Netflix’s ‘Teletubbbies’ and the Alarming Invention of ‘Tiddlytubbies’

Seven years ago, Teletubbies introduced the world to a shocking new creation: In a 2015 episode titled “Babies,” eight tiny Teletubbies joined our favorite gang of four—that would be Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po—in the Tubbytronic Superdome. Their names: Ping, Duggle Dee, Ru-Ru, Umby Pumby, Daa-Daa, Mi-Mi, Baa, and Nin.

All of us might’ve thought the original four Teletubbies were babies themselves, given that they still wear bibs to eat and their favorite hobby is big hugs, but not so! It turns out, these wide-eyed, six-to-ten-foot-tall creatures are (somehow) also caretakers! And being that I did not exactly keep up with Teletubbies after graduating to The Big Comfy Couch, this is all information I only discovered recently, when Netflix unveiled its reboot.

The new Teletubbies, which debuted Monday, are as brilliantly bizarre as ever. At the top of each episode, narrator Tituss Burgess welcomes us to Teletubbyland with the same familiar theme song from the original. Everything appears to be just about where older viewers would have left it: There’s still a baby in the sun, but in a subtle twist on the original formula, it’s a diverse rotating cast of infants. Actress Julia Pulo sings in the “Tummy Tales” that still play on the Teletubbies’ teletummies—now with a little (nonfunctional) play button in the middle. (And yes, these giant fuzzy little guys still love repeat viewings, signaled by the words, “Again, again!”)

But back to those Tiddlytubbies for just a minute. Being that I did not watch Nick Jr.’s original Teletubbies reboot, which bowed in 2014, I admittedly missed this important advent in Tele-history. Evidently, it caused quite a stir—or at least, it did once Twitter found out about this act of Muppet Babies-ification in 2017.

Have we since moved on to accept these “Tiddlytubbies” now? Because if so, I have several questions, including:

1. What is the relationship between Teletubbies and Tiddlytubbies?

2. Who cares for the Tiddlytubbies when the Teletubbies are out frolicking in the meadows?

3. Are the Teletubbies concerned that the Tiddlytubbies outnumber them, or are they comforted by the knowledge that Tiddlytubbies are incredibly small?

4. Why does the existence of any fictional creature inevitably seem to beget a smaller “baby” version of said creature?

5. Who does Noo Noo like better–the Teletubbies or their tiny brethren?

For one of these questions, at least, it appears there’s a real answer: A representative for the show told BuzzFeed News that Teletubbies play “an elder sibling role to the Tiddlytubbies and help look after them under the guidance of the Voice Trumpets.”

This does not, however, address my broader concerns about the consistency of care that these Tiddlytubbies receive. During the Netflix series, for example, the creepy little CGI creatures disappear almost as soon as they show up. Sure, this show’s audience lacks object permanence, but what are those of us who have it supposed to think when the Teletubbies get up to their usual games outside—seemingly leaving these tiny creatures unattended? Are these the role models our children need right now?

Putting aside these important questions, Netflix’s Teletubbies is as sunny and gentle as ever, and care has clearly been made to diversify the human faces seen on screen, both in terms of race and ability. Burgess brings a cozy but ebullient vibe as narrator, and, most importantly, Tinky Winky still has his purse.

In 26 episodes, all around 12 minutes apiece, the Teletubbies learn about things like: “Bubbles” (episode 1), “Making Friends” (episode 4), and, perhaps most intriguingly, “Purple” (episode 13). The key demographic here is still definitely the toddler set, although adults who watch the original to get high will probably be just as pleased with the new ones. All in all, it’s a solid reboot of one of TV’s weirdest phenomenons, right alongside Barney and the 90s sitcom Dinosaurs. And just as in the original, it’s never too long before the ’tubbies hop back into their holes and say “bye-bye.”

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