ZZZap!

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ZZZap!
File:Zzzap.jpg
From left to right: Tricky Dicky, Cuthbert Lilly, Smart Arty.
StarringRichard Waites, Neil Buchanan, Sarah Pickthall, Deborah McCallum, Claire Macaulay, Sophie Aldred
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes131
Production
Running time15 minutes
Original release
NetworkITV
Release8 January 1993 –
21 September 2001

ZZZap! was a British children's television programme that was aimed primarily at hearing impaired children. The show follows a comic that has come to life with characters that are unable to speak. The series debuted on January 8, 1993 and ran for ten series until September 21, 2001. It was produced by The Media Merchants Television Company Ltd. for the Meridian region and United Productions. From series 2 onwards, the programme's theme tune was 'Keystone Chaos' by Ron Aspery. ZZZap! was cancelled after the 10th series due to format changes and poor ratings. In July 2006, Zzzap! was repeated for the first time in five years and the first time ever on the CITV Channel.

Format

The programme follows the same format throughout its run. An introduction is shown, followed by a series of short two or three minute long mini-programmes, followed by the credits. Each mini-programme is introduced by the camera zooming in on a corresponding panel on a giant comic. This giant comic has a set of nine frames on it, some of which contain a character representing their mini-programme, and some show an abstract object. Initially these abstract objects were decorative, but they later came to represent mini-programmes that had no main character, like the "Puzzle Page" mini-programme. For the last series the giant comic background was scrapped, but the frames remained in front of a comic "explosion". Versions of these sequences in early series were filmed backwards, as they contain things that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to film.

The introduction to series one was filmed in Chequers Shopping Centre in Maidstone and showed a boy buying a copy of a comic called "ZZZap!" from a newsagent. The comic contains a 'Free TV Zapper!' which he uses only to find that the comic has increased to an enormous size. This was abandoned in later series, which instead showed the giant comic and then introduced each of the characters with a short video. Some computer generated additions were made in series 8, and from series 10 onwards the whole sequence including the giant comic was computer-animated.

The mini-programmes would follow the same order; "Cuthbert Lilly", "Smart Arty", "The Handymen", "Puzzle Page" (series 1 episode 6 until series 8), and finally "Tricky Dicky", "Daisy Dares" or "Minnie the Mini Magician". This order became more flexible in the last two series, although the Handymen have never been first or last in the sequence.

The closing titles also changed between series. In the first series, the credits were shown over the boy from the opening credits walking away and up an escalator. In later series the credits were shown over a full view of the giant comic, with the characters looking out of their frames. In the last series the credits were shown over a "puzzle page" section.

Giant Comics

The short videos are linked in every series by sequences involving a giant comic. The comic has changed slightly between series:

Series One

Top Row (from left to right): Cuthbert Lilly, Clown & The Handymen. Middle Row (from left to right): Eye, Tricky Dicky's Mission Impossible & Boat. Bottom Row (from left to right): Leg, Question Mark & Smart Arty.

Series Two - Seven

Top Row (from left to right): Cuthbert Lilly, Clown & The Handymen. Middle Row (from left to right): Eye, Daisy Dares You & Zig Zag. Bottom Row (from left to right): Leg, Question Mark & Smart Arty.

Series Eight & Nine

Top Row (from left to right): Cuthbert Lilly, Dot-to-Dot & The Handymen. Middle Row (from left to right): Eye, Daisy Dares You & Eyes In Leaves. Bottom Row (from left to right): Leg, Question Mark & Minnie The Mini Magician.

Series Ten

Top Row (from left to right): Cuthbert Lilly, Dot-to-Dot & The Handymen. Middle Row (from left to right): Eye, Daisy Dares You & Eyes In Leaves. Bottom Row (from left to right): Magnifying Glass, Question Mark & Minnie The Mini Magician.

Episodes

Main article: List of ZZZAP! Episodes

There is some confusion over the episodes of ZZZap!, but there were only 10 Series Of ZZZap! This has been confirmed by the Media Merchants (makers of Zzzap!)

Opening Title Sketches

In each series the sketches for each of the characters would change. There would be three or four clips of sketches for each character.

Series One:

No Individual Titles.

Series Two:

Cuthbert Lilly: Being chased by a car, Getting gunge poured over him, Putting thumbs up.

Daisy Dares You: Waving, Pouring gunge, Laughing.

Smart Arty: Waving, Hand sign symbol, Rabbit ears sign.

The Handymen: Waving, Waving card hands, Pouring water.

Series Three:

Cuthbert Lilly: Holding shirt, Punching boxing thing, Holding a rabbit.

Daisy Dares You: Dressed as a Pirate, Playing Football, Scooping gunge.

Smart Arty: Kissing, Riding a large paper plane, Parachuting.

The Handymen - Waving, Rolling Banana, Drawing a Clown.

Series Four:

Cuthbert Lilly: Riding a Dodgem, Getting chased by a Football crowd, Bending his legs.

Daisy Dares You: Laughing, Flipping Fish, Pouring gunge onto a boy's head.

Smart Arty: Riding a paper Plane, Riding a Camel, Riding a Hot Air Balloon.

The Handymen: Waving, Apple head, Flowers.

Series Five:

Cuthbert Lilly: Blowing Pinwheel, Riding a Skate Board, Feeding a Horse.

Daisy Dares You: Going down a slide, Bowl of gunge, Pouring gunge.

Smart Arty: Kissing, Riding an exercise bike, Playing in the Snow.

The Handymen: Waving, Dancing card, Pouring Jelly.

Christmas Series

Cuthbert Lilly: getting pulled by a car and throwing food.

Daisy Dares You: eating a lemon, sliding down a slide and laughing at the kids.

Smart Arty: Kissing, eating fruit, and jumping from stairs.

The Handymen : making toys and pinging paper.

Series Six:

Cuthbert Lilly: Tennis, Taking goggles off, Playing Golf.

Daisy Dares You: Dressed up as cowgirl, Pouring gunge, Riding a Go-Kart.

Smart Arty: Kissing, Skiing, Walking across trapeise wire.

The Handymen: Waving, Floating a pencil in a bottle, Making a bonfire out of food.

Series Seven:

Cuthbert Lilly: Dressed up as a clown, Blowing into a Trumpet, Playing Cricket.

Daisy Dares You: Holding Blindfolds, Water Balloons, Pouring Gunge.

Smart Arty: Bird on his head, Holiding an umbrella, Holding a dog.

The Handymen: Hands, Ping Pong Ball, Lion.

Series Eight:

Cuthbert Lilly: Looks through a magnifying glass, drives a racing car & places fake bolts on his head.

Daisy Dares You: Laughing, Pushes a custard pie in a kid's face & Getting pushed into swimming pool.

Minnie The Mini Magician: Moves her glasses, Body comes apart in a magic trick & Having an ice cream.

The Handymen: Waving, Floating a handkerchief & Model person.

Series Nine:

Cuthbert Lilly: Thumbs Up, Crashes into a table & Cake Splat in the face.

Daisy Dares You: Laughing, Pouring Gunge & Slipping over Salad Cream.

Minnie The Mini Magician: Moves her glasses, Does some Magic & Genie Appears.

The Handymen: Waves, Cardboard Bouncing Flies & Wobbly Jelly.

Series Ten:

Cuthbert Lilly: Clown nose (Series 7), Screaming (Series 8), Mud gets chucked at him & Statue smashed (Series 9).

Daisy Dares You: Laughing with a cherry in her hand, Slipping over Salad Cream, Tipping Gunge & Getting mad (All from Series 9).

Minnie The Mini Magician: Taps her learner sign, Magics her dog large & Rides a sledge.

The Handymen: Crocodile clippers on an envelope, Ice Creams, Cardboard bouncing flies (Series 9) & Audience Clapping.

Cast

Recurring Cast

Background Voices

Crew

Characters

Cuthbert Lilly, He's Dead Silly

Cuthbert Lilly (Series 1 - 10) is one of the two characters to have appeared in every episode. Cuthbert's scenes are always the same, a slapstick comedy scene where Cuthbert tries his hand out at something but makes a total mess of it. At the end of the scene he always puts his thumbs up. Cuthbert is usually accompanied by his teddy bear .

