Truckers (1992 TV series) (original) (raw)

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British stop-motion animated TV series (1992)

Truckers is a British stop motion animated series, an adaptation of the first book of Terry Pratchett's The Nome Trilogy, produced in the United Kingdom by Cosgrove Hall Productions for TV, then released on VHS, though edited together into a feature-length film.[1] The series consisted of 13 ten-minute episodes.[2][3][4]

The series is loosely based on the concept of ancient astronauts. Two different groups of Nomes living on the planet Earth meet and they have different cultures. But one Nome finds out that all Nomes are descendants of extraterrestrial explorers who crash-landed on Earth thousands of years ago. He uses the help of a sentient computer to evacuate the other group of Nomes from their doomed home.

Masklin the Nome and his companions flee their unsustainable motorway-verge home and discover an alien race of tiny Humans known as Nomes living in a department store scheduled for demolition. Things are complicated by the store Nomes' religion, which states 'The Store' consists of the entire universe, and denies the existence of the 'outside'.

Masklin discovers from a mysterious object simply called 'The Thing' that all Nomes are descended from extraterrestrial explorers who crashed on Earth thousands of years ago. The Thing, actually a sentient computer from the original Nome starship, helps Masklin plan the escape from the doomed store. Through skill, courage and sheer good luck, Masklin and his friends manage to successfully evacuate the store Nomes before their home is destroyed.

Production and notes

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The puppets were built by Mackinnon & Saunders, created from foam latex.

Some of the interior shots of Arnold Bros was filmed in Lewis's Department Store in Manchester.

Some of the surviving puppets are on public display at the Cosgrove Hall Exhibition in Manchester.[5]

• Masklin — Joe McGann
• Grimma — Debra Gillett
• Granny Morkie, Baroness Del Icatessen — Rosalie Williams
• Torrit, Count De Ironmongri – John Jardine
• The Thing — Edward Kelsey
• Angalo De Haberdasheri – Nigel Carrington
• Duke De Haberdasheri – David Scase
• Dorcas — Brian Trueman
• The Abbot — Sir Michael Hordern
• Gurder — Brian Southwood
• Mr. Mert, Vinto Pimmie — Jimmy Hibbert
• Dave the Policeman — Rob Rackstraw
• Directed by Jackie Cockle, Francis Vose, Chris Taylor (each episode had one director)
• Produced by Jackie Cockle
• Executive producer: John Hamberly
• Adapted by Brian Trueman
• Edited by Zyggy Markiewicz
• Music: Colin Towns
• Film editor: Zyggy Markiewicz
• Assistant film editors: Stephen Perry, Jane Hicks
• Music editor: Garry Hardman

The series was made into a short hardcover book published by Ladybird Press in 1992. The book included colour photos from the series.

1. ^ Nicoll, Tom (5 April 2016). "How Terry Pratchett's Truckers changed my whole life". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
2. ^ Blair, Andrew (22 September 2013). "Terry Pratchett's 'Truckers' DVD review". CultBox. UK. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014. Thirteen ten-minute episodes ensue, as…
3. ^ "Truckers[17/01/92] (1992)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020.
4. ^ "Truckers[03/04/92] (1992)". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019.
5. ^ "Welcome to the Cosgrove Hall Films Archive". Retrieved 16 February 2024.

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• Truckers at IMDb