Fireman Sam (Welsh: Sam Tân) is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the fictional Welsh town of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and Tonypandy, which are situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) apart in the South Wales valleys). The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent. They took their idea to artist/writer Rob Lee who developed the concept for them. The finished concept was then presented to S4C who saw the potential in the series and commissioned it.
Fireman Sam first appeared in Welsh on S4C in 1985 and later in English throughout the United Kingdom on BBC1 in 1987. The series finished in 1998 but remains popular well over a decade after the last episode was aired. The series was also shown in Gaelic in Scotland, where it was known as Sam Smalaidh. The series has been sold to over 40 countries, from Australia to Norway and is used across the United Kingdom to promote fire safety.
In 1996, a stage production was turned into a feature, Fireman Sam In Action and released on BBC Video.
Fireman Sam has recently been adapted into a Live musical theatre show, which began touring the UK in June 2011.
The new series airs on Cartoonito.
The show was broadcast in English and Welsh at the same time, but on two different channels – in English on the BBC, in Welsh on S4C. The show's Welsh title is "Sam Tân", which literally means just "Fire Sam". The theme tune (excluding the lyrics) and characters are the same.
The show's production companies were Bumper Films and Siriol Productions (2002–present), and its distributors were British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Sianel 4 Cymru (S4C).
In 2009, Fireman Sam teamed up with over 100 animated characters, such as Big Chris (from Roary the Racing Car), Bagpuss, Postman Pat, Peppa Pig, Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps, Ben 10, Thomas the Tank Engine and SpongeBob SquarePants for a Children In Need single. The single was put together by Peter Kay.
In 1988, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Short Animated Film. The potential recipients were Ian Frampton and John Walker.
Read more about Fireman Sam: Development, English-language Version of Series One To Four, 2003–2005 Series, 2008–present Series, Theme Tune, Critical Response
Famous quotes containing the word sam:
“Either he’s dead or my watch has stopped!”
—Robert Pirosh, U.S. screenwriter, George Seaton, George Oppenheimer, and Sam Wood. Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx)