Big Bag (partially found Cartoon Network live-action animated puppet series; 1996-1998): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 15:02, 29 September 2023
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. 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.) 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.
A couple of international co-productions were also produced, such as the French Sacatruc, and a UK version.
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". 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 and Tobias Totz and His Lion 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 | 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 | Partially 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! | Mar 2nd, 1998 | Found |
2 | The Sock Hop | Mar 3th, 1998 | Found |
3 | Birthday Blahs | Mar 4th, 1998 | Found |
4 | Zoom to the Zoo | Mar 5th, 1998 | Lost |
5 | The Showdown | Mar 6th, 1998 | Lost |
6 | Elmo's Visit | Mar 9th, 1998 | Found |
7 | Afraid of the Dark | Mar 10th, 1998 | Lost |
8 | Presto Change-O | Mar 11th, 1998 | Lost |
9 | To See or Not to See | Mar 12th, 1998 | Lost |
10 | Giggle Cookies | Mar 13th, 1998 | Lost |
11 | Royal Bag | Mar 16th, 1998 | Lost |
12 | It's Showtime | Mar 17th, 1998 | Lost |
13 | Case of the Missing Sock | Mar 18th, 1998 | Lost |
14 | Chelli's in Charge | Mar 19th, 1998 | Partially Found |
15 | Fair Play at the Country Fair | Mar 20th, 1998 | Lost |
16 | Bathtub Blues | Mar 23rd, 1998 | Lost |
17 | Parrot Patrol | Mar 24th, 1998 | Lost |
18 | Where's Harriet? | Mar 25th, 1998 | Lost |
19 | Oatmeal Man | Mar 26th, 1998 | Lost |
20 | You Don't Look Bluish | Mar 27th, 1998 | Lost |
21 | Mrs. Everard Returns | Mar 30th, 1998 | Lost |
22 | Attention Shoppers | Mar 31st, 1998 | Lost |
23 | Sofie the Champ | Apr 1st, 1998 | Lost |
24 | Dr. Bag | Apr 2nd, 1998 | Lost |
25 | Doing My Share | Apr 3rd, 1998 | Lost |
26 | I Ought to be in Pictures | Apr 6th, 1998 | Lost |
Localizations
UK Version
# | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Poly Gone! | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
2 | Friends | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
3 | So Far So Good | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
4 | Showtime | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
5 | Captain Porridge | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
6 | Missing Sock | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
7 | Afraid of the Dark | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
8 | Invisible Bag | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
9 | Generous Bag | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
10 | Showdown | Unknown, 1998 | Found |
French Version
Along with it's UK Localization, Big Bag received a French localization known as Les astuces de Sacatruc. Amount of episodes produced is currently unknown, and any video clip of it is currently lost. Most we have in terms of visual content is a VHS Cover and a website with a few screenshots