Bob the Builder (TV series)

***Bob the Builder*** is a British television series created by Keith Chapman. The series was produced by HiT Entertainment, and is currently owned by Mattel and WildBrain.

Four series were made for the show, which include the Original Series, *Project: Build It*, *Ready, Steady, Build!*, and the 2015 series.

## History

The series was first created by artist Keith Chapman in the late 1980s. He got the idea to create Scoop by looking at a JCB digger on a construction site. Soon afterwards all the other machines were created. Then the vehicles needed an owner and Bob was created. Eventually, Keith Chapman brought the project to HiT Entertainment, who developed the plans into a classic series. HiT formed HOT Animation and used stop motion animation for the show. The pilot episode was filmed in 1997 and a development deal was acquired from the BBC. The pilot episode had one set and two characters - Bob and Scoop (who was originally called "Digger" in the pilot), and it was animated by Ealing Animation.

The series was soon picked up and the first series premiered in April 1999.

In 2000, the theme song Can We Fix It? was soon released as a single and was eventually a big hit.

In January 2001, the series debuts in the US on Nick Jr.. Around the same year, the series' first special, A Christmas To Remember, was released in the UK.

In 2002, the series had it's first live show. Around this year the series started airing on CBeebies in the UK.

The next 2 specials were released for the series, that being The Knights of Can-a-Lot (*released in 2003*) and Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games (*released in 2004*).

In 2005, a sequel series, Project: Build It was released, which involved Bob and the team building a town in Sunflower Valley. In the US, the show would leave Nick Jr. and would move to air in PBS Kids.

More specials were released in the next years retrospectively. That being When Bob Became a Builder (*released in 2005*), Built to be Wild (*released in 2006*), and Scrambler to the Rescue (*released in 2007*).

Around 2008, it was announced that Bob the Builder, along with *Thomas & Friends*, *Fireman Sam* and *Angelina Ballerina*, would later be produced in computer generated imagery (CGI). The sixteenth series premiered around 2008 and would be the final series to use stop-motion, along with Race to the Finish being the final special to use stop-motion.

Another series, titled Ready, Steady, Build! featured Bob and the team apparently moving on a town called Fixham Harbour. This series didn't last very long and ended around 2011. 2 specials were also made for the series, that being The Legend of the Golden Hammer (*released in 2010*) and The Big Dino Dig (*released in 2011*). Around 2012, Mattel buys HiT Entertainment from Apax Partners.

In 2014, it was announced that Bob the Builder would be revamped by Mattel, giving the characters new and realistic designs, and giving the show a major overhaul. This reboot started around 2015, and ended around 2018, having three series in total. It even had a special called Mega Machines, which was released in 2017.

After the cancellation of the reboot series, the franchise has been put on an indefinite hiatus. The future for the franchise is currently unknown as there haven't been any official updates from Mattel and WildBrain.

## Series

### Original Series

* Series 1 (*1999 in the UK; 2001 in the US*)
* Series 2 (*1999 in the UK; 2001 in the US*)
* Series 3 (*2000 in the UK; 2001 in the US*)
* Series 4 (*2001*)
* Series 5 (*2002 in the UK; 2001-2002 in the US*)
* Series 6 (*2002*)
* Series 7 (*2003 in the UK; 2005 in the US but released on US home video between 2003-04*)
* Series 8 (*2003 in the UK; 2005 in the US but some episodes were released on US home video in 2004*)
* Series 9 (*2004 in the UK and 2005 in the US*)

### Project: Build It

* Series 10 (*2005*)
* Series 11 (*2005*)
* Series 12 (*2006*)
* Series 13 (*2006*)
* Series 14 (*2007*)
* Series 15 (*2007 in the UK and 2008 in the US*)
* Series 16 (*2008 in the UK and 2008-2009 in the US*)

### Ready, Steady, Build!

* Series 17 (*2010*)
* Series 18 (*2011*)

## Specials

### Original Series

* A Christmas to Remember (*2001*)
* The Live Show (*2002*)
* The Knights of Can-a-Lot (*2003*)
* Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games (*2004*)

### Project: Build It

* When Bob Became a Builder (*2005*)
* Built to be Wild (*2006*)
* Scrambler to the Rescue (*2007*)
* Race to the Finish (*2008*)

### Ready, Steady, Build!

* The Legend of the Golden Hammer (*2010*)
* The Big Dino Dig (*2011*)