The Helicopter

The Helicopter is the 19th episode of the original series. It first aired on 24th April 1997.

Plot[]

Po plays with the levers and buttons on the control panel inside the Tubbytronic Superdome. Just then she suddenly sees The Magic Windmill spinning. The Teletubbies watch Sam have a ride in a helicopter from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. Back in Teletubbyland, Laa-Laa goes out to play with her ball. She bounces it and then throws it. But she accidentally gets it stuck up a tree. Laa Laa tries to jump up and reach it, but she isn't tall enough to reach her ball Dipsy tries to reach the ball, but he isn't tall enough either. Even Tinky Winky isn't tall enough to reach the ball even when he tries to. Laa-Laa feels very sad because she can't reach her ball. But however, Po thinks she can reach the ball, even though she is the smallest Teletubby of all. She borrows Tinky Winky's bag, spins it around, and releases it. The bag hits the ball and it falls out of the tree. Laa Laa is overjoyed to have her ball back when she is happy and feels better, Tinky Winky gets his bag back and the Teletubbies and the narrator say 'Clever Po!' Then suddenly, the Magic Windmill starts spinning again. The Teletubbies watch The 3 Ships sail through Teletubbyland. The Magic Windmill stops spinning and it's time for Tubby Bye-Bye.

Featuring: Barry & Sam Philpott

Trivia[]

In the Scene where Po plays at the Control Panel, there are four coloured hands where the Tubby Sponges would be and some different lights in the middle of the Control Panel.
This is the second and last episode to not include the Baby Sun scene when the Teletubbies go and watch The Three Ships. The other episode was Playing in the Rain.
This episode also includes a rare animation of the Windmill.
This is the fifth and last episode to feature the modified window version of the Normal animation. The other four episodes were Lambs, See-Saw, Owl Babies, and Feeding the Chickens (the previous episode).
A fade effect is used after The Three Ships Magical Event. The fade transitions to the Magic Windmill about to stop spinning.
This is the first time that Tinky Winky, Dipsy and Laa-Laa laugh at Po for being small. The second time was Playing with Dough and The Giant Tubby Toast.
Dipsy was the boo shouter.
Laa Laa was the missing teletubby.
This is the second episode where Laa-Laa says 'Bibblycheese!'.
This is the first episode where Po Plays with the Controls.
This is the first episode where Laa-Laa's ball gets stuck in a tree.
The first part of the video segment in this episode was filmed at the original Penzance Heliport, which British International Helicopters closed on 31 October 2012, and was torn down in 2013 to make room for a supermarket with a new Penzance Heliport nearby, which is now operated by Penzance Helicopters in conjunction with Sloane Helicopters. The last part of the video segment in this episode was filmed at the Tresco Heliport in the Isles of Scilly.
The helicopter in the video segment of this episode was a Sikorsky S-61 containing the registration number G-BFFJ with the British International Helicopters logo.
The woman who briefly appeared in the video segment of this episode was Pippa Ramage. If you look closely on the badge, you can see her name.
The music in the TV event is later reused in Hovercraft (another episode that features The Three Ships).

Goofs[]

Tinky Winky would have actually been able to get Laa-Laa's ball out of the tree as he is 10 feet tall and the ball was actually in Tinky Winky's reach as he almost touched it.