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|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
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'''''Big Bag''''' was a relatively short-lived preschool TV series that aired on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998, co-produced by Turner and the Children's Television Workshop, and created by Nina Elias-Bamberger. Notable for being Cartoon Network's first live-action series (preceding its infamous ''CN Real'' block that would debut on the channel over a decade later), the series combined live-action stories featuring humans and Muppet characters with various animated cartoons (very similar to CTW's flagship series ''Sesame Street''.) Also unique for Cartoon Network, it originally was aired as an hour-long program without commercial breaks during its first season. For the second season, it was reduced to a half-hour program (but still without commercials.) The show was taped at the Disney-MGM Studios Park in Orlando, Florida.


''Big Bag'' was a relatively short-lived preschool TV series that aired on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998, co-produced by Turner and the Children's Television Workshop, and created by Nina Elias-Bamberger. Notable for being Cartoon Network's first live-action series, the series combined live-action stories featuring humans and Muppet characters with various animated cartoons (very similar to CTW's flagship series ''Sesame Street''.) Also unique for Cartoon Network, it originally aired as an hour-long program without commercial breaks during its' first season. For the second season, it was reduced to a half-hour program (but still without commercials.) The show was taped at the Disney-MGM Studios park in Orlando, Florida.
==Premise/Development==
The premise of the show featured human cast member Molly and her Muppet friends Chelli (a patchwork dog performed by Joey Mazzarino) and Bag (a sentient cloth tote bag whose gender is inconsistent, performed by Rickey Boyd) who own and live in a general store. [[File:Big Bag! BTS.webp|300px|thumb|left|Behind the Scenes Picture]] Working with them are two anthropomorphic socks, Lyle (also performed by Mazzarino) and Argyle (also performed by Boyd), who usually work in the store's stockroom and hang out in the sock bin, with Lyle often telling Argyle knock-knock jokes (substituting "knock-knock" with "sock-sock.") In the first season, local residents that often appeared included Chelli's human kid friends Kim and Joey, and a group of adult villagers including the shy Martha, mail carrier Josie, exercise instructor Trudy, wacky inventor Waldo, crossing guard Bernard, and veterinarian Dr. Furrball. All of these supporting characters were dropped after the first season, and the show's second season introduced a new humanoid Muppet girl, Sofie. Various cartoon short series (referred to as "shorties") were presented on the program, often coming from different parts of the world, including some co-produced with CTW for the series. Animated segments included ''Troubles the Cat'', ''Koki'', ''Willam's Wish Wellingtons,'' ''Slim Pig,'' ''Tobias Totz and His Lion,'' ''Samuel and Nina'' (the latter four only appearing in the first season) and ''Ace and Avery'' (this one exclusive to the second season.) [[File:chellinyt.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Chelli on ''New York Times'' Television Cover<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/21/arts/a-nonprofit-muppet-is-going-to-a-commercial-tv-show.html ''New York Times'' Report on the show from June 21st, 1995] Retrieved 15 October '23</ref>]] Also in the first season, a "Big Bag Beat" music video would play halfway through the episode, which would encourage kids to get up and dance or play along.


The premise of the show featured human cast member Molly, and her Muppet friends Chelli (a patchwork dog performed by Joey Mazzarino) and Bag (a sentient cloth tote bag whose gender is inconsistent, performed by Rickey Boyd) whom own and live in a general store. Working with them are two anthropomorphic socks, Lyle (also performed by Mazzarino) and Argyle (also performed by Boyd), whom usually work in the store's stockroom and hang out in the sock bin, with Lyle often telling Argyle knock-knock jokes (substituting "knock-knock" with "sock-sock.") In the first season, local residents that often appeared included Chelli's human kid friends Kim and Joey, and a group of adult villagers including the shy Martha, mail carrier Josie, exercise instructor Trudy, wacky inventor Waldo, crossing guard Bernard, and veterinarian Dr. Furrball. All of these supporting characters were dropped after the first season, and the show's second season introduced a new humanoid Muppet girl, Sofie. Various cartoon short series (referred to as "shorties") were presented on the program, often coming from different parts of the world, including some co-produced with CTW for the series. Animated segments included ''Troubles the Cat'', ''Koki'', ''Willam's Wish Wellingtons,'' ''Slim Pig,'' "Tobias Totz and His Lion," ''Samuel and Nina'' (the latter four only appearing in the first season) and ''Ace and Avery'' (this one exclusive to the second season.) Also in the first season, a "Big Bag Beat" music video would play halfway through the episode, which would encourage kids to get up and dance or play along.
The show was also noted for its' intended interactivity with viewing children. Kids watching the series were encouraged to watch it with a bag containing a pair of socks, two spoons, a hat, and a cardboard tube. The characters in the live-action portions and ''Troubles the Cat'' would cue the viewing audience to take one of the items from the bag and use it (such as using the cardboard tube as a "Troublescope" in the ''Troubles'' cartoons.) It would also teach important life lessons such as cooperation, honesty, sharing, respect, persistence, use of imagination, and friendship. The show also won the Parent's Choice Silver Medal after its' first season.


