Production
Lunar Jim is in the building

‘Lunar Jim’ was given the green light in April 2004, and was produced at Electropolis studios in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I was based for three months from August to November 2004 during the show’s pre-production phase.

My time there was proved a huge education in how a show is built from the ground up and of course, how to survive the minefield that is Canadian Content. As a non-Canadian, this status precluded me from doing a lot of things on what had been up until that time, ‘my show’. However, none of the rules and regulations detracted from what proved to be an amazing and invaluable experience.

When I returned to London, I continued to work remotely on the show until the first season of 52 x 11” episodes were delivered. During this time, a lot of my day-to-day duties were shifted to helping with the design/approval of toys by Fisher Price and many different licensees products; becoming the public face of the show in the UK at licensee conventions, in the press and on the radio; and continuing to attend international markets in Cannes to help with PR and further distribution to an eventual 180 countries.

In the summer of 2006, I helped develop, design and write the second series, for which another forty episodes were lovingly crafted. Actually, it was more like giving birth, which I’m reliably informed by my wife isn’t that pleasant an experience. Still, challenges and obstacles aside, I managed to get three new characters introduced: Skye the trainee astronaut; Zippity the mail man; and Yik Yak the resident alien (not my choice of name!). Another addition was a cool Moonport, for passing space craft to refuel and repair. Of course, it would have been even cooler if there had actually been some passing space craft. But as often happens, and at the risk of sounding too cynical (!!), budget often gets in the way of ambition!

In any case, 92 episodes of stop frame animation amounts to a great body of work for a character with such humble beginnings. And I guess it just goes to show that if you dare to reach for the stars, you might at least get as far as the moon. And how bad can that be?

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Lunar Jim Press Cuttings