The Spooks of Bottle Bay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Spooks of Bottle Bay | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | Ian Allen |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Fugitive/Playboard Puppets |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
The Spooks of Bottle Bay was a children's drama series shown on CiTV between the years of 1993 and 1995 on CITV. The stories behind the show were created by Ian Allen, and the puppets and sets were designed by John Thirtle. Three videos containing a few episodes from the first two series were released in the 90s, but nothing has been released since then and the show has never been repeated on television.
[edit] Plot Outline
The Spooks of Bottle Bay followed the adventures of the honest Sidney Sludge and his dog Maxwell, and the town folk of Bottle Bay. The town was in fact located in a bottle on a mantelpiece of an unknown person's house. The residents are forever plagued by Sidney's evil siblings, Sybil and Cedric. Sidney spent most of the time trying to avoid the problems caused by his brother and sister and was always helped, albeit unwittingly, by the Spooks of Bottle Bay. It was rumoured that the show was cancelled because of its disturbing content, although designed for children, the strange shape of the puppets caused distress amongst the younger viewers.
[edit] Characters
Sidney Malcolm Sludge - The lead character of the series. He spends his time avoiding the situations that his brother and sister - Sybil and Cedric - create. He lived in a beach hut in the first series but by series two was staying at the Seaview Guest House, to try and avoid his siblings. Sid delivers his catch-phrase "Now that's spooky!" at the end of each episode in Series Two and Three.
Sybil Sludge - The green skinned, flame haired sister of Sidney. She is, along with Cedric, the main antagonist of the show. Sybil spends her time plotting thefts, and also trying to defeat the Spooks in the later episodes. The Spooks, however, always managed to outwit her, no matter how clever her plans were.
Cedric Sludge - The brother of Sybil and Sid, Cedric tended to help his sister with her schemes, rather than coming up with his own. He does, however, match his sister in ruthlessness - he will do anything to get rich.
Ted and Lily - Ted and Lily Turine own The Seaview Guest House, where Sid stays.
Madge - The housekeeper at the Seaview Guest House.
Gran - Sidney's gran owns a cat called Norman, who has a tendency to cough up fluff balls.
Joe - Seaman who takes care of the galleon moored in the harbour. Owns a parrot called 'Bananas'.
Fred Spook - One of the leaders of the gang of ghosts that are out to foil the evil plots of Cybil and Cedric.
Duchess of Dingledale - Royalty who visited prestigious events in Bottle Bay. She awarded prizes at the Bottle Bay Dog Show, and also attended the Party on the Galleon, where Sybil attempted to steal her diamonds.
Bella Butler - Bella owns the Happy Plaice Fish and Chip Shop in Bottle Bay.
Sally Spook - She is, along with Fred Spook, the leader of the Spooks of Bottle Bay and mother to Baby Spook.
Other spooks include a manic looking Tommy Spook, Nancy Spook, Will Spook and the School Master spook who led the night school that many of the younger ghosts attended.
