Show production
The show was created by British animators Terry Brain and Charlie Mills. It was produced through their own companies, CMTB Animation and Queensgate Productions Ltd. Brain and Mills were also responsible for another animated show, Stoppit and Tidyup , a few years later in the late 1980s, and Bump the Elephant in the 1990s. Together they were referred to as "Brainbox Mills". There was a stop motion movie that was in the works that was never made called The Pudding. Brain would later go on to be an animator at Aardman Animations, where he worked on the six Wallace and Gromit films, as well as Chicken Run and animated television shows, Gogs and Creature Comforts . [1] [5]
A total of 25 episodes of The Trap Door were broadcast in 1986, with each episode running for around four minutes. A second series followed later with a further 15 episodes of similar running time, making a total of 40 episodes. [1] [5] KPTV provided the editing services for the first series. Berk, Boni, the Thing Upstairs and Rogg were voiced by Willie Rushton, an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine Private Eye . Nick Shipley, then proprietor of KPTV, provided the voice of Drutt, while Terry Brian voiced the other characters. [1] [6]
The recognisable theme song of the show was written by Scottish songwriter Bob Heatlie, who also wrote the Shakin' Stevens hit Merry Christmas Everyone , and also one of the popular hits of the 1980s, Japanese Boy , sung by Aneka. The vocals were performed by Zygott. A 7" record of the extended theme song (as heard in the episode "Don't Open That Trap Door") was released, with a B-side featuring an instrumental song called "Ghost Chase", performed by The Ghost Chasers.
Plot
The world of The Trap Door is solely inhabited by monsters, and almost all action takes place in the monsters' castle, especially the pantry or cellar where Berk, the central character, lives. Beneath the castle are a series of dark and mysterious caverns inhabited by all manner of "horrible things", accessible by the eponymous trap door.
The master of the castle, "The Thing Upstairs", resides in the attic of the castle and remains an unseen character throughout the entire show, shouting orders to Berk when hungry or annoyed. Berk has two companions, Boni and Drutt. In most episodes, Berk accidentally leaves the trap door open, admitting a more troublesome monster than himself; but some monsters open it from below. Though mostly hostile or mischievous, the monsters emergent from the trap door include the amiable and periodic Rogg, and occasionally others as harmless as he.
Regular characters
Berk
Berk (voiced by Willie Rushton) is an oviform blue creature who speaks with a West Country accent. He is the protagonist of the show, and steward or caretaker of the monster's castle. As such, Berk often goes about his duties with simple-minded glee, and enjoys cooking with ingredients such as mud, eyeballs, snakes, and worms. Berk is often warned not to open the trap door by his friends, or forbidden by his master, but often does so nonetheless. His usual exclamations include "Oh, Globbits!" and "Sniff that!"
Boni
Boni (voiced by Willie Rushton) is a disembodied human skull, and Berk's closest friend. Speaking with an upper-class accent, he is something of an intellectual, but has a tendency to complain or bore others. Boni dislikes to be moved from his favourite spot—an alcove in the wall near the trap door—and is often shown failing to warn Berk about the various monsters that come from it. Although serious most of the time, he is given to childish excitements on par with those of Berk.
Drutt
Drutt (voiced by Nick Shipley) is Berk's pet, resembling an oversized spider, who often causes trouble when chasing after worms and other invaders, as by passing the trap door in search thereof. Although often characterised as male, Drutt produces a litter of baby spiders in the show's second season. He is non-verbal but makes various noises.
The Thing Upstairs
The Thing Upstairs (voiced by Willie Rushton) is the impatient, cantankerous, demanding and terrifying master of the castle, who rarely leaves his penthouse room, and consequently is never seen. In most episodes, he orders Berk (in a Cockney accent) to fix things in the castle, prepare meals for him, or sometimes bathe or clean him. His appearance is never revealed, but grotesque hints are dropped:
- In the 14th episode of the programme's first series, "The Little Thing", a lightning flash illuminates a mass of spongy tentacles. In the same episode, Berk makes a comment about his three eyes.
