''Horrible Histories'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

children's television series 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 ...

based on the

Terry Deary William Terence Deary (born 3 January 1946) is a British children's author of over 200 books, selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages, best known as the writer of the ''Horrible Histories'' series. Since 1994 he has been one of Britai ...

book series of the same name. The series ran for 26 episodes and two seasons between January 1, 2001, and March 26, 2002.

Synopsis

The series is based around the adventures of Stitch and Mo, two everyday kids who are transported to various historical eras with the help of a

time portal Time portals are doorways in time, employed in various fiction genres, especially science fiction and fantasy, to Time travel, transport characters to the past or future. They differ from Time travel, time machines in being a permanent or semi-p ...

. In each episode, their historical adventures help teach them a lesson or solve a problem in their everyday lives, often involving bully Darren Dongle. Animated sidebars explain the historical details, and clarify popular misconceptions.

Characters

*Stitch is one of the two main protagonists, he has black glasses and usually wears a huge dark-green T-shirt that has a rat on it and covers the rest of his body. He is shown to be lazy and loves food (especially

doughnuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

), and also considers himself quite a comedian. He is voiced by

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...

. *Mo is one of the two main protagonists, she wears a white T-shirt with a flower on it and green camouflage jeans. She is the brains of the pair. Mo is also shown to love animals. She is voiced by

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...

in the original American version and Jo Young when the show was dubbed and shown in the UK. *Darren Dongle is the main antagonist, a nerd who knows a lot about history but is shown to enjoy taunting Stitch and Mo. He is over-confident and hates it when he's wrong. He is voiced by

Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor and singer. His notable roles include Captain Hero in the animated TV series ''Drawn Together'', Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Ironhide in the first three ''Transformers'' films ...

. *The Narrator is shown to be a good joker and zaps Stitch and Mo back in time to solve their situations. In Amazing Aussies, his name is revealed to be "Frank Synopsis." He is voiced by Billy West in the original American version and was dubbed by

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

when the show was dubbed and shown in the UK.

Production

''Horrible Histories'' is based on

's book series of the same name. Deary later said he had had a "terrible experience" with the show. The show is produced by California-based indie Mike Young Productions (LA), Telegael Galway, and Scholastic Entertainment (NY). It marked Young's and Telegael's first collaboration. It is directed by Andrew Young (executive producer Mike Young's son) and Gordon Langley. It is produced By Martha Atwater, Tamar Simon Hoffs, Michelle Conway, Paul Cummings, Deborah Forte, Mike Young, Mark Young, Beth Richman and Charlie Stickney, among others. It is animated by Glenn Jason Hanna. It is written by Martha Atwater, Terry Deary, Charlie Stickney, Andrew Young, Gordon Langley, William Forrest Cluverius. It has a running time of 25 minutes. On the British channel ITV, the show attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers each week. Stephen Rea did his voice recording work in Dublin. In 2006, ''The Mirror'' held a promotion where readers had to collect 12 coupons and send them in to receive a free copy of the Horrible Histories DVD collection.

Episodes

Season 1 (2001)

Season 2 (2002)

Historical inaccuracies: * "Rotten Romans" – Julius Caesar did not build the Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum). It was built by Vespasian. * "Revolting Revolution" – When the episode was dubbed in the UK, the narrator says at one point that George Washington died in 1793. However, the original version from the USA correctly said that George Washington died in 1799. * "Amazing Aussies" – Sheep are not native to Australia, Europeans brought them over.

DVD release

The show's episodes have been released as single episodes, as 3-in-1 packs, or as one whole series.Shopping, best shop, Price comparison, Product review at dooyoo.co.uk
/ref> The series was released as a 3-disc DVD box set in 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horrible Histories (2001 TV Series) 2000s American animated television series 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s British animated television series 2001 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 2001 Irish television series debuts 2002 Irish television series endings American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated education television series American television shows based on children's books American time travel television series British children's animated adventure television series British children's animated comedy television series British children's animated education television series British television shows based on children's books British time travel television series Irish children's animated adventure television series Irish children's animated comedy television series Animated television series about children English-language television shows Historical television series Horrible Histories Television series by Splash Entertainment 2000s American time travel television series