A running gag throughout the series showed Cuthbert reaching out and taking the 'square' that read "next", or "then" off the camera and throwing it away, which occurred once every episode starting from Episode Three of Series One. In Series 10 Cuthbert would take off the square when the caption "And So" appeared on the screen. The first 'Cuthbert Lilly' scene was when Cuthbert had to walk a dog. And the last one was when he visited a charity shop. Cuthbert's voice at the start sounded like he had a cold but for some unknown reason, Cuthbert's voice changes in series ten, it changed to a more high-pitched, sillier voice. The reason for this is not known.

Cuthbert's captions on the screen were a sort of pink colour, apart from during the first series, in which they were multicoloured. In the early series of Zzzap!, Cuthbert's outfit was a more dark pink, but in the later series Cuthbert's outfit was a lighter pink. Cuthbert's square was always on the top row on the left side. Cuthbert had his own spin-off show called Cuthbert's Diary in 1997 on CITV consisting of both old and new sketches, narrated by Richard Waites, including a funny swimming pool sketch which is shown on the 1997 titles of Zzzap!

The Cuthbert sketches also featured some recurring characters. "Mr Snooty" first appears in Series 1 Episode 3 and is Cuthbert's antagonist. An "old lady" who attacks Cuthbert with an umbrella also appears repeatedly.

Cuthbert was always first on Zzzap! from the very beginning until Series 8 when Cuthbert would be first, second, third or last.

Smart Arty

Smart Arty (Series 1 - 7) was a caricatured French painter, played by Neil Buchanan. He was replaced by Minnie the Mini Magician. His trademark is to blow the audience kisses at the beginning and at the end of every scene. Every Smart Arty sketch begins with him painting the same picture. He skips and jumps as he walks to the wall to do drawings.

In the first series, the Smart Arty sketches consisted of the character creating a large picture out of unusual objects. Neil Buchanan, who played the character, had previously done this on TV in his other show Art Attack. In fact, one of the Art Attack 'Big Art Attacks' was a giant picture of Smart Arty.

In later series, the sketches involved drawings with a magic pen which brought his drawings to life (an idea also used in the cartoon Penny Crayon).

The Handymen

The Handymen (Series 1 - 10) have appeared, along with Cuthbert Lilly, in every episode of Zzzap!. The Handymen are in fact two gloved hands; one yellow and one blue. Their scene begins with a wooden sign showing a description of what they are about to do. Next we enter a theatre where there are a number of other hands clapping and cheering. Then the theatre curtains open and the Handymen appear, and usually make something or perform a magic trick. As they finish the curtains close and the viewer sees the hands clapping again. The first 'Handymen' scene was a magic trick of learning how to pick up a bottle with a straw . The Handymen's last ever sketch was when they made a rocket out of a sweet tube & some coloured paper. From Series 1 - 8 they would play the same piece of music, but when Minnie came they would be different music for every episode but the same piece of music started in every series from series 9 and 10. Whenever the Handymen brought on some eg. food, paints or if there was warning about cutting, a cardboard sign would appear from the left, right or top of the curtain. After it had finished the curtains would close with clapping then it would move on to the Comic again. The Handymen's square was all ways on the top row on the right.

The Handymen were always third from the very first series. But when Series 8 came, The Handymen could only be second or third.

