Teletubbies, the next generation: Say hello to the 'Boohbah' show

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

"Boohbah" characters — from the Teletubbies creators — indulge in silliness to get kids active and moving. Gannett News Service

Well, PBS has come out with "Boohbah," for the pre-school set.

This children's show, from the creator of "Teletubbies," premieres tomorrow on KHET, the Hawai'i PBS affiliate, and encourages children to hop, dance, skip, solve math and language problems, and play as the pastel Boohbahs appear intermittently, bouncing around abstractly.

You adults may not get the little flatulent-sounding beings, but your kids will probably love it.

At times it celebrates the joy of the silly while it encourages kids to get moving.

"The children have no problem with it at all," says Anne Wood, the show's producer. "They have the right to be silly."

Wood herself seems quite un-silly. She's 66 and British; you'd hire her as a school principal without even checking her credentials.

She labored in TV circles, drawing no attention from the colonies. Then her "Teletubbies" soared.

"Nothing we had done before prepared us to come to grips with this," Wood says.

"Teletubbies" has loopy characters living in a rolling green expanse. They take orders from a voice in a loudspeaker and show little films of regular folks on the TV sets on their stomachs.

People have praised, analyzed or simply stared dumbfounded at "Teletubbies." Some thought it

was an Orwellian image of techno-dictatorship; some thought it was a Felliniesque fantasy.

The target audience — approximately age 2 — found it cool.

"Teletubbies" spread to 120 countries, boosted partly by its abstract nature.

"There are things in it that are universally understood," Wood says.

Now comes "Boohbah," doubling its age ambition. Its prime audience might be age 4.

The show, which helps children develop skills in movement, mathematics, language, imagination and problem solving, has many of the "Teletubbies" traits.

It is also has live action at a time when many children's shows are animated.

"Kids love animation," says John Wilson, co-leader of PBS programming. "There's no getting around it. ... (But) we want to see a varied lineup ... 'Boohbah' is live action. It's full-body costumes."

It's filmed in a pastoral, outdoor setting because "you want a very clear, picture-pretty world," Wood says.

Because the oddly shaped characters in bright-colored costumes dance around abstractly, some people might be reminded of Jim Henson's early days, when he gave his Muppets abstract silliness.

"He had a brilliant vision," Wood says.

Alongside the "Boohbah" characters are some more traditional personalities, bearing such names as Mr. Man, Mrs. Lady, Auntie, Grandmamma and Grandpapa. They give the kids opportunities to solve basic problems.

There are also children in a segment called "Look What I Can Do," where the kids encourage young viewers to get up and move. That impulse — to show off new moves — is especially important to kids, Wood says.

For now, "Boohbah" has 20 episodes, which some stations will carry five mornings a week.

This time, Wood is ready for the demand for books, computer games, videotapes and more.

"The world is going beyond the TV set," she says. "To say you'd rather not do that is to say you'd rather live in the 19th century."