- In a later episode ("Not Very Nice"), Berk loses one of the Thing's eyes, itself almost as big as Berk, down the trap door, whereafter he claims to have 'seen' the incident's events through the detached eye.
- In the 13th episode "The Pain", Berk asks which head contains a toothache, implying multiple heads, and the extracted tooth itself is a fang nearly two-thirds the size of Berk.
- In the episode "The Stupid Thing", it is mentioned that the Thing has three humps on his back, and later, that he possesses wings, which are never shown but can be heard beating.
Other characters
Trap Door monsters
For a majority of the series, the plot of each episode will revolve around a new monster that emerges from the trapdoor. These monster are often hostile to Berk and his friends, though others seem relatively harmless and simply act as a minor irritation.
The Big Red Thing
The Big Red Thing (voiced by Terry Brain) is a recurring monster that initially appeared in the first episode "Breakfast Time", in which it emerges from the trapdoor and pursues Berk through the castle, but ultimately flees back down the trapdoor upon viewing its own reflection. The Big Red Thing makes a later appearance in the episodes "Don't Open That Trap Door", along with the final episode of the first season "Bye Bye Berk".
Its latest appearance was the final episode of the series "The Big Red Thing", in which it attacks Rogg before exiting the castle. Berk and his colleagues watch as Rogg and The Big Red Thing battle over the horizon, where Rogg apparently dies and The Big Red Thing disappears. The monster soon reappears and roars at the group and the episode ends from here.
Rogg
Rogg (voiced by Willie Rushton) is a large creature who initially appears in the fourth episode of the first series "Lurkings". Although somewhat unintelligent, he is fairly friendly towards Berk and the other residents of the castle. In the episode "Junk Food", Berk initially dislikes him after Rogg unwittingly gets him into trouble with The Thing Upstairs, the latter mistaking Rogg for a poorly prepared dinner. When confronting the Red Thing during the final episode of the second season "The Big Red Thing", Rogg is pronounced dead as the credits roll, before revealing himself to be alive in the aftermath.
Bubo
Bubo (voiced by Terry Brain) is a recurring monster that first appears in the episode "Gourmet's Delight". In the episode, he is initially invisible until he is covered in a yellow substance. Upon catching him, Berk inflates his body through a small hole in the top of his head, before releasing him to soar back down the trapdoor. In the episode "Fester Rancid", Bubo kidnaps Boni and begins repeatedly hitting him with a stick beside a lake, before he is tossed into the water by Berk. Bubo appears for the last time in the episode "Scunge", where he returns to irritate Berk but is ultimately sent back down the trapdoor by Rogg.
The Splund
The Splund (voiced by Terry Brain) is a large, round monster capable of teleportation. It was one of the few Trap Door creatures capable of speaking, doing so in a deep, demonic-sounding tone. It appeared in the episode "Don't Open That Trap Door", often singing along to the lyrics of the theme song. In the episode "The Splund", it emerged from the Trap Door and began terrorizing Boni and Drutt by teleporting around and threatening to eat them. Berk touched it with the point of a sewing needle, causing it to burst like a balloon and reveal that despite its intimidating manner, it was full of nothing but air. Its voice was edited with a harmonizer, initially deepened when it spoke, but increasing sporadically when it began laughing.
Game Over is an American adult animated sitcom created by David Sacks and produced by Carsey-Werner Productions. The series was broadcast on UPN in 2004, and was cancelled after five episodes. It was animated using computer animation.
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. Much of his work has consisted of vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as Adventure Time, American Dad!, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ben 10, Codename: Kids Next Door, Gravity Falls, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob SquarePants, Steven Universe, The 7D, and The Legend of Korra. His voice work in live-action series includes Legends of the Hidden Temple and Shop 'til You Drop, as well as films such as Space Jam and The Boxtrolls.
Bone Cruncher is a puzzle video game for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64 first published by Superior Software in 1987. It uses the "rocks and diamonds" mechanics of Boulder Dash. An Amiga version was released in 1988.
Chris Edgerly is an American voice actor.