Tricky Dicky's Mission Impossible

Tricky Dicky (Series 1 only) only lasted one series. As each scene began Tricky Dicky would walk into a black, dark room. We see him walk close up to the camera and two ghostly eyes appear. He quickly types some stuff on a typewriter then walks out of the black room. He then set a challenge, which was what he had written on the typewriter. His "trademark" was a very high, creepy giggle. After that, Tricky always set a challenge of some kind that from the description would sound simple (e.g. Pour custard on a pudding), but had a twist that made it more difficult (e.g. the custard would be in a wheelbarrow and the pudding at the end of an obstacle course). The kids often failed, but sometimes won. If they failed, at the end of the scene we see Tricky holding up a sign reading - 'Mission Impossible'. If the kids won, we see him shaking his head and holding a sign reading "Mission Possible". The first 'Tricky Dicky ' scene was when he set a challenge of making the kids pop balloons (running barefoot) on a bus with a time limit. Tricky was also driving the bus. Vehicles with safety nets escorted. When he was in the black room, Tricky's captions on the screen were white, but when he was out they were a purplish blue. Tricky's square was in the middle below the clown square in Series 1. Tricky dicky wore a black hat over his head and wore a grey coat at the end of tricky's scene there was a label black on white background. A bit of Tricky Dicky still remained on Zzzap! When from Series 9 onwards the music played in the Tricky Dicky sketches was used for the Guess The Animal (Eyes In Leaves) puzzle.

Tricky Dicky was always last.

Daisy Dares You

Daisy (Series 2 - 10), played Deborah McCallum (Series 2 - 8) and Claire Macualay (Series 9 - 10), replaced Tricky Dicky. In this segment Daisy would set difficult challenges for a small group of children (these were picked from local schools). Daisy and the children were always barefoot for these challenges. However, the children would often fail to complete Daisy's task successfully, but sometimes won and then Daisy had to do the challenge herself and would always fail. (Daisy trying to do the challenges began in series eight), like the kids trying to force her to do the dare like in a swimming pool, however, if Daisy won, she would involve the children in a messy punishment related to that day's task, ex. She would push them in the swimming pool, cover them in custard, icing, mud, paint, etc. But again, this started in series eight. In series 2-7 she would cry and have a tantrum if she lost, but she would always laugh with the kids and enjoy getting gunged or being thrown into the pool herself. Daisy wore yellow and black checks, and was supposedly a young, cheeky schoolgirl in dungarees. She always was barefoot. She also had ponytails at either side of her head. The first 'Daisy Dare' ever done involved children doing a limbo underneath a pole with a tank of gunge balancing on top. This can be found on 'ZZZap! The Bumper Video Comic'. The last Daisy scene was when she made the kids pop balloons full of gunge over VIPs. Daisy's captions on the screen was yellow. At the end of each series of ZZZap!, Daisy usually set the kids a task that would get them in huge trouble, but would then backfire on Daisy. A good example of this is the basketball sketch with water balloons, melons, eggs, flour and custard pies as opposed to the ball, Daisy made them through these things through the hoop and onto authority figures, but then the kids blamed it on Daisy, and everybody starts chasing her. Daisy replaced Tricky Dicky in the middle square below the clown square from Series 2 onwards. If you saw the caption But Then when it was the turn of the last kid then the kids would win. But if the caption said Last One then the kids would lose.

Daisy (like Tricky Dicky) would always be last on Zzzap! until Series 8 when Daisy could be first, second or last. Note that Daisy could be second in Series 8 only & from Series 9 onwards Daisy could only be first or last.

Minnie The Mini Magician

Minnie (Series 8 - 10) replaced Smart Arty. Minnie was a witch (or magician) in training with a learner sign that you put on a car on her dress! Her magic usually made a mess of things and something always went wrong like Winsome Witch. She's a bit heavy handed at things, ie: making a border terrier come back huge. She was probably the only ZZZap! character to have a catchphrase, it was Oh well! accompanied by a tap on her learner sign. Minnie's captions on the screen were orange. Her first scene is when she does a magic show and the last one was when she was a clown. Minnie replaced Smart Arty & her square was where Smart Arty's square was, the bottom row on the right.

Minnie could be first, second, third or last. Note that Minnie was never last in Series 10 & she was only first two times (Episodes 4 & 6). But Minnie was mostly first in Series 8 because she was a new character to the Zzzap! team.

Character Cardboard Cut Outs

They were two cardboard cut outs of characters in the CITV studio.

Smart Arty: May 1998 - 2000 & Daisy Dares (Claire Macaulay) Autumn 2001

Other Segments

Clown

A picture of a clown that laughs. In the first series this square had the caption 'crash' above it, then the caption disappeared when the second series came and it was replaced in series 9. The clown square would be in the middle between Cuthbert Lilly's square & Handymen square. The clown square was on the comic from Series 1 - 9. It was never used for puzzle pages. The border of the clown square in series 1 looked a bit like a stamp.