The show was also noted for its' intended interactivity to viewing children. Kids watching the series were encouraged to watch it with a bag containing a pair of socks, two spoons, a hat and a cardboard tube. The characters in the live-action portions and ''Troubles the Cat'' would cue the viewing audience to take one of the items from the bag and use it (such as using the cardboard tube as a "Troublescope" in the ''Troubles'' cartoons.) It would also teach important life-lessons such as cooperation, honesty, sharing, respect, persistence, use of imagination, and friendship. The show also won the Parent's Choice Silver Medal after its' first season.
One famous episode was in the second season when Elmo of ''Sesame Street'' came to visit Chelli, revealing they were pen-pals.


One famous episode was in the second season, when Elmo of ''Sesame Street'' came to visit Chelli, revealing they were pen-pals.
==Availability==
The show originally aired on Cartoon Network on Sunday mornings beginning in June 1996. In early 1998, the second season began, when the show was cut down to a half-hour and aired on weekday mornings (reruns of first season episodes were also edited down to a half-hour), before finally being cancelled in September 1998, and ended up in reruns on very early Sunday mornings (usually at 5:30 or 6:00 AM Eastern) until March 2001, and has never been rerun since. Only five episodes (three from the first season, and two from the second season) were officially released on VHS during the show's run, along with an additional video, "Sing With Us," which compiled all of the "Big Bag Beat" musical segments. These videos have since gone out of print.  


The show originally aired on Cartoon Network on Sunday mornings beginning in June 1996. In early 1998, the second season began, when the show was cut down to a half-hour and airing on weekday mornings (reruns of first season episodes were also edited down to a half-hour), before finally being cancelled in September 1998, and has not been rerun since due to low ratings. Only five episodes (three from the first season, and two from the second season) were officially released on VHS during the show's run, along with an additional video, "Sing With Us," which compiled all of the "Big Bag Beat" musical segments. These videos have since gone out of print.  
Additionally, the show received two localizations, one in the UK sharing the same name as well as one in France titled ''Les astuces de Sacatruc''. Each show shared a similar format to the US version, however, both replaced the human actors and puppeteers with local actors. (UK version has Matthew Lewis, the actor for Neville Longbottom in the ''Harry Potter'' movies, performing as one of the child actors in a role uncredited on his IMDb). The UK production replaced Cartoon Network with Yorkshire Studios, and the French production replaced them with Canal J - all three are co-productions with the Children's Television Workshop. Little is known about the runtime of these two localizations, though research indicates that the UK Version ran in 1998 for 2 seasons, whereas ''Sacatruc'' aired from 1997 until possibly 2003; a French Satellite TV media writeup indicates that it's third season aired in November of 2003, suggesting it ran longer than both the US and UK versions. Most we have in terms of ''Sacatruc'' visual content is an [http://dessins-animes.com/das/908/name/sacatruc website with a few screenshots]


A couple of  international co-productions were also produced, such as the French ''Sacaturac'', and a UK version.
In addition to localizations, the original US Big Bag received a dub in Portuguese that aired on both Portuguese Cartoon Network and the TV channel TV Cultura, as well as a Spanish dub that aired on Latin American Cartoon Network and the TV channel FETV
{{Video|perrow  =3
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =V_hZWMPeS0c
  |description1 =Season 1 Intro (Portuguese Dub)
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =wu6OlHuzTt4
  |description2 =Season 2 Intro (Portuguese Dub)
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =ZLZRg-xXpRc
  |description3 =Season 1 Intro (Spanish Dub)
}} 


