Fireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam,
his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the fictional Welsh rural town of Pontypandy
apart in the South Wales valleys).
The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent, who took their idea
to artist and writer Rob Lee who developed the concept, and the show was later commissioned
by S4C.
Fireman Sam first appeared in Welsh on S4C as Sam Tân in 1987, and later in English
on BBC1 in 1987.
The original series finished in 1994, and a new series which expanded the character
cast commenced in 2003.
The series was also shown in Gaelic in Scotland, where it was known as Sam Smalaidh.
The series was sold to over 40 countries and has been used across the United Kingdom to
promote fire safety.
Development The original idea for Fireman Sam came about
from two ex-firemen from Kent – Dave Gingell and Dave Jones.
They approached Mike Young, creator of SuperTed in Barry, Wales, and asked them to further
develop their concept.
The idea was then brought to S4C's Director of Animation, Chris Grace, who saw potential
in the idea and commissioned the series.
Grace had previously commissioned Superted, which had achieved success across the United
Kingdom and worldwide.
The characters and storylines were created by Rob Lee, an illustrator from Cardiff, and
the program was produced using stop-motion.
It could take up to 4 days to produce 1 minute of this form of puppet animation.
Fireman Sam has to this day been translated into over 25 different languages including
Mandarin.
Remarkably, in the first four series, all the character voices were performed by John
Alderton and Gareth Lewis.
The later series used several actors' voices.
Voice direction in Welsh was by Pat Griffiths.
Series history Original series
The series originally comprised 32 ten-minute episodes and a 20-minute Christmas special.
The narration and character voices were done by John Alderton.
Sam is the protagonist in the show, and interacts with both colleagues at the fire station and
local townspeople.
He is seen as somewhat of a hero in the village.
Despite being so small, and with so little activity, the town sees its fair share of
fires, which Sam and his team can easily handle.
The vehicles at the fire station include a four-wheeled Bedford TK fire engine called
Jupiter, a six-wheeled 1982 Range Rover Rescue Tender named Venus and Trevor's bus.
Sam's colleagues are Elvis Cridlington, Station Officer Basil Steele, and Penny Morris.
The townspeople are Bus Driver/Auxiliary Firefighter Trevor Evans, Italian Cafe Owner Bella Lasagne,
Norman Price, Norman's mother Dilys Price, and the twins James and Sarah Jones.
The objects include Bentley the Robot, trash can robot, and Mechanical Master Chef.
In the original television series produced by Bumper Films between 1985 and 1994, the
firefighters had yellow and black uniforms, whereas in the new CGI television series produced
by HIT Entertainment and Hibbert Ralph, the firefighters had yellow and blue uniforms.
In 1988, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Short Animated Film.
The potential recipients were Ian Frampton and John Walker.
2003 series In 2003 a new Fireman Sam series was produced
by Siriol Productions, comprising twenty-six episodes, each ten minutes in length.
These episodes used more modern techniques of stop-motion animation including mouths
that move with the dialogue.
This series featured all the original characters, but also introduced some new faces, such as
Tom Thomas, the Australian pilot of rescue helicopter Wallaby One and the Mountain Rescue
4×4 Jeep, an unnamed photographer/news reporter, and the Flood family; consisting of Mike the
plumber, his wife Helen the nurse, and their daughter Mandy.
The updated Jupiter has six wheels, loosely based on a Bedford 6×4, and Venus is loosely
based on a Mini Cooper.
The characters in this series were voiced by John Sparkes, Joanna Ruiz and Sarah Hadland.
The Welsh version aired on S4C in 2003, and the English version premiered on 4 April 2003
and aired on CBeebies.
The show's production companies were Bumper Films and Siriol Productions, and its distributors
were British Broadcasting Corporation and Sianel 4 Cymru.
2008– series Pontypandy is now a seaside fishing village
instead of a village set deep in the hills as in the early series, though most of the
locations have retained their appearances.
Another change in this series is that the twins' parents appear for the first time;
their new-age mother Bronwyn, and fisherman father Charlie, Sam's brother, who run a cafe/fish-and-chip
shop called 'Raj's Wonderful Fish Bar'.
Jupiter was upgraded again, now loosely based on a Volvo FL6 Fire Engine, with a grille
between the sirens and rectangular headlamps on the bumper it was also given a portable
curry serving station.
Venus was still the same vehicle like the 2003 to 2005 series, but it can now shoot
water out of a mounted water cannon.
Trevor's bus was new but with triangular headlamps.
New vehicles introduced were Mike Flood's Van in the sixth season onwards, and Mercury,
Saturn, Pontypandy Flyer, and Bessie introduced from the eighth season onwards.
The outfits were updated throughout the series: Every firefighter have white lining on the
sleeves and the fire badges on the left sleeves and on the back.
Dilys Price has eye shadows, glasses, black hair, necklace, green shirt with pink polka
dots, and blue pants.