Eye

A pop art-style eye, with a moving pupil. In the first series this square had the caption 'bang' above it. By the second series the caption disappeared and the eye started to open and close. When series nine came it was used for the spot the difference puzzle pages. The caption 'Spot The Difference' would mostly appear on the bottom left corner rather than the top left corner. The eye square has been in Zzzap! in all the seasons. The eye square would be under Cuthbert's square & next to Daisy's square on the left. The last ever Spot the Difference puzzle featured on Episode 12 in Series 10.

Boat

A moving sail boat on a sea background. In series one the square had the caption 'wallop' above it. The boat was replaced in series two. The boat was never used for puzzle pages. The boat square was next to Tricky Dicky's square on the right.

Question Mark

A red question mark with red and yellow lines circling it. In the first series this square had the caption 'guess what?' above it. By series two the caption disappeared and the question mark spun. It was also used for the guess the picture puzzle pages. By series ten the picture changed to a small red question mark in a yellow background. It was rarely used after series eight. The puzzle page square has been on Zzzap! along with the eye square for all the seasons. In the final series the question mark didn't spin all the while. The first puzzle page was during episode six of series one. From Series 1 - 8 they would show you either one to three pictures to guess what they are, but from Series 9 they would only show one picture. The question mark square was under Tricky's/ Daisy's square at the bottom of the comic. It first appeared in Episode Six of Series One. The last ever Puzzle Page featured in Episode 11 of Series 10.

Leg

A real moving leg that came out of the comic from an explosion background. This square also had a bar code in the bottom corner and later it was replaced by a different square in series ten. The leg was never used for anything. In Series 1 the background of the leg was dark blue & from Series 2 - 9 it was a light blue background. The Leg square was under the eye square & next to the question mark. The leg square was on the Zzzap! comic from Series 1 - 9.

Zig Zag

This square replaced the boat and was a moving yellow zig zag with a colourful background. It was soon replaced in series nine and was never used for puzzle pages. The colourful background was similar to the lightning effect used when the remote started the Zzzap! comic. The zig zag square replaced the boat square next to Daisy's square on the right. It is also called the TV or Lightning (Bolt). The zig zag square was on the Zzzap! comic from Series 2 - 8.

Dot-to-Dot

This square replaced the clown in series nine. This picture square had a moving red pencil which was drawing a line from one to seven in a white background, and it was used for the dot-to-dot puzzle pages. When series ten came the picture changed to the pencil drawing a fish in a blue background. In Series 10 the dot-to-dot pencil would move fast but in 9 the pencil would move slow. In every dot to dot puzzle, the background colour of the picture would be a light yellow. The dot-to-dot square replaced the clown square at the top middle between Cuthbert Lilly & Handymen squares. The Doto to Dot square was on the comic from Series 8 - 10. The last ever Dot-to-Dot puzzle was featured on Episode 13, Series 10.

Eyes

This square replaced the zig zag in series nine and was a certain number of eyes peeking from moving leaves. This square's guess the picture puzzle was always an animal hiding behind blocks or hiding in the dark. In this puzzle the Tricky Dicky theme tune was played. The animal was always cartoon animated. The eyes in leaves square replaced the zig zag square on the right on the middle row next to Daisy's square. The Eyes square was on the comic from Series 8 - 10. The eyes square wasn't used much in the final series, but the Question Mark square was used more. The last Guess The Animal puzzle was featured on Episode 14, Series 10. In Series 9 & 10 they would often show just one picture but in Series 8 they would often show two pictures.