In 2009, the ''Big Bag'' episodes released on home video were uploaded on YouTube in their entirety by a YouTube user known as "BigBag9." Later on, all the "Big Bag Beat" segments were uploaded (in the form of the "Sing With Us" video) and any known footage of the show the owner could obtain, including partial episodes. Additionally on YouTube, all of the individual ''Koki'' segments were uploaded, along with several ''Troubles the Cat'' shorts. The rest of the show is currently considered lost.
In 2009, the ''Big Bag'' episodes were released on home video, which were uploaded on YouTube in their entirety by a YouTube user known as "BigBag9"<ref>[https://youtube.com/user/BigBag9 BigBag9's YouTube channel] Retrieved 21 March '17</ref>. Later on, all the "Big Bag Beat" segments were uploaded (in the form of the "Sing With Us" video) and any known footage of the show the owner could obtain, including partial episodes. Additionally, on YouTube, all of the individual ''Koki''<ref>[https://youtube.com/channel/UC58G8RBIiLOkAABbhiaR2Vg Koki's Fun Club YouTube channel] Retrieved 21 March '17</ref> and ''Tobias Totz and His Lion''<ref>[https://youtube.com/user/lion49977 The Tobias Totz shorts on YouTube] Retrieved 21 March '17</ref> segments were uploaded, along with several ''Troubles the Cat'' shorts. The rest of the show is currently considered lost.
==Episode List==
===Season 1===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:green" | Status
|-
|1||Let's Work Together||Jun 2nd, 1996||[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnVAWF9pl2g6hEZwFjmLZ-zjZ9B-dT-MK<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''] (Portuguese Dub)
|-
|2||One Little Lie||Jun 9th, 1996||[https://archive.org/details/BigBigOneLittleLie<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost''']
|-
|3||Bag O' Tricks||Jun 16th, 1996||[https://archive.org/details/BigBagBagOTricks<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''] (half-hour re-cut)
|-
|4||Good-Bye to Feeling Shy||Jun 23rd, 1996||[https://archive.org/details/BigBagGoodbyeToFeelingShy<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''']
|-
|5||Birthday Bash||Jun 30th, 1996||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|6||Key, Key, Where Can You Be?||Jul 7th, 1996||[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUI-gM_fgtUqE4akMfNrDhYeHiW-Harx<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|7||The Apple Corps||Jul 14th, 1996||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|8||Win, Lose or Draw||Jul 21st, 1996||[https://youtu.be/P4Jq3i6B4tU<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|9||The Imaginary Treasure||Jul 28th, 1996||[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUI-gM_fgtWqdY_qZ42LR955aZgj3gV_<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|10||My Crayons, My Crayons||Aug 4th, 1996||[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUI-gM_fgtUF34JQkfr3KZS1J4rDb1AD<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|11||Practice, Practice||Aug 11th, 1996||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|12||Piano Roll Blues||Aug 18th, 1996||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|13||Bringing Up Puppy||Aug 25th, 1996||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|}
===Season 2===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:green" | Status
|-
|1||Join the Club!||[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AJiwz8dlQc#t=2m17s April 6th, 1998]||[https://youtu.be/SYxzxaz14HY<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|2||The Sock Hop||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUI-gM_fgtWuB4hhNbrq0i5cahmOtbR3<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|3||Birthday Blahs||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUI-gM_fgtVqvzHnxGpWZYTQJ9zGYUO9<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|4||Zoom to the Zoo||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|5||The Showdown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|6||Elmo's Visit||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/a0momiO7IGQ<span
style="color:green;">'''Found'''] (Missing Cartoon Segments)
|-
|7||Afraid of the Dark||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8tVVJrwvLg<span style="color:Orange;">'''Partially Found'''] (Portuguese Dub)
|-
|8||Presto Change-O||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|9||To See or Not to See||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|10||Giggle Cookies||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|11||Royal Bag||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|12||It's Showtime||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|13||Case of the Missing Sock||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|14||Chelli's in Charge||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://archive.org/details/BigBagChellisInCharge<span
style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''']
|-
|15||Fair Play at the Country Fair||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|16||Bathtub Blues||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|17||Parrot Patrol||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|18||Where's Harriet?||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|19||Oatmeal Man||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|20||You Don't Look Bluish||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|21||Mrs. Everard Returns||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|22||Attention Shoppers||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|23||Sofie the Champ||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|24||Dr. Bag||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|25||Doing My Share||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|26||I Ought to be in Pictures||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<div style="margin:0 auto; text-align: center;">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Big_Bag!_Nell_Carter.jpeg|Press Photo of Episode Guest Starring Nell Carter
</gallery>


