Australian Television's Favourite Non-humans Quiz

Answer: Plucka Duck

Plucka Duck was brought to life by a person in a duck suit on 'Hey Hey It's Saturday!'. The show started off on Saturday mornings in 1971 as a cartoon show but evolved into two hours of controlled chaos on Saturday nights until 1999 when it was discontinued. There were viewer competitions, a band, a talent contest of sorts, music, strange characters created by the voiceover man, and in the middle of all this was Plucka Duck. One of his duties was to power (via an exercise bike) a device that looked like a rotary clothesline. Hanging from the device were over twenty Plucka Duck dolls. A contestant would have to pluck a duck while the machine was spinning as fast as Plucka could make it go, and would then win a prize corresponding to the number on the toy duck. Yes, it sounds crazy, but I think that was the point!

Foghorn Leghorn and Mumble the penguin are both animated characters in cartoons or movies.

Answer: Emu

Rod Hull was an English born TV personality who started in show business in Australia. He was an actor on 'Kaper Kops' and in the early 1970s an emu puppet became part of his comedy routine. A false arm around Emu's body gave the appearance that Hull was holding the emu, freeing up his real arm to manipulate the puppet's neck and head. Returning to England, Rod Hull and Emu joined the cabaret circuit, appeared in a Royal Variety Performance, and made a very memorable visit to Michael Parkinson's show, 'Parkinson'.

Answer: Humphrey B. Bear

Humphrey B. Bear entertained pre-school children in Australia for over thirty years after debuting in 1965. He was a tall, shaggy, brown bear with a big and shiny black nose. Dressed in checked vest, massive yellow bow tie and a yellow boater, he set about to explore his world as though through the eyes of a four-year-old child, the age of his viewers. For the true trivia nut out there, the 'B.' in Humphrey's name stood for 'Brown'. Humphrey's original name was simply Brown Bear but he received his full name via a viewer competition. The original theme song for the show included the words 'funny old fellow' and 'Humphrey, the fun-loving bear', so if you're old enough, those words should have given you a clue about the answer.

Baloo is the bear from 'The Jungle Book', Paddington Bear is children's literature character, while Bear Grylls is a real person from the land of TV.

Answer: B1 and B2

B1 and B2 are the 'Bananas in Pyjamas' who have their own TV show which has spread around the world. Originally appearing in a children's song in the 1960s, a short segment featuring the Bananas was written into 'Play School'. From 1992, the Bananas has their own show which has proved so popular that versions of it were made around the world.

The Bananas live in Cuddles Avenue with their friends Amy, Lulu and Morgan who are teddy bears. Rat in the Hat works in the local shop providing the Bananas with honeycakes, their favourite snack.

Answer: Agro

The word 'agro' in Australia is used as a shortened form of the word 'aggressive'. You might say that someone is feeling a bit 'agro' about a situation, meaning they're getting a little het up about something. Agro the puppet wasn't really angry. He was quick-witted with a bit of a cheeky side which endeared him to children and adults alike. Operated by puppeteer Jamie Dunn, Agro appeared on Australian TV show 'Wombat' in 1983. By 1989 he had his own show, 'Agro's Cartoon Connection' on weekday afternoons. Co-hosted by a female who was often the target of his wit, the show played cartoons, had competitions for viewers, and chit chat between the hosts.

Agro joked that he was made from a bathmat. The reality was that he was crafted from an existing puppet and given movable eyebrows which could change his looks completely from cheerful to scowling and anything in between. Agro has appeared on several shows aimed at the adult market as a special guest, and Jamie Dunn has advanced his career to be his own personality on radio. Oscar the Grouch, referred to in the question, is of course a character from 'Sesame Street'.

Answer: Henry the Octopus

The Wiggles were formed in 1991 as a project for a university early childhood education course. Not knowing the success that the group would have, it all began with a low budget, the group only playing during school holidays while continuing their studies. Within two years, it became a full-time career with the band going on the road and recording professionally. By 1997, The Wiggles had made their first movie with Twentieth Century Fox. They have sold millions of CDs and DVDs and become a household name in many countries.

Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog and Captain Feathersword were introduced into the shows within a couple of years of the group's formation. All these characters were initially played by The Wiggles themselves. Henry the Octopus has eight legs (as you'd expect) and at the end of every leg is a shiny, black shoe. He's a purple octopus who wears a checked overalls and a yellow boater to finish off his outfit. He's been known to play the drums in the Underwater Big Band and he's fond of dancing with his eight legs.

Answer: Adventure Island

'Adventure Island' was made between 1967 and 1972 by the ABC network. Shown Monday to Friday, a continuing storyline set in the town of Diddley-Dum-Diddley was told by a narrator over the week. The stories involved characters such as Liza (a real person), Percy and Dodo Panda, Clown, and Betty Bruin who would meet other characters who were not so nice and who tried to trick them. To allay fears in child viewers that their beloved characters would come to harm, one of the regulars would sometimes turn to the camera and remind viewers that things will always work out for the best on Fridays. There was also a talking house and puppets in the form of birds, mice and Samson the cat who sat by the narrator.

The show ended on Friday nights with the hostess saying 'So until we meet again, be good, do all you can that's right, and we'll be back to see you same time on Monday night.' in fitting with the good beating evil theme of the show. Awww.

'The Magic Roundabout' was a British TV show, while 'The Curiosity Show' and 'Shirl's Neighbourhood' were Aussie children's shows with no similarity to 'Adventure Island', though equally entertaining.

Answer: Mr Squiggle

Picture a marionette with a large round head, big eyes, a yellow artist's smock with a red tie, skinny arms and legs, yellow pointy-toed shoes and a huge pencil for a nose. That was Mr Squiggle. He delighted children in Australia for forty years (1959-1999) by drawing things with his pencil/nose. His friends on the show were a steam shovel and Gus the snail. There was always a female co-host, usually known by their first name and the title "Miss". The curmudgeonly blackboard would tell him to "Hu-rry up!" while he was drawing his creations starting from a squiggle, often a squiggle a child had posted to the show. Very cleverly, you couldn't see what it was going to be until the end as it was often upside down. Mr Squiggle would then cry out "It's upside down Miss Jane!" or similar to his co-host who would then right the drawing for everyone to see. Bill the steam shovel told awful jokes which he laughed at, sending steam billowing from his engine. Mr Squiggle lived on the moon and flew to Earth on a rocket specially to entertain the kids.

Mr Squiggle was the creation of husband and wife Norman and Margaret Heatherington. Norman worked Mr Squiggle from above, drawing the squiggles, and Margaret wrote the script for the shows. Norman passed away in 2010. Mr Squiggle and other characters from the show remain in the possession of the Heatherington family but are allowed out on loan for exhibitions and television shows.

Answer: Ossie Ostrich

Ossie Ostrich was a large hand puppet operated by Ernie Carroll. He had a large body covered in pink feathers, a long pink neck, a pink head, orange beak, large eyes, and some blue feathers in a Mohawk style on top. He was the co-host of a riotous show called "Hey Hey It's Saturday" (1971-99) for over twenty years, adding mirth and frivolity to an already funny show. His face was made very expressive by Ernie Carroll contorting his hand inside Ossie's beak.

Ossie Ostrich (the puppet, not Ernie Carroll) has found a new home in the National Film and Sound Archives in Canberra. In case you're why Eddie the Eagle sounds familiar, it was the nickname of English ski jumper Michael Edwards who gained fame for his appearance in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. Big Bird lives of 'Sesame Street' of course!

Answer: Play School

'Play School' in Australia was based on the British version of the show. Starting in 1966, the show has enthralled more than one generation of Aussie children by talking to the children as though they were in the room with them. Jemima, Big Ted and Little Ted were toys on the show along with others such as Humpty, Scrap and Daisy. Hosted by various actors through the years, the show educated and entertained children with songs, crafts, story telling and other activities. Jemima was a rag doll, and Big and Little Ted were both teddy bears. Did you expect anything else? ;-) Over forty presenters have appeared on 'Play School' in the forty plus years since it began, with at least ten presenters clocking up ten, twenty or even thirty years on the show. Every day, the hosts would ask the children to look through a window of a certain shape (round, square, etc.) to see what new adventure or story would unfold.

'Sesame Street' is an American children's show, while 'Simon Townsend's Wonderworld' and 'Hi-5' were Aussie shows dedicated to children.