''Here's Humphrey'' was an Australian

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

produced by Banksia Productions for the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

, which first aired on 24 May 1965 and last went to air in 2008. It features an anthropomorphic brown bear character (a person in a costume) known as Humphrey B. Bear, and was produced in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. In September 2013, community station, West TV, began airing repeats of ''Here's Humphrey'' in Perth. The character still exists, owned by Ozpix Entertainment as of 2020. ''Here's Humphrey'' became one of the most successful programs for preschoolers in Australia, was sold internationally, and is one of the longest-running children's television programs in the world. The program received multiple Logie Television Awards.

Format

The series features anthropomorphic

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

character known as Humphrey B. Bear, who is mute. Set in a magical forest, Humphrey is paired with a human presenter, who narrates their adventures. The series takes place in Humphrey's tree house, where he partakes in magical adventures. One of the central ideas presented in the show is the importance of taking part and not always being successful at everything.

Cast

Presenters

Humphrey B. Bear

Several performers portrayed the role of Humphrey. * Edwin Duryea (1965) * Ross Hutchinson * John Maclean * Tom Fairlie * Aaron Dubois (1992-1994) * Tony Balzan (1985–2008) * Bec Schembri (2002-2007)

Production

''Here's Humphrey'' was originally aired exclusively in

NWS-9 NWS is an Australian Australian television broadcasting, television station based in Adelaide, Australia. It is owned-and-operated station, owned-and-operated by the Nine Network. The station callsign, ''NWS'', is an initialism of The NeWs South ...

, premiering on 24 May 1965, before airing nationally two years later. Filmed in Adelaide and produced by Banskia Productions, the character of Humphrey was initially known as "Bear Bear" until he was renamed as a result of a competition. The program was created as a result of Humphrey's previous popularity on the afternoon program ''The Channel Niners''.''Here's Humphrey'' was granted a P classification, deeming it specifically designed to meet the needs and interests of pre-schoolers and allowing it to be broadcast on the Nine Network with a 30-minute runtime commercial-free. Classification deals allowed the Nine Network to repeat each episode three times. The Nine Network almost cancelled the series in 2000, which led to protests and comments from the Prime Minister. The network responded to popular public demand and allowed its continuation. The series was commissioned for 180 new episodes in May 2000. New episodes aired until 2003. In February 2007, Nine commissioned a new series of ''Here's Humphrey'', filming episodes for the first time since 2003. This followed negotiations with the network, after speculation they would not renew the series approaching the end of its contract. The episodes started airing in December 2007 and concluded in 2009 when Banksia Entertainment was wound up. In September 2019, it was revealed OZPIX were planning to revive ''Here's Humphrey'' with a pitch to broadcasters at MIPCOM in France. The production company expressed interest in integrating live action characters with virtual technology. The production team for the project was led by Julie Greene, former executive producer of '' Hi-5'', and included Catherine Martin and Helen Martin, early childhood specialists who also worked on the program. Ozpix Entertainment owns the character, whose "home" is at

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange a ...

Studios on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

Episodes

More than 3,000 episodes of ''Here's Humphrey'' have been produced. It has also been stated that only 1,776 episodes were filmed.

Reception

In 2019, ''TV Week'' listed ''Here's Humphrey'' at #96 in its list of the 101 greatest Australian television shows of all time, which appeared in its monthly '' TV Week Close Up'' publication. The magazine said young viewers loved watching Humphrey leave his tree house for adventures in the magic forest. It has been stated that ''Here's Humphrey'' is one of the most successful programs for preschoolers of all time. It is one of the longest running children's programs in the world.

Awards and nominations

The program received multiple Logie Television Awards, and the character won a special "Citizen of the Year" Award at the 1994 Australia Day celebrations.

Notes

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title 1970s Australian television series 1980s Australian television series 1990s Australian television series 1965 Australian television series debuts 2003 Australian television series endings 2007 Australian television series debuts 2008 Australian television series endings Australian children's television series Australian preschool education television series Australian television shows featuring puppetry Black-and-white Australian television shows 1960s preschool education television series 1970s preschool education television series 1980s preschool education television series 1990s preschool education television series 2000s preschool education television series Australian English-language television shows Nine Network original programming Television series about bears Television shows set in Adelaide