The main characters (left to right: Tilly, Tiny, and Tom).
Tots TV is a puppet show for children by Ragdoll Productions (creators of Teletubbies, Brum and Rosie & Jim) for Central Independent Television, which was broadcast between 1993 and 1998.
The show is about three elf-like creatures called Tots, who live in a big secret house in the middle of nowhere. The protagonists are:
- Tilly speaks Gratuitous French (Gratuitous Spanish in the American version), but understands English very well. She has a magic bag with her, which she likes to call a sac magique/bolsa mágica. She is good at playing the piccolo.
- Tom is the cleverest of the tots, and the oldest. He wears glasses and has blue-colored hair.
- Tiny is the youngest and has a Mickey Mouse-style voice, but with a heavy Essex accent.
A mischievous Cartoon Creature, Furryboo, lives with the tots, too, but that's a secret! The trio have a pet donkey which they nuture, who is named, well, Donkey.
The show was first broadcast on CITV, but was also shown on PBS Kids in the United States. In the 2000s, reruns were aired on CBeebies.
Not to be confused with T.O.T.S..
Tropes:
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: The three tots are named Tilly, Tom, and Tiny.
- Alliterative Title: Tots TV
- Bilingual Dialogue: Tilly speaks French (Spanish in the American dub).
- Cartoon Creature: Furryboo looks and behaves like a mix between a rodent and a small puppy.
- Catchphrase: Tilly: "Sac Magicque, Sac Magicque."
- A Dog Named "Dog": The tots own a donkey that they've named Donkey.
- Expository Theme Tune: "I'm a tot, Je suis une tot. Tilly, Tom, and Tiny, we're the Tots on Tots TV, one, two, three, BOO!"
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every episode has a noun as its title.
- Meaningful Name: Tiny has a Mickey Mouse voice.
- Missed Him by That Much: The Tots, due to obliviousness or contrivance, never catch onto Furryboo's existence despite it living in the same house as them. They do sometimes see or hear its presence, but it is always obscured enough for them to never figure out its identity (eg. it moving underneath an object, convincing them it is alive or magic).
- The Movie: Big Treasure Adventure.
- Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: When Tilly says something in French, Tom or Tiny would sometimes repeat it in English.
- Shout-Out: As with Rosie & Jim, this show contains loads of sightings to find! Try watching the Playground episode! Good luck, you'll need it!
- Superhero Episode: Super Tiny. Yes, even for a show from the creators of Teletubbies.
- Token Minority: Tom is British-African.
- Trickster Archetype: For a francophone character, Tilly actually loves causing trouble. Take the time she used a donkey mask on the others in one episode.
- Three-for-One Show
