Joshua Jones (TV series)
Joshua Jones was a British stop motion children's television series produced by Bumper Films in 1992. Bumper Films also produced Rocky Hollow and Fireman Sam.
The series was about a cheerful gypsy fellow named Joshua Jones who lived on a canal boat with his canine companion Fairport. They take trips up and down Clearwater Canal, delivering items and carrying out tasks for the folks at Biggott's Wharf and generally having a fun time on the water.
Joshua's bosses are Bapu Karia, a retired Indian admiral, Dakasha "Datsa" Karia, Mr Cashmore's co-worker and Bapu's daughter-in-law, and the get-rich-quick Wilton Cashmore.
Joshua's friends are Joe Laski, the Hungarian farmer who owns a horse named Trojan, Ravi Karia, Mrs. Karia's son and Fiona, Mr. Cashmore's not-so-money-hungry daughter.
His co-workers are: Sharon, a dizzy blonde girl who owns a catering van, Spanner, Sharon's lazy boyfriend and Daphne Peacock, the vet who takes care of sick and injured animals.
Characters
Adults
- Joshua Jones - A young man who lives in the Karia's Residence and travels by his canal boat with his dog Fairport. His main job is to transport goods along the canals but he is more than willing to utilize his boat to help out others in a crisis.
- Admiral Bapu Karia - A retired Indian admiral who served in the Royal Navy and is always putting his experience to good use in everyday tasks. He is Datsa's father-in-law and Ravi's grandfather.
- Dakasha "Datsa" Karia - The admiral's daughter-in-law and Ravi's mother. She is a very cheerful woman and her first name is only mentioned in the episodes "Tortoise" and "Boomer". Ravi's father never appears, implying that Datsa may be divorced or a widow.
- Joseph "Joe" Laski - A Hungarian-born farmer who lives on a farm on a hill near the tunnel and he takes care of his horse Trojan.
- Daphne Peacock - The local vetarinian who is often called in to take care of sick animals and she is the only character who is seen to drive a car.
- Wilton Cashmore - A local rich busybee who likes to boss his staff around, especially Spanner. He goes to great lengths to try to impress his own boss, the unseen Mr. Biggott. He is a nasty man especially in episode The Silver Key when he didn't get his delivery speedboat engine delivered by Joshua, Sometimes when Spanner has some lunch at Sharon's Café when Cashmore spots him Spanner sometimes says Here Comes Trouble. He is the father of Fiona, but his wife and Fiona's mother is never seen or mentioned on the show, implying that Mr. Cashmore may be a widower or divorced.
- Mr. Biggott - Wilton's boss. Although he never appears, Mr. Cashmore speaks to him on the phone in almost every episode. The closest we get to seeing the Biggotts is in the episode "Haywire".
- Mrs. Biggott - Mr. Biggott's wife and like her husband, she never appears. She is only mentioned in the episode "Haywire".
Teenagers
- Sharon Cope - A ditsy but bubbly blonde lady who sells food from her bistro wagon by the canal.
- Spanner Wilkins - Sharon's boyfriend; a lazy, accident-prone, orange-haired chap in his early twenties, who does odd-jobs for Cashmore and various other characters. He often skives off work to go and eat at Sharon's cafe.
Children
- Ravi Karia - An eight-year-old boy, Datsa's son and Bapu's grandson.
- Fiona Cashmore - An eight-year-old girl, Wilton Cashmore's daughter.
Animals
- Fairport - A Terrier crossbreed dog, Joshua's faithful animal friend.
- Trojan - Joe's brown horse.
- Boomer - A colourful parrot who was once loaned to Admirable.
- Tearaway Trevor - Ravi's pet tortoise.
Episode list
- 1. Horseplay - When Trojan the horse falls into the canal, Joshua Jones comes to the rescue.
- 2. Haywire - There's a storm brewing and Spanner is helping Joe Laski fetch his hay. Meanwhile, Mr Cashmore is organising a buffet for Mr Biggott.
- 3. Treasure - Spanner, Cashmore and Sharon go digging for treasure when they find a supposed "treasure map".
- 4. Boomer - Josh rescues Ravi and Fiona from the weir when they get lost while looking for Boomer the parrot, who has escaped.
