Gordon the
 Garden Gnome    (2005)
 
  producers: Collingwood O'Hare
                    for the BBC
  animation: 2D animation
    episodes: 52 x 11 minutes

 
    "Let's get mucky!"
 

     Gordon is a green fingered garden gnome who loves his plants and animals and
     all-things environmental. Which is handy, because those same plants and
     animals, and his gnome friends, need constant care and attention and affection.
     There's always something that needs pruning, clearing, sowing or sprucing -
     and Gordon can count on his companions to help him through. Well, most of
     them anyway, because if Lez and Dez slug have their way, there'd be nothing
     left in the garden to tend to!
          
     Gordon was created by cartoonist/writer Allan Plenderleith (The Odd Squad) and
     developed and animated by Collingwood O'Hare (Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!, etc).
     In an inspired move, the creators brought in Britain's busiest gardener, Alan
     Titchmarsh, to voice the lead. He even chips in with the catchy theme tune!

      

     The production was first announced in the Summer of 2002, and a pilot episode
     "The Smelly Wellies" used to snare a big commission from the BBC. At the
     time, only Gordon and his animal friends were revealed to viewers. But as the
     series developed, so did Gordon's world. Now there are gnomes-a-plenty.
     Our pointy-hatted pals are kept in order by the Chief Gnome, who travels
     beaten all the gardens by magical means, and young gnomelets have to
     graduate from Gnome Academy before they are allocated their own garden
     patch to tend to and nurture. And in the gnomes' world, "Turnip Tuesday" and
     "Meadow Mow Day" are a cause for celebration...

     So far 26 episodes are scheduled for broadcast, with the last of these
     featuring something of a cliffhanger, because Gordon receives an invitation
     to leave his garden world and head up the Gnome Land theme park. It's an
     offer he hopefully won't take, because a further batch of 26 stories are already
     in the pipeline!...

     » Gordon's very first garden engagement began in August 2002, when he
         joined forces with Eureka! - The Museum for Children in Halifax. The
         fellow became an interactive guide for "Our Global Garden", an exhibition
         looking at gardens around the world...

     » The series was launched in the UK on 6th June 2005, and special trailers
         aired on the BBC in the run-up to transmission, featuring Gordon in a
         live-action garden...

     » Green-fingered Gordon shouldn't be confused with DC Thomson's Gordon
         Gnome, a chap who appeared in "The Beano" back in the early 1980s...

 

     Gordon's gnomes

     Percy
     The gadgeteer. He's forever inventing new devices and contraptions to assist
     around the garden. At least, that's the theory. His inventions include "Floaty Leaf
     Spray", and a "Dangle-a-Gnome" device - handy for avoiding slugs..

     Ian
     A trainee young gnome, keen to follow in his elders' footsteps...

     Rosie
     Rosie's Wood is a popular haunt, with its splendid Play Tree. Which makes it
     particularly sad when the tree is blown down in "The Storm"...

     Jerome
     Jerome likes to do things his own way, usually with other people's equipment
     and tools which he regularly "borrows"!...

     The Chief Gnome
     The Chief makes all the Big Decisions, and carries out various municipal
     duties with bluster and gusto...

     Gladioli
     The Chief's h'ever so haughty wife...


     Gordon's animal pals

     Andrew
     Andrew worm is Gordon's closest friend - literally - because he lives inside
     Gordon's pointy hat and pops out via a little trapdoor, when he chooses.
     At night, Andrew sleeps in a flowerpot by Gordon's bed...

     Morris
     Morris mole, is a helpful little tunneller and hole-maker...

     Lez & Dez
     Slugs with attitude, eager to eat the greenery, chew the vegetables and
     protest at the actions of the gnomes, when e'er they can. Lez is the bigger
     purple one and Dez the conniving pink one...

     Daphne
     A keen squirrel...

     Mimi & Fifi
     Two young birds with bows on their heads...

     Chirpy
     A baby bird, hatched inside Gordon's watering can in "Feathered Friends"...

     Vincent
     A bat with a head cold, and a faulty sonar who features in "Vincent the Bat"...

     The Sparrow Sisters
     Twitterpated bird twins...

     Horace & Doris
     Posh snails who visit the garden in "Horace & Doris"...

     Mervyn
     He's Andrew's woodworm cousin who causes havoc in "Cousin Mervyn"

           
 

      In the news

      The Hound: June 2004
      Alan Plenderleith talks Gordon and more ...

      The Hound: July 2002
      Gnome, sweet gnome...

 

      Promos/Tie-ins

      In February 2006 Slotz the gardening company launched some rather
      splendid garden gnomes, one of Grodon and one of Rosie. They also
      created some miniature plant pegs for folks to collect...
     
      More info: Slotz Ltd

 
      
    Gordon Gnome episodes  

 

      Gordon Gnome on DVD

      

      Gordon the Garden Gnome: Spring Adventures
      Region 2 / nine episodes / Paramount / April 2006

      Gordon the Garden Gnome: Summer Magic in the Garden
      Region 2 / ten episodes / Paramount / June 2006

      Gordon the Garden Gnome: School Stories
     Region 2 / ten episodes / Paramount / August 2006

 

      a Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment Ltd
      production for the BBC

      adapated & directed by Tony Collingwood
      produced by Chris O'Hare

      idea created by Allan Plenderleith