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''Gogs!'', or simply ''Gogs'', is a Welsh
claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...
-style
animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
which took the form of a
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
, originally aired on S4C in 1993, and aired in the rest of the UK on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1996. ''Gogs'' has since been aired internationally, and still enjoys
re-run A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...
s on occasion. ''Gogs'' revolves around a family clan of dumb, primitive and socially inept
cavemen The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin Bo ...
in a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
setting, and contained much
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
, various
toilet humour Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It sees subs ...
-based gags and
gross out Gross out is described as a movement in art (often with comical conotations), which is intended to shock the viewer(s) and disgust the wider audience by presenting them with controversial material (such as toilet humor and fetishes) that might be ...
situations; for example the cavemen losing control of their bodily functions. It also featured their often comedic daily struggle for survival, and attempts to advance their technology and society, such as creating fire, and often failing miserably, comically and absurdly in the act. In the Welsh language, the term 'Gogs' is slang for 'Gogledd' which translates as 'North' and 'gogs' as 'Northerners'. The originators of Gogs, schoolfriends Deiniol Morris and Siôn Jones – both Welsh speakers from Bethesda in North Wales decided that the single syllable word 'Gog' just had the right sound and a simple, direct quality which seemed to lend itself well to the primitive nature of the cave family. The show is more oriented towards an adult audience than other claymation television series such as ''
The Trap Door ''The Trap Door'' is a British animated television series, originally shown in the United Kingdom in 1986. The plot revolves around the daily lives and the misadventures of a group of monsters living in a castle. These include a blue creatur ...
'' or ''
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series c ...
'', which are more child-friendly than ''Gogs''. Although often called a
children's television program Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
, the "grungy" ''Gogs'' with its adult humour-based gags tended to be shown after the watershed, and so was often referred to as "claymation for the post-pub generation". There was an intention by Jones, Morris and Mort to rebel against the 'cleaning up' of the comedic cartoon 'violence' with which they had grown up. Later VHS and DVD releases carried a parental guidance rating. The original series contained only five episodes each of around five to six minutes long. After winning numerous awards a second series was commissioned with episodes running at a similar length, bringing the total number of episodes of the two series to thirteen in number. In 1998, the last installment of ''Gogs'', a 30-minute-long special, '' Gogwana'', was aired, which was also critically well received and won numerous awards.


History


Development

Production of the show was a collaboration between numerous companies and individuals in 1993. Welsh animation studio Aaargh! Animation Ltd were among the most prominent of these, created specifically for the purpose of making the ''Gogs'' series as a result of the success of the initial episode created by originators Deiniol Morris and Siôn Jones and by animator Michael Mort. Later Aaargh Animation Ltd went on to produce the animated segments of the 1997 film ''
A Life Less Ordinary ''A Life Less Ordinary'' is a 1997 romantic black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge, and starring Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian Holm and Dan Hedaya. The plot follows two angels (Hunter ...
'', and numerous commercials including ones for Levi jeans. ''Gogs'' was initially the brainchild of Siôn Jones and Deiniol Morris, who brought in animator Michael Mort. Michael and Deiniol then went on to front Aaargh Animation, and eventually directed the subsequent two series and finally the feature film Gogwana, under executive producer Helen Nabarro. Welsh channel S4C originally commissioned the first award-winning episode of Gogs. (This episode was originally aired on Welsh television), and was funded mainly by S4C. Also by
Harlech Television ITV Wales and West, previously known as Harlech Television (HTV), was an ITV (TV network), ITV franchise area in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2013, licensed to a broadcaster by the regulator Ofcom. There is no channel, past or present, ...
(HTV), and Bumper Films. Comedian/actress
Josie Lawrence Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and as Manda Best in '' ...
lent her voice to The Gogs, and it is also her shrieking tones heard on the end titles. Noted Welsh actress
Gillian Elisa Gillian Elizabeth Thomas (born 10 August 1953) is a Welsh actress, singer, and comedian. Early in her career she was known as Gillian Elisa Thomas. Early life and education Elisa was born in Carmarthen, Wales, and brought up in Lampeter; she beg ...
did most of the voices and Dafydd Emyr was responsible for the male voices in the series. Additional "voices" were provided by Marie Clifford, Josie Lawrence, Rob Rackstraw, and Nick Upton.


