The Hoobs is a children's television programme created and produced by The Jim Henson Company. It stars four creatures called Hoobs (Iver, Groove, Tula and Roma) from the fictional Hoobland, and their interactions with Earth and the human race. In each episode they try to find the answer to a question to be put in the great Hoobopaedia created by Hubba Hubba (though the Channel 4 Hoobs website names him Hubba Bubba a number of times) back in Hoobland. This book is an obvious inspiration from "The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy" in hopes of learning all there is to know. They live in the Hoobmobile and travel to all parts of the world. The four creatures are puppets, but the show also includes some animated sequences as well as live motion of human children who explain concepts to the Hoobs. Jim Hensen Company in Los Angeles The Jim Henson Company is an American company founded in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... A puppet is a representational object manipulated by a puppeteer. ... Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. ... Adobe LiveMotion was a product created by Adobe Systems released in 2000 and perceived as a direct competitor to Macromedia Flash. ...

In Britain it is a regular feature in early morning schedules, regarded by some as a cult favourite with students and those adults with a nostalgic fondness for the Muppets. The show is made in the UK, as are many other Jim Henson Company productions. It was commissioned for Channel 4, and has been shown at around the times of 6:00am to 7:00am regularly since January 1, 2000. It has also been regionalised for other countries, including North America. [1]

The four main characters are Iver, Tula, Groove and Roma. Iver, Tula and Groove live in the Hoobmobile, a psychedelic bus. Roma also lives in the Hoobmobile but is rarely there as she travels the world like a reporter on her motorbike (the "Hooby Pikki-Pikki"). The Hoobmobile is powered by music - in the engine there are three creatures called Motorettes (Tootle, Timp & Twang) who play a selection of instruments to make the vehicle move. Iver (purple Hoob) is the team leader and co-ordinator and Tula (pink Hoob, the girl) is the inquisitive and occasionally bossy one, while Groove (green Hoob) is the happy-go-lucky one who spends his time managing his numerous collections of Different Things, with a grouped collection for every single occasion. Roma is yellowy orange, and speaks with an extremely upper-class accent. This article is about journalistic reporters. ...

Some viewers have noted significant numbers of double entendres in the show, though it is not clear whether these are in anyway intentional on the part of the producers. Examples of this include Groove saying "Why are my nuts [as in Walnuts] in a hole?", and Tula referring to a "pink floppy thing."

A typical episode involves:

• A preamble during which a question (to be answered) is stumbled upon.
• Hubba Hubba formalises the task.
• Roma is e-mailed to provide a report.
• Ending a sentence with "who", "what", "when", "where", "why" or "how" causes a cut away to a Motorettes' performance of that word.
• There may be a song from the Hoobs or the Motorettes, with familiar lyrics, or a familiar tune (Operas are a favourite), or neither.
• The Hoobs visit the "tiddlypeeps" (i.e. children) twice, as "They're smart, they're fun, they know".
• One Hoob drives (left hand drive), one visits and turns the key and the third may participate in the B story
• An animated story is aired
• Reportage on a related subject appears on HoobNet
• Various inappropriate solutions are rejected for an answer, just in time
• Hoob News at the end summarises the adventure.

Puppeteers: Iver: Don Austen Tula: Julie Westwood Groove: John Eccleston, Mark Jefferis, Brian Herring Roma: Gillie Robic Hubba Bubba: Mark Jefferis, Brian Herring. Motorettes: Mark Jefferis, Rebecca Nagan, Wim Booth Italian exchange students empty litres of water into the Hyenas suddenly not so secret dumpster. ... Julie Westwood (born April 8, 1967) is the voice of Betsy Busybody on Lazytown. ... John Eccleston is a puppeteer, known for his work as Rygel in Farscape, Groove in The Hoobs and his many roles on British childrens television alongside Don Austen. ...

External links

• Hoobs entry on H2G2
• The Hoobs at Channel4.com

The Hoobs replaced the popular puppet based childrens' show Sesame Street, which was an initially controversial move due to the popularity of Sesame street with its iconic Muppet Show characters. It was said that a more "English" show would be more beneficial to children, rather than the America-biased culture of Sesame Street. However, some criticised the Hoobs as not achieving this aim due to the fact the Hoobs use "Hoob" phrases such as "Hooble-doop" for "Hello" and "tiddlypeeps" for "children", etc. However, these claims have not yet been shown to have any major effect. Some concerned parents also drew similarities between the way the Hoobs talk and act, and the effects of drug abuse. Iver (purple Hoob) is often in a paranoid and depressive mood state, while Groove (green Hoob) likes to look at shiny things and can often be seen scoffing sweets or "munchies" out of his pockets. H2G2 is also an acronym for the The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ...