JA
Yes, i've just looked and found this clip- "Marvin P. Porcuvark". Probably Otis's lovechild!
Last edited by james-2001 on 21 September 2015 11:24am
MA
Here's a clip of the 'real' Otis being used in the Nickelodeon slot from 1997. Possibly used after the old puppet was in that strand? I've only ever seen clips of Marvin and the new Otis on YouTube (and didn't have Nickelodeon back in the day, so never saw the slot 'live').
Re. the shift of Otis puppets, it clearly happened before Toby's departure (rather than coinciding with it, as suggested above), as the 'new' Otis appears here, kicking off Toby's last day (which coincided with the 10th anniversary of Children's BBC links).
Any further memories re the switch of Otis puppets on the main Children's BBC slots? This is all a bit before my time, as the earliest stuff that I can remember is the early morning slot from the Pres A quasi-broomcupboard set, plus a bit of Studio A afternoons in later years, when it was Kirsten O'Brien and Richard McCourt.
Here's a clip of the 'real' Otis being used in the Nickelodeon slot from 1997. Possibly used after the old puppet was in that strand? I've only ever seen clips of Marvin and the new Otis on YouTube (and didn't have Nickelodeon back in the day, so never saw the slot 'live').
Re. the shift of Otis puppets, it clearly happened before Toby's departure (rather than coinciding with it, as suggested above), as the 'new' Otis appears here, kicking off Toby's last day (which coincided with the 10th anniversary of Children's BBC links).
Any further memories re the switch of Otis puppets on the main Children's BBC slots? This is all a bit before my time, as the earliest stuff that I can remember is the early morning slot from the Pres A quasi-broomcupboard set, plus a bit of Studio A afternoons in later years, when it was Kirsten O'Brien and Richard McCourt.
MU
Something similar happened with Hacker the Dog in recent years. At first he featured in a show called 'Scoop' with Shaun Williamson. In this show he was completely mute and the puppet differed from the one used in further series and in the CBBC links.
When he was first introduced in CBBC links he was initially mute too, though I don't think it was long before Phil Fletcher began voicing him. They used the mute version of him again on a few occasions when Fletcher was unavailable.
I think after the move to MediaCity they began using the much bigger, longer haired puppet they use now.
When he was first introduced in CBBC links he was initially mute too, though I don't think it was long before Phil Fletcher began voicing him. They used the mute version of him again on a few occasions when Fletcher was unavailable.
I think after the move to MediaCity they began using the much bigger, longer haired puppet they use now.
JA
I seem to remember the idea being that Otis learned to talk slowly through his interactions with the other presenters. Such a long time ago now though I could be misremebering!
He was the first CBBC puppet who actually did talk though seeing as Gordon was silent and Edd just quacked (though both seemed to be able to communicate with the presenters!) and Ratz was a CGI head rather than a puppet. Oucho also only spoke in his own "language", I remember Warrick Brownlow-Pike telling us about how he made it up when I saw him a couple of years back (obviously he now does Dodge who does talk properly!).
He was the first CBBC puppet who actually did talk though seeing as Gordon was silent and Edd just quacked (though both seemed to be able to communicate with the presenters!) and Ratz was a CGI head rather than a puppet. Oucho also only spoke in his own "language", I remember Warrick Brownlow-Pike telling us about how he made it up when I saw him a couple of years back (obviously he now does Dodge who does talk properly!).
MA
Emlyn did appear on the domestic output:
Did he overlap at all with Otis, or did he only come in once Otis had left? I even had (probably still do somewhere kicking around in my parents' house) a hand puppet of Emlyn the Gremlin!
Wasn't there also Emlyn the Gremlin, who didn't appear on the domestic output?
Emlyn did appear on the domestic output:
Did he overlap at all with Otis, or did he only come in once Otis had left? I even had (probably still do somewhere kicking around in my parents' house) a hand puppet of Emlyn the Gremlin!
SW
I think he only appeared on the pre-school stuff, so he and Otis never appeared together.
Did he overlap at all with Otis, or did he only come in once Otis had left? I even had (probably still do somewhere kicking around in my parents' house) a hand puppet of Emlyn the Gremlin!
I think he only appeared on the pre-school stuff, so he and Otis never appeared together.
JA
I don't think Emlyn joined until after Otis left. He definately appeared on the main afternoon CBBC though, not just the pre-school stuff!
IS
I think there might have been a brief overlap between Otis and Emlyn, or at least the handover was very quick. I certainly remember seeing both
together in studio 9 at the time.
Incidently, I always assumed that the idea behind Otis came from that odd 'Tell that aardvark, it's a wrap' end sting that Children's BBC had for a while
*just in case there's any kids reading this
Incidently, I always assumed that the idea behind Otis came from that odd 'Tell that aardvark, it's a wrap' end sting that Children's BBC had for a while
*just in case there's any kids reading this
LL
I hesitate to ask and spoil the illusion, but does anybody happen to know how the Otis puppet worked?
I assumed it was similar to how they worked on Spitting Image, where the puppeteer used one hand to control the mouth and the other to control of the arms while the other remained stationary. But I'm sure I've seen Otis use both arms before and, unless the puppeteer is incredibly short, walk around on set with seeming ease. There's also the fact that he's appeared next to presenters while they've been standing upright rather than being on a chair with Otis behind them. Surely that's some awkward positioning for the puppeteer...?
I assumed it was similar to how they worked on Spitting Image, where the puppeteer used one hand to control the mouth and the other to control of the arms while the other remained stationary. But I'm sure I've seen Otis use both arms before and, unless the puppeteer is incredibly short, walk around on set with seeming ease. There's also the fact that he's appeared next to presenters while they've been standing upright rather than being on a chair with Otis behind them. Surely that's some awkward positioning for the puppeteer...?