<div style="width:320px; display:inline-block; margin-right:25px; margin-bottom:0px;">
{{Video|perrow  =4
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQEu6xHeHoA|320x240|center|The Season 1 "Big Bag" intro.|frame}}</div>​
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =aQEu6xHeHoA
  |description1 =The Season 1 ''Big Bag'' intro.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =2MP3-HUjua8
  |description2 =The Season 2 ''Big Bag'' Intro
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =85u9iSBRgFg
  |description3 =The "Big Bag Beat" segments.
  |service4    =youtube
  |id4          =bURjJA9OJX4
  |description4 =A promo for the show's premiere in 1996.
}}
{{Video|perrow  =4
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =9EQ29s0AZHM
  |description1 =Elmo's visit on the show.
  |service2    =archiveorg
  |id2          =3-big-bag-promos
  |description2 =3 Bumpers for Big Bag
  |service3    =archiveorg
  |id3          =big-bag-promo-1998
  |description3 =Promo for Season 2 of Big Bag US
  |service4    =archiveorg
  |id4          =big-bag-promo
  |description4 =Very early promo for Big Bag
}}


<div style="width:320px; display:inline-block; margin-right:25px; margin-bottom:0px;">
==Localizations==
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85u9iSBRgFg|320x240|center|The "Big Bag Beat" segments.|frame}}</div>​
===UK Version===
====Season 1====
=====Episode Count Confirmed on [https://www.handsuppuppets.com/html/CV.html a Main Puppeteers Website]=====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:green" | Status
|-
|1||Poly Gone!||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://archive.org/details/big-bag-uk-version-kids-tv-series-poly-gone<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|2||Friends||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/XPPiKr2dQ-s<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|3||So Far So Good||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/DZlJC0twJ2Y<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|4||Showtime||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/S9oA1EyRC4U<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|5||Captain Porridge||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/71DZRyvAZRE<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|6||Missing Sock||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/jf32Y5zY1Vo<span
style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|7||Afraid of the Dark||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/tW5SD9DLkJQ<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|8||Invisible Bag||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/lt396Qi2GKQ<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|9||Generous Bag||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/sLFmC-o2am0<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|10||Showdown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://youtu.be/1W4ljEqDais<span style="color:green;">'''Found''']
|-
|11||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|12||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|13||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|}
====Season 2====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:green" | Status
|-
|?||Win, Lose or Draw||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown</span>||[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OP5z0ODnfM&t=51s<span
style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''']
|-
|2||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|3||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|4||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|5||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|6||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|7||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|8||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|9||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|10||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|11||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|12||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|-
|13||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> Unknown||<span style="color:red;"> '''Lost'''
|}


