''Truckers'' is a British

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated series An animated series is a set of 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 have either ...

, an adaptation of the first book of

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

's ''

The Nome Trilogy ''The Nome Trilogy'', also known as ''The Bromeliad Trilogy'' or just ''The Bromeliad'', is a trilogy of children's books by British writer Terry Pratchett, consisting of the books ''Truckers'' (1989), ''Diggers'' (1990) and ''Wings'' (1990) ...

'', produced in the United Kingdom by

Cosgrove Hall Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was an English animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall; its headquarters was in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was once a major producer of children ...

for TV, then released on VHS, though edited together into a feature-length film. The series consisted of 13 ten-minute episodes.

Plot

Masklin the Nome and his companions flee their unsustainable motorway-verge home and discover an alien race of tiny

Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

known as ''Nomes'' living in a department store scheduled for demolition. Things are complicated by the store Nomes' religion, which states ‘The Store’ consists of the entire universe, and denies the existence of the ‘outside’. Masklin discovers from a mysterious object simply called 'The Thing' that all Nomes are descended from extraterrestrial explorers who crashed on Earth thousands of years ago. The Thing, actually a sentient computer from the original Nome starship, helps Masklin plan the escape from the doomed store. Through skill, courage and sheer good luck, Masklin and his friends manage to successfully evacuate the store Nomes before their home is destroyed.

Production and notes

The puppets were built by Mackinnon & Saunders. The puppets were created from foam latex. Some of the interior shots of Arnold Bros was filmed in Lewis's Department Store in Manchester. Some of the surviving puppets are on public display at the Cosgrove Hall Exhibition in Manchester.https://www.cosgrovehallfilmsarchive.co.uk/

Episodes

Cast

*Masklin —

Joe McGann Joseph McGann (born 24 July 1958) is an English actor. His roles include the lead role of Charlie Burrows, the "housekeeper" in the TV comedy series ''The Upper Hand'' (1990–1996), '' Night and Day'' and his voice role as Sir Gideon Ofnir i ...

*Grimma —

Debra Gillett Debra J. Gillett is an English actress who has appeared in productions including ''The Witches'', ''Chimera'', ''Truckers'', ''Casualty'', ''Just William'', ''Dalziel and Pascoe'', '' Spooks'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Soul Music'', and '' Cranfo ...

*Granny Morkie, Baroness Del Icatessen —

Rosalie Williams Rosalie Williams (12 June 1919 in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire – 11 December 2009 in Manchester) was an English actress best known for her appearance as Mrs. Hudson in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' TV series produced by Granada T ...

*Torrit, Count De Ironmongri – John Jardine *The Thing —

Edward Kelsey Edward Harry Kelsey (4 June 193023 April 2019) was an English actor. He was best known for voicing the role of Joe Grundy for 34 years in ''The Archers'' on BBC Radio 4 and for voicing various other characters on television. Early Life and ca ...

*Angalo De Haberdasheri – Nigel Carrington *Duke De Haberdasheri –

David Scase David Scase (21 September 1919 – 27 February 2003) was a British theatre director and actor. Born at Fulham, London, as the son of a bricklayer, his first job was in a bicycle factory in the mid-1930s. He joined the Merchant Navy on the outbr ...

*Dorcas —

Brian Trueman Brian Trueman (born 16 May 1932) is an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He is known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

*The Abbot —

Sir Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was a ...

Gurder ''The Nome Trilogy'', also known as ''The Bromeliad Trilogy'' or just ''The Bromeliad'', is a trilogy of children's books by British writer Terry Pratchett, consisting of the books ''Truckers'' (1989), ''Diggers'' (1990) and ''Wings'' (1990) ...

— Brian Southwood *Mr. Mert, Vinto Pimmie —

Jimmy Hibbert James Christian Hibbert is an English actor and writer. He is best known for his voice work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall Films. Early life James Christian Hibbert was born as the eldest of three children of author Christopher Hibbe ...

*Dave the Policeman —

Rob Rackstraw Robert Rackstraw (born 31 October 1965) is a British voice actor who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games. Career Rackstraw has an extensive voiceover career over 20 years. He voiced the main villain Pew in ' ...

Crew

*Directed by

Jackie Cockle Jackie Cockle (born 1950) is a British stop motion animation specialist, best known as the co-founder of the HOT Animation studio, which specializes in stop motion animation. She is the creator and creative producer of the pre-school animation T ...

, Francis Vose, Chris Taylor (each episode had one director) *Produced by

*Executive producer; John Hamberly *Adapted by Brian Trueman *Edited by Zyggy Markiewicz *Music; Colin Towns *Film Editor: Zyggy Markiewicz *Assistant Film Editors: Stephen Perry, Jane Hicks *Music Editor: Garry Hardman

Novelization

The series was made into a short hardcover book published by Ladybird Press in 1992. The book included colour photos from the series.

References

External links

Toonhound
*{{IMDb title, id=0105646, title=Truckers 1992 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series British children's animated action television series British stop-motion animated television series English-language television shows ITV children's television shows British television shows based on children's books Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by FremantleMedia Kids & Family Television shows produced by Thames Television Television series by Cosgrove Hall Films Adaptations of works by Terry Pratchett