Airings

The first series was brought initially to a minor Welsh audience by Meirion Davies of S4C in late 1993, complete with Welsh language titles and credits, and thereby less suitable for English language channels. ''Gogs'' sprung on to an international platform with the help of Colin Rose at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, who had the show translated for an English-speaking audience and aired on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in the Christmas holidays of 1996. The Gogs did not use any language. This was a deliberate move by originators Siôn Jones and Deiniol Morris. It would make Gogs a better commercial prospect for prospective commissioners S4C by eliminating the costly need to translate and re-dub the voices and would also cut production costs by saving time in overdubbing and animating lip sync. After this, a second series, Gogs II, was produced and aired in 1997, and in 1998 the ''Gogwana'' 30-minute special and finale. The show also aired in The US as a segment on The Three Friends and Jerry on Fox Family in 1998


Later history and stalled film

Both series of ''Gogs'' and the ''Gogwana'' special were critically well received and garnered numerous awards. However, ''Gogwana'' would prove to be the last ever episode of the show. The high costs of producing claymation compared to the emerging sophistication of computer-generated animation (even one episode of ''Gogs'' took a very long time to produce with the small team, little resources and funding they had), and the
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
slot allocated to ''Gogs'' which would be better filled with "more conventional" sitcoms, ensured that ''Gogs'' was not commissioned for a third series or another special by the BBC.
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
and his newly founded
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
had recently attempted to retain the services of
Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is a British animator who created ''Wallace and Gromit'', ''Creature Comforts'', ''Chicken Run'', ''Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of ...
, head of British studio
Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay an ...
and creator of ''
Wallace and Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series c ...
'', to make an animated caveman film; however Aardman "resisted being bought by Hollywood lock stock and barrel." Soon after, Spielberg saw the first episode of ''Gogs'', which revolves around the consequences of the Gogs discovering fire for the first time; Spielberg was being impressed by it he offered ''Gogs'' creators AAArgh! work in the United States instead of Aardman. Morris and Mort met with Spielberg at his ranch and admitted they would be tempted by an offer to produce a theatrical ''Gogs'' with DreamWorks, although no deal was made and there were no further developments to the plan. DreamWorks later resumed their contract with Park and Aardman, resulting in the films ''
Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by Pe ...
'' and ''
Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and W ...
''. In 2005, Aardman announced they were working with DreamWorks on an animated caveman comedy without AAArgh!; it was to be called ''Crood Awakening'' in which a clan chief is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions like fire. Co-written by
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
it eventually became the 2013 film ''
The Croods ''The Croods'' is a 2013 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and stars the voices of Nicol ...
''.


Plot

The series depicts the Gogs comically as being mind-bogglingly stupid and struggling to navigate and avoid the perils of an exotic, prehistoric land inhabited by
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s,
prehistoric mammal This is an incomplete list of prehistoric mammals. It does not include extant mammals or recently extinct mammals. For extinct primate species, see: list of fossil primates.Mikko's Phylogeny Archiv Mammaliaformes ' *Genus †'' Adelobasileus ...
s, giant insects, human-eating plants, and other exotica. Even the primeval landscape is a danger, likely to erupt in a volcano or collapse in an earthquake, and the world is wracked by powerful lightning and thunder storms. Among the show's key comedic aspects are crudeness and toilet humour; the characters do not talk, instead communicating with grunts, roars, screams, burps and farts, and overly exaggerated facial expressions. The rest of the show had an emphasis on slapstick, cartoonish violence as the Gogs spend the rest of their time wrestling, urinating, vomiting, bashing each other on the head with clubs, and scoffing food. The show was criticized by some for being too over the top.


