Driver Dan's Story Train
Encyclopedia
Driver Dan's Story Train is a children's CGI
animated story series. It is currently being shown by PBS Kids Sprout
and ABC2
and CBeebies
. It is produced by Twofour54
and 3linemedia Its first series was launched on CBeebies
in January 2010.
Its characters are stylized stuffed-toy-like forms of various animals. Each, or each pair or set (except for Driver Dan and Twinkle) has his own non-powered vehicle which can be hitched to the Story Train. The audience (sometimes seen as several children, but usually represented by the camera's viewpoint and a child's voice) are sometimes asked for their opinion or choice on matters arising.
In each episode, some real children sit on a scatter of cushions. This scene disappears as a book opens, showing a pop-up
model of a railway train with an engine and two carriages: steam locomotive
, stores, a flatbed
carrying story books. This is the Story Train. It quickly changes into a solid train, which drives about, picking up other characters from the list below and having various adventures; it can steer and does not run on tracks.
The Story Train usually passes a character (or a pair or set of characters) without interacting, and later meets and interacts with other characters.
The first time that the Story Train meets a character that it will interact with, the camera shows only part of the character, and the audience is asked to guess which character it is.
Those characters then get into their vehicles, which the train then hitches on (always three of those vehicles) and tows them to Story Corner.
At Story Corner, Twinkle flies ahead and lands on a huge book and pulls at a bookmark
in it. The book opens, showing blank pages; a scatter of cushions falls out of the book onto the floor. The Story Train stops and its passengers get out and sit on the cushions or stand about. Driver Dan reads a story from a book, usually a book from the book flatbed, and says "Now show me the story." The real children then reappear and act out bits of the story, then disappear. The train then sets off again, shrinks to its original 3 vehicles, and quickly becomes a flat model and folds away and disappears. The real children reappear and walk offstage. Each episode lasts about ten minutes.
The majority of the characters talk in English, but some (marked in [square brackets]) only make a characteristic noise, which other characters can interpret as speech.
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animated story series. It is currently being shown by PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
and ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
and CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
. It is produced by Twofour54
Twofour54
Twofour54 is a tax-free media and entertainment free zone based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates that facilitates the development of Arabic media and entertainment content in the region. The company works with businesses in television, radio, film, publishing, online, mobile, music, gaming and...
and 3linemedia Its first series was launched on CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
in January 2010.
Its characters are stylized stuffed-toy-like forms of various animals. Each, or each pair or set (except for Driver Dan and Twinkle) has his own non-powered vehicle which can be hitched to the Story Train. The audience (sometimes seen as several children, but usually represented by the camera's viewpoint and a child's voice) are sometimes asked for their opinion or choice on matters arising.
In each episode, some real children sit on a scatter of cushions. This scene disappears as a book opens, showing a pop-up
Pop-Up
Pop Up is the debut album by French electropop trio Yelle. It was released in France on 3 September 2007 by the EMI-owned label Source Etc. The album peaked at number sixty-one on the French Albums Chart, and went on to sell 20,000 copies.-Promotion:...
model of a railway train with an engine and two carriages: steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, stores, a flatbed
Flatbed
Flatbed may refer to:* Flatbed digital printer, the reproduction of digital images on physical surfaces* Flatbed editor, a type of machine used for the editing of a motion picture film...
carrying story books. This is the Story Train. It quickly changes into a solid train, which drives about, picking up other characters from the list below and having various adventures; it can steer and does not run on tracks.
The Story Train usually passes a character (or a pair or set of characters) without interacting, and later meets and interacts with other characters.
The first time that the Story Train meets a character that it will interact with, the camera shows only part of the character, and the audience is asked to guess which character it is.
Those characters then get into their vehicles, which the train then hitches on (always three of those vehicles) and tows them to Story Corner.
At Story Corner, Twinkle flies ahead and lands on a huge book and pulls at a bookmark
Bookmark
A bookmark is used to keep one's place in a printed work. It can also refer to:* Bookmark , a pointer in an Internet Web browser* a marker of one's place in an electronic document...
in it. The book opens, showing blank pages; a scatter of cushions falls out of the book onto the floor. The Story Train stops and its passengers get out and sit on the cushions or stand about. Driver Dan reads a story from a book, usually a book from the book flatbed, and says "Now show me the story." The real children then reappear and act out bits of the story, then disappear. The train then sets off again, shrinks to its original 3 vehicles, and quickly becomes a flat model and folds away and disappears. The real children reappear and walk offstage. Each episode lasts about ten minutes.
