The series is based around the adventures of Stitch and Mo, two everyday kids who are transported to various historical eras with the help of a time portal. In each episode, their historical adventures help teach them a lesson or solve a problem in their everyday lives, often involving bully Darren Dongle. Animated sidebars explain the historical details, and clarify popular misconceptions.
Characters
Stitch is one of the two main protagonists, he has black glasses and usually wears a huge dark-green T-shirt that has a rat on it and covers the rest of his body. He is shown to be lazy and loves food, and also considers himself quite a comedian. He is voiced by Billy West.
Mo is one of the two main protagonists, she wears a white T-shirt with a flower on it, and green camouflage jeans. She is the brains of the pair. Mo is also shown to love animals. She is voiced by Cree Summer in the original American version and Jo Young when the show was dubbed and shown in the UK.
Darren Dongle is the main antagonist, a nerd who knows a lot about history, but is shown to enjoy taunting Stitch and Mo. He is over-confident and hates it when he's wrong. He is voiced by Jess Harnell.
The Narrator is shown to be a good joker and zaps Stitch and Mo back in time to solve their situations. In Amazing Aussies, his name is revealed to be "Frank Synopsis." He is voiced by Billy West in the original American version and was dubbed by Stephen Rea when the show was dubbed and shown in the UK.
Production
Horrible Histories is based on Terry Deary's book series of the same name. Deary later said he had had a "negative experience" with the show. The show is produced by California-based indie Mike Young Productions, Telegael Galway, and Scholastic Entertainment. It marked Young's and Telegael's first collaboration. It is directed by Andrew Young and Gordon Langley. It is produced By Martha Atwater, Tamar Simon Hoffs, Michelle Conway, Paul Cummings, Deborah Forte, Mike Young, Mark Young, Beth Richman and Charlie Stickney, among others. It is animated by Glenn Jason Hanna. It is written by Martha Atwater, Terry Deary, Charlie Stickney, Andrew Young, Gordon Langley, William Forrest Cluverius. It has a running time of 25 minutes. On the British channel ITV, the show attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers each week. Stephen Rea did his voice recording work in Dublin. In 2006, The Mirror held a promotion where readers had to collect 12 coupons and send them in to receive a free copy of the Horrible Histories DVD collection.
"Rotten Romans" – Julius Caesar did not build the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was built by Vespasian.
"Revolting Revolution" – When the episode was dubbed in the UK, the narrator says at one point that George Washington died in 1793. However, the original version from the USA correctly said that George Washington died in 1799.
"Amazing Aussies" – Sheep are not native to Australia, Europeans brought them over.
DVD release
The show's episodes have been released as single episodes, as 3-in-1 packs, or as one whole series. The series was released as a 3-disc DVD box set in 2005.
