Dorothy the Dinosaur is the first Wiggles spin-off series that ran from 2007 to 2010. The idea of a Wiggles product focused on Dorothy the Dinosaur and her friends, and without The Wiggles themselves, was first tested in 1999 with the release of The Dorothy the Dinosaur and Friends Video, a clip show of TV Series 2 and had Wiggle Puppets which wouldn't work for the series due to being too creepy. Although many Dorothy-based live tours followed, it took until 2007 for more projects based around Dorothy to continue, with the production of this series launching a new sub-brand of videos, albums, tours and merchandise. This sub-brand was phased out in 2013 with the introduction of the current generation of Wiggles, including female Wiggle Emma whose own sub-brand has filled this gap.
Each episode is 7 minutes in length, the shortest length for a Wiggles series until Series 1 of Emma!.
Series 1 showcases the daily life of Dorothy both in and around her house. In addition to recurring Wiggles friends Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and Captain Feathersword often popping by for a visit, we meet Fairy Clare and Fairy Larissa, as well as little Fairy Lucia and baby Fairy Maria. Music in Dorothy’s garden is provided by her own Rosy Orchestra. One song is performed in each episode.
Production began in 2006 after sometime production of Racing to the Rainbow.
Much of the cast of previous Wiggles projects return for this series. Carolyn Ferrie voices Dorothy the Dinosaur and Mic Conway voices Wags the Dog, while Paul Paddick plays Captain Feathersword and voices Henry the Octopus. Fairies Clare and Larissa are played by longtime Wiggly Dancers Clare Field (niece of blue Wiggle Anthony) and Larissa Wright. Anthony’s daughters Lucia and Maria Field play the younger fairies. Wiggles music producer Dominic Lindsay is the conductor of the Rosy Orchestra, which includes his daughters Ashleigh and Kiara as band members, as well as Jessica Kiah and George Tseros.
Series 2 contains many episodes with a similar formula to Series 1, while others involve Dorothy and a friend leaving her home to perform a task, where they meet a guest star with whom they sing a song. Guests include Leo Sayer as a doctor, Troy Cassar-Daley as a librarian, and Don Spencer as a postman, and some episodes start with Dorothy doing a chore like sweeping her path (Wags Takes Singing Lessons and Wake Up Wags) or polishing her windows (Skipping with the Fairies)
Production beginning on Series 2 was reported on 30 April 2007, before Series 1 was televised that June after sometime production of Pop Go The Wiggles!.[7]
The series returned in 2010 with a completely different format. Series 3 has its own page.
Episodes[]
TV Series 1 (2007)[]
- Captain Feathersword and the Dinosaur Book
- Wags Brings Hula Hoops
- Irish Dancing
- Henry Brings Seaweed for Dorothy's Garden
- A Gift for Captain Feathersword
- Wags and the Mirror
- Fairies in the Rain
- A Border of Shells
- Captain Feathersword Cooks
- Wags Does His Own Dance
- The Fairies Swing and Dance
- Henry and Dorothy Dance a Jig
- Captain Feathersword and the Beautiful Dancing Dinosaur
- Wags and Dorothy Have a Picnic
- Dancing Like Butterflies
- Henry and the Music
- Captain Feathersword Brings Some Vegetables
- Making Potpourri and Skipping
- Plants Need Sun
- Henry and the Pearl Shell
- Captain Feathersword and the Bear
- Dreaming
- Fairies Dance the Waltz
- Henry Sings a Song From Greece
- Captain Feathersword Sings a Hebrew Song
- Wags Sings "Poesje Mauw"
TV Series 2 (2008)[]
- Vegetable Soup!