The majority of the characters talk in English, but some (marked in [square brackets]) only make a characteristic noise, which other characters can interpret as speech.
Characters
| Character | Description | Voice actors |
|---|---|---|
| Driver Dan | A lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger... that drives the train: has a tool (multipurpose and somewhat like Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... 's sonic screwdriver Sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,... ) that lets him repair any malfunctioning vehicles. |
Patrick Monahan Patrick Monahan Patrick Monahan is the lead singer and songwriter for the Grammy award winning band Train. He also has recorded a solo album, and has collaborated with multiple artists.-Life and career:... in the U.S. and Peter Serafinowicz Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School... in the UK |
| Twinkle | A brown flying bird that usually rides on the engine's funnel, or flies ahead as a spotter. It is usually [twittering], and occasionally is found crowing. | |
| Counting Sheep | 5 cubical bricks with pictures of sheep on, and on the upper surface a pattern of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 dots in order of descending brick size. They can move and jump about, and stack themselves. [Bleating] | |
| Hip (male) & Hop (female) | Two rabbits; Hip is mostly brown with some white and wears a blue Blue Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal... backpack Backpack A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions... , Hop has the same pattern but with the colors exchanged and mirror-imaged and wears a red Red Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye... backpack Backpack A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions... . |
Alex Kelly and Maria Darling Maria Darling Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise.... |
| Milly and Lily | Two slender paper cutout birds who are somewhat like flamingo Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae... s. |
Maria Darling Maria Darling Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise.... |
| Loopy | A stegosaurus Stegosaurus Stegosaurus is a genus of armored stegosaurid dinosaur. They lived during the Late Jurassic period , some 155 to 150 million years ago in what is now western North America. In 2006, a specimen of Stegosaurus was announced from Portugal, showing that they were present in Europe as well... who wears glasses Glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or... and is fond of jumping; his trampoline Trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes.... has wheels and folds to become his carriage. |
Alex Kelly |
| Precious | A one-humped camel Camel A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,... with a decorated harness. |
Maria Darling Maria Darling Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise.... |
| Sweetie | A giant panda Giant Panda The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo... who is fond of nature and is quiet. |
Maria Darling Maria Darling Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise.... |
| Tallulah | An elephant Elephant Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct... who is always on a wheeled carriage, which is hitched directly to the Story Train. |
Maria Darling Maria Darling Maria Darling is an English voice actress who regularly provides character voices for children's television programmes in the UK and the US, as well as videogames such as the Professor Layton series and the UK versions of the Ape Escape franchise.... |
| The Vrooms (Red Vroom & Green Vroom) | Two egg-shaped vehicles, each with a bumper all round and one big wheel and two small wheels. They each have a detachable helicopter Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally... rotor to fly with. One episode (33. Puddle Muddle) shows each of them with a detachable bulldozer Bulldozer A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,... blade. One episode shows one of them with a detachable backhoe Backhoe A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader... to dig a hole for a pond. They have a two-level carriage for themselves and their accessories. At least sometimes, their carriage has a crane to fit and remove their detachable accessories. [Gasoline engine noises and motor horn noises] |
David Yapp & Art Taylor. |
Episodes
- Season 1 has 52 episodes and a special.
- Season 2 has 50 episodes and a half-hour special.
- A third season has started in Britain on BBC TwoBBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
at 9.15 am Mondays to Fridays; it has another character (Bippity, a stylized blue humanoid robotRobotA robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
); he has his own carriage which can be hitched to the Story Train. There is extra scenery, representing a patch of dense jungle. In the start sequence, a group of several of the story characters is seen, not merely one. Episode 1 of this series was about the Story Train coming across Bippity and meeting him.
External links
- http://www.driverdansstorytrain.com/
- http://www.primarytimes.net/parent_times_parenting_driver_dan.php
- http://www.tvcatch.co.uk/tv/Driver_Dan%27s_Story_Train
- Episode guide