TOM, DICK and HARRY.....
................ is a stop-frame animation comedy for children (and adults) using high quality puppets, models props and sets. Pilot episode, approximately 20 minutes long