Hilltop Hospital

Hilltop Hospital (French: Hôpital Hilltop) is a claymation television series made in 1999, directed by Pascal Le Nôtre. It is adapted from a series of books by Nicholas Allan of the same name.

Hilltop Hospital
Also known asHôpital Hilltop
Klinik Hügelheim
Dokter Fieberbei
Heuvellandziekenhuis
GenreAnimated television series
Based onHilltop Hospital books by Nicholas Allen
Written byNicholas Allan
Directed byPascal Le Nôtre
Voices ofKevin Whately
Sally Ann Marsh
Celia Imrie
Paul Shane
Brian Murphy
Julie Higginson
Jonathan Kydd
Dame Thora Hird
Joanna Ruiz
Theme music composerBen Heneghan and Ian Lawson (English version)
ComposersBen Heneghan
Ian Lawson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
France
Germany
Original languagesEnglish
French
German
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52
Production
Executive producersLucy Murphy
Mikael Shields
ProducersPatrick Evano
Robin Lyons
Mikael Shields (season 1)
CinematographyLubomir Bakchev
Jean-Pierre Chaligne
Running time10 minutes
Production companiesSiriol Productions
Folimage
EVA Entertainment (season 1)
Release
Original networkITV (CITV) (United Kingdom)
Canal J and France 3 (France)
ZDF (Germany)
Original releaseSeptember 30, 1999 (1999-09-30) –
October 23, 2001 (2001-10-23)

The theme tune and incidental music for the English version of the series was composed by Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson who also composed the music for the original and mid-2000s Fireman Sam series and Joshua Jones.

List of characters

The hospital is staffed by adult animals with mainly young animals as patients. Regular characters include:

  • Dr. Matthews, a dog, who seeks the romantic attention of surgeon Sally.
  • Nurse Kitty, a cat, who seeks the romantic attention of Dr. Matthews, who for the most part appears not to notice.
  • Surgeon Sally, a hippo, a workaholic surgeon who has no time for Dr Matthews' attention.
  • Clare and Arthur, two rats, who provide technical and laboratory services.
  • Dr Atticus, a tortoise, the anesthetist who often is sleeping.
  • The two Teds, two identical twin bears, who drive the hospital ambulance and work as orderlies.

The English-language version featured the voices of Kevin Whately (Dr. Matthews), Sally Ann Marsh (nurse Kitty), Celia Imrie (surgeon Sally), Paul Shane (the two Teds), Brian Murphy (Dr. Atticus), Julie Higginson (Clare the lab rat) and Jonathan Kydd (Arthur the lab rat). Guest voices included Dame Thora Hird as Gracey Greyshell in Gracey Greyshell's last day.

Episodes

Season 1 (1999)
  1. Heart Trouble (30 September 1999)
  2. Easter Bunnies (1 October 1999)
  3. Blood Bank (2 October 1999)
  4. The Big Event (4 October 1999)
  5. Rag Week at Hilltop (5 October 1999)
  6. The Big Match (6 October 1999)
  7. Gracey Greyshell's Last Day (7 October 1999)
  8. Fire Alert (8 October 1999)
  9. Happy Birthday, Dr. Matthews! (11 October 1999)
  10. The Mystery Illness (12 October 1999)
  11. Radio Hilltop (13 October 1999)
  12. Nurse Kitty's a Star (14 October 1999)
  13. The Ghost of Hilltop
  14. Blind as a Bat
  15. Accidents Will Happen
  16. Lift-off at Hilltop
  17. A Perfect Wedding
  18. Flower-Power
  19. Dogs Dinner
  20. Weasel Kneasal
  21. Mouth-to-Mouth
  22. All Creatures Great and Small
  23. Butterflies in My Tummy
  24. The Bear Who Wouldn't Share
  25. Press-ups and Bunny Hops
  26. Pamela's Secret

Season 2 (2001)
  1. Secret Beds (3 September 2001)
  2. Saving Your Bacon
  3. Teething Trouble
  4. The Hyper Hedgehog
  5. Lazy Eye
  6. Laughter is the Best Medecine
  7. Bully For You
  8. Hot and Bothered
  9. Nits
  10. Nightmare at Hilltop
  11. A Good Sketch
  12. Fond Memory
  13. C-C-Caspar
  14. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
  15. Safety First
  16. Wee Trouble
  17. Testing Time
  18. Earache at Hilltop
  19. Larger Than Life (10 October 2001)
  20. Smile (13 October 2001)
  21. New Talent (15 October 2001)
  22. Skin Deep
  23. An Extra Pair of Hands
  24. Siamese Twins
  25. Cold Feet (21 October 2001)
  26. The Blues (23 October 2001)

Development

The series is co-produced by British company Siriol Productions and French companies Folimage and EVA Entertainment (season 1) for France 3, Canal J, ITV, and German network ZDF, with Buena Vista Home Entertainment handling all European video rights. The first season was pre-sold to Canal J for an air date in 1999, while France 3 would air the series in the Spring of 2000.[1]

References
  1. "The preschool scene a la France".
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