''Me and My Monsters'' is a children's comedy television program from
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
that combines live action and puppetry. The series is a co-production filmed in Australia. It first screened on
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
on 18 October 2010 and airs on
Network Ten and
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
.
Overview
The Carlson family, who have recently relocated from Australia to the UK, discover that there are three
monsters living in their basement. Eddie would get along with the monsters much to the chagrin of his father and sister and to the delight of his mother.
Production
The series is produced by
Tiger Aspect Productions
Tiger Aspect Productions (formerly known as Tiger Television from 1988 until 1993 and also known as Tiger Aspect Films for theatrical films) is a British television and film production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Fo ...
and Sticky Pictures with the Jim Henson Company. It was commissioned by the BBC in the UK for
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
,
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
in Germany, and
Network Ten and
Nickelodeon Australia
Nickelodeon is an Australian children's pay television channel operated by a joint venture of Foxtel Networks and Paramount Networks UK & Australia. Being a version of the namesake television channel in the United States, the channel broadcas ...
in Australia. It features four human actors and three monster puppets developed by
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States.
History
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originally ...
. The series is primarily written by Mark Grant,
Larry Rickard, George Sawyer, Tom Basden, Sam Leifer, and
James Bachman with occasional guest writers. There were 13 episodes in the first series. A second series aired less than half a year later and features 13 more episodes. The first series aired on CBBC on 18 October 2010 and aired every week day except Monday until Series 1 Episode 10, ''Dust Bag Love'', which aired on 29 October. Episodes 1 through 10 had a slot of 8:00 am or 8:05 am during half term. When half term finished, the show did not air until 3 November 2010 with Episodes 11 and 12, airing at 6:30pm. Episode 13 aired after that weekend on its normal Tuesday not Monday slot concluding Series One on 8 November 2010. A second series was then set to start airing on 11 April 2011 at 8:00 am, and a new repeat slot of 6:15 pm for the new episodes has been made on CBBC. Originally, the whole two seasons was made as 26 episodes of half-hour for one whole series but has split into two seasons with a 4 to 5-month gap in between their original airdates.
Characters
* Eddie Carlson (played by Macauley Keeper) – The monsters' best friend, who is at school at Whitgift in Surrey.
* Angela Carlson (played by
Ivy Latimer
Ivy Latimer (born 1 December 1994) is an Australian actor best known for portraying the mermaid Nixie on the television series '' Mako: Island of Secrets''.
Early life and education
Latimer was born on 1 December 1994 in Ventura, California, ...
) – Eddie's older sister who doesn't like the monsters.
* Kate Carlson (played by Lauren Clair) – Eddie's mother; a self-employed cook who the monsters call "human-mum-thingy-person".
* Nick Carlson (played by
Felix Williamson) – Eddie's father; a businessman working in advertising who the monsters call "human-dad-thingy-person".
Monsters
* Haggis (performed by
Don Austen, assisted by Sean Masterson (Episodes 1-6) and David Collins (Episodes 7-26), voiced by David C Collins) - A gigantic red and orange monster. He doesn't do a good job at being a monster since he tends to scare himself.
* Norman (performed by Matthew McCoy (Episodes 1-6) and Sean Masterson (Episodes 7-26), assisted by Fiona Gentle, voiced by David C Collins) - A purple monster who is a bit of an oddball and is the only one who can't talk; instead making bizarre noises though Fiend and Haggis can still understand him.
* Fiend (performed by
Heath McIvor and Alice Osborne, voiced by David C Collins) - A green multi-eyed monster who is the smallest of the bunch. He considers himself the leader of the monsters.
Cast
* Macauley Keeper - Eddie Carlson
*
Ivy Latimer
Ivy Latimer (born 1 December 1994) is an Australian actor best known for portraying the mermaid Nixie on the television series '' Mako: Island of Secrets''.
Early life and education
Latimer was born on 1 December 1994 in Ventura, California, ...
- Angela Carlson
* Lauren Clair - Kate Carlson
*
Felix Williamson - Nick Carlson
Puppeteers
*
Don Austen - Haggis
* David Collins - Norman, Haggis (assistant puppeteer)
* Fiona Gentle - Norman (assistant puppeteer)
* Sean Masterson - Haggis (assistant puppeteer)
* Matthew McCoy - Norman (assistant puppeteer)
*
Heath McIvor - Fiend
* Alice Osborne - Fiend (assistant puppeteer)
Books
Four episodes from the series were turned into books. The first one was called monsters in the basement and was based on series 1, episode 1. The second book was called Monster mess and was based on series 1, episode 10. The third book was called Monster mess and was based on series 1, episode 12. The fourth and final book was called Monster school and was based on series 1, episode 2. Although all books are based on episodes from series 1, the third and fourth book were released during series 2. All books are written by Rory Growler.
Episodes
Series 1 (2010)
Series 2 (2011)
NOTE: Only Series 2 Episodes 1-7 were broadcast in HD on BBC HD in Spring 2011 and Series 1 Episodes 1–4 on CBBC HD throughout December 2013, although all the episodes were filmed in HD. Series 1 episodes 5-13 were aired from 27 February until 11 March 2015. They were aired on CBBC HD.
Home media
The full series of Me and My Monsters was released as a box set in Germany and Switzerland. Also in Norway and Sweden. In Australia, there has been a DVD release of ''Me and My Monsters'' called ''Series 1: Episodes 1–7''. As the title says it contains the first seven episodes only.
International broadcasts
References
External links
*
Me and My Monstersat Muppet Wiki
{{The Jim Henson Company
2010 American television series debuts
2010 Australian television series debuts
2010 British television series debuts
American children's fantasy television series
Australian children's fantasy television series
British children's fantasy television series
Network 10 original programming
English-language television shows
American television shows featuring puppetry
Australian television shows featuring puppetry
British television shows featuring puppetry
Television series about monsters
Television series by The Jim Henson Company
Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions