Percy the Park Keeper

Percy the Park Keeper
Genre	Children's Programme
Created by	Nick Butterworth
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	17
Production
Running time	10 minutes per episode (approx.)
Production company(s)	HIT Entertainment
Release
Original network	CITV (1996–1999) Sprout (2005 - 2007)
Picture format	4:3
Original release	1 December 1996 – 12 December 1999

Percy the Park Keeper is an animated children's series based on the popular books by British author Nick Butterworth. It stars Percy, and many wild animals, such as the Badger, the Owl, the Fox, the Mice, the Mole, the Robin and so on. It started out as four specials airing between 1996–1998 before turning into a series of 13 episodes in 1999.

Characters

• Percy the Park Keeper - Titular character. He maintains the park, and is able to find the time to have fun with the animals.
• Fox - A fun loving sort, who tends to make others laugh and can be quite sensitive.
• Badger - A wise and sensible sort, but he dislikes water.
• Rabbit - An excitable sort, who easily gets timid at anything remotely scary.
• Squirrel - An irritable sort, who often buries nuts and acorns and cannot always remember where they are.
• Hedgehog - A quiet type, who finds his spines very problematic indeed.
• Mice - Playful sorts who are always happy to join in various challenges.
• Ducks - They usually play by the duck pond, and migrate when Winter approaches.
• Owl - She doesn't hunt at night, like a real owl, but she is active during the day. She forgets things very easily.
• Robin - Spends most of his life flying around the park and perching on trees.
• Mole - He is always in a rush and has trouble finding his way under the ground.

Episodes

Season 1 (1996–1998)

#	Title	Air Date
1	"One Snowy Night"	1 December 1996
It is Winter. After his day's work Percy prepares for the coldest night ahead. The night is a lot colder than the animals expected and all the snow is making it hard to find shelter. They all decide to spend the night at Percy's hut and finally the Mole and Robin turn up. Also features exclsuive 15 minute programme "The Animals of Percy's Park".
2	"The Secret Path"	12 March 1997
It is Spring. Percy has a very big job in store. All he has to do is trim the hedges in the overgrown maze. The squirrel comes with him after an accident with the hedgehog. When all the other animals come to play with Percy in the maze, however, they get stuck in the middle, but the hedgehog cleverly provides them the secret way out, using some red wool from Percy's jumper! Also features exclusive 15 minute programme "The Seasons of Percy's Park".
3	"The Rescue Party"	20 July 1997
It is Summer. Percy is taking the day off with a picnic. The animals wants to come, but first they have to join in Percy's "little peace and quiet". Soon the little girl rabbit falls into an old well and lands on a wedged log, but a toad tells her how to get out and she rejoins the others. Also features exclusive 15 minute programme "The A to Z of Percy's Park".
4	"After the Storm"	1 January 1998
It is Autumn. Heavy rain in the night cause damage in the park, especially the animals' oak tree, leaving them homeless. Percy helps the animals find a new home and build a treehouse in an enormous hollow tree. Also features exclusive 15 minute programme "Counting and Colours in the Park".

Season 2 (1999)

#	Title	Air Date
1	"The Hedgehog's Balloon"	19 September 1999
Hedgehog is very upset. He loves balloons but he can never keep them because they always burst on his spines. Then Percy comes up with an ingenious plan, and with the help of some corks from his garden shed, the problem is solved.
2	"The Fox's Hiccups"	26 September 1999
Fox gets the hiccups from drinking lemonade while laughing at a funny joke with Squirrel. After an accident bumping into Percy's washing and flower pots, his hiccups are cured, until he laughs and drinks again.
3	"One Warm Fox"	3 October 1999
It is a cold night in the park, but Fox cannot sleep. He borrows some of Percy's clothes, putting on more than he needs, but Percy finds the extra clothes ideal for his scarecrow, leaving Fox with the pullover.
4	"The Rabbit Who Was Afraid of The Dark"	10 October 1999
It is night-time in the park, and the little girl rabbit is afraid of the dark, and the other animals don't know what is causing it, but Percy does - she hasn't been eating enough carrots! She then eats some more, and is then able to see in the dark, and is not scared any more.
5	"Sledge Ride"	17 October 1999
Percy is taking the day off and builds a sledge. However Fox and Squirrel borrow Percy's materials to make their own sledge. Then they offer a Percy a ride home in it.
6	"The Hedgehog's Wings"	24 October 1999
It is a rather windy day in the park but Hedgehog wants to fly, so sneaks into Percy's garden shed and borrows his tools to build himself something to fly with - wings. But when he burrows a red kite to fly with, he soon discovers that flying unaided is very frightening indeed.
7	"The Owl's Lesson"	31 October 1999
Owl discovers a little bird who cannot fly, so she attempts to teach him. Then Percy comes along and explains that the bird cannot fly because he is only little, which Owl doesn't know.
8	"Badger's Bath"	7 November 1999
Badger spends a long time digging, getting himself covered in mud. Percy tries to give the badger a bath, but the badger doesn't want one. Percy has the bath all to himself, but at the last minute, Badger falls out of his hiding place and into the bath.
9	"Owl Takes Charge"	14 November 1999
When Percy feels ill, Owl offers to help make a rake, plant a tree and paint the roundabout. But she isn't very good at remembering and gets them all muddled up.
10	"A Very Useful Little Friend"	21 November 1999
As Badger and Fox help Percy tidy his shed, Mouse joins in the work, but her clumsiness isn't helping. But when the trio get locked up inside the shed, Mouse repairs the broken latch and opens it, the problem is sorted out.
11	"Treasure Island"	28 November 1999
Percy uncovers a treasure map and he and Squirrel go and find the island it was buried in. They do find it eventually, but Percy then remembers that he left a fruitcake in the oven, and he quickly goes back to his hut to get it out, leaving Squirrel not knowing where he is.
12	"The Cross Rabbit"	5 December 1999
Winter is coming to the park, and Old Rabbit wants some sleep, but the mice are disturbing him with their fun and games. Percy persuades the mice to play elsewhere, but the peace doesn't last long.
13	"The Lost Acorns"	12 December 1999
Percy plants some bulbs in the ground for the Winter. Unfortunately, Squirrel has lost her acorns and mistakes the planted bulbs for possible acorn storages. Mole finds the acorn storage by accident and Squirrel replants the bulbs. Last in the series.

VHS Releases

In 1999, Percy the Park Keeper was released on VHS, broadcast by CITV, recommended by Hit Entertainment PLC, and distributed by Hit Video. Apparently, several stand-alone VHS releases were (and still are) available in the United Kingdom.

DVD Releases

In 2000, Percy the Park Keeper was also released on DVD, again broadcast by CITV, recommended by Hit Entertainment PLC and distributed by Hit Video. Ordinarily, several stand-alone DVD releases were (and still are) available in the UK.

References

External links

• Percy the Park Keeper at the Internet Movie Database