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Bob the Builder
Created by	Keith Chapman
Directed by	Liz Whitaker (Ep 1) Sarah Ball Brian Little
Voices of	Neil Morrissey, Rob Rackstraw, Kate Harbour, Rupert Degas, Colin McFarlane, Maria Darling, Emma Tate, Richard Briers, June Whitfield, Richard Herman, Wayne Forester
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Kate Fawkes Theresa Plummer-Andrews
Producer	Jackie Cockle
Production location	United Kingdom
Original release
Network	BBC
Release	April 12, 1999 (1999-04-12) – Present

Bob the Builder is a children's television character created by Keith Chapman. Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of anthropomorphised work-vehicles and equipment (all made of clay). The show is broadcast in many countries, but originates from the United Kingdom where Bob is voiced by British actor Neil Morrissey.

In each episode, Bob and his gang help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. The show emphasizes conflict resolution, co-operation, socialization and various learning skills. Bob's catchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!". This phrase is also the title of the show's theme song, which was a million-selling number one hit in the UK. In the US the show started airing on Nick Jr. then the show moved to Noggin until 2005 when PBS Kids bought the rights to air the series, currently it airs on Fridays and Sundays and airs daily on PBS Kids Sprout. In Netherlands, it is currently aired on Jetix.

Characters

All the characters are adult humans, machines or animals, except for Spud the scarecrow who serves as the stand-in for a naïve child. It is Spud who must learn to be patient, not to eat all of the food, etc. Spud has a habit of trying to do work and with his limited intelligence getting it wrong and spoiling materials. The machines also often exhibit the behaviors of children, being impatient, not fully understanding the consequences of their actions, and generally acting like children. In these circumstances, Bob acts like their parent, patiently teaching them lessons and helping them fix the messes they've gotten themselves into.

Some have complained about technical errors and lack of proper safety practices in the program, especially the absence of protective eye-wear. However, in later episodes, Bob is seen wearing safety glasses.

Humans

• Bob the Builder – a construction worker and head of his own construction yard. He is the namesake of the show and also its main character. Some of the problems in the show arise from Bob's habit of forgetting to turn his mobile phone on. He is the owner of Pilchard the Cat.
• Wendy – Bob's business partner who runs the office and keeps the business in order, and often organizes tools and equipment. She is also seen doing construction work in many episodes. An underlying romantic tension between Bob and Wendy is hinted at in several episodes.
• Farmer Pickles – a nearby farmer who sometimes helps out with Bob's projects.
• Spud – a mischievous scarecrow (male voice; catchphrase: "OK, Farmer Pickles" & "Spud's on the job!").

Recurring human characters

• Mr Beasley - a Bobsville resident and a frequent customer
• Mr Bernard Bentley – the building inspector and later Mayor of Bobsville
• Mrs Barbara Bentley – his wife
• Mr Dixon – postman and brother to a famous football goalkeeper
• Mr Ellis – museum manager
• JJ – parts supplier
• Molly – JJ's daughter
• Mrs Percival – school headmaster
• Mrs Potts - a Bobsville resident and owner of Tommy the Tortoise.
• Mr Sabatini – runs the local pizza shop

Minor human characters

• Mr Costello – Drive-in movie manager
• Dora – Bob's aunt
• Dorothy – Bob's Mom
• Mr Fothergill - a Bobsville resident and Hamish's first owner
• Jenny – Wendy's sister
• Mavis – postwoman
• Pam
• Robert – Bob's Dad
• Mrs Sabatini
• Mr Stevens – an archaeologist
• Tom – Bob's fraternal twin brother
• Mr Williams – an airport manager

