Nina and the Neurons
GenreChildren's
Presented byKatrina Bryan (as "Nina")
Starring
Country of originScotland, United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series11
No. of episodes225
Production
Running time15 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBeebies
Release26 February 2007 (2007-02-26) –
2 October 2015 (2015-10-02)

Nina and the Neurons is a British television programme shown on the CBeebies channel, aimed at young children to help them understand basic science. Nina is a neuroscientist[1] who enlists the help of five Neurons (animated characters representing the senses) in her brain to answer a scientific question.

The show is produced by Lucille McLaughlin, who has also produced the children's programmes Balamory, Me Too! and Bits and Bobs.[2] The series is commissioned by CBeebies Controller, Michael Carrington.[citation needed]

Synopsis

Most of the show is based at Glasgow Science Centre, with a little part taking place outdoors. At the start of the show, Nina conducts experiments in front of an unseen audience of children. At one point of the show, Nina is 'contacted' by (usually two or three, but rarely four) children, who appear on a computer screen asking a science-related question (e.g., 'What makes rainbows appear and disappear?') Nina then chooses one (or more) of the five Neurons inside her brain based upon which of the senses is most appropriate to answer the question. Once the Neuron has been selected by Nina, the children (called the 'experimenters') then visit Nina, using fun experiments and games.

Afterwards, Nina takes the children out to find out more about the answer to the question, sometimes with the help of their friends and family. After they have found out the answer to the question, they travel back to the Glasgow Science Centre to do another experiment and then, the 'experimenters' leave.

At the end of each show, a song is sung, which changes from series to series depending on the theme of the series. Then, the Neurons discuss what they have done and the individual role they have played. The show ends with Nina and the Neurons bidding farewell to the viewers.

Characters and cast

The main character of Nina is played by Scottish actress Katrina Bryan. She is a scientist who works in the lab. Nina wears a white lab coat with brightly coloured cuffs and lapels in her lab and either a bright yellow coat or a blue jacket when outside. In the programme, Nina drives either a pale blue 1970s Volkswagen Type 2 (Transporter) minibus or a New MINI, both bearing numberplates reading 'NINA', or rides a bicycle in the Go ECO! version.

The Neurons are five computer-animated human characters (stylised with human facial features and body, but no legs) who live together inside Nina's brain and are named to reflect the five senses which they represent:

Felix, voiced by James Dreyfus and later by Lewis MacLeod, represents touch and feel. He is green and also the oldest Neuron, speaks in a posh accent and is particular about his appearance.

Belle, voiced by Kelly Harrison, represents hearing and sound. She has a pink face & a red body but also loud and can be bossy. She speaks in a Yorkshire accent and is the group's vice leader.

Luke, voiced by Patrice Naiambana, represents sight and looking. He is yellow and is also the group leader. His character is laid back and relaxed and speaks with a Jamaican accent.

Ollie, voiced by Siobhan Redmond, represents smell and scent. She speaks with a Scottish accent, just like Bud. She is purple and described as 'sweet, self-assured and a bit of a goth.'[3] She is the elder sister of Bud.

Bud, voiced by Sharon Small, represents taste and eating. He speaks with a Scottish accent, just like Ollie. He is blue and also the youngest Neuron and can be enthusiastic and easily excited. He is the younger brother of Ollie.

Bud and Ollie are often chosen together by Nina due to the way taste, eating, smell and scent all work together. *Note* they were only chosen together in the first episode of the “In The Lab” series.

Ollie later helps Luke in Series 2 by Nina Finding Flowers and Digging Dogs due to the way smell and scent and sight and looking all work together.

Felix and Luke got chosen together by Nina due to the way touch, feel, sight and looking all work together.

Belle and Luke got chosen together by Nina due to the way hearing, sound, sight and looking all work together.

Felix and Belle got chosen together by Nina due to the way touch, feel, hearing and sound all work together.

All 5 Neurons got chosen together by Nina due to the way touch, feel, hearing, sound, sight, looking, smell, scent, taste and eating all work together.

Awards and nominations

  • Awarded Best Children's Programme[4][5]
  • Nominated as Best Children's Programme[6]

Composer: Scottish Composer Graham Ness

Exhibits

There is a themed Nina & the Neurons activity trail at the Glasgow Science Centre.[citation needed]. There was also an attraction located at Alton Towers themed to the show called Nina's Science Lab which opened in 2014 and closed in 2018.

Episodes

The first series began on 26 February 2007 and ended on 30 March 2007. The 2nd series began airing on Cbeebies on 31 March 2008 and ended on 2 May 2008. It was followed by a third, this time called Nina and the Neurons: Go Eco!, on 13 June 2008 as part of CBeebies' year-long green initiative called EcoBeebies, which ended on 15 August 2008. A fourth series called Nina and the Neurons: Go Inventing started on 18 May 2009, where Nina invites several young inventors to her lab to discover how things work by inventing their own versions. It ended on 19 June 2009. The fifth series, Nina and the Neurons: In The Lab, was broadcast from 27 September 2010 to 10 December 2010. In the show, Nina and the experimenters discover changes and reaction.

A sixth series, called Nina and the Neurons: Brilliant Bodies, premiered on 5 September 2011. The show focuses on the parts of the human body. The seventh series, Nina and the Neurons: Go Engineering, is another series about inventions. It started in 2012. Series 8 is called Nina and the Neurons: Earth Explorers, explores the Earth, the sea and beyond. The series also started in 2013. The last three series, Get Sporty (2014), Go Digital (2014) and Get Building (2015) focus on sport, gadgets and building respectively.

(The titles for Series 1 and 2 are from Digiguide[7])

Series 1

Series 2

Go Eco

Go Inventing

In the Lab

Brilliant Bodies

Go Engineering

Earth Explorers

Get Sporty

Go Digital

Get Building

References

  1. ^ BBC Scotland Press Release
  2. ^ Lucille McLaughlin at IMDb
  3. ^ Cbbeebies Grownups Archived 2 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine at the BBC
  4. ^ "The Lloyds TSB BAFTA Scotland Awards 2007". BAFTA Scotland. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Last King rules at Scots Baftas". BBC News. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  6. ^ "The Lloyds TSB BAFTA Scotland Awards 2008". BAFTA Scotland. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  7. ^ "Nina and The Neurons Episode Guide". Digiguide. 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2009.

External links

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