Jump to content

The Flumps

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Flump" redirects here. For the confection, see Flumps (sweet).
The Flumps
GenreStop motion
Created byJulie Holder
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
Production locationUnited Kingdom
Running time15 mins
Original release
NetworkBBC1 as part of it's Watch With Mother/See-Saw Block
Release14 February (1977-02-14) –
9 May 1977 (1977-05-09)

The Flumps is an animated television series, created and written by Julie Holder, and produced for the BBC by David Yates. The show was first broadcast by the BBC in 1977.[1]

Overview

[edit]

The plot revolved around the various adventures of a family of furry characters called The Flumps. It was created and written by Julie Holder and narrated by Gay Soper. The theme tune was played by George Chisholm on the trombone.

In 1978, the BBC released a record, The Flumps (REC 309), that had 4 stories from the TV series narrated and sung by Gay Soper: "Keep Fit", "Balloons", "Moon Shot" and "Something Different".

In 2000, The Flumps was released on DVD. During early 2008, the theme tune was used in a series of adverts for Auto Trader magazine in the UK.

Characters

[edit]

The various flumps were:

  • Grandfather Flump, who played a Flumpet (a type of trumpet)
  • Father Flump, a keen gardener
  • Mother Flump, often seen cooking in the kitchen
  • Posie, a girl Flump
  • Perkin, a boy Flump
  • Pootle, the toddler Flump

Episode listing

[edit]
No.TitleOriginal release date
1"Secrets"14 February 1977 (1977-02-14)
Posie Flump is bored and wants to play but all of the other Flumps are busy doing things. When she asks what they are doing they tell her but tell her it is a secret and to 'keep it under your hat' - but Posie is not wearing a hat.
2"The Cloud"21 February 1977 (1977-02-21)
Grandpa Flump is playing his Flumpet loudly, this puts Perkin in a bad mood. Ma tells Perkin to cheer up otherwise he will be 'under a Grey cloud all day'. It's true as a cloud follows Perkin everywhere - how to get rid of it?
3"The Magnet"28 February 1977 (1977-02-28)

Pootle is making a mess in the house looking for mislaid bits and bobs. So, Ma Flump gives him a pocket to put things in. Pa Flump gives him a strong magnet but soon he is coated in metal objects and falls asleep.

Note: This episode was Becoming Sus because of the words, Perkin and Posie Take a better view of the robot.
4"Get Your Skates On"7 March 1977 (1977-03-07)
Pa Flump is making some roller skates for Perkin and Posie. But they are so useful for moving heavy things with, soon everyone wants to borrow them. Eventually Perkin and Posie get a pair each - but need to learn how to skate.
5"Moon Shot"14 March 1977 (1977-03-14)
Perkin, Posie and Pootle Flump are riding the Flumpcycle. Pootle says he could ride it all the way to the Moon. When they ask Pa how far the Moon is he tells them they would need a rocket - so they build one of cardboard tubes.
6"Balloons"21 March 1977 (1977-03-21)
The three Flump children have all been given colorful balloons, but Pootle can't inflate his. He looks for a way to blow up the balloon. The Flumpet bursts the balloon, he gets another but puts too much air in and floats off.
7"Keep Fit"28 March 1977 (1977-03-28)
Pootle and Posie are standing on their heads, Perkin comes along and shows them how to do proper exercises. All of The Flumps have ways of keeping fit - but Grandfather Flump soon wishes he hadn't tried to lift Pa's weights.
8"Something Different"4 April 1977 (1977-04-04)
The Flump children are bored and dream of doing something different. Ma, Pa and Grandpa all tell them stories of Flumps they wanted to be when they were younger. Eventually, the children realize that they are happy with their lot.
9"Lend a Hand"11 April 1977 (1977-04-11)
Pootle is being very helpful lending a hand to first Ma baking in the kitchen, then Grandfather polishing his Flumpet and Perkin planting seeds. But he gets all tangled up when he tries to help Posie with her knitting.
10"Quiet Please"18 April 1977 (1977-04-18)
Pa Flump is sawing wood, Grandpa is playing his Flumpet and the children are playing "Snap" - it is so noisy that Ma Flump gets a headache. Everyone promises to be quiet but squeaky floorboards keep waking her up.
11"Grandfather's Birthday"25 April 1977 (1977-04-25)
Grandfather Flump oversleeps and is the last to have breakfast, he suddenly remembers it is his birthday - but there are no cards or presents for him and no-one has wished him Happy Birthday. He sets out to jog their memories.
12"What a Carrot!"2 May 1977 (1977-05-02)
The Flumps are puzzled because the plants in their garden are not growing very well. Perkin tries talking to them, Pootle pretends to be a raincloud and Posie the Sun but to no avail - what could the matter be with them?
13"Where's Grandfather?"9 May 1977 (1977-05-09)

Everyone in the Flump household keeps losing things so they set-up a lost property box. The children first play 'Hunt the Thimble' then 'Hide and Seek' but then Mother comes and tells them that she can't find Grandfather anywhere.

Note: This is the final episode of The Flumps.

Scheduling

[edit]

The Flumps was shown 21 times between 1977 and 1988, usually around 1.45pm, and usually on BBC1. The transmission runs were as follows:

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ During the first transmission run of 1984, one of the first five episodes was not shown.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp. 110–114. ISBN 1903111277.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Flumps&oldid=1288397332"