Little Howard's Big Question


Little Howard's Big Question is a 2009–12 BBC One/CBBC children's edutainment programme starring Howard Read as Big Howard and his six-year-old animated friend, Little Howard. The programme was first broadcast on 8 January 2009, running for a series of 13 episodes. Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010, and series 3 began on 18 May 2011.

Format

Animated boy Little Howard and his live-action guardian Big Howard live together in Purley, London. Each episode typically begins with a short comedy sketch, which inspires Little Howard to blow a loud animated klaxon and ask a "big question" on a related topic. After a credit sequence involving an animated monkey song-and-dance routine, the remainder of the programme investigates possible answers to the big question, using a combination of research, expert advice, fantasy, and song.
Further assistance is provided by Mother, a pink or orange anthropomorphic personal computer that wears clothes and feels emotions.
Although the programme is broadcast on the BBC, which does not show commercial advertising, each episode features a comedy "advertising break" with imaginary products vaguely related to the big question. Similarly, a frequent element throughout the series is the use of humorous pop culture references to appeal to an adult audience, and which would fly over younger viewers' heads.

Awards

On 16 November 2011, the episode Why do Things Have to Die? from series 2 won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for Best Children’s Television Script.

List of episodes

Series 1

Series 1 began airing on 8 January 2009. Performers who appeared in series 1 included: Kirsten O'Brien, Lucy Porter, Justin Edwards, Ishia Bennison, and David Penn.
#Little Howard's Big QuestionOriginal air date
1Why Do I Need to Go to Sleep?8 January 2009
2Why Can't I Fly?15 January 2009
3How Did I Get Here?22 January 2009
4Can I Get Big Howard Abducted by Aliens?29 January 2009
5How Will I Know When I'm in Love?5 February 2009
6How Can I be Lucky?12 February 2009
7Could Dinosaurs Ever Come Back?19 February 2009
8Why Does Time Fly When You're Having Fun?26 February 2009
9What is Funny?5 March 2009
10What the Gibbing Flump Are You on About Doris?12 March 2009
11What is the World's Most Dangerous Food?19 March 2009
12Can I Believe My Eyes?26 March 2009
13Little Howard's DVD Extras
26 March 2009

Series 2

Series 2 began airing on 6 October 2010. The first two episodes were shown on BBC Two, and the rest of the series on BBC One. The series introduced many new characters, real and cartoon, including Little Howards "Sort-of half-brother, kind-of" Little Albert. Actors who appeared in series 2 included David Schneider, Sy Thomas, Lucy Porter, Siân Lloyd, Jarred Christmas, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Marek Larwood, Barney Harwood, and Andre Vincent. Helen Lederer featured in more than one episode as Big Howard's Mum.
#Little Howard's Big QuestionOriginal air date
1Why Can't I Get Hold of Sawblaind the Municipal?6 October 2010
2How Can I Make a Monster?13 October 2010
3How Can I Learn Superpowers?20 October 2010
4Is There Anything Smellier Than Big Howard?27 October 2010
5How Can I Make Big Howard Famous?3 November 2010
6Who's Been Eating My Porridge?10 November 2010
7Why Can't I Be You?17 November 2010
8Can I Wrestle Control of the Weather from Sian Lloyd's Evil Grip?24 November 2010
9Can I Dig to Australia?1 December 2010
10Why Do Things Have to Die?8 December 2010
11Can Father Christmas Star in Our Nativity Play?15 December 2010
12Can Big Howard Live Without His Mobile Phone?5 January 2011
13The Best of Little Howard's Big Questions12 January 2011

Series 3

Series 3 began airing on 18 May 2011. Actors who appeared in series 3 included: Rusty Goffe, Ben Moor, Daniel Hill, Chris Cox, Doc Brown, Trevor Neal, and Thomas Nelstrop.
#Little Howard's Big QuestionOriginal air date
1Why Can’t I Be Bigger?18 May 2011
2How Can I Be In Two Places At Once?25 May 2011
3Can I Catch a Mermaid?1 June 2011
4How Can I Change Someone’s Mind?8 June 2011
5Why Am I Afraid?15 June 2011
6Am I Normal?22 June 2011
7Can I Read Big Howard’s Mind?29 June 2011
8Why Can’t I Be In Charge?13 July 2011
9Am I Art?20 July 2011
10Where Is Big Howard?27 July 2011
11Can I Sing For A Whole Episode?3 August 2011
12Why Do I Have To Share?10 August 2011
13The Little Howard’s Big Question Awards17 August 2011