- 5. Tortoise - One of Spanner's meat pies is mistaken for Ravi's tortoise.
- 6. Sting - When some chemicals infect Fairport's eyes, Josh's friends organise a sponsored walk for the ointment his dog needs. Cashmore sponsors Spanner knowing he won't get far, but some treacle pudding and a swarm of wasps prove him wrong.
- 7. Spook - Ravi and Fiona believe there's a ghost in Joe's barn. Meanwhile, Wilton Cashmore's new burglar alarm is proving unpopular.
- 8. Plum Crazy - Admiral Karia needs to find an easy way to pick the plums from his plum tree.
- 9. Paperwork - After decorating her cafe van, Spanner takes Sharon on a picnic, but the wind teaches them not to throw litter around.
- 10. Photo Finish - Josh has made a raft for Ravi, but disaster strikes when Cashmore borrows it to fish out Mr Biggott's birthday present from the canal.
- 11. Snake Chase - Daphne Peacock is looking after a grass-snake but mayhem ensues when it meets Trojan the horse.
- 12. The Silver Key - Admiral Karia is determined to win "The Lock Competition". Meanwhile, Joshua and Joe have trouble with a runaway tyre.
UK VHS releases
| VHS Title | Release Date | Episodes |
| Joshua Jones - Horseplay | 1 June 1992 | Horseplay, Haywire, Treasure, Boomer |
| Joshua Jones 2 | 5 July 1993 | Tortoise, Sting, Spook, Plum Crazy |
DVD releases
- In 2011, Reel Entertainment in Australia released two DVDs containing six episodes each. A two disc boxset was also released featuring all 12 episodes.
Books
- The C.C. Club
- Josh's Special Delivery
- Duck Tunnel
- Happy Birthday Josh!
- Out of Action
- The Lock Competition
- Vet's Order's
- Piggy In The Middle
- A Party For Bapu
- Heatwave
- 1. Horseplay
- 2. Going Haywire
- 3. A Parrot Called Boomer
- 4. Treasure Trove
- 5. Photo Finish
- 6. Snake Chase
- 7. Tortoise Trail
- 8. Night Watch
Trivia
- The show aired on ABC TV in Australia, TVP1 in Poland, Channel 2 in Jordan, BBC Prime in Iceland, BFBS and SSVC Television in Germany and Network 2 in Ireland.
- The show never made it to the United States.
- In the 2000s, the show never made it to the UK CBeebies range of children's BBC TV shows.
- According to Dave Jones, while making the show, the producers had no idea a similar canal-based children's series was being made at the same time, Rosie and Jim. This series was heavily marketed and overshadowed Joshua Jones, to the extent the series was not a success and lost Bumper Films a lot of money.
- A reboot of the show was planned to be made, using the same modern stop-motion techniques as sister-show Fireman Sam's fifth season; but it was quickly scrapped due to budgeting constraints.
Credits
- With the Voices of: Barbara Flynn and George Layton
- Originated & Designed by: Rob Lee
- Developed & Written by: Bob Wilson
- Model Makers: Brian Collins, Tania MacDonnell, Sean Millar, Andy O'Neil, John Parsons, Katharine Scott Kevin Simth
- Vehicles: Alun Jones, James Nevill
- Puppet Makers: Alison Fairholm, Ian Frampton, Cindy Friers, Alison Hall
- Engineering Consultant: Mel Grigg
- Set Design: Beverley Knowlden, Janice Shakespeare, Barry Zafar, Peter Linz
- Music & Lyrics by: Ben Heneghan, Ian Lawson
- Sung by: Mal Pope
- Sound/Firework Fx: John Cross, Tom Logan
- Edited by: William J. Oswald, Jane Murrell, Elen Lewis, Patrick McHugh
- Animated by: John Walker, Brian Anderson, Timon Dowdeswell
- Executive Producers: Christopher Grace, Theresa Plummer-Andrews
- Produced & Directed by: Ian Frampton, John Walker
- Produced by Bumper Films for S4C, BBC, Prism Art and Design
- © Rob Lee MCMLXXXIX
- © S4C MCMXCI