Green Balloon Club
Green Balloon Club is a BBC children's television program that started on CBeebies on 20 June 2008.[1]
| Green Balloon Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Children's |
| Created by | Clare Bradley |
| Developed by | Gary Stevenson |
| Starring | Jake Pratt Isabella Blake-Thomas Debbie Korley Adam Wells Thai Murray-Edwards Aliex Yuill Chris Howard Bill Oddie |
| Narrated by | Gary Martin |
| Theme music composer | Paul Mossel |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 63 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Graham Lawson |
| Producer | Clare Bradley |
| Production locations | Capital Group Studios Gruffalo Studios |
| Camera setup | Tony Bragg Derek Gruszeckyi |
| Running time | 20 Minutes |
| Distributor | BBC Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBeebies |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 20 June 2008 – 29 May 2009 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | CBeebies Springwatch/CBeebies Autumnwatch |
Format
The series is presented by 4 children: Lily-Rose who loves flowers and plants, Ant whose specialty is minibeasts, Cat who is the animals expert and Jay whose interest is in birds. Together with Skipper the dog and their balloonist, Sky, the children fly around the UK looking out for other Green Balloon Club Members and having a look at what wildlife they have in their patch. Special reporters for the programme are Jelly (The Story Makers, CBeebies Springwatch), Nature Chris and Bill Oddie. The program was conceived and made by Clare Bradley, Lotte Elwell and the CBeebies Production team, and grew out of their previous award-winning work on CBeebies Springwatch and Autumnwatch.
Each episode starts with the children doing the register, then joining in with the "Green Balloon Club" chant. At the end of the show, the balloon "lands" and everybody sings a song.
Series
Green Balloon Club
Green Balloon Club was produced as part of CBeebies' "EcoBeebies" brand. It started with a launch show named Easy Peasy Eco Beebies on 13 June 2008, and this was followed by 48 episodes, one every week from 20 June 2008 to 29 May 2009, although there was a break during the Christmas Holidays.
Songs
All the music for the series was written by Paul Moessl and performed by the cast.
- Theme Song
- Let's Go Play Outside
- It's Our World
- Listen
- All Earth's Creatures
- Underwater
- Fun on the Beach
- Minibeast Madness
- Flying
- Whatever's Good at Christmas (written by Bill Oddie and produced by Paul Moessl, was released as a single)
- Dig In
- Good to get away (Arran song)
- At the Zoo (Belfast song)
- Animal Alphabet,
- Waggle Dance
- It's a Dog's Life
- and a final special arrangement of the Title song for the Winter Special
Cast
- Isabella Blake-Thomas as Lily Rose. She's the youngest of the Green Team and the flower expert of the Green Team. She's normally seen holding some flowers.
- Jake Pratt as Jay, the bird expert of the Green Team. He didn't appear in one episode, and didn't appear for the Green Balloon Club Goes on Holiday spin-off, but later returned for the Winter Special.
- Debbie Korley as Sky, the balloonist of the Green Team who leads the group on various adventures. She was replaced with Chris Howard near the end of the series' main run, and in the Green Balloon Club Goes on Holiday spin-off, but later returned in the Winter Special.
- Adam Wells as Ant, the bug expert of the Green Team.
- Thai Murray-Edwards as Cat, the animal expert of the Green Team.
- Skipper the Dog as herself. She is the real-life pet of Thai Murray-Edwards. Skipper's sounds are done through stock sound effects.
- Aliex Yuill as Jelly, well known for being in The Story Makers. She normally appears in episodes as a Special Reporter (reprising this role from CBeebies Springwatch and CBeebies Autumnwatch) or is with Bill Oddie in his garden.
- Chris Howard as himself. He normally appears with other children as the leader of the Ground Crew, but near the end of the show's run became the Pilot of the balloon going of the name "Nature Chris", replacing Debbie Korley.
- Bill Oddie as himself. He appears in some episodes alongside Jelly, where they look at the different kinds of nature around his garden.
The cast were ordinary children all found at extensive auditions. Jake Pratt was the only one of the children who was at drama school. Isabella Blake-Thomas was the youngest at just 5 when she started on the series.
