearby studio to complete the filming, after rebuilding as much as they needed to finish filming. The music for the show was composed by
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190:– the show's titular character, Abercromby is a boy who dreams of an adventure where he is trying to find his Grandpa's missing watch.
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that works on the ship. Arthur is a bumbling character, and is the prominent character in the series, next to
Abercromby himself.
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The puppets and design of the show were all created in a child-friendly cartoon style, with the majority of the creatures being
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pirate. She is the scheming half of the partnership, more intelligent than Jake, but just as likely to get her just deserts.
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of the ship. She believes in
Abercromby the most, and is the one who will convince the others to save him.
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who serves food and drink at the Limpet Inn, Rabadabdab's drinking hole (soft drinks only!)
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46:, Damian Farrell, Symon Macintyre, Lynn Robertson-Bruce,
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559:Doug Williams, Ken Anderson, Dominique Middleton
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832:"SCOTLAND | Fire at Chewin' the Fat studio"
295:who often speak or are randomly assigned a name.
923:British television shows featuring puppetry
918:2000s British children's television series
200:– Abercromby's shipmate, and the living
42:(puppeteers) Colin Purves, Geoff Felix,
898:http://www.toonhound.com/abercromby.htm
291:– most of the crew of Thunderbottom is
933:2003 British television series endings
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777:Mark McDonnell (Great Oak and others)
928:2002 British television series debuts
612:, Lynn Robertson Bruce, Geoff Felix
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811:Ian Sexon (Captain Jake and others)
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150:in 2002–2003. Its cast are puppets.
146:is a children's TV show that was on
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18:2002 British TV series or programme
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639:Scottish Mask & Puppet Centre
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913:BBC children's television shows
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711:Steve Arthur, Chris Batchelor
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567:Keith Brumpton, Doug Williams
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770:(mainly Captain Abercromby)
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655:The Quickening, WM Design
834:. BBC News. 22 April 2001
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617:additional puppeteers:
610:Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
468:The Sultan's Challenge
48:Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
882:http://www.caboom.ie/
743:Pictures on the Wall
660:construction manager:
804:(Arthur and others)
794:(Bobweb and others)
644:puppet construction:
423:Arthur's Family Tree
403:The Right Treatment
861:on 29 January 2011
740:computer graphics:
413:The Sultan's Visit
393:Extra Pair of Paws
378:Sailor of the Year
311:– the chef. A red
241:Thunderbottom Crew
143:Captain Abercromby
25:Captain Abercromby
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493:Captain Invisible
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857:. Archived from
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398:Unlucky For Some
320:Other characters
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128:26 February 2003
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100:Original release
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863:. Retrieved
859:the original
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836:. Retrieved
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759:Mike Powell
751:Dave Soutar
700:camera asst:
679:Ewen Duncan
663:Neil Querns
606:Dave Chapman
543:John Gorman
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92:Running time
44:Dave Chapman
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727:Steve Thom
684:accountant:
652:set design:
601:puppeteers:
594:Rowland Lee
584:Rowland Lee
575:Mike James
515:Rowland Lee
463:Gee A Genie
428:Trumpet Boy
342:– East-end
339:Lily Limpet
79:of episodes
63:, Ian Sexon
34:John Gorman
907:Categories
838:31 January
818:References
724:sound sup:
556:producers:
508:Production
448:Lights Out
443:Navy Blues
233:Poindexter
202:figurehead
187:Abercromby
175:Characters
132:2003-02-26
122:2002-01-04
95:15 minutes
87:Production
31:Created by
708:lighting:
548:director:
438:Watch Out
209:Great Oak
51:(voices)
498:Marooned
418:Mrs Jake
388:The Duel
293:Seagulls
288:Seagulls
161:treasure
39:Starring
865:2 March
764:voices:
732:editor:
590:lyrics:
564:writer:
359:Grandpa
344:mollusc
313:lobster
300:Clawdia
148:BBC Two
130: (
126: –
120: (
115:Release
105:Network
580:music:
527:Muppet
332:puffin
327:Sultan
308:Snappy
265:spider
260:Bobweb
253:pirate
221:Arthur
716:grip:
521:Style
196:Siren
867:2009
840:2018
533:Crew
263:– a
212:– a
109:BBC
77:No.
909::
517:.
82:26
59:,
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