Trap Door ( TV Series 1984 )





 

Plot

The Trap Door is a claymation-style animated television series, originally shown in the United Kingdom in 1984. The plot revolves around both the daily lives and the misadventures of a group of monsters living in a castle. Although the emphasis was on humour and the show was marketed as a children's programme despite also being entertaining for adults, the show drew much from the genres of horror and dark fantasy. The show has since become a cult favourite and remains one of the most widely recognised kids' shows of the 1980s.



 

The show was created by British animators Terry Brain and Charlie Mills, and 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. Together they were referred to as "Brainbox Mills". Later, Terry Brain went on to be an animator with Aardman Animations and has since worked on the six Wallace and Gromit animated films, as well as the animated film Chicken Run and animated television shows such as Gogs and Creature Comforts.



A total of 25 episodes of The Trap Door were made in 1984, with each episode with a running time of around four minutes. Two years later in 1986, when the show had proved successful, a second series was produced and aired with a further 15 episodes of similar running time. There were a total of 40 episodes of the show produced.



 

All the character voices were provided by Willie Rushton, an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded Private Eye, the satirical magazine. The recognizable 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 world of The Trap Door is completely inhabited by monsters, and almost all the show takes place in the monsters' castle, and especially the pantry or cellar where Berk, the castle servant and central character of the show, resides. Beneath the castle are a series of dark and mysterious caverns inhabited by all manner of "horrible things", accessible by the eponymous trap door in the bowels of the castle.



 

The master of the castle, "The Thing Upstairs", resides in the attic of the castle and is never actually seen, remaining an unseen character throughout the entire show, only shouting down orders to Berk. This happens when it is hungry and wants dinner or supper, or when it wants something attending to, such as shelves putting up or the giant venus fly traps in the castle garden feeding. Berk has two companions, Boni and Drutt, and occasionally the eponymous trap door is opened by Berk to retrieve something from the caverns below and another monster will escape and cause havoc. In most episodes, Berk, who is quite docile, will accidentally leave the trap door open for something more nasty to escape later on. Though mostly hostile or mischievous, occasionally a helpful or friendly creature does emerge. One such monster, Rogg, becomes friends with Berk and frequently returns to visit.



Intro

 

The introduction scene of The Trap Door was a parody of many of Vincent Price's horror film introductions:

"Somewhere in the dark and nasty regions, where nobody goes, stands an ancient castle. Deep within this dank and uninviting place, lives Berk (Allo!), overworked servant of "the thing upstairs" (Berk! Feed Me!) But that's nothing compared to the horrors that lurk beneath the trap door, for there is always something down there, in the dark, waiting to come out..."

 

The main theme song would start after this:

Don't you open that trapdoor, You're a fool if you dare.... Stay away from that trapdoor, 'Cos there's something down there.... 



 

Characters

Berk: A blue-skinned monster who speaks with a Cornish accent, Berk is the protagonist of the show, and steward or caretaker of the monsters' castle. Loyal and versatile, he is servant of "The Thing Upstairs", an unseen character. Berk often goes about his duties with simple-minded glee, and enjoys cooking exotic things in his kitchen, with ingredients such as mud, eyeballs, snakes and worms. Berk is often warned not to open the trap door by his friends and is strictly forbidden from doing so by his master, although in most episodes Berk does so. His usual exclamations include "Oh, Globbits!" and "Sniff that!" He also enjoys hitting other monsters over the head with blunt objects.



 

BoniBoni is a disembodied, undead, well spoken skull, and Berk's only real friend. He hates to be moved from his favourite spot, an alcove in the wall near the trap door and spends most of his time moaning, being paranoid, or unsuccessfully trying to warn Berk about the trap door.

Berk's pet "thing", vaguely resembles a frog with the legs of a spider. Drutt is hyperactive and makes bizarre noises resembling flatulence. Drutt often causes trouble when chasing after worms and other creepy-crawlies, sometimes going down into the caverns in search of them.

 

The Thing Upstairs: The grumpy and demanding master of the castle, "The Thing Upstairs" rarely leaves his room, and consequently is never seen. He always has a job for Berk, which he orders in a booming voice, usually involving fixing something or preparing meals.



Only hints are given as to what "The Thing Upstairs" looks like. In the 14th episode of series one, "The Little Thing", Berk enters his room and a lightning flash illuminates a mass of tentacles. In the 13th episode "The Pain", Berk asks which head "The Thing Upstairs"'s toothache is in. The tooth itself is a fang and about two-thirds the size of Berk. In a later episode ("Not Very Nice"), Berk loses one of "The Thing Upstairs"'s eyeballs down the trapdoor, demonstrating that his eyes are removable; Berk later recovers it. The master's eye is almost as big as Berk. In the episode "The Stupid Thing" it is mentioned he has three humps on his back. Later it is revealed that the master can fly, though this is never shown.

 

RoggRogg is a large pink-skinned creature. His first appearance is in the fourth episode of the first series, "Lurkings". Rogg returns often after that. Not very intelligent, he likes Berk and often helps him out. They eventually become friends.



The Splund: A big round horrific sounding monster which Berk pops with a giant needle.



 

Bubo: A mischievous small yellow creature who is initially invisible until covered in yellow "scunge", a messy gourmet dinner. Bubo occasionally returns in further episodes, still covered in yellow scunge and therefore visible, and causes Berk further annoyance.



Big Angry Red Thing: This large red-skinned monster makes its first appearance in the first episode, when it escapes from the caverns below the trap door and into the castle. In the last episode it makes a reappearance, with Rogg apparently sacrifing himself to save Berk, Boni and Drutt.





 

Episode Guide



Series 1

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1. Breakfast Time
2. Slither, Wriggle and Writhe
3. Food for Thort
4. Lurkings
5. Gourmet's Delight
6. Creepy Crawly
7. The Big Thing
8. Ghoulies
9. The Dose
10. The Thingy
11. Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite
12. Fester Rancid
13. The Pain
14. The Little Thing
15. Don't Open That Trap Door
16. Junk Food
17. Yecch!
18. The Flyin Fingy
19. Strange Goings On
20. Midnight Snack
21. Nasty Stuff
22. Sniff That
23. Vile Pile
24. Slightly Weird
25. Bye Bye Berk





Series 2

 

1. Scunge
2. Oh Globbits
3. Moany Boni
4. THe Horrible Thing
5. Not Very Nice
6. Bugs
7. Yum Yum
8. Birthday Surprise
9. The Stupid Thing
10. Boo
11. The Lump
12. The Splund
13. Nasty Beasty
14. What a Weirdo
15. The Big Red Thing