Based on the eponymous series of books by the show's creator Carol Lawson, the show is about two families of teddy bears who live in an Edwardiantownhouse, and emphasizes the importance of sharing for the preschool audience.[7]
Illustrator and teddy bearcollector[10] Carol Lawson was reportedly inspired to create the franchise when she came across "a 'downstairs' bear dressed as a maid".[8] It follows in the vein of the similarly-titled 1971 ITVdramaUpstairs, Downstairs,[8] which also features the stories of two families living together under one townhouse roof.
Production of the series began in late 1998, with an anticipated budget of US$3 million.[11] By early 2000, this had increased to US$3.7 million, similar to that of comparable children's television.[7] The cost per episode was $430,000 as of October that year.[6]
Egmont Imagination headquarters in Denmark handled construction of the puppets and backgrounds, which were then sent to the FilmFair studio in London for filming.[8]
Broadcast
The Upstairs Downstairs Bears was first broadcast in English on CITV in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2001.[12] On Teletoon in Canada, it originally aired from September 3, 2001 to December 7, 2001.[9] In the United States, it was broadcast on Smile.[2]
On the French-language Canadian channel Télétoon, it was aired as Les oursons du square Théodore.[13] Internationally, it was also seen on Minimax in Hungary,[14] and Hop! Channel in Israel.[15]
Toonhound had a positive impression of the series, stating: "With its period set details, golden brown shades and soft, sepia light this little show evokes just the right Edwardian atmosphere..."[8]
References
^"Archived copy". www.teletoon.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy". www.teletoon.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