Cast


Gogs

*Gogas – The "grandfather figure" of the Gog family and elderly patriarch of the clan. Gogas is derived from two Welsh words 'go' and 'cas'. They translate into English as 'quite' and 'nasty': a quite accurate description of the sometimes maniacal grandfather. Gogas has a bald patch, white hair, and unkempt facial hair. He is completely senile, hot-headed, uncouth and crude, and wants to do things all his own way. His most prized possession is his club, and his solution to pretty much any problem is to bash it with it. Gogas is surprisingly one of the more physical of the group, often being the first to fight off giant bears and hungry dinosaurs with his club, although this is down to his craziness rather than bravery. At night, he snores like a wailing
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
. In the "Gogwana" special, Gogas is given a small
backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...
. *Goglas – The "father figure" of the clan. From the Welsh language word 'goglais' which translates to 'tickle'. Goglas is the middle-aged son of the elderly "grandfather figure" Gogas. Goglas has a
Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...
-like face, shoulder length dark hair, and a dark cropped beard. Goglas is a slobby and lazy lay-about, mostly concerned with idling around and living life his own way. Although he occasionally goes out hunting, he is often the first to run away from danger, and abandon his family in cowardly fashion and is not averse to leaving them behind in such situations. Goglas often fights with his teenage son Ogo and his bear-like wife Ogla who, despite often crudely fighting with him, also gives him somewhat unwanted affection. *Ogla – The "mother figure" of the clan, and Goglas' mate. Ogla is derived from 'Oglau' and is the colloquial North Walian Welsh word for 'smell'. Enormous, bear-like and bossy, she is the matriarch of the family. None dare challenge her. Though at times disgusted and disliking of the rest of her family, she does care for them deep down, particularly her baby Gwj, when she is not kicking Gwj around. Ogla keeps her dark hair tied with bones. *Ogo – The son and firstborn of Goglas and Ogla. Ogo is named after creators Siôn Jones and Deiniol Morris' history teacher during their schooldays. 'Ogo' being a shortened version of ''ogof'', the Welsh word for 'cave'. Ogo is a teenager. Has a
simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and Catarrhi ...
expression and has ginger hair which sometimes appears blonde. This is due to inconsistent film developing because the model itself has ginger hair. He is extremely slow and dim-witted, the dumbest of the clan, yet is constantly trying to impress and follow the orders of the others. He always fails however, and usually gets covered in mess or his teeth knocked out. Most of the rest of the time, all he does is pick his nose and eat it, or chases animals such as centipedes and eats them instead. *Igi – The
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
and
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
daughter, presumably a teenager like Ogo, although younger than Ogo. She has shoulder-length black hair which also covers her eyes. Igi is the smartest of all the Gogs, even something of a genius many millennia ahead of her time, drawing things such as scientific equations and blueprints of cars, planes and helicopters on rocks. She invents things such as a bird-costume and a hot-air balloon made out of a dinosaur's carcass in the half-hour special ''Gogwana''. She is the quietest and least obscene member of the clan. However, also being the smallest and physically weakest, Igi is often victimized or misunderstood, or left behind when the rest are fleeing from danger. Her grandfather Gogas hits her over the head with a club when he sees her advanced drawings, although they give Gogas the idea to build a swing for baby Gwj, which subsequently has been mistakenly taken as some ceremonial building such as
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
. *Gwj – The infant and second son and lastborn of Goglas and Ogla. His name is derived from the nickname of co-originator Deiniol Morris' brother in law. It also has elements of the term of endearment "coochie coo" used for babies. He is cute at a first glance, but is actually very brave, tough and sneaky. Gwj is sometimes subjected to the same cartoonish violence as the others, and kicked off screen by the others when they cannot be doing with him, although Gwj is never injured and indeed seems the hardiest of the entire clan, laughing in the face of danger instead of running away from danger like the rest of them. What Gwj spends most of his time doing is crying and screaming (Composer Arwyn Davies sampled the screams and weaved them into the theme tune of the Gogs series), and the other Gogs have to desperately find ways to get him to stop. Besides that, he often defecates and gets into horrible messes a lot, and into very sticky situations (usually at the same time). Gwj often has snotty, horrible colds, and sometimes blows snot at the screen.


