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The Hoobs is a children's television programme created and produced by The Jim Henson Company. It stars four creatures called Hoobs (Iver, Groove, Tula and Roma) from the fictional Hoobland, and their interactions with Earth and the human race. In each episode they try to find the answer to a question to be put in the great Hoobopaedia created by Hubba Hubba, back in Hoobland, in hopes of learning all there is to know. They live in the Hoobmobile and travel to all parts of the world. The four creatures are puppets, but the show also includes some animated sequences as well as live motion of human children who explain concepts to the Hoobs.

In Britain it is a regular feature in early morning schedules, regarded by some as a cult favourite with students and those adults with a nostalgic fondness for the Muppets. The show is made in the UK, as are many other Jim Henson Company productions. It was commissioned for Channel 4, and has been shown at around the times of 6:00am to 7:00am regularly since January 1, 2000. It has also been regionalised for other countries, including North America. [1]

The Hoobs replaced the popular puppet based childrens' show Sesame Street, which was an initially controversial move due to the popularity of Sesame Street with its iconic Muppet Show characters. It was said that a more "English" show would be more beneficial to children, rather than the America biased culture of Sesame Street. However, some criticised the Hoobs as not achieving this aim due to the fact the Hoobs use various "Hoobisms" as detailed below, these claims have not yet been shown to have any major effect.

• "Hoobledoop!" - Hello
• "Hooble-toodle-doo!" - Goodbye
• "Hoobalicious!" - Delicious
• "Hoobacious!" - Fantastic
• "Hoobygalooby!" - Wow
• "Squigglytiddlypeep" - Baby
• "Tiddlypeep" - Child
• "Peep" - Grown-up
• "Wrinklypeep" - Senior citizen

The four main characters are Iver, Tula, Groove and Roma . Iver, Tula and Groove live in the Hoobmobile, a psychedelic bus. Roma also lives in the Hoobmobile but is rarely there as she travels the world like a reporter on her motorbike (the "Hooby Pikki-Pikki"). The Hoobmobile is powered by music - in the engine there are three creatures called Motorettes ( Tootle, Timp & Twang ) who play a selection of instruments to make the vehicle move. Iver (purple) is the team leader and co-ordinator and Tula (pink) is the inquisitive and occasionally bossy one, while Groove (green) is the happy-go-lucky one who spends his time managing his numerous collections of different things, with a grouped collection for every single occasion. Roma (orange) is usually on location, and reporting back to the Hoobs. Hubba Hubba (blue) seems to be a superior, and is back in Hoobland, occasionally calling the Hoobs by video link to collate any more gained information.

A typical episode involves:

• A preamble during which a question (to be answered) is stumbled upon.
• Hubba Hubba formalises the task.
• Roma is e-mailed to provide a report.
• Ending a sentence with "who", "what", "when", "where", "why" or "how" causes a cut away to a Motorettes' performance of that word.
• There may be a song from the Hoobs or the Motorettes, with familiar lyrics, or a familiar tune (operas and musicals are a favourite), or neither.
• The Hoobs visit the "tiddlypeeps" (i.e. children) twice, as "They're smart, they're fun, they know".
• One Hoob drives (left hand drive), one visits and turns the key and the third may participate in the B story
• An animated story is aired
• Reportage on a related subject appears on HoobNet
• Various inappropriate solutions are rejected for an answer, just in time
• Hoob News at the end summarises the adventure.

Puppeteers: Iver: Don Austen Tula: Julie Westwood Groove: John Eccleston, Mark Jefferis, Brian Herring Roma: Gillie Robic Hubba Bubba: Mark Jefferis, Brian Herring. Motorettes: Mark Jefferis, Rebecca Nagan, Wim Booth

This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• Hoobs entry on H2G2
• The Hoobs at Channel4.com