<div style="width:320px; display:inline-block; margin-right:25px; margin-bottom:0px;">
====French Version (''Les astuces de Sacatruc'')====
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bURjJA9OJX4|320x240|center|A promo for the show's premiere in 1996.|frame}}</div>​
=====This episode list is not confirmed but is from a [https://premiere.fr/series/Sacatruc/episodes French Film Magazine website]=====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:green" | Status
|-
|1||Le facteur est triste||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|2||Comment faire?||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|3||Sois patient, voyons!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|4||L'enfant marqué||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|5||Un vieux répondeur||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|6||Cirque à domicile||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|7||Une journée Baba Doum||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|8||Modernité||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|9||Rage de dents, rage de faim||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|10||Mini postière||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|11||Plante verte ou stylo||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|12||Zoo||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|13||Essaie!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|14||Carnaval à domicile||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|15||Sonnettes et klaxons||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|16||Paysages sonores||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|17||Peur, moi? Jamais!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|18||Quelques propositions||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|19||Rangement musical||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|20||La chaîne||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|21||Lettre à Barnabé||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|22||Préparatifs de vacances||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|23||Ne te fatigue pas!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|24||Quelle tenue!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|25||Chellie 1er||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|26||Prisonnier des corsaires||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|27||Panne d'électricité||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|28||On est tous amis||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|29||Oups berk pouah||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|30||Cloche-pied||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|31||Le gâteau surprise||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|32||Comme des oeufs de Pâques||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|33||Carnaval vénitien||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|34||Mes lunettes||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|35||Il faut bien reconnaître||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|36||Il faut se couvrir chaudement||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|37||Moonboots en été||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|38||Quel poète!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|39||Supporters||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|40||Sons de Pâques||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|41||Sois poli||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|42||Vrai ou faux||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|43||Je vais t'aider||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|44||Je vais t'aider||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|45||Peignes et brosses||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|46||Une promesse est une promesse!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|47||Le magnétophone de tante Annette||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|48||Voyage spatio-temporel||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|49||Feu de tout bois||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|50||T'as d'beaux cheveux, tu sais!||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|51||Réveil perdu||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|52||Cirque et pizza||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|53||Le carillon||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|54||En rollers||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|55||Tolérance et respect blessé||Unknown||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|}


<div style="width:320px; display:inline-block; margin-right:25px; margin-bottom:0px;">
==References==
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EQ29s0AZHM|320x240|center|Elmo's visit on the show.|frame}}</div>​
{{reflist}}


</div>​
==External Links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/19980124200541/http://www.ctw.org/bigbag/ The Official ''Big Bag'' Website (Archived).]
*[https://es.auction.co.kr/m/shop/itm/1996-%E2%80%9CBig-Bag%E2%80%9D-Press-Kit-Muppets-Cartoon-Network-Children-Television-Workshop/275640045549 Show Press Kit]


== External links ==
==See Also==
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/BigBag9* BigBag9's YouTube channel].
===Jim Henson Company Media===
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58G8RBIiLOkAABbhiaR2Vg Koki's Fun Club] YouTube channel.
*[[Alligator Boots (partially lost pilot of cancelled Comedy Central sketch/puppet series by Kanye West; 2008)]]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/19980124200541/http://www.ctw.org/bigbag/ The official Big Bag site] (archived).
*[[America's Next Muppet (lost test pilot of cancelled ABC reality parody show; 2006)]]
*[[The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! (lost production material of cancelled "Muppet" film; 1985-2009)]]
*[[The Dark Crystal (partially found high-quality version of workprint/director's cut of puppet fantasy film; early 1980s)]]
*[[Fraggle Rock (partially found British co-production of puppet children's television series; 1984-1990)]]
*[[Little Muppet Monsters (partially found puppet TV series; 1985)]]
*[[Monster Safari (lost production material of cancelled stop-motion animated film; 2009)]]
*[[The Muppet Show "Juliet Prowse" (partially lost unaired pilot version of episode of sketch comedy TV series; 1976)]]
*[[The Muppets (partially lost series of early TV commercials featuring puppet characters; 1962-1969)]]
*[[Muppets - 2007 presentation pilot (lost pilot of cancelled Muppet series; 2007)]]
*[[Muppets In Space (lost early drafts of "Muppets From Space" sci-fi family film; 1999)]]
*[[The Muppets Present (lost cancelled remake of "The Muppet Show"; early 2000s)]]
*[[The Power of The Dark Crystal (partially lost production materials from canceled sequel to "The Dark Crystal" fantasy film; 1982-2014)]]
*[[The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (partially found David Bowie music video; 1999)]]
*[[Sam and Friends (partially found early Jim Henson puppet TV series; 1955-1961)]]
*[[The Sam Plenty Cavalcade of Action Show Plus Singing! (partially found web series; 2008)]]
*[[Tinseltown (lost LGBT sitcom pilot; 2007)]]
*[[Watch With Monkey (lost unaired pilot of scrapped BBC family comedy show; 2003)]]
*[[Wilkins and Wontkins (partially lost series of Jim Henson commercials; 1957-1969)]]
 