Vehicles

• Scoop – is a yellow backhoe loader and the unofficial leader of all the machines (male voice; catchphrase: "No prob, Bob!").
• Muck – is a red bulldozer with additional dumping bed who acts before he thinks and often gets in trouble for it, but finds his way back (male voice; female voice in US dub; catchphrase: "Muck to the rescue!").
• Dizzy – is an orange concrete mixer and one of the youngest in the yard. She is eager, curious, and easily excitable (female voice; catchphrase: "Brilliant!").
• Roley – is a green steamroller, rounds out the "Can-Do Crew" (male voice; catchphrase: "Rock and roll!").
• Lofty – is a blue crane who isn't very confident; he is hesitant and timid, but with the encouragement of the team comes through in the end (male voice; female voice in US dub; catchphrase: "Uh ... yeah, I think so!", usually said in response to the question "Can we fix it?").
• Benny – is a darkish red excavator (female voice; catchphrase: "Unreal, banana peel!")
• Scrambler – is darkish blue quadbike (ATV) (male voice; catchphrases: "Let's Scram!", "Awesome!" and "Cool as a Mule")
• Sumsy – is a maroon & yellow striped forklift, owned by Farmer Pickles (female voice; catchphrase: "I can pack 'em, I can stack 'em!")
• Packer – is a red semi-trailer truck, owned by Farmer Pickles. It has two trailers, a flatbed trailer and a covered trailer. (male voice; catchphrases: "Pick up and Deliver!" and "Pack me up and watch me go-go").
• Dodger – is a lightish blue pickup truck, owned by Meg and carries milk. He has a crane with a grabber that lifts the milk. His horn makes honking sounds. (male voice; catchphrase: "Dodger Delivers").
• Tumbler – is a green, yellow, and nice concrete transport truck. (male voice; catchphrase: "I'm a Rumblin' and a Tumblin'")
• Flex – is a yellow cherry picker. (male voice; catchphrase: "Fantastic Flex!")
• Bristle - is a grey and blue street sweeper.{male voice; catchprase: "Clean as a whistle" or "Clean as a whistle bristle, that's me!}
• Splasher - is a yellow & blue water vehicle, who works at Bobland Bay (male voice; catchphrase: "Never fear, Super Splasher is here!")
• Travis – is Farmer Pickles' cyan tractor. He helps out the crew when they need it and keeps an eye on Spud the scarecrow.
• Skip – is a yellow skip-carrier (male voice)
• Trix – is a purple forklift; belongs to J.J. (female voice; catchphrase: "Easy peasy!")
• Scoot – is a black & yellow snowmobile, owned by Tom (male voice)
• Zoomer – is a purple, Bobsville snowmobile (male voice; seen in 'Snowed Under')
• RV – is a light blue crane machine belonging to Bob's Dad. (male voice; catchphrase: "Amazing RV, that's me!").
• Jackaroo – is a blue pickup truck. He is owned in the Wild West by a female cowboy.
• Gripper – is a crane like Lofty and is brown and green. (catchphrase: "Gripper and Grabber having fun together").
• Grabber – is an excavator and is green and brown. (catchphrase: "Gripper and Grabber having fun together").

Animals

• Bird – is a bird, Roley's best friend
• Fin – Bob's pet fish.
• Hamish – became JJ and Molly's parrot after Mr. Fothergill found out he was allergic to him.
• Humpty – is a prize pig, owned by Farmer Pickles.
• Pilchard – Bob's pet cat and considered a part of the team. However, she's often sleeping when she's needed.
• Scruffty – a dog, owned by Farmer Pickles.
• Squawk – Another bird, friend of Bird
• Tommy – Mrs. Potts' tortoise

Discography

Singles

Albums

• Bob the Builder: The Album
• Never Mind the Breeze Blocks

Notable guest appearances

Celebrities who have provided voices for the series (usually for one-off specials) include John Motson, Sue Barker, Kerry Fox, Ulrika Jonsson, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Elton John, Noddy Holder, and Chris Evans (Bobsville's resident rock star Lennie Lazenby).

References

• Character section information from: "Meet all of the Bob the Builder Characters" (flash). Bob the Builder website (U.S. version). Retrieved August 11, 2006.

1. "Bob the Builder - Cast and Crew". TV.com. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
2. FLUID POWER SAFETY INSTITUTE - Toy Safety - ATTENTION PARENTS! - Bob the Builder Alert!
3. http://www.bobthebuilder.com/usa/meet_gripper.asp
4. http://www.bobthebuilder.com/usa/meet_grabber.asp

External links

• Official Website
• Bob the Builder area on NickJr.com
• Bob the Builder web page at TreeHouseTV.com
• Bob the Builder at IMDb

• BBC children's television programmes
• Animated television series
• Clay animation television series and films
• Programs broadcast by Treehouse TV
• Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
• PBS network shows
• CBS network shows
• S4C television programmes
• Television series by HIT Entertainment
• 1999 television series debuts
• 1999 in British television
• Fictional construction workers