The Furchester Hotel

2014 multi-national TV series or program

The Furchester Hotel is a puppet series that aired on CBeebies (the BBC's preschool network).^[2] It was the second British-American spin-off of Sesame Street that the BBC had made after Sesame Tree 6 years before. The show ran on CBeebies on 26 September 2014. The show aired in 2016 on Sprout (now Universal Kids) until March 2, 2019.

Plot

The Furchester Hotel is a half-star hotel in England that is owned by a monster family called the Furchester-Fuzz Family. The Furchester-Fuzz Family alongside Elmo and Cookie Monster figure out how to solve different issues that are developed by the guests of the Furchester Hotel.

Characters

Main

• Funella Furchester (performed by Louise Gold) is a monster who is the wife of Furgus, the mother of Phoebe, and the aunt of Elmo. Funella is the main proprietor of the Furchester Hotel, welcoming guests and making sure their stay is wonderful in any way she can. She was designed by Ed Christie.
• Furgus Fuzz (performed by Andrew Spooner) is a monster who is the husband of Funella, the father of Phoebe, and the uncle of Elmo. He serves as the jack-of-all-trades at the Furchester Hotel and specializes in the hotel's repair needs. Similar to Grover, Furgus takes on several other jobs around the hotel as needed. He was designed by Ed Christie.
• Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz (performed by Sarah Burgess) is the protagonist of the series. A 7-year-old violet monster who is the daughter of Furgus and Funella and the cousin of Elmo. Phoebe's main duty at the Furchester Hotel is answering the phone. When she gets a monster idea, her pigtail stands on end and she often says "Fuzzawubba!" In "Animal Talk," it is revealed that Phoebe knows many animal languages. In "Phoebe's Key," it is revealed that the key on Phoebe's necklace can unlock all the doors in the Furchester Hotel as well as the hotel safe. She was designed by Ed Christie.
• Elmo (performed by Ryan Dillon) is the cousin of Phoebe and the nephew of Furgus and Funella. He took an extended stay at the Furchester Hotel due to his fascination with it. Elmo's father Louie is the brother of Funella.
• Cookie Monster (performed by David Rudman) works as the room service worker and a waiter in the Furchester Hotel's dining room. As usual, he eats any cookies that come in his sight. In "Cookie Confusion", it is revealed that Cookie Monster has a British cousin named Biscuit Monster who eats biscuits.
• Note: Abby Cadabby was originally going to be cast as one of the main cast in the series, but was cut off just before the main production due to budget reasons.^{[citation needed]}

Recurring

• Isabel is a pink furry bell-shaped monster that resembles a call bell. Similar to the Dingers (to whom she is related), Isabel can only communicate through a series of rings. She notifies Funella Furchester whenever an incoming guest is arriving and has a general knowledge of what's happening in the hotel at all times, as well as also cuing the musical breaks during the episodes. Isabel's puppeteers alternate between Sheila Clark and Lesa Gillespie. She was designed by Ed Christie.
• Harvey P. Dull (performed by Mak Wilson in Season 1 and Neil Sterenberg in Season 2) is a Fat Blue Anything Muppet who is a long-term occupant of the Furchester Hotel. In a similar fashion to Mr. Johnson, Harvey P. Dull frequently bears the brunt of the poor service. He cites the one positive thing about the Furchester Hotel is his favorite comfy chair. Harvey claims that the only reason he resides at the Furchester Hotel is a lack of availability in any other nearby hotels. It is currently unknown why he lives in the Furchester hotel.
• Gonger (performed by Mak Wilson in most episodes, David Rudman in some episodes, Colin Purves in "Very Important Porcupine", and Warrick Brownlow-Pike in Season 2) is a small furry pink monster who initially serves as a minor character in the first season. Gonger would bang the large gong at Monster Tea Time, with the large gong occasionally knocking Gonger down or causing him to have a vibration reaction. Sometimes after he bangs the gong, Gonger shouts "Tea Time" to alert the Tea Time Monsters when it's Monster Tea Time. In Season Two, Gonger has a major role and now works as a hotel chef and still bangs the gong for Monster Tea Time from the kitchen. Gonger was later imported to the main show Sesame Street and joined the cast as part of the season 48 segment "Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck".
• The Tea Time Monsters are a quintet of colourful monsters that appear whenever Monster Tea Time occurs (signified by Gonger banging a gong). When Gonger bangs the gong, the Tea Time Monsters emerge from their rooms and plough their way through the Furchester Hotel to get to their tea. During the credits of each episode, the Monsters are shown enjoying Monster Tea Time while chanting "Ugga wugga tea time, ugga wugga clink. Ugga wugga tea time, ugga wugga drink!"
  • Colonel Mustard^[3][4] (alternatively performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike and Andy Heath) is a yellow monster who is a member of the Tea Time Monsters.
  • Sorbet^[3] (performed by David Rudman and Mak Wilson) is an orange monster who is a member of the Tea Time Monsters. Although the puppet was recycled from the initially named Narf from Sesame Street, after the puppet's other international appearance was for Yoyo on 5, Rue Sésame, the original name was retained as a placeholder for the show's first airings from the year, tagged on Warrick's Facebook profile image,^[4] where a new name took effect months later, posted on Twitter from December 10, 2014. The first name, years later as a member of the Tea Time Monsters, on Sesame Street, was coincidentally revealed to Gonger, both being the British residents, where he's played as chef, and Narf, as a customer requesting an overnight oats breakfast for his bicycle ride on the YouTube exclusive Foodie Truck segment,^[5] performed by Tyler Bunch.
  • Ethel Bay-Mertz^[3][4] (performed by Lesa Gillespie) is a female purple monster who is a member of the Tea Time Monsters.
  • Berry^[3][4] (performed by Toby Wilson) is a blue monster who is a member of the Tea Time Monsters. He resembles a modified version of Herry Monster.
  • Lulu Lemon^[3][4] (performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike) is a green female monster who is a member of the Tea Time Monsters.