Magnifying Glass

This square replaced the leg in series ten. It was a magnifying glass enlarging a load of moving background pictures. It was a puzzle which consisted of about 3 pictures in a line, which, when put together, made a different picture/word. For example, a picture of a letter U, a knee, and some sweetcorn, made U-NI-CORN (it was also the first dingbats puzzle) or CAT-A-PILLAR OR CAR-A-VAN. The magnifying glass was a short lived puzzle page like the boat which was replaced in series two (although the boat was never actually used for puzzle pages). It has the same coloured background as Dot to Dot during the puzzle. The magnifying glass square replaced the leg square on the bottom row next to the question mark square on the left. It is also called Dingbats. The final Dingbats puzzle appeared on the last ever episode of Zzzap.

The Blue Question Mark

The square was the same as the puzzle page square in Series 10, but had a blue question mark instead of red. This puzzle appeared at the end of every episode in Series 10 whilst the credits rolled along the screen & you had to complete the puzzle until the show ended like how many bees? The blue question mark square appeared on the back of the comic at the end of every show in Series 10.

Series 10, Episode 1: How Many Bookworms? Series 10, Episode 2: How Many Frogs? Series 10, Episode 3: How Many Caterpillars? Series 10, Episode 4: How Many Ghosts? Series 10, Episode 5: How Many Bones? Series 10, Episode 6: How Many Hippos? Series 10, Episode 7: How Many Moles? Series 10, Episode 8: How Many Bees? Series 10, Episode 9: How Many Sheep? Series 10, Episode 10: How Many Owls? Series 10, Episode 11: How Many Aliens? Series 10, Episode 12: How Many Worms? Series 10, Episode 13: How Many Crocodiles? Series 10, Episode 14: How Many Fish? Series 10, Episode 15: How Many Gold Coins?

Puzzles Arrangement

From Series 1 - 7 there would be just one puzzle which was Question Mark (Puzzle Page) and it would appear just before Tricky Dicky/ Daisy Dares.

When Series 8 came (just like Series 1) a puzzle didn't appear exactly in every episode, but most of them. It was also the first time there would be two puzzles & they could appear in these orders:

  • A puzzle after the first two sketches of the episode & one after the third sketch.

or...

  • A puzzle after the first sketch & one after the third sketch.
  • Or they could just one puzzle which would appear after the first two sketches.

From Series 9 onwards they would be a puzzle or two in every single episode.

Changes on Zzzap!

They had been many changes on Zzzap over the years & they all started in 1994.

1994

  • The backdrop in Series One which was supposedly set in the night, was replaced with the comic set in the sky.
  • All the characters now had their own voices with some dialogue's instead of some silent ones in Series One.
  • Puzzle Page started to appear on every episode of Zzzap.
  • And it was the first time when there was proper titles with music including a few clips from each characters.

1999

  • The Handymen now had different music in their sketches.
  • More puzzles were featured on Zzzap & the puzzles didn't appear exactly in every episode.
  • The biggest change was that the remote control had disappeared.
  • Instead of the remote control, Starting each show, Zapping us back to the comic, and taking us to the credits, was replaced by Words flying up to us.

2000

2001

  • The ZZZap! Series Ten titles was the most faced paced than any of the other ones.
  • The giant comic was scrapped after 7 years appearing on the show and was replaced by cartoon animation.
  • Cuthbert Lilly's voice changed to a higher pitched voice.
  • The leg that was on the Zzzap comic ever since the beginning was replaced by an extra puzzle called Dingbats.
  • And at the end of every episode they would be a puzzle while the credits rolled across the screen.

Music Used on ZZZap!

Most of the programme's music was KPM library music composed by Ron Aspery. A sizeable amount came from the "Comedy Classics 1" compilation (Cat. No. KPM131, http://www1.playkpmmusic.com/pages/viewcd/viewcd.cfm?cdnum=1796). While the rest of the music came form " Bruton music CD "Lonny" tunes BR28 - BRF10, that can be found at http://www.bmgzomba.co.uk Here is a list of just some of the music used. Any help with this section would be appreciated.