Production team
- Producer – Clare Bradley
- Director – Lotte Elwell, Graham Forester, Peter Eyre
- Location Directors – Sally Wilkinson, Iwan Watson, Charlotte Child, Leslie Pitt, Dave Jackson, Annabel Greenleaf
- Researchers – Emine Yalchin, Anna Weatherhead, Kat Woolfe, Sarah Nichols
- Sound – Dave Chapman, Nigel Powell
- Production Manager – Gilly Court, Gary Stevenson
- Runners – Rebecca Sanders, Justyna Wrucha, Kat Lynch,
- Interactive Lead – Jon Howard
- Design Lead – Jane Williams
Episode list
(Titles sourced from the BBC Australia website (The episodes on the UK BBC website don't have episode titles))
Green Balloon Club
| Episode | Original air date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Easy Peasy Green | 20 June 2008 | The Green Balloon Club themselves are introduced. |
| Animals Under the Waters | 27 June 2008 | The team find out about animals under the water. |
| Dragonflies | 4 July 2008 | The team travels over the Scottish Highlands to find out what wildlife lives there, which includes the likes of the various fruit and dragonflies there. |
| Bugs Hunt | 11 July 2008 | The gang are going on a bug hunt, while Jelly is visiting the Isles of Scilly to explore over there. |
| Lilly-Rose Plants Nasturtiums | 18 July 2008 | Lily-Rose plants some nasturtiums, while the rest of the team finds out about the night-time creatures. |
| The Team go to the Coast | 25 July 2008 | The team goes to the coast of the UK, and find out about the wildlife that lives there. |
| Episode 7 | 1 August 2008 | Ant brings a very special visitor to the club – a giant spider!
NOTE: The Episode was skipped over in Australia, and because of this it doesn't have an episode title. |
| Heathland | 8 August 2008 | The team are on the lookout for wildlife in the Heathlands. |
| Busy Bee Boogie | 15 August 2008 | The team discovers a forest of flowers. |
| Under the Sea | 22 August 2008 | The team explores near the sea and are fascinated by the different sea creatures. |
| Sweet Lavender | 29 August 2008 | The team discover how sweet lavender is. |
| All the Senses | 5 September 2008 | The Green Team use all their senses to explore the world around them. |
| Building a Nest | 12 September 2008 | Jay and Ant will be showing us how tricky it is building a nest. |
| Life on the Waterways | 19 September 2008 | The Green Team are finding out about life on the waterways. |
| Mud Festival in Wales | 26 September 2008 | The balloon is heading to a mud festival in Wales and the green team are having much messy fun with compost and clay. |
| Canal Boat | 3 October 2008 | Jelly goes on a trip on a canal boat and looks at the wildlife along the banks along with several other Club Members. |
| Basil the Cat | 10 October 2008 | The Green Team has a special visitor with them in the balloon. Basil the kitten has come to Balloon Club with Cat, and the team look at how he is like his larger African cousins. |
| Apples | 17 October 2008 | Today Jelly is harvesting apples in an orchard while Lily-Rose and Ant are starting a planting experiment to see if they can grow an apple tree. |
| Animals and the Seashore | 24 October 2008 | The Green Team find out about owls and what wildlife can be found on the seashore at this time of year. |
| Halloween | 31 October 2008 | It is Halloween and there are some spooky goings-on in the Green Balloon, including bats and a Tower of Flower! |
| Birds in Autumn | 7 November 2008 | As part of the Autumnwatch season, the Green Team are having a good look at Autumn – how the leaves change colour and whether it is possible to preserve their lovely shades. |
| Wild About Woods | 14 November 2008 | The Green Team are going wild about woods. |
| Hibernating Birds | 21 November 2008 | The Green Team are learning about hibernation and Jay is finding out if birds hibernate. |
| Jumping Salmon | 28 November 2008 | The Green Team marvel at just how athletic some creatures are. The balloon is visited by a very athletic little friend: Georgina the ferret. |
| Mini Christmas Trees | 5 December 2008 | The Green Team are starting to think about Christmas. They have an idea for making mini Christmas trees. |
| Christmas Tree | 12 December 2008 | Christmas is getting near and Sky has bought a Christmas tree for the Green Balloon. |
| The Story of Christmas | 19 December 2008 | Christmas is almost here and the Green Team is thinking about presents. Along the way, they find out the true meaning of the holiday, alongside an adaptation of the nativity told through animals.
NOTE: There was a two-week break between this episode and the next, due to the cast going on Christmas holidays. |
| New Year Special | 9 January 2009 | The Green Team are all together again and full of wishes for the New Year.