Cannibal tribe

Main antagonist of ''Gogwana''. *Cannibal pygmies *Cannibal chieftain


Animals


Ray the T-Rex

A major supporting character and the primary
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
of the show, Ray is a ravenous
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
who is frequently attempting to eat the Gog family clan, and is constantly stalking them wherever they go. In the first episode, when the characters are introduced in the opening credits, the T-Rex is said to be named Ray. Ray is used a designation for the T-Rex at other points in the show also. The name was in homage to the artist, designer and early model animator
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...
Ray's obsession with the Gogs may be as much down to revenge as hunger, as also in the first episode Ray is thwarted from eating the Gogs by having his private parts burnt by fire. In the second episode, Oglas and Ogo flee from the small dinosaur, only to discover a massive T-Rex which chases them off a cliff. Ray continues to appear in several episodes in the first series and in the half-hour special ''Gogwana''. Ray's depiction is inconsistent. In the first episode Ray is smaller and faster (perhaps a juvenile T-Rex), and in the film Gogwana he is depicted as slower but larger and generally more menacing. In Gogwana Ray, who is again stalking the Gogs, inadvertently saves them when he eats the new antagonist, the Cannibal King. There are other assorted dinosaurs featured throughout the episodes but Ray is the only one who makes more than one appearance. One model was made for the series episodes and a larger, more menacing model was made for use in Gogwana.


Other animals seen

*A prehistoric
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
is a recurring animal in the first series. Gogas is often seen trying to club the mole. *In the sixth episode, Igi sees a giant eagle flying above the ground, which inspires her to make a bird costume. The eagle was almost hit by an arrow from Oglas and Gogas's bow-and-arrow. *In the third episode, Oglas and Ogo find a human sized,
Therizinosaur Therizinosaurs (once called segnosaurs) were large herbivorous theropod dinosaurs whose fossils have been found across the Early to Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia and North America. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite thes ...
eating leaves. It soon notices them, and continues to beat them up with martial arts. *In the seventh episode, Ogo is attacked by a
Metridiochoerus ''Metridiochoerus'' is an extinct genus in the pig family indigenous to the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Africa. It is also known as the giant warthog. Description ''Metridiochoerus'' was a large animal, in length, resembling a giant warthog. ...
whilst tied to a tree. The boar then chases Oglas and Gogas, making them fall down a hole. The tree Ogo is attached to is thrown over the pit. The boar continues to urinate and defecate on them until Ogla scares the boar away. *In the third episode, a thunderstorm occurs, driving the Gogs to find shelter. Ogo climbs up a tree and finds a leaf to shelter under, which came from a
pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...
's nest. It then carries Ogo in the air and, later in the show, Ogla as well. These creatures are seen numerous times throughout the show. *A
Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the closely related ''A ...
is seen in the third episode where it died apparently from old age and again in the fifth episode where another one fell into a crack in the ground that opened during a volcanic eruption, however it poked its head up, meaning it survived. *
Trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...
s are seen in the final half-hour special ''Gogwana'', which although were marine animals in reality they are seen scuttling along the ground, alongside many other creatures with which they did not co-exist. * A
Gigantopithecus ''Gigantopithecus'' ( ; ) is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early Pleistocene, Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, ''Gigantopithecus blacki''. Potential identi ...
mother and its baby appeared in a second-season episode. The mother had lost her baby and had mistakenly taken Girj, she later got her baby after having a fight with Ogla who tried to get Girj back; however, her baby had stolen Gogas's club and hit her on the head with it. *A
Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
skull is seen in the desert, also in ''Gogwana''. In the same scene numerous creatures are seen – a pair of unidentified furry desert creatures, perhaps the ancestors of rabbits, vultures, and a desert
Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontid ...
. The Gogs take refuge in the hulking carcass of a dead
woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus subp ...
which had evidently veered mistakenly into the desert. * An
Allosaurus ''Allosaurus'' () is a genus of large carnosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian). The name "''Allosaurus''" means "different lizard" alluding to ...
the one time antagonist appears in one episode babysitting and about to eat Girj while still asleep and trying to eat Ogo but gets killed off by Igi who saves their lives. * A
Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
is an ape-like creature purported t ...
, another one time main antagonist appeared in the final episode of the second series. Ogo encounters the angry Yeti while fishing. Gogas with a sore back comes to the rescue yet the Yeti fixes Gogas's back when it grab him and chases after Ogo riding on his frozen father Oglas like a snowmobile. Luckily Girj was hiding in backpack filled with fishes to knock the yeti off. Eventually when the Yeti is feeling happy by wearing Oglas's footwear and made friends with Gogas, who is enjoying eating fish and chatting with the Yeti. * A
Cave Bear The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...
appeared in the second season. It went into the Gogs cave looking for a place to hibernate whilst they were out fishing, and then forced the Gogs out when they came back. After several unsuccessful attempts to get it out they managed to lure it out using some fish. *A
Hypsilophodon ''Hypsilophodon'' (; meaning "''Hypsilophus''-tooth") is a neornithischian dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period of England. It has traditionally been considered an early member of the group Ornithopoda, but recent research has put thi ...
appeared in a second-season episode. It encountered the Gogs and was captured by them. However, before they could eat it they got into an argument and whilst rowing the Hypsilophodon managed to chew through the ropes that held it and escaped. *In "Gogwana", a dead
Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ,) meaning "two measures of teeth,” is an extinct genus of non-mammalian synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian), around 295–272 million years ago (Mya). It is a member of the family Sphenacodontid ...
is seen as the Gogs are exploring the jungle oasis. It is later inflated into a large hot air balloon in the final sequence to help the Gogs escape the cannibal tribe.