  • Keystone Chaos - Ron Aspery (the programme's theme tune from season 2 to 10)
  • Round The Bend - Ron Aspery (comedy music used in the Cuthbert Lilly babysitting sketch from 'The Wildest Ever ZZZap! Video') (Also used for the Cuthbert Lilly catching the train sketch from Series 10). (see below).
  • Banana Skin - Ron Aspery (music used in the Cuthbert cricket club sketch, also shown on 'The Wildest Ever ZZZap! Video').
  • Cluedo - Ron Aspery (puzzle/intermission theme)
  • Bundle Of Fun - Ron Aspery (Minnie The Mini Magician theme)
  • Jobsworth - Ron Aspery (used in the Cuthbert Lilly building site sketch from series 10).
  • Friendly Panther - Paul/Peter Orm (Tricky Dicky Theme & also used for the Guess The Animal puzzle from Series 9 - 10).
  • Devil's Gallop - Charles Williams (Tricky Dicky challenge theme)
  • Pocket Full Of Peanuts - Duncan Lamont (Daisy Dares You theme) BMG Zomba CD 'Loony Tunes' BR28 - BRF10
  • Keyboard Wizzard - Duncan Lamont (Daisy Dares You theme) BMG Zomba CD 'Loony Tunes' BR28 - BRF10
  • Wellbeing (eye/dot to dot theme)
  • Walk This Way - Ron Aspery (used in Cuthbert Lilly music shop sketch from Series 10)
  • String Quintet in E major, Op. 13, No. 5 - Luigi Boccherini (Smarty Arty theme)
  • In An English Country Garden (used in the Cuthbert Lilly vegetable patch/rabbit sketch from ZZZap! Vol. 2 - Holiday Special).
  • Hallelujah Chorus From Messiah (Handel) (used for a few seconds in the Cuthbert Lilly piggy bank sketch, this can be found on ZZZap! The Bumper Video Comic).

Awards

  • ZZZap! was nominated for a Children's Bafta in 1996, but lost to Ant and Dec.
  • RTS Award for Best Children's LE Series, 1995.

Trivia

  • In the computer-animated opening titles from series 10, just after Minnie's scenes are shown, you can see the (live-action) giant comic-book with Minnie from series 9, in the square where the 'Magnifying Glass' is supposed to be. You need a good eye to see it.
  • Maidstone Studios (formerly TVS Maidstone) housed the giant comic, the Smart Arty sketches, and the Minnie sketches.
  • In the last episode in every series, at the end of each sketch, there is no caption saying More (Cuthbert, Minnie, Handymen or Daisy) next week/soon. This is because there would be no more episodes (Until the next series)
  • The giant comic of Series 1 is different to all the other giant comics because it's a sort of light cream colour where as the others are white
  • From Series 2 - 8 Puzzle Page would have one to three pictures to guess, but when Series 9 came Puzzle Page would only show one picture
  • When the Holiday Special came on CITV, the Handymen were in a sort of punch & judy box. But in the Christmas Annual they were either behind the sofa or the table in the Zzzap! house.
  • When the series 1 Comic sequence was on, it started from different angles after the characters scene ended. But from series 2-9, it started from a whole view of the comic, then went to the character.
  • For the Eye (Spot the Difference) square in Series 10, the caption 'Spot The Difference' would mostly appear on the bottom left corner rather than the top left corner.
  • On the Series One Comic, the remote on the Comic had 6 Blue buttons on it, but in Series 2-7, the remote on the comic had 4 Blue buttons.
  • Every time on the last few episodes of ZZZap!, Daisy Dares didn't win any challenges.

Merchandise

  • ZZZap! The Bumper Video Comic (VHS) B00004CTQI.
  • ZZZap! Vol. 2 - Holiday Special (VHS) B00004CUO6.
  • ZZZap! Vol. 3 - Goes Bonkers (VHS) B00004CW3D.
  • ZZZap! Vol. 4 - Goes Completely Crazy (VHS) B00004CXAU.
  • The Wildest Ever ZZZap! Video (VHS) B00004CZK6.
  • CITV Favourites - For Over Fives (a video containing an episode of ZZZap!) (VHS) B00004CYOC. (Note this video has the wrong picture on the back cover)
  • CITV Telly Tots (a video containing a 'Minnie The Mini Magician' episode of ZZZap!) (VHS) B000059ZAQ. (note this video has the wrong picture on the front cover)

See also

External links

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