Bug Alert

Bug Alert
Created by	Two Sides TV
Written by	Peter Eyre and Francis Wright
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	78
Production
Executive producer(s)	Catherine Robins
Release
Original network	52 Episodes on GMTV 26 Episodes on Channel 4
Original release	1996 – 2000

Bug Alert is a British Children's television series, first shown on GMTV in 1996. It featured the antics of a range of bug-like characters who lived in the kitchen of an unnamed house. These creatures apparently only came out when the resident humans were "not about." In the third and final series the characters moved out of the house and opened a somewhat seedy restaurant ("Bug Bites") where they set about serving Weasel Curry to their regular clientele. 78 episodes were made in total and are repeated regularly on GMTV.

After the first two series the show format was bought by Channel 4 which commissioned 26 further episodes. These, and the previous series, were aired in their weekend morning slot. The show was characterised by its somewhat adult references and themes, most of which went way above the heads of watching children.

The 78 30-minute scripts were co-written by the director Peter Eyre and the main puppeteer, Francis Wright. The executive producer was Catherine Robins of Two Sides TV.

Characters

Main characters

• Grub Bug: The father figure and chef of the family. Pompous, red and fat, he had a rather military manner and a fondness for popping down to his shed to "tend his vegetables". He was sensitive about his incipient balding and once sought to hide it under a ginger wig. Very fond of Mystic Mug, they holidayed together at Frinton-on-sea.
• Mystic Mug: Originally loosely modelled on celebrity fortune teller "Mystic Meg", her metier was crystal ball reading, where (in the first two series) she would retail "Mystic Mug's Amazing Facts". Increasingly eccentric as the series progressed, she often teetered uncertainly on the edge of sanity.
• Doodle Bug: An ill-tempered Mr. Fixit and artist who would design and build all manner of gadgets with which to wreak havoc over a twenty-minute time slot. Something of a sadist.
• Plug Bug: Doodle Bug's close chum. He is a craven coward and a little flowery in nature, but stubbornly protective of his sink when it comes to what everyone puts down it. Good to his mother.
• Buggins: Orange worm-like creature. Irritatingly enthusiastic and jolly. Regularly beaten into line by the previous two, he generally came up smiling...until the next time.
• Grunge and Slopp: A pair of dirty, green, hairy hippie types who told jokes and sang songs. Very rarely referred to by name. They also occasionally got involved in the main action, often playing pranks on the other characters.
• Gorgon and Zola: A husband and wife team of fuzzy worms. Aggressive to all and sundry, they were also resident jokesters. Background dancers for most of the songs.

Minor characters

• The Customer: Arrived in series 3. Real name; Roy, he lived in a mobile home on the side of the A3. Spent a lot of time in the cafe but rarely actually seemed to eat anything.
• The Health Inspector: Came and went in the course of one episode. Got stuck to Grub Bug and, after various threats, posted a glowing report on the cafe.
• The Genie: Came, offered wishes, left.
• Baxter: Plug Bug's dear chum, a practical joker. Came unstuck when he played one joke too many on Mystic Mug. Last seen disappearing down a large hole.
• Bernard: A robot built by Doodle Bug with a nice/nasty switch on his back. Wrought havoc over two episodes.
• Henri: A French chef to whom Mystic Mug took rather a shine. Tied up Grub Bug and then came to a violent end.
• Doodle Bug's Granny: Appeared in Series 2, transpired it was Doodle Bug dressed up all along.
• Squelch: Buggins' cousin. So called because that was the noise people tended to make when he sat on them.

Regular strands

• Raid the Fridge: A short interstitial sequence where Grub Bug would show how to make some unspeakable culinary art.
• In the Bin: Ditto, but involving Doodle Bug doing some arts and crafts and making something out of the items he finds in his bin.
• Through the Washing Machine: Short sequence where some child demonstrated something of little interest.
• Through the Cat Flap: Short sequence shot from a Scottish cat's point of view as he tramped about observing humans.
• Mystic Mug's Amazing Facts: Series 1 and 2 only. Mystic Mug presents items of trivia related to the day's topic.

List of episodes

Series 1 (1996)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Numbers[1]"	1996
2	2	"Liquid"	1996
3	3	"Animals"	1996
4	4	"Letters"	1996
5	5	TBA	1996
6	6	TBA	1996
7	7	TBA	1996
8	8	"Time"	1996
9	9	"Clothes"	1996
10	10	"Colours"	1996
11	11	TBA	1996
12	12	"Hot and Cold"	1996
13	13	"Taste and Smell"	1996
14	14	TBA	1996
15	15	"Machines"	1996
16	16	"What’s It Made From?"	1996
17	17	TBA	1996
18	18	TBA	1996
19	19	"Over and Under"	1996
20	20	TBA	1996
21	21	TBA	1996
22	22	TBA	1996
23	23	TBA	1996
24	24	"Jobs"	1996
25	25	"Speed"	1996
26	26	"Make Believe"	1996

Series 2 (1997)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original air date
27	1	TBA	1997
28	2	"School"	1997
29	3	TBA	1997
30	4	TBA	1997
31	5	TBA	1997
32	6	TBA	1997
33	7	TBA	1997
34	8	TBA	1997
35	9	TBA	1997
36	10	TBA	1997
37	11	TBA	1997
38	12	TBA	1997
39	13	TBA	1997
40	14	TBA	1997
41	15	TBA	1997
42	16	TBA	1997
43	17	TBA	1997
44	18	TBA	1997
45	19	TBA	1997
46	20	TBA	1997
47	21	TBA	1997
48	22	TBA	1997
49	23	TBA	1997
50	24	TBA	1997
51	25	TBA	1997
52	26	TBA	1997

Series 3 (2000)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original air date
53	1	TBA	2000
54	2	TBA	2000
55	3	TBA	2000
56	4	TBA	2000
57	5	TBA	2000
58	6	TBA	2000
59	7	TBA	2000
60	8	TBA	2000
61	9	TBA	2000
62	10	TBA	2000
63	11	TBA	2000
64	12	TBA	2000
65	13	TBA	2000
66	14	TBA	2000
67	15	TBA	2000
68	16	TBA	2000
69	17	TBA	2000
70	18	TBA	2000
71	19	TBA	2000
72	20	TBA	2000
73	21	TBA	2000
74	22	TBA	2000
75	23	TBA	2000
76	24	TBA	2000
77	25	TBA	2000
78	26	TBA	2000

References

1. Bug Alert episodes from YouTube.

External links

• Bug Alert at the Internet Movie Database