''Pic Me'' (or ''PICME'') is an Irish interactive

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that premiered on 1 August 2005 on RTÉ, later airing on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

and

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...

channels throughout Europe.

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sop ...

held worldwide distribution rights. Since mid-2008, episodes of ''Pic Me'' have aired in the United States on

Animania HD Voom HD Networks is a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in t ...

and Sprout. Also, in the United States, a Spanish-dubbed version airs on

V-Me V-me (, a pun on ''veme'', "watch me") is an American Spanish-language television network, formerly carried as an over-the-air public broadcasting network in association with public television stations created for the United States Hispanic mar ...

Format

Episodes of ''Pic Me'' last for approximately five to ten minutes. ''Pic Me'' is an innovative show in that it allows its viewers to star in each episode. Every episode has one viewer's photograph superimposed on a cartoon child's body. These characters then roam around the story, walking, running, jumping, and physically interacting with the main cartoon characters. The viewer characters neither speak, nor do the characters refer to them by each of their names. Instead, they are referred to as "Little Boy" (if the avatar is male) or "Little Girl" (if the avatar is female) as is relevant. Since the start of 2005, many new episodes of ''Pic Me'' have involved two viewers, instead of just one. These "best friends" type episodes have the main star viewer holding, or looking at, a picture of their real-life "best friend". Another episode starring the "best friend" is shown at a later date, with the situation regarding the pictures mirrored.

Characters

The 6 main characters in ''Pic Me'' include: *Juno – a male lion with a nasal voice. He is generally insecure and often seen to be frightened of confrontation. He is very forgetful, but loves having fun with his friends. *Gerty – a female giraffe. She is quite intelligent and loves to cook, but is very fussy and likes things to be clean. *Banjo – a male purple monkey. *Umi – a red, female

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

. She is clever and fun-loving, but can have a brash attitude towards other characters, although not the "Little Boy" or "Little Girl". She is very talkative, but friendly. She enjoys carrying her friends into the air to "look at the sky". Presumably they enjoy this. *Clarence – a male crocodile who has an inferiority complex. He is proud of his ability to swim, but otherwise can get very nervous around other characters. *Neville – a blue, male

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

. He is the most intelligent character and is the character who gives everyone else good advice. They all ask him questions and – after screwing up his eyes – he will eventually give the right answer. He is a moral character and teaches the others right from wrong. The goal of the show is to help teach children. The viewers learn lessons from the differences between right and wrong (not telling lies etc.) to learning shapes, colours and counting.

DVD releases

A DVD release of the series titled: "Pic Me: You're the Star!" was released by

in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2006. It contained twelve episodes of the show in its original widescreen format, alongside a bonus CD-ROM containing Microsoft Windows software to create your own ''Pic Me'' cartoons. A similar DVD - titled "Pic Me: Personalised Early Learning", was released in Ireland by RTE, however, the episodes featured were shown in a cropped fullscreen ratio. The episode "Journey into Space" was included as a bonus episode on several HIT Entertainment DVDs in the United Kingdom in January 2007, such as "Incredibubble Children's Favourites", ''

Angelina Ballerina ''Angelina Ballerina'' is a children's book series by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig about a fictional mouse (full name Angelina Jeanette Mouseling) who is training to become a ballerina. The first book in the series was ...

- Angelina Sets Sail'', and ''

Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...

on Stage''.

Awards

* Best digital storytelling category (2005 Digital Media Awards) * Best Youth Programme (2005 Irish Film and Television Awards)

References

{{Reflist 2005 Irish television series debuts 2012 Irish television series endings Irish flash animated television series Irish preschool education television series Television series with live action and animation Animated television series about birds Animated television series about children Animated television series about elephants Animated television series about lions Animated television series about monkeys Fictional crocodilians Fictional giraffes Fictional parrots Animated preschool education television series Television series by Mattel Television 2000s preschool education television series 2010s preschool education television series English-language television shows