- Singing at the Library
- Captain Feathersword's Singing Lesson
- Dorothy Visits Doctor Leo
- Don the Postman
- Fairy Dancing
- Captain Feathersword Goes to the Dentist
- Francis the Flower Seller
- Dorothy's Singing Lesson
- Lettuce Sing
- Miss Rachael's Dancing Lesson
- Dorothy Speaks Warramiri
- Wags Gets a New Collar
- Irish Dancing With the Fairies
- Don the Postman Delivers a Parcel
- Captain Feathersword and the Hibiscus Flowers
- Skipping With the Fairies
- Wags Takes Singing Lessons
- I Look in the Mirror
- Henry Visits Easter Island
- Dorothy's Tutu
- Orchestral Strings
- Dorothy Has a New Dancing Dress
- Jumping and Running
- Wake Up Wags
- George and His Bouzouki
Tie-in Videos[]
Several Dorothy the Dinosaur videos have been released between 2007 and 2012. The first of these, Dorothy the Dinosaur's Party was filmed and released around the time of Series 1 in 2007, featuring the same locations, costumes and cast. In it, Dorothy throws a party in her garden and invites all her friends to sing and dance. Dorothy the Dinosaur's Memory Book is a clip show of Series 2, with Dorothy and Wags looking through a scrapbook of Dorothy’s memories. Later Dorothy videos share no direct connection to the TV series beyond the use of its theme song and some characters such as Fairies Clare and Larissa.
Home Video Releases[]
Original iTunes Artwork for "Dorothy the Dinosaur, Special Edition" (Series 1 & 2)
Two DVD sets have been released in Australia and New Zealand. TV Series 1, as the name suggests, contains all 26 episodes of the first series. On iTunes, the latter is presented as one 3 hour long video, episodes can not be played individually.
Although no DVD set of Series 2 exists, all 26 episodes are sold together with Series 1 as “Dorothy the Dinosaur: Special Edition” on iTunes in 2 volumes. Because of their short length, the 7 minute episodes are paired in sets of 3, totalling 21 minutes, although the final "episode" of Volume 1 is in fact 4 episodes totalling 28 minutes.
| "Special Edition" Episode List |
|---|
Volume 1
Volume 2
|
Some episodes of both series have been used as bonus features on various Wiggles and Dorothy the Dinosaur DVDs, many of which have to date been the only episodes available outside of region 4. The Blu-ray edition of You Make Me Feel Like Dancing's Blu-ray release contains two Series 2 episodes, marking one of the only times a Dorothy episode has been available to purchase in HD.
Trivia[]
- This was the first overall series to be produced in Hot Potato Studios.
- Greg Page wrote a lot of songs for both series before he left due to being diagnosed with Orthostatic Intolerance.
- Greg Page was also one of the executive producers for Series 1.
- Series 2 was likely filmed after production of Wiggle and Learn, as the same costumes of the characters are used.
- This is the first series The Wiggles didn't appear, but they were the producers.
- because of this, it's also the first Wiggles series to not feature the Big Red Car
- This is the last Wiggles spinoff series until Emma Series 3 to have all The Wiggles as the executive producers (including the yellow Wiggle, i.e Greg Page and Sam Moran) starting with The Kingdom of Paramithi, only the red, purple, and blue Wiggles (i.e Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, and Anthony Field) are the executive producers.
- Series 1 was the only Dorothy series made when Greg was the yellow Wiggle, while the other two Dorothy series were made when Sam was the yellow Wiggle.
- Most episodes of Series 2 will be archived on the internet from The Wiggles Channel on Loop TV and Roku TV in 2022.
- The episode Making Potpourri and Skipping was put on The Wiggles Channel in December 2021 after the special Wiggly Wiggly Christmas.
- The songs in the series are ones that The Wiggles previously recorded in 1992-2005.
- In both series, some songs like Poesje Mauw, Come On Let's Jump, I Look in the Mirror, and The Dreaming Song make their video debuts.
- The series aired on Sprout during the Sprout's Dino-Mite Valentine's Sing-Along block on Valentines Day in 2010 and 2011.[8] However, It wasn't part of Sprout's main lineup, and was exclusive to Sprout On Demand starting March 12 of that same year when the special block began.[citation needed]
References[]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070705145820/http://www.thewiggles.com.au/au/mediacentre/news/45
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200707/programs/ZY9009A026D16072007T152500.htm
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200803/programs/ZY9535A001D3032008T092000.htm
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200804/programs/ZY9535A026D7042008T092000.htm
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20090525025812/http://www.thewiggles.com.au/au/entertainment/tv
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdv47VlyklA
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070610081716/http://www.thewiggles.com.au/au/mediacentre/news/44
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdv47VlyklA