Those past three days have gone by without a single trace of Me, You, And Transformers. You've been waiting, but what you saw was nothing. The reason why was because I turned my attention from MYATA: A Fatal Decision to various other subjects such as South Park, reggae, Australian culture and Australian TV channels ABC Kids and ABCMe - and that all culminates in a new project: an Australian version of I.B.F.Fs, named The 'Hood.
A mixed-media project like The Amazing World Of Gumball, the show follows a regular Aussie girl named Izzy, who lives in an extraordinary Australian neighbourhood where ABC Kids and ABC Me are operated - just look at the TV centre in the middle of town - and ABC Kids and ABC Me characters live together. She and her friends Mitchell, Becky, Templeton, Luke, Resus, Cleo, Tiny, Small, Bluey and Bingo navigate the curiosities of growing up and life with the help of their families and neighbours. This friendly neighbourhood is a place where it's always Summer, play is the main importance and being a kid is the only law of nature. The show, which mixes animation styles like 2D animation, Japanese anime, stop-motion, CGi and claymation and live-action, has an upbeat musical reggae score and not only features reggae pop songs, but it also features a score by Trinidad childrens' musician Asheba, whose songs feature on the Putumayo Kids CDs. I'd describe the show, to some parents, as a mixture of The Get-Along Gang, a less-bratty Caillou and Arthur meets a toned-down Mission Hill and South Park. The show will air on both ABC Me and ABC Kids in Australia, whilst in other countries, the show will air on Boomerang and Cartoonito. Like they say in Play School's intro, there's always 'people with games and stories to tell' - and that goes for The 'Hood too! The episodes are named after alternate names an Australian kid would give episodes of shows on ABC Me and ABC Kids, mainly Bluey, which the first lot of episodes are named after.
So next week, I'll do the first seven episodes over the course of seven days:
- Joking Around - The gang, with the help of Lucky, try to find ways the people in their neighbourhood like to joke around.
- Pinot Grigio - Whilst sharing drinks, the gang learn which drinks are good for you and which drinks are bad, giving the viewers a lesson in the dangers of alcohol.
- The Balloon - The gang find clever uses for their circus balloons when Muffin, Chloe, Socks, Vlad, Luella and Gwen come over to play. As they spend time at the park together, they don't realize other people are finding good usage for their balloons!
- Robots, Milk & Cookies - Whilst playing at being robots, most of the gang question if robots like ketchup, rain, radios and kites. But the big question is: is their favourite food milk and cookies, and do they get powered up by such food?
- Cool Shade - The gang play around in shady places, mostly under their favourite tree.
- Lazy Weekend - The gang spend a lazy weekend together, doing nothing.
- Waiting For Lunch - At the annual Bring-Something Barbecue, the gang try to think of the delicious food they can eat whilst they wait for lunch!
I'll deliver a teaser this Sunday, so tune in. Also, throughout the next few weeks, I'll update you Australian readers on what's on ABC Kids and ABC Me, and with each Bluey episode airing on Disney Junior in the UK, I'll fill you in on each episode of The 'Hood. It will be really repetitive at times, but don't worry, you can read them again and again on end if you want!
