Editing Teletubbies (section)

==Reception==
===Critical reception===
[[Common Sense Media]]'s Emily Ashby found that "while the show's examples of cooperative play, wonder, and simple joys are gentle and pleasing, the creatures can still be a little grating to parents watching along."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/teletubbies-2016|title=Teletubbies TV Review – Common Sense Media|work=[[Common Sense Media]]|last=Ashby|first=Emily|date=17 May 2016|access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> Caryn James of ''[[The New York Times]]'' stated in her review that the episodes "offer a genuinely appealing combination: cute and slightly surreal."<ref>{{cite news| title=TELEVISION REVIEW; Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh, And Others Say Uh-Oh|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/arts/television-review-teletubbies-say-eh-oh-and-others-say-uh-oh.html|date=6 April 1998|access-date=5 June 2014|last=James|first=Caryn|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Upon the show's release, some critics feared that the characters' use of babbling in place of complete sentences would negatively affect young viewers' ability to communicate. The ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' reported in 1997 that many parents objected to its "goo-goo style" and "said the show was a bad influence on their children."<ref>{{cite news|title=TELETUBBIES: Are They Harmless Fun or Bad for Our Children?|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-61096732|work=[[Daily Mirror]]|date=23 May 1997}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref> Marina Krcmar, a professor of communication at the [[Wake Forest University]], told interviewers in 2007 that "toddlers learn more from an adult speaker than they do from a program such as ''Teletubbies''."<ref>{{cite news| title=Teletubbies can't beat people in teaching first words|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-education-toddlers-teletubbies-idUSL2889488920070701|date=1 July 2007|access-date=27 May 2016|publisher=[[Thomson Reuters]]|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> However, Paul McCann of ''[[The Independent]]'' defended this aspect of the show, stating that "''Teletubbies'' upsets those who automatically assume that progressive and creative learning is trendy nonsense. Those who believe that education should be strictly disciplined and functional, even when you're 18 months old. Thankfully ''Teletubbies'' isn't for them. It's for kids."<ref name="Tegna" />

The programme's magical event that features a cut-out [[lion]] chasing a cut-out [[bear]] was deemed inappropriate for children by parents for its unsettling tone, cinematography, and music. It was subsequently banned in several countries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Scott |title=The 'Teletubbies' episode that was banned in several countries |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-teletubbies-episode-that-was-banned-in-several-countries/ |website=[[Far Out (website)|Far Out]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |date=February 3, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ingle |first1=Rhiannon |title=Teletubbies scene was so creepy episode was banned in 1999 |url=https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-creepy-banned-142614-20230224 |website=[[LADbible Group|LADbible]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225160527/https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-creepy-banned-142614-20230224 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |date=February 24, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> A revised version of the sketch was aired several years later with adjusted editing and voice acting.<ref>{{cite web |title=Teletubbies scene so terrifying it was banned around the world re-emerges |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-so-terrifying-it-was-banned-around-the-world-re-emerges/MS6NNXRXUDQLPTPFFG6YPFG264/ |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814230209/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/teletubbies-scene-so-terrifying-it-was-banned-around-the-world-re-emerges/MS6NNXRXUDQLPTPFFG6YPFG264/ |archive-date=August 14, 2022 |date=August 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Vickers-Green |first1=Laura |title=7 Times the Teletubbies Made TV a Much Weirder Place |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/times-teletubbies-made-tv-weirder/ |website=[[Den of Geek]] |access-date=2 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908155813/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/times-teletubbies-made-tv-weirder/ |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |date=September 8, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Although the programme is aimed at children between the ages of one and four, it had a substantial [[cult following]] with older generations, mainly [[university]] and [[college]] [[student]]s.<ref name="Company2012"/><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Gutenko |first=Gregory |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED419257 |title=Deconstructing Teletubbies: Differences between UK and US college students' reading of the children's television programme. |date=1998 |publisher=College of Arts & Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City |location=Kansas City, Missouri, USA |pages=1 |quote=(The campus activities calendar at Imperial College in London includes the airtimes and episode highlights for each show) [parentheses in original quotation].}}</ref><ref name="Brewer2010">{{cite book|author=Susan Brewer|title=Collecting Classic Girls' Toys|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J92wBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|date=19 July 2010|publisher=Remember When|isbn=978-1-78337-521-9|pages=153–}}</ref> The mixture of bright colours, unusual designs, repetitive non-verbal dialogue, ritualistic format, and occasional forays into physical comedy appealed to many who perceived the programme as having [[psychedelic experience|psychedelic]] qualities.<ref>{{cite news| title=Uh-Oh! The 'Teletubbies' Are Making A Psychedelic Comeback|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/16/teletubbies-bbc-_n_5499988.html|date=16 June 2014|access-date=27 May 2016|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|last=Toomer|first=Jessica|publisher=[[Verizon Communications]]}}</ref> Shortly after the premiere of the show, at [[Imperial College London]], the campus activities calendar included airtimes and episode highlights.<ref name=":0" />

===Tinky Winky controversy===
[[File:MardiGrasMarigny1999Falwell.JPG|thumb|A group of people in Tinky Winky costumes at [[Mardi Gras]], 1999.]]
Controversy arose in 1999 concerning Tinky Winky and him carrying a bag that looks much like a woman's [[handbag]]<!--not "purse", which has a different meaning in British English--> (although he was first "[[Outing|outed]]" by the academic and cultural critic Andy Medhurst in a letter from July 1997 to ''[[The Face (magazine)|The Face]]'').<ref>{{cite news| title=The Outing of Tinky Winky|url=http://priceonomics.com/the-outing-of-tinky-winky/|access-date=27 May 2016|publisher=Priceonomics}}</ref> He aroused the interest of [[Jerry Falwell]] in 1999 when Falwell alleged that the character was a "[[gay]] role model". Falwell issued an attack in his ''National Liberty Journal'', citing a ''[[Washington Post]]'' "In/out" column which stated that [[lesbian]] comedian [[Ellen DeGeneres]] was "out" as the chief national gay representative, while trendy Tinky Winky was "in". He warned parents that Tinky Winky could be a covert homosexual symbol, because "he is [[purple]], the [[gay pride]] colour, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle: the [[LGBT symbols|gay pride symbol]]."<ref>{{cite news| title=Falwell Sees Gay in a Teletubby | work=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/11/us/national-news-briefs-falwell-sees-gay-in-a-teletubby.html|date=11 February 1999|access-date=6 November 2010| agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> The BBC made an official response, explaining that "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag."<ref name="Kraidy2007">{{cite book|author=Kraidy|title=Hybridity, OR the Cultural Logic of Globalization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7-c1qL_VMIC&pg=PA106|date=1 September 2007|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1100-2|pages=106–|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Kenn Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment commented, "He's not gay. He's not [[heterosexuality|straight]]. He's just a character in a children's series."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ms7azOI8UgC|pages=106–107|title=Hybridity, Or the Cultural Logic of Globalization|author=Marwan Kraidy|isbn=978-1-59213-144-0|year=2005|publisher=Temple University Press|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

In May 2007, [[Children's ombudsman#Poland|Polish Ombudsman for Children]] [[Ewa Sowińska]] revisited the matter, and planned to order an investigation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6698753.stm|title=Poland targets 'gay' Teletubbies|author=Adam Easton|work=BBC News|date=28 May 2007}}</ref> "I noticed that he has a woman's handbag, but I didn't realise he's a boy", Sowińska said in a public statement. She asked her office's [[psychologist]]s to look into the allegations. After the research in late 2007, she stated: "The opinion of a leading [[sexologist]], who maintains that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible. As a result, I have decided that it is no longer necessary to seek the opinion of other psychologists."<ref>{{Cite news|date=30 May 2007|title=Polish watchdog backs away from Teletubbies probe|publisher=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/polish-watchdog-backs-away-from-teletubbies-probe-1.685924|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601222610/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2007/05/30/teletubby-poland-noprobe.html|archive-date=1 June 2007}}</ref>

Despite the objections, the ''[[Independent on Sunday]]''{{'}}s editors included Tinky Winky as the only fictional character in the 2008 inaugural "[[Happy List]]", alongside 99 real-life adults recognised for making Britain a better and happier place.<ref name="list2009">{{cite news|title=The IoS Happy List 2008 – the 100|newspaper=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-ios-happy-list-2008--the-100-816335.html|url-status=dead|access-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422160042/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-ios-happy-list-2008--the-100-816335.html|archive-date=22 April 2009}}</ref>

In response to this controversy, the gay community embraced the Teletubbies, with Tinky Winky leading pride parades<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herscher |first=Elaine |date=1999-02-12 |title=S.F. Gays Like Idea of Parading Tinky Winky / Teletubby gets votes to be grand marshal |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/s-f-gays-like-idea-of-parading-tinky-winky-2947221.php |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref> and being featured on restaurant menus with themed items.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-08 |title=The Wholly Unsurprising Story Behind Tinky Winky's Elevation As A Gay Icon |url=https://junkee.com/gay-icon-tinky-winky/192924 |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Junkee}}</ref> In 2021, WildBrain, owner of the Teletubbies brand, declared their support for the LGBTQ+ community with the statement "Teletubbies Love Pride." The company released a limited collection of merchandise with proceeds supporting [[GLAAD]]. In a statement, WildBrain said, "The Teletubbies have always embraced their own offbeat quirkiness and sense of style. This Pride Month, we're celebrating that 'love who you are' spirit through our Collection of ready-to-rave fashion that makes Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po very proud."