NOTE: Jake Pratt was absent for this episode. In the show, it was mentioned that he had the flu. |
| Lilly-Rose Hates Winter | 16 January 2009 | It is January and Lily-Rose is feeling fed up with the Winter. Her flowers have died and there is no wildlife around to spot. The Green Team set about showing her that there is still plenty to do and see in the winter. |
| Bird in Winter | 23 January 2009 | The Green Balloon Club have a good look at the birds in the winter garden. Cat and Lily-Rose are making comical dancing birds and we have a close look at stoats who are also great movers. |
| Pantomime | 30 January 2009 | The Green Team reimagine the story of Little-Red Riding Hood, with three wolves! |
| Making Bread | 6 February 2009 | The Green Team learn how bread is made. |
| Blue Tits | 13 February 2009 | The first signs of Spring are starting to appear and birds are looking for places to build their nests and start a family. Jake is putting up a new home for his robins and introduces us to a family of blue tits. |
| Lilly-Rose's Tooth | 20 February 2009 | Lily-Rose has lost her first tooth and she brings it in to show the Green Team. So Ant in turn shows her his collection of animal teeth and they look at what jobs the different kinds of teeth do. |
| Weather with Nature Chris | 27 February 2009 | Nature Chris joins the Green Team, who are having a weather day. |
| Skipper's Birthday | 6 March 2009 | The Green Team wonder when Skipper's birthday is, which Cat doesn't know about. They decide that it wouldn't be difficult to have Skipper's birthday than in the present. |
| Creatures Communicate | 13 March 2009 | The Green Team are finding out about creatures that communicate using vibrations. They decide to create a communication system of their own. |
| Ladybirds in Spring | 20 March 2009 | Spring is on the way. Ant has found his first ladybird of the year, and it looks like that it's coming out of hibernation! |
| The Lifecycle | 27 March 2009 | The Green Team find out about the life cycles of animals. Ant has brought in some pupas that he is watching, hoping that they will soon hatch into butterflies. |
| Animal Tracks | 3 April 2009 | The Green Team are going tracking. Every creature makes a different print, but can they recognise them? |
| City Farm and Baby Rabbits | 10 April 2009 | A pair of baby rabbits visit the Green Balloon. Jelly and her friends set off to a city farm to discover what baby animals they have there, and at the same time get involved with some pig racing. |
| Dig In | 17 April 2009 | The Green Team start to join in with the BBC's "Dig In" Campaign. |
| Toy Farm and Baby Animals | 24 April 2009 | Cat brings in a toy farm to Club. Along the way, the Green Team find out about baby farm animals. |
| Bluebells | 1 May 2009 | The Green Team are amazed by just how fast things can grow. |
| Stag Beetles | 8 May 2009 | Ant brings in his prize model of a stag beetle and the team finds out about Britain's biggest insect, which is under threat. |
| Animals That Live in Dens | 15 May 2009 | The Green Team build a fantastic den inside the Green Balloon, thinking about the animals that live in dens and under the ground. |
| Ocean in a Box | 22 May 2009 | The Green Team make their own nature worlds, including an amazing Ocean-in-a-Box by Cat and Ant. |
| Four Seasons | 29 May 2009 | The Green Team think about the four seasons and try to decide which is best. |
Ratings
Episode viewing figures from BARB.[2]
| Episode no. | Airdate | Total viewers | CBeebies weekly ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 June 2008 | 342,000 | 7 |
| 2 | 27 June 2008 | 352,000 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 July 2008 | 290,000 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 July 2008 | 338,000 | 9 |
| 5 | 18 July 2008 | 504,000 | 1 |
| 6 | 25 July 2008 | Under 294,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 7 | 1 August 2008 | 383,000 | 1 |
| 8 | 8 August 2008 | Under 319,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 9 | 15 August 2008 | Under 302,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 10 | 22 August 2008 | Under 311,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 11 | 29 August 2008 | Under 312,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 12 | 5 September 2008 | Under 329,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 13 | 12 September 2008 | Under 389,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 14 | 19 September 2008 | Under 332,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 15 | 26 September 2008 | Under 368,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 16 | 3 October 2008 | Under 350,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 17 | 10 October 2008 | Under 347,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 18 | 17 October 2008 | Under 361,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 19 | 24 October 2008 | Under 380,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 20 | 31 October 2008 | Under 345,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 21 | 7 November 2008 | Under 336,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 22 | 14 November 2008 | Under 331,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 23 | 21 November 2008 | Under 364,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 24 | 28 November 2008 | Under 331,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 25 | 5 December 2008 | Under 338,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 26 | 12 December 2008 | Under 324,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 27 | 19 December 2008 | Under 401,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 28 | 9 January 2009 | Under 415,000 | Outside Top 10 |
| 29 | 16 January 2009 | ||
| 30 | 23 January 2009 | ||
| 31 | 30 January 2009 | ||
| 32 | 6 February 2009 | ||
| 33 | 13 February 2009 | ||
| 34 | 20 February 2009 |
International airings
- The show began airing in Australia on their version of CBeebies in late 2009, in time for the summer season. Until 2019, the show still aired on the channel, in a late-night slot.
- The show also aired on CBeebies Poland from 2010 to 2013, titled Podróże z Zielonym Balonem (Travel with the Green Balloon) and dubbed into Polish by now-defunct dubbing company Eurocom Studio.
References
- Tara Conlan (14 April 2008). "CBeebies to broadcast eco season". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
- "Broadcasters Audience Research Board". BARB. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
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