Sesame Tree is an adaptation of the Americanchildren's television series,Sesame Street, which was made entirely inNorthern Ireland. The series was produced byBelfast based production company,Sixteen South andSesame Workshop. The first episode aired onBBC Two inNorthern Ireland on 5 April 2008, with the first series subsequently airing nationwide onCBeebies in August 2008.[1][2]
Sesame Tree | |
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Genre | Educational |
Theme music composer | Duke Special |
Country of origin | United Kingdom United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 40 |
Production | |
Running time | 15 minutes |
Production companies | Sixteen South Sesame Workshop BBC Northern Ireland |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two CBeebies |
Release | 5 April 2008 (2008-04-05) – 28 January 2011 (2011-01-28) |
A second series was launched in November 2010, and broadcast on CBeebies and BBC Two from 22 November 2010.[3]
Production
editThe 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."[4]
In January 2006, The American Ireland Fund provided support to realise the project.[5][6] Additional funding was secured from theInternational Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation.[7] Funding for the second series was provided by IFI andNorthern Ireland Screen.
All the characters were developed by Sesame Workshop and Sixteen South, and the Muppets for the series were built byThe 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.[8]
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
editThe initial series ofSesame Tree comprised twenty seventeen minute programmes, aimed at an audience of children aged 2–5. Following a format similar to that ofThe Hoobs, it is composed of original puppet segments featuringMuppets 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 ofSesame Street.[9]
The common area of the programme is the "Sesame Tree" – a hollow tree where children can ask questions and have them answered;[10] the Sesame Tree is the programme's analogue to the street in the originalSesame Street programme. The residents of the Tree are Potto; Hilda and Archie, a new arrival for the second series.
The production also coincides withTar ag Spraoi Sesame, anIrish dubbed package ofPlay with Me Sesame, airing onTG4 in Ireland. The title and background music for the programme was composed by artist of Northern Ireland,Duke Special.[11]
Characters
edit- Potto (performed by Paul Currie andMichael McNulty) – The main character of the series. He is a book lovingmonsterinventor who likes to "potter" around the devices. Potto is best friends with Hilda the Hare and is the cousin ofTelly Monster. His puppet is the same AM Monster design that was used for Humphrey fromSesame Street.[12]
- Hilda (performed by Lesa Gillespie) – A seven-year-oldIrish Hare who is best friends with Potto.[13]
- Claribelle (performed byHelen Sloan (series 1) and Alana Kerr (series 2)) – A bespectacled, redMuppetbird.[12]
- Samson and Goliath (performed by Sarah Lyle and Alan Kerr) – A bunch of Bookworms that live amongst Potto's books.[9]
- Weatherberries (performed by Sarah Lyle and Michael McNulty) – A bunch of singing fruit.[12] They announce the weather whenever Hilda asks what the weather will be like that day.
- Archie (performed by Mike Smith) – A bespectacledred squirrel who loves maths. He was introduced in Season 2.
Episodes
editSeries 1
edit- The Bookworms Move House
- Food for Thought
- Booga Granny Hare!
- The Share Necessities
- Big Hare Day
- Finders Keepers
- A Present for Claribelle
- CSI Sesame Tree
- Beezer Broccoli Birthday Cake
- Arty Party
- Turn and Turn About
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Potto's Really Rockin' Pocket Shoes
- One Wee Minute
- Hilda's Two Birthdays
- Same Difference
- Potto's Perfect Picnic
- Sad Hare Blues
- The Goldfish Tree
- A Very Special Visitor
Series 2
edit- Hilda's Beezer Buddies
- Best of Furry Friends
- Let's Have a Party
- Run Potto Run
- Out of Tune
- Super Squirrel's Super Glasses
- Potto's Heard of Cows
- Potto's Movie Mania (Elmgrove Primary School)
- Squirrel's Day
- It's Not Me It's You
- Potto's Never Ending Story
- Pizza Perfection
- Scaredy Squirrel
- Treemendous
- The Trying Game
- Promises, Promises
- Squirrel School
- The Big Sleepover
- Yes We Can
- Potto's Big Day Out
References
edit- ^"The Bookworms Move House".Sesame Tree. Series 1. Episode 1. Belfast. 5 April 2008.BBC.BBC Two/CBeebies. Retrieved1 January 2012.
- ^"Episodes from Sesame Tree broadcast in 2008". BBC. Retrieved1 January 2012.
- ^"Hilda's Beezer Buddies".Sesame Tree. Series 2. Episode 1. Belfast. 22 November 2010.BBC.CBeebies. Retrieved1 January 2012.
- ^2004 Sesame Workshop powerpoint presentation
- ^The American Ireland Fund – Sesame Tree
- ^O' Driscoll, Sean. "'Sesame Street' project to promote tolerance in North."The Irish Times. 28 January 2006.
- ^O'Mahony, Catherine. "The North Gets Its Own Sesame StreetArchived 17 October 2007 at theWayback Machine."The Sunday Business Post. 5 May 2007
- ^Belfast Telegraph "Ulster on way to Sesame Street" by Emily Moulton 10/10/07
- ^abMcCrum, Andrew (12 January 2017)."Sesame Tree Series One".Northern Ireland Screen. Retrieved12 January 2023.
- ^Sesame Workshop press releaseArchived 27 November 2007 at theWayback Machine. 20 September 2007
- ^"Muppets arrive in Belfast as part of new children's television series, Sesame Tree, debuting on BBC Northern Ireland television this month" (Press release). Belfast and New York City:Sesame Workshop. 11 March 2008. Archived fromthe original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved2 January 2012.
- ^abcMoulton, Emily (4 July 2008)."Meet the Muppets who speak Norn Iron".Belfast Telegraph.ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved12 January 2023.
- ^"Meet Sesame Street's Global Cast of Characters".Smithsonian Magazine. 6 November 2009. Retrieved12 January 2023.
External links
edit- Sesame Tree atBBC Online
- BBC Northern Ireland:Sesame Tree schools
- Sesame Tree at Muppet Wiki