James Jones, has a green sweater and olive green pants.
Sarah Jones has a pink shirt, sky blue vest, and bright blue pants.
Mike Flood has green overalls, white shirt and a blue cap.
Tom Thomas has orange rescue suits.
Mandy Flood has a yellow shirt with a blue tank top with flowers, and a purple skirt
with flowers.
Many characters also had aspects of their personalities made more apparent.
Norman Price is far more mischievous and inconsiderate than in the 2005 series and has been given
an ASBO, where his pranks were often planned out and his accidents were due to badly planned
ideas rather than outrageous schemes.
For example, in the episode "Pontypandy Extreme", Norman gets trapped down a wishing well after
attempting to climb down in order to retrieve the coins from the bottom.
Other examples are Station Officer Steele's strictness and maturity and Elvis's decrease
in general competence.
For example, in one episode where a first aid training exercise is taking place, Elvis
is told off by Steele for dancing with the dummy that is being used.
At the same time, Steele is not afraid to unleash the child within him, showing an interest
in kite flying and paper planes.
He also occasionally causes emergencies himself, and always seems to gasp when an emergency
comes in.
Also Station Officer Steele's name has changed to Station Officer Norris Steele
Other changes include the removal of Bella, although her cafe can still be seen opposite
Dilys' shop, now a 7-Eleven-esque convenience store called the "Cut Price Supermarket".
It seems the Whole Fish Cafe and Bronwyn and Charlie have replaced them.
Penny also now has another string to her bow, as she is a trained lifeguard and the driver
of Neptune.
Also Rosa and Dusty have been replaced by Lion, Nipper, and Radar.
Since 2012, additional characters were introduced: a firefighter named Chief Fire Officer Boyce,
one animal called Norris the Guinea Pig, five new townspeople named Derek Price, Moose Roberts,
Gareth Griffiths, Lily, and Mrs. Chen, and two new objects were the ukelele named Marjorie,
AKA Marjorie Stays With Me, and a thermal heating tracking device named Saturn.
In 2014, other characters were introduced: one lifeguard named Ben Hooper, one mechanic
named Joe Sparkes with his wife Lizzie Sparkes, and her daughter Hannah.
Also, new vehicles were introduced: a jet ski named Juno and a fire boat named Titan.
The characters in this series were voiced by Steven Kynman, Tegwen Tucker, David Carling,
and Su Douglas.
Also in 2014, John Hasler, Ifan Huw Dafydd, and Nigel Whitmey joined the cast.
Theme tune The series had a theme tune composed by Ben
Heneghan and Ian Lawson.
The lyrics were written by Robin Lyons, and sung by Maldwyn Pope.
A full-length version was also released on BBC Records, which was the same as the TV
series version, albeit without the slap bass which was heavily featured.
The verse of the song alternates between notes a fifth apart – the intention being to suggest
the sound of a fire engine siren.
The same composers wrote a new arrangement of the theme tune for the 2003 remake, although
this time in straight quavers rather than the 'swung' twelve-eight of the original theme.
Robin Lyons also updated the lyrics.
This version was sung by Cameron Stewart, singer and guitarist with the Cardiff-based
function band Session, and also the originals outfit Calling Madison.
The theme song from the 2003 version was re-used in a shortened form for the CGI series.
Episodes
Spinoffs In 1996, a stage production was turned into
a feature, Fireman Sam In Action, and released on BBC Video.
In 2009, Fireman Sam appeared with other animated children's television characters in a Children
In Need single.
The single was put together by Peter Kay.
The show saw its first feature-length episode, The Great Fire of Pontypandy, released to
DVD and iTunes in 2010, and was shown in select cinemas.
Fireman Sam was adapted into a live musical theatre show, which began touring the UK in
June 2011.
Critical response The ABC website said of the series, "All the
characters blend together into an appealing mixture of fun and entertainment for children
everywhere."
Fireman Sam was given an analysis at commonsensemedia.
It was advised for ages 3 and up, and was given a rating of 4/5 stars.
The show was given a "The Good Stuff" rating of 3/5, which the site stating, "Sam shows
how to stay calm in a crisis.
He also relies on his team to help him solve problems."
Under the section entitled "violence & scariness", the site comments that "Some of the fires
and other crises that Sam faces may frighten the youngest viewers, but everyone is always
safe in the end."
The site explains that parents need to know that "Young viewers will be delighted by the
stop-motion animation, the colorful backdrops of the charming Welsh village, and the funny
dialogue.
Sensitive viewers may need a parent nearby to help them understand that all of the characters
are safe in the end."
On a potential language barrier, the site comments, "The distinctly Welsh characters,
community, accents, and expressions may pose some minor comprehension problems for kids
on this side of the pond, but overall it's good exposure to another part of the world."
References
External links Official Fireman Sam website
Fireman Sam at the Internet Movie Database