===Sesame Street Related Media===
*[[Batibot (partially found Filipino children's educational TV series; 1984-2002)]]
*[[The Grover Monster - Jean Marsh Cartoon Special (lost TV special; 1975)]]
*[[Out to Lunch (partially found Sesame Street/Electric Company crossover special; 1974)]]
*[[Sesame Park (partially found Canadian co-production of Sesame Street; 1972-2001)]]
*[[Sesame Street At Night? (lost Sesame Street television special; 1977)]]
*[[The Sesame Street Experiment (partially lost documentary based on children's educational TV series; 1989)]]
*[[Sesame Street Live (partially found live stage shows; 1980-2003)]]
*[[Sesame Street Mecha Builders (partially found test pilot of Cartoonito CGI-animated spin-off series; 2020)]]
*[[View-Master Interactive Vision (partially lost VHS-based games; 1988)]]


[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]

Latest revision as of 23:29, 26 October 2023

Bigbag-titlecard.jpg

Title card.

Status: Partially Found

Big Bag was a relatively short-lived preschool TV series that aired on Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1998, co-produced by Turner and the Children's Television Workshop, and created by Nina Elias-Bamberger. Notable for being Cartoon Network's first live-action series (preceding its infamous CN Real block that would debut on the channel over a decade later), the series combined live-action stories featuring humans and Muppet characters with various animated cartoons (very similar to CTW's flagship series Sesame Street.) Also unique for Cartoon Network, it originally was aired as an hour-long program without commercial breaks during its first season. For the second season, it was reduced to a half-hour program (but still without commercials.) The show was taped at the Disney-MGM Studios Park in Orlando, Florida.

Premise/Development

The premise of the show featured human cast member Molly and her Muppet friends Chelli (a patchwork dog performed by Joey Mazzarino) and Bag (a sentient cloth tote bag whose gender is inconsistent, performed by Rickey Boyd) who own and live in a general store.

Behind the Scenes Picture

Working with them are two anthropomorphic socks, Lyle (also performed by Mazzarino) and Argyle (also performed by Boyd), who usually work in the store's stockroom and hang out in the sock bin, with Lyle often telling Argyle knock-knock jokes (substituting "knock-knock" with "sock-sock.") In the first season, local residents that often appeared included Chelli's human kid friends Kim and Joey, and a group of adult villagers including the shy Martha, mail carrier Josie, exercise instructor Trudy, wacky inventor Waldo, crossing guard Bernard, and veterinarian Dr. Furrball. All of these supporting characters were dropped after the first season, and the show's second season introduced a new humanoid Muppet girl, Sofie. Various cartoon short series (referred to as "shorties") were presented on the program, often coming from different parts of the world, including some co-produced with CTW for the series. Animated segments included Troubles the Cat, Koki, Willam's Wish Wellingtons, Slim Pig, Tobias Totz and His Lion, Samuel and Nina (the latter four only appearing in the first season) and Ace and Avery (this one exclusive to the second season.)

Chelli on New York Times Television Cover[1]

Also in the first season, a "Big Bag Beat" music video would play halfway through the episode, which would encourage kids to get up and dance or play along.

The show was also noted for its' intended interactivity with viewing children. Kids watching the series were encouraged to watch it with a bag containing a pair of socks, two spoons, a hat, and a cardboard tube. The characters in the live-action portions and Troubles the Cat would cue the viewing audience to take one of the items from the bag and use it (such as using the cardboard tube as a "Troublescope" in the Troubles cartoons.) It would also teach important life lessons such as cooperation, honesty, sharing, respect, persistence, use of imagination, and friendship. The show also won the Parent's Choice Silver Medal after its' first season.

One famous episode was in the second season when Elmo of Sesame Street came to visit Chelli, revealing they were pen-pals.

Availability

The show originally aired on Cartoon Network on Sunday mornings beginning in June 1996. In early 1998, the second season began, when the show was cut down to a half-hour and aired on weekday mornings (reruns of first season episodes were also edited down to a half-hour), before finally being cancelled in September 1998, and ended up in reruns on very early Sunday mornings (usually at 5:30 or 6:00 AM Eastern) until March 2001, and has never been rerun since. Only five episodes (three from the first season, and two from the second season) were officially released on VHS during the show's run, along with an additional video, "Sing With Us," which compiled all of the "Big Bag Beat" musical segments. These videos have since gone out of print.

