Bananas in Pyjamas
Bananas in Pyjamas is an
Australian
children's television show which premiered in
1992 on the
ABC. It has since become
syndicated in many different countries, and
dubbed into those languages. In the
United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling
pajamas, thus the US title
"Bananas In Pajamas".
The main
characters are two
bananas named
B1 and
B2. Other characters include three
Teddy Bears named
Amy,
Lulu and
Morgan, and
Rat in a Hat. The Bananas, the Teddies and Rat in a Hat all live in the same neighbourhood, a cul-de-sac called "Cuddles Avenue" at the end of a street.
The characters were inspired by a 1967 song written for children by British composer
Carey Blyton (nephew of renowned children's author
Enid Blyton). The jaunty song describes (an unspecified number of) bananas in pyjamas chasing teddy bears, with a slight twist at the end where a musical sting emphasises that the bananas like to "catch them unawares".
The song was shown on the Australian version of
Play School for many years accompanied by an animation depicting a pair of bananas in blue-and-white striped
pyjamas, and the number and physical appearance of B1 and B2 are based on this animation.
Given the preschooler audience, chasing and scaring teddy bears is not a plotline for the show itself, the bananas being more interested in singing, dancing, and playing with the bears and other characters, and bantering with each other.
The show is performed using human actors in elaborate costumes, in the style of the British
Teletubbies or
Tweenies. In the show's early days, the voices of the bananas were provided by the same actors as were inside the costume, but the original actors have given up that aspect of the show and substitutes now man the hot, stuffy costumes. The show aired new episodes from its 1992 debut to its eventual run in syndication in 2000. The show aired 299 episodes and 4 specials. Its debut in the United States was in 1995. It made videos and other media from 1995 to 1999. A toy line, developed by
TOMY, debuted in 1996.
:Bananas in pyjamas are coming down the stairs, :Bananas in pyjamas are coming down in pairs, :Bananas in pyjamas are chasing teddy bears, :'cos on Tuesdays they all try to catch them unawares!
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List of Australian television series*
List of Australian Broadcasting Corporation programs*
Official website
