Comedian Rufus Hound is to take the lead role in a new comedy which starts on the CBBC Channel on June 11, 2010. The show, Hounded, see the comic play a version of himself in as a television presenter who is transported to an alternative dimension by an incompetent evil scientist trying to take over the world. If all that comes across as mad just remember that kid’s TV doesn’t have to make sense providing there are a couple of fart jokes thrown in for good measure.
Rufus Hound plays himself in CBBC Comedy
The plot (as it shall be known) of Hounded revolves around Rufus Hound as the host of a fictional CBBC science show Funlab, but his seemingly normal day takes a bizarre turn when his future self (played by Steven Wickham) turns up in the studio. After this encounter Rufus is transported into a parallel universe where he has to stop the plans of Dr Muhahahaha (Colin MacFarlane).
Each adventure concludes the same way as Dr Muhahahaha’s time-reversing reset button sends the hero right back to the start of his day. Although repetitive antics and no deviations from plot are rife in kid’s telly it is interesting to see a programme aimed at a young audience borrowing cues from the brilliant Groundhog Day. Youngsters Eva Alexander and Colin Ryan also appear in the series.
Executive producer Jack Cheshire, co-creator of CGI sketch show The Wrong Door, said: “We set out to make a children's comedy series with a real sense of adventure. A show that takes all the visual excitement and slapstick fun of a brilliant animated adventure series and puts it into a live action series.”
Hounded to start on CBBC Channel on June 11
Hound stated in a BBC interview that taking part in the project stemmed from him wanting to make something that this generation of kids could love as much as shows from his childhood like Dogtanian And the Muskahounds and The Trap Door.
Hound made a name for himself in television appearances as the best thing about Dave’s Argumental and for being a regular on ITV2 panel show Celebrity Juice (well, nobody is perfect). He follows his Argumental “opponent” Marcus Brigstocke, who has appeared in Stupid! and Sorry, I’ve Got No Head, into the strange and terrifying existence that is children’s television.
Despite the promise and expectations the obvious problems Hounded faces is striking a balance between being really funny yet also acceptable on children’s TV (particularly more difficult in the age of BBC compliance) but the recent Horrible Histories proved that as long as there’s some creative thought and a decent writing team CBBC comedy can be better than the current crop of BBC Three additions. That’s an actual fact, not a sarcastic “well that’s not hard” aside.
Steven Cookson - Steven Cookson is a writer and attempted journalist based in Howden. Originally from Chester, that Hollyoaks place in North-West of ...
