Rupert

### Rerun dates

August 28, 2017 - May 6, 2018; November 8, 2020 - June 25, 2021; July 1, 2023 - December 22, 2023

### Status

No longer airing

***Rupert*** is an animated television series based on the Mary Tourtel character *Rupert Bear*, which aired from 1991 to 1997 with 65 half-hour episodes produced.

The series was produced by Nelvana, Ellipse Programmé, and TVS for the first season, with Scottish Television (now STV Central) taking over control when TVS lost its ITV license to Meridian Broadcasting.

## Premise

This series brings to life the classic tales of Rupert the Bear. Each episode follows Rupert and his pals as they venture into magical worlds of enchantment, intrigue, and danger. Whether taming a bad-tempered dragon in China or foiling jewel thieves closer to home, Rupert's courage, intelligence, and integrity delights fans of all ages.

## Characters

* Rupert Bear – A considerate, smart, resourceful, brave, trusty, good-spirited brown bear who is extremely popular with all the residents in Nutwood. On occasion, he breaks the fourth wall in addressing his observations and making comments to the viewer.
* Mr. Bear – Rupert's father. He is much more clumsy and forgetful compared to Rupert. He often smokes a pipe. It as revealed in the episode "Firebird" that both Mr. Bear and Podgy's father are part of the Nutwood Fire Brigade.
* Mrs. Bear – Rupert's mother. Like her son, she is wise and often offers advice to Rupert who later uses it during his adventures.
* Bill Badger – Rupert's best friend, who, unlike Rupert, often presents a lot of flaws, such as cowardice, impatience, clumsiness, a quick temper, and a horrible singing voice. He has a baby brother named Toby, who is fond of Bill's singing voice.
* Podgy Pig – A jolly, yet greedy and not very bright pig with a large appetite. He is very friendly to others and appears not to see that his friends sometimes find him annoying. His appetite at times can lead him and his friends into trouble, but Rupert can look past this to go out of his way to help Podgy.
* Pong Ping – A Pekingese from China who owns an elevator that can travel underground all the way to China. He has a wealth of knowledge of his culture including dragons and various magical objects. He's also good at math.
* Professor – A very friendly and eccentric human scientist who resides in an old castle tower in Nutwood, who invents many incredible devices during the series. Rupert often helps out with his experiments. Once the Professor starts an experiment, he never rests. He has the catchphrase, "Think of the possibilities, my boy(s)!" whenever he is explaining his experiments and all the benefits that can come from it to Rupert and his friends.
* Tiger Lily – Rupert's female and Chinese friend. The only human student in school and the member of one of few human families in Nutwood. She and her family have a lot of knowledge on magical and mystical objects.
* Algy Pug – Rupert's friend, a pug who often overestimates his abilities and takes a lot of pride in himself. Despite his flaws, he is shown to be a good and helpful friend for Rupert and others.
* Edward Trunk – Another friend of Rupert. An elephant, very kind, sensitive and strong. He is often seen helping his father who works in plumbing.
* Gregory Guinea Pig – A very kind guinea pig and another friend of Rupert. Sometimes he can be nervous and scared, but he meets the challenges head on when his friends need help.
* Ottoline Otter – Rupert's friend who is an otter of a Scottish descent who loves Shakespeare and lives in an old castle that belonged to her ancestors. The castle has many secret entrances hidden all over. Ottoline has vast knowledge of each entrances' location and will prefer to use them instead of the stairs.
* Freddy and Ferdie Fox – Two mischievous twin foxes who spread mischief around the village of Nutwood.
* Constable Growler – A dog and local policeman who rides a bicycle. He constantly says he needs to do "everything by the book, you know" and is always turned to by Rupert and his friends whenever they need help catching a criminal.
* Sage of Um – A jolly wizard who comes from the island of Um and flies in an upside-down umbrella. He is a friend of Tiger Lily's father; The Conjurer.

## Broadcast

It was broadcast in syndication on YTV in Canada. In the United States, the show first aired on The Family Channel, then it aired on Nickelodeon before moving to CBS during Saturday mornings; repeats of the series came to Disney Channel on the Playhouse Disney block, Toon Disney, and on Qubo's digital service in January 2007. The show was broadcast in the UK on CITV and has recently been re-airing on the satellite and cable channels Tiny Pop and the defunct KidsCo. In Australia, the show was broadcast on the ABC public broadcasting network and on TV2 in New Zealand as part of the Jason Gunn Show.