Additionally, the show received two localizations, one in the UK sharing the same name as well as one in France titled Les astuces de Sacatruc. Each show shared a similar format to the US version, however, both replaced the human actors and puppeteers with local actors. (UK version has Matthew Lewis, the actor for Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies, performing as one of the child actors in a role uncredited on his IMDb). The UK production replaced Cartoon Network with Yorkshire Studios, and the French production replaced them with Canal J - all three are co-productions with the Children's Television Workshop. Little is known about the runtime of these two localizations, though research indicates that the UK Version ran in 1998 for 2 seasons, whereas Sacatruc aired from 1997 until possibly 2003; a French Satellite TV media writeup indicates that it's third season aired in November of 2003, suggesting it ran longer than both the US and UK versions. Most we have in terms of Sacatruc visual content is an website with a few screenshots

In addition to localizations, the original US Big Bag received a dub in Portuguese that aired on both Portuguese Cartoon Network and the TV channel TV Cultura, as well as a Spanish dub that aired on Latin American Cartoon Network and the TV channel FETV

Season 1 Intro (Portuguese Dub)

Season 2 Intro (Portuguese Dub)

Season 1 Intro (Spanish Dub)

In 2009, the Big Bag episodes were released on home video, which were uploaded on YouTube in their entirety by a YouTube user known as "BigBag9"[2]. Later on, all the "Big Bag Beat" segments were uploaded (in the form of the "Sing With Us" video) and any known footage of the show the owner could obtain, including partial episodes. Additionally, on YouTube, all of the individual Koki[3] and Tobias Totz and His Lion[4] segments were uploaded, along with several Troubles the Cat shorts. The rest of the show is currently considered lost.

Episode List

Season 1

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Let's Work Together Jun 2nd, 1996 Partially Found (Portuguese Dub)
2 One Little Lie Jun 9th, 1996 Partially Lost
3 Bag O' Tricks Jun 16th, 1996 Partially Found (half-hour re-cut)
4 Good-Bye to Feeling Shy Jun 23rd, 1996 Partially Found
5 Birthday Bash Jun 30th, 1996 Lost
6 Key, Key, Where Can You Be? Jul 7th, 1996 Found
7 The Apple Corps Jul 14th, 1996 Lost
8 Win, Lose or Draw Jul 21st, 1996 Found
9 The Imaginary Treasure Jul 28th, 1996 Found
10 My Crayons, My Crayons Aug 4th, 1996 Found
11 Practice, Practice Aug 11th, 1996 Lost
12 Piano Roll Blues Aug 18th, 1996 Lost
13 Bringing Up Puppy Aug 25th, 1996 Lost

Season 2

# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Join the Club! April 6th, 1998 Found
2 The Sock Hop Unknown Found
3 Birthday Blahs Unknown Found
4 Zoom to the Zoo Unknown Lost
5 The Showdown Unknown Lost
6 Elmo's Visit Unknown Found (Missing Cartoon Segments)
7 Afraid of the Dark Unknown Partially Found (Portuguese Dub)
8 Presto Change-O Unknown Lost
9 To See or Not to See Unknown Lost
10 Giggle Cookies Unknown Lost
11 Royal Bag Unknown Lost
12 It's Showtime Unknown Lost
13 Case of the Missing Sock Unknown Lost
14 Chelli's in Charge Unknown Partially Found
15 Fair Play at the Country Fair Unknown Lost
16 Bathtub Blues Unknown Lost
17 Parrot Patrol Unknown Lost
18 Where's Harriet? Unknown Lost
19 Oatmeal Man Unknown Lost
20 You Don't Look Bluish Unknown Lost
21 Mrs. Everard Returns Unknown Lost
22 Attention Shoppers Unknown Lost
23 Sofie the Champ Unknown Lost
24 Dr. Bag Unknown Lost
25 Doing My Share Unknown Lost
26 I Ought to be in Pictures Unknown Lost

Gallery

  • Press Photo of Episode Guest Starring Nell Carter

    Press Photo of Episode Guest Starring Nell Carter

The Season 1 Big Bag intro.

The Season 2 Big Bag Intro

The "Big Bag Beat" segments.

A promo for the show's premiere in 1996.

Elmo's visit on the show.