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-20 |title=The Teletubbies embrace Pride, more than two decades after 'gay' Tinky Winky scandal |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teletubbies-embrace-pride-gay-tinky-winky-scandal-120005359.html |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Yahoo Life}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=TELETUBBIES CELEBRATE THEIR "LOVE WHO YOU ARE" SPIRIT WITH BIG HUGS AND READY-TO-RAVE FASHION DURING 2021 PRIDE MONTH |url=https://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/wildbrains-teletubbies-celebrate-their-love-who-you-are-spirit-with-big-hugs-and-ready-to-rave-fashion-during-2021-pride-month/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=WildBrain |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430174941/https://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/wildbrains-teletubbies-celebrate-their-love-who-you-are-spirit-with-big-hugs-and-ready-to-rave-fashion-during-2021-pride-month/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> This was followed up by a 30-piece gender-fluid adult fashion collection commemorating Pride 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WILDBRAIN'S TELETUBBIES CELEBRATE PRIDE 2022 WITH COLORFUL ELLESSE AND GOGUY FASHION COLLABORATION |url=http://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/wildbrains-teletubbies-celebrate-pride-2022-with-colorful-ellesse-and-goguy-fashion-collaboration/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=WildBrain|date=27 June 2022 }}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:99%"
|-
! Year !! Presenter !! Award/Category !! Nominee !! Status !! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| [[Birmingham|City of Birmingham Awards]]
| Best Midlands-Produced Children's Television Production
| rowspan="4" | [[Ragdoll Productions]]
| rowspan="4" {{won}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcworldwide.com/report/highligh/awards/page00.htm|title=BBC worldwide awards 97/98|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=27 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908193655/http://www.bbcworldwide.com/report/highligh/awards/page00.htm|archive-date=8 September 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Japan Prize (NHK)|NHK Japan Prize]]
| Grand Prize (Pre-School Education)
| <ref>{{cite web|title=1997 Japan Prize Winners|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/jp-prize/english/1997/gprix.html|work=NHK.or.jp|publisher=[[NHK]]|access-date=12 January 2015|archive-date=27 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127184531/http://www.nhk.or.jp/jp-prize/english/1997/gprix.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Royal Television Society]]
| Children's Entertainment Award
| <ref>{{cite web|title=Educational Television Award Winners 1997|url=https://rts.org.uk/award/educational-television-awards-1997|work=RTS.org.uk|date=24 January 2011|publisher=[[Royal Television Society]]|access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1998
| [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]
| Best Pre-School Programme
| <ref name="bafta-1998">{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens/nominations/?year=1998|title=Past Winners and Nominees&nbsp;– Children's&nbsp;– Awards&nbsp;– 1998|publisher=[[BAFTA]]|access-date=13 January 2010|archive-date=23 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523180502/http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens/nominations/?year=1998|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[American Marketing Association|Marketing Society Awards]]
| New Product of the Year
| [[Golden Bear Toys]]
|
| <ref>{{cite news|title=Teletubbies win award|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60918943.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911025738/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60918943.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2016|work=[[Birmingham Mail|Birmingham Evening Mail]]|date=25 April 1998}}</ref>
|-
| Online Film & Television Association
| Best Children's Series
| rowspan="10" | [[Ragdoll Productions]]
| rowspan="2" {{nominated}}
| <ref name="Awards-17">{{cite news|title=Ragdoll Productions Awards|url=http://www.ragdoll.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Awards-17-Nov-15.pdf|work=Ragdoll.co.uk|date=17 November 2015|access-date=30 December 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701102800/http://www.ragdoll.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Awards-17-Nov-15.pdf|archive-date=1 July 2016}}</ref>
|-
| [[Television Critics Association]]
| Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming
| <ref name="Awards-17" />
|-
| UK Independent Television Productions Awards
| NATS Children's Award
| {{won}}
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dhxmedia.com/newsreleases/dhx-media-announces-licensing-deals-in-china-for-teletubbies-and-in-the-night-garden/|title=DHX Media Announces Licensing Deals in China for Teletubbies and In the Night Garden...|publisher=[[DHX Media]]|date=24 April 2014|access-date=2 December 2014|archive-date=7 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607181251/http://www.dhxmedia.com/newsreleases/dhx-media-announces-licensing-deals-in-china-for-teletubbies-and-in-the-night-garden/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1999
| [[Daytime Emmy Awards]]
| Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series
| {{nominated}}
| <ref>{{cite news| title=Teletubbies Nominated for Emmy Award|url=http://www.cwn.org.uk/business/a-z/r/ragdoll/1999/04/990408-emmy.htm|date=8 April 1999|access-date=4 January 2014|publisher=Coventry & Warwickshire|last=Bates|first=Chris}}</ref>
|-
| Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association
| Overall License of the Year
| rowspan="2" {{won}}
| <ref>{{cite news|title=Itsy Bitsy fulfills license 'Po'-tential|url=https://business.highbeam.com/2012/article-1G1-54852759/itsy-bitsy-fulfills-license-potential|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805013513/https://business.highbeam.com/2012/article-1G1-54852759/itsy-bitsy-fulfills-license-potential|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 August 2016|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=8 June 1999}}</ref>
|-
| Independent Television Productions Awards
| Nickelodeon UK Children's Award
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dhxmedia.com/newsreleases/agreements-signed-with-bbc-worldwide-asia-and-shanghai-v-pop-for-china/|title=Agreements signed with BBC Worldwide Asia and Shanghai V-Pop for China|publisher=[[DHX Media]]|date=24 April 2014|access-date=2 December 2014|archive-date=12 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712015309/http://www.dhxmedia.com/newsreleases/agreements-signed-with-bbc-worldwide-asia-and-shanghai-v-pop-for-china/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Television Critics Association]]
| Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming
| {{nominated}}
| <ref>{{cite news|title=TV Notes: WPXI to add anchor; where is Avedesian?|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/19990615tv4.asp|work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=15 June 1999|access-date=30 December 2015|last=Owen|first=Rob|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065930/http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/19990615tv4.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2000
| Independent Television Productions Awards
| Audiocall Indie Children's Award
| {{won}}
| <ref name="Publications2003">{{cite book|author=Europa Publications|title=The International Who's Who 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sR4Ch1dMe8IC&pg=PA1830|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-217-6|pages=1830–}}</ref>
|-
| [[Daytime Emmy Awards]]
| Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series
| {{nominated}}
| <ref>{{cite magazine| title=Teletubbies shortlisted for daytime Emmy|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/teletubbies-shortlisted-for-daytime-emmy/1192638.article|date=29 March 2000|access-date=4 January 2014|magazine=[[Broadcast (magazine)|Broadcast]]}}</ref>
|-
| [[Royal Television Society]]
| Education Award
| rowspan="5" {{won}}
| <ref>{{cite web|title=Educational Television Award Winners 2000|url=https://rts.org.uk/award/educational-television-awards-2000|work=RTS.org.uk|date=24 January 2011|publisher=[[Royal Television Society]]|access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]
| Outstanding Contribution in Children's Television and Film
| [[Anne Wood]]
| <ref>{{cite news| title=Children's favourites honoured|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1020282.stm|date=12 November 2000|access-date=4 January 2014|publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>
|-
| 2002
| [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]
| Best Pre-School Live Action Series
| rowspan="3" | [[Ragdoll Productions]]
| <ref name="bafta-2002" />
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| rowspan="2" | Prix Jeunesse
| "Most Edgy" Programme of the Last 50 Years
| <ref name="PJWinners">{{cite news|date=12 November 2000|title=PRIX 2014 Prize Winners|publisher=Prix Jeunesse International|url=http://prixjeunesse.de/images/PDF/PRIX_2014_PrizeWinners.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127190114/http://prixjeunesse.de/images/PDF/PRIX_2014_PrizeWinners.pdf|archive-date=27 January 2016}}</ref>
|-
| Greatest Impact Programme of the Last 50 Years
| <ref name="PJWinners" />
|}