Guests

• Big Bird (performed by Matt Vogel) is a special guest at the Furchester Hotel. In "A Big Bird Surprise", Elmo and his friends welcome Big Bird to the Furchester Hotel where he meets everyone. In "A Furchester Christmas", Big Bird and his friends are waiting for Santa where he gives everyone special gifts.
• Count von Count (performed by Matt Vogel) is a special guest at the Furchester Hotel. In "The Count's Vacation", Elmo and his friends meet Count von Count and The Countess to have a break for counting. In "A Furchester Christmas", The Count and his friends are waiting for Santa where he gives everyone special gifts.
• British Two-Headed Monster is a British counterpart of the Two-Headed Monster which sports different facial features and no horns. He makes different background appearances like during the song "A Furchester Never Gives Up" and partaking in the "Monster Monster Day" song where he was seen with Gonger and the Tea Time Monsters.

Production

The series is a British-American co-production. It promotes problem-solving as the monsters try to figure out issues developed by their unique guests. Production of fifty-two 11-minute episodes (for two seasons) began on February 24, 2014 at dock10 studios, MediaCityUK takes about 3 months and ended on May 18, 2014.

On 14 November 2014 Sesame Street's YouTube channel began airing full episodes of The Furchester Hotel each week.^[6]

In February 2016, The Furchester Hotel was renewed for Season 2 which began production on May 16, 2016 and ended on August 19, 2016. It consists of 50 episodes and a double-length Christmas episode as well as guest appearances by Big Bird, Count von Count, and the Yip Yips.^[7] The second season began on 31 October 2016.

On 26 September 2016, Sprout started airing The Furchester Hotel on weekdays.^[8] Reruns were aired until 2 March 2019.

On 23 December 2017, The Furchester Hotel started airing in Canada on CBC Kids.^[9]

Opening sequence

The show opens with a different character's face shaped as the river and zooms down into where the hotel is and all the Furchester Family can be seen singing where they are joined in by Elmo and Cookie Monster. At the end, all the guests are singing with the Furchester Family, Cookie Monster, and the Tea Time Monsters.

Episodes

Series 1 (2014–16)

Series 2 (2016–17)

Broadcast

In the US, the show is on YouTube, Sesame Street Go, iTunes, and as of 26 September 2016, on Sprout. In Australia, the show was airing on 13 April 2015 at 7:30 am on ABC Kids. In South Africa, Poland and Australia, the show was airing on CBeebies. In the UK, Canada, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Singapore, the show is on Netflix. In Canada, the show is on Knowledge Kids, TVOKids and CBC Kids. In Ireland, the show was dubbed into Irish language called "Óstán Furchester" on Cúla 4 on 6 June 2018. In Mexico, the show premiered on Azteca 7 on June 20, 2022 as “Plaza Sésamo: El Hotel Furchester”. In Asia, the show aired on Disney Junior Southeast Asia.

References

1. "Children's Favourite The Furchester Hotel Checks Into Dock10". Dock10. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
2. "BBC - Sesame Street Muppets Elmo and Cookie head to UK - Media Centre". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
3. Warrick's status about the Monsters at Twitter
4. "Warrick Brownlow-Pike". Facebook.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
5. "Sesame Street: How to Make Overnight Oats - Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck". YouTube. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
6. "Elmo and Cookie Monster Check-In Online at The Furcheter Hotel This November". Sesame Workshop. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
7. "CBeebies and Sesame Workshop announce New Production of The Furchester Hotel Series". Sesame Workshop. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
8. "SPROUT JOINS ELMO AND COOKIE MONSTER AT "THE FURCHESTER HOTEL" THIS SEPTEMBER". Sesame Workshop. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
9. "The Furchester Hotel - CBC Media Centre". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
10. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Friday 11 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
11. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Monday 14 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
12. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Tuesday 15 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
13. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Wednesday 16 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
14. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Thursday 17 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
15. "BBC - CBeebies CBeebies - Schedules, Friday 18 November 2016". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.

External links

• The Furchester Hotel at BBC Online
• The Furchester Hotel at Internet Movie Database
• The Furchester Hotel at Muppet Wiki