3 Bumpers for Big Bag

Promo for Season 2 of Big Bag US

Very early promo for Big Bag

Localizations

UK Version

Season 1

Episode Count Confirmed on a Main Puppeteers Website
# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Poly Gone! Unknown Found
2 Friends Unknown Found
3 So Far So Good Unknown Found
4 Showtime Unknown Found
5 Captain Porridge Unknown Found
6 Missing Sock Unknown Found
7 Afraid of the Dark Unknown Found
8 Invisible Bag Unknown Found
9 Generous Bag Unknown Found
10 Showdown Unknown Found
11 Unknown Unknown Lost
12 Unknown Unknown Lost
13 Unknown Unknown Lost

Season 2

# Episode Title Air Date Status
? Win, Lose or Draw Unknown Partially Found
2 Unknown Unknown Lost
3 Unknown Unknown Lost
4 Unknown Unknown Lost
5 Unknown Unknown Lost
6 Unknown Unknown Lost
7 Unknown Unknown Lost
8 Unknown Unknown Lost
9 Unknown Unknown Lost
10 Unknown Unknown Lost
11 Unknown Unknown Lost
12 Unknown Unknown Lost
13 Unknown Unknown Lost

French Version (Les astuces de Sacatruc)

This episode list is not confirmed but is from a French Film Magazine website
# Episode Title Air Date Status
1 Le facteur est triste Unknown Lost
2 Comment faire? Unknown Lost
3 Sois patient, voyons! Unknown Lost
4 L'enfant marqué Unknown Lost
5 Un vieux répondeur Unknown Lost
6 Cirque à domicile Unknown Lost
7 Une journée Baba Doum Unknown Lost
8 Modernité Unknown Lost
9 Rage de dents, rage de faim Unknown Lost
10 Mini postière Unknown Lost
11 Plante verte ou stylo Unknown Lost
12 Zoo Unknown Lost
13 Essaie! Unknown Lost
14 Carnaval à domicile Unknown Lost
15 Sonnettes et klaxons Unknown Lost
16 Paysages sonores Unknown Lost
17 Peur, moi? Jamais! Unknown Lost
18 Quelques propositions Unknown Lost
19 Rangement musical Unknown Lost
20 La chaîne Unknown Lost
21 Lettre à Barnabé Unknown Lost
22 Préparatifs de vacances Unknown Lost
23 Ne te fatigue pas! Unknown Lost
24 Quelle tenue! Unknown Lost
25 Chellie 1er Unknown Lost
26 Prisonnier des corsaires Unknown Lost
27 Panne d'électricité Unknown Lost
28 On est tous amis Unknown Lost
29 Oups berk pouah Unknown Lost
30 Cloche-pied Unknown Lost
31 Le gâteau surprise Unknown Lost
32 Comme des oeufs de Pâques Unknown Lost
33 Carnaval vénitien Unknown Lost
34 Mes lunettes Unknown Lost
35 Il faut bien reconnaître Unknown Lost
36 Il faut se couvrir chaudement Unknown Lost
37 Moonboots en été Unknown Lost
38 Quel poète! Unknown Lost
39 Supporters Unknown Lost
40 Sons de Pâques Unknown Lost
41 Sois poli Unknown Lost
42 Vrai ou faux Unknown Lost
43 Je vais t'aider Unknown Lost
44 Je vais t'aider Unknown Lost
45 Peignes et brosses Unknown Lost
46 Une promesse est une promesse! Unknown Lost
47 Le magnétophone de tante Annette Unknown Lost
48 Voyage spatio-temporel Unknown Lost
49 Feu de tout bois Unknown Lost
50 T'as d'beaux cheveux, tu sais! Unknown Lost
51 Réveil perdu Unknown Lost
52 Cirque et pizza Unknown Lost
53 Le carillon Unknown Lost
54 En rollers Unknown Lost
55 Tolérance et respect blessé Unknown Lost

References

  1. ↑ New York Times Report on the show from June 21st, 1995 Retrieved 15 October '23
  2. ↑ BigBag9's YouTube channel Retrieved 21 March '17
  3. ↑ Koki's Fun Club YouTube channel Retrieved 21 March '17
  4. ↑ The Tobias Totz shorts on YouTube Retrieved 21 March '17

External Links

See Also

Jim Henson Company Media

Sesame Street Related Media

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