Stoppit and Tidyup is a British children's animated cartoon television series which was produced by CMTB Animation and Queensgate Productions in 1987 and screened on BBC One with repeats on BBC Two from 12 September to 5 December 1988. The episodes feature two protagonists, Stoppit and Tidyup, interacting with various other inhabitants of the mythical land of Do As You're Told. Each episode was five minutes in length, and narrated by Terry Wogan. The series was created by Charles Mills and Terry Brain, and partly funded by The Tidy Britain Group. The third member of the team behind the show was animator Steve Box who later gained success after moving to Aardman Animations.
What-a-Mess is a series of children's books written by British comedy writer Frank Muir and illustrated by Joseph Wright. The title character is a dishevelled, accident-prone Afghan Hound puppy, whose real name is Prince Amir of Kinjan. The book series was later made into two animated series, both narrated by Muir.
The Trap Door is a video game published for the ZX Spectrum in 1986 by Piranha Software and ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 by Five Ways Software. It was written by Don Priestley and based on the British children's television show of the same name.
Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster, have influenced popular culture for at least a century. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the Monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction.
The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure is a Saturday morning Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC Comics superheroes.
Tak and the Power of Juju is an American animated television series that aired for one season from August 31, 2007, to January 24, 2009. Loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, the show consists of two eleven-minute stories per half-hour episode. It was co-produced by THQ and Nickelodeon. The series was produced by Nick Jennings and directed, among others, by Mark Risley, Jim Schumann, and Heiko Drengenberg. It was the second CGI Nickelodeon series, after The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and is also the first one to be directly overseen by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The show continued to air reruns on Nicktoons until September 3, 2012.
Challenge of the Superfriends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from September 9 to December 23, 1978, on ABC. The complete series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics and created by Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. It was the third series of Super Friends cartoons, following the original Super Friends in 1973 and The All-New Super Friends Hour in 1977.
Don Priestley is a teacher and former video game programmer who wrote over 20 commercial games for the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum home computers between 1982 and 1989. Despite successful releases for DK'Tronics, such as 3D Tanx and Maziacs, Priestley returned to teaching in the late 1980s, claiming changes in the video game industry did not suit his style of work.
Swamp Thing is an animated television series based on the Vertigo/DC Comics superhero character Swamp Thing. The series is short-lived, with the pilot episode airing on October 31, 1990 followed by four additional episodes airing weekly from April 20 to May 11, 1991. It aired on YTV from 1991 to 1993 in Canada. Produced by DIC Animation City, the series corresponded with Kenner's Swamp Thing action figure collection released in 1990. Despite the animated series' brief run, various merchandise was also produced in 1991 resulting in the only significant marketing platform ever created for the character. This is the final animated series from DC Comics to not be produced by Warner Bros. Animation.
Pinky and the Brain is an American animated sitcom created by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and a collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Animation. The characters first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the animated television series Animaniacs. It was later spun off as a series due to its popularity, with 65 episodes produced. The characters later appeared in the series Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, and later returned to their roots as an Animaniacs segment in the 2020 revival of that series.
Ghostbusters is a 1986 American animated television series created by Filmation and distributed by Tribune Entertainment, serving as the sequel to Filmation's 1975 live-action television show The Ghost Busters.
Piranha Software was a short-lived video game publishing label created by Macmillan Publishers in 1986 and closed eighteen months later. In that time it gained a reputation for its unusual output from well known developers such as Don Priestley, Design Design and Delta 4. The majority of their games featured licensed properties including the first video game based on the Discworld novels and two games based on the animated television series The Trap Door.
Monster by Mistake is a Canadian animated television series that aired on YTV from September 18, 1999 to March 23, 2003 after airing its pilot on October 26, 1996. The series was created by Mark Mayerson of Catapult Productions, and co-produced with CCI Entertainment in Toronto, Canada. The two companies partnered in Studio 345, a computer animation and former Sears catalogue production facility for the production of the show, which was made using Houdini software. It was one of the earliest TV shows to be entirely computer-animated. The series also aired on Disney Channel in the UK.
Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer is an American animated television series created by Aaron Springer. The series lasted for one season and aired on Disney XD from June 3 to June 15, 2017.
Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages. Similar undead include skeletons and zombies.