List of Gogs episodes


Named episodes

*''Fire'' – the English-language pilot, ''Fire'', premiered on BBC2, 21 December 1996 at 8.50pm. *''Stone Circle'' * ''Hunt'' *''Cave'' *''Earthquakes'' *''Inventions'' *''Trappers'' *''Illness'' *''Bear'' *''Gramps RIP'' *''Apes and Men'' *''Babysitting'' *''Snow'' *''Gogwana Special'' (1998 finale)


Reception


Critical

Based on 241 user ratings, ''Gogs'' has a weighted average vote of 7.5 out of 10 on the
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
. Of the IMDB users who rated the show, 43.2% rated it 10 out of 10.


Awards


Series

''Gogs'' received international acclaim and won several awards, initially winning "Yr Animeiddio Gorau" (Welsh for Best Animation) for four years running in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 at the Welsh
BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.
. Again, in 1995 the show won the international Children's BAFTA Award for Best Animation, and in the 1996 international BAFTAs, ''Gogs'' won the entry for Best Animation. In June 1996, ''Gogs'' won the award for best animation at the
Banff television festival The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world ...
in Canada.


Gogwana extended finale

The thirty-minute-long special in 1998, ''Gogwana'', which wrapped up the show, was also well received, winning several awards. These included the Banff Rockie award for Best Animation Program Award at the 1999 Banff Television Festival, and the Audience Award for Best Film at the Rio de Janeiro
Anima Mundi The ''anima mundi'' (Greek: , ) or world soul is, according to several systems of thought, an intrinsic connection between all living beings, which relates to the world in much the same way as the soul is connected to the human body. Although ...
Animation Festival. It won Best Children's Series at the 1998 British Animation Award and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 1999 international BAFTAs.


Releases and availability

Both the first and second series of ''Gogs'' were released separately on VHS in 1997 by Warner Vision International with a parental guidance rating. With the airing of the thirty-minute long special ''Gogwana'' in 1998, ''Gogwana'' was also released separately on VHS. ''Gogs'' was released as a
Region 2 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...
on 9 April 2001 also by Warner Vision International. The DVD contains all thirteen episodes of both series, including the 30-minute special "Gogwana", all on a single disc, with a total run-time of 89 minutes. Special features include a rare photo gallery.


References

{{reflist


External links


Gogs series entry in the Internet Movie Database

Gogwana special IMDB entry




1990s British animated television series 1993 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings British children's animated comedy television series BBC children's television shows Clay animation television series Fictional prehistoric characters Animated television series about dinosaurs Animated television series about dysfunctional families Prehistoric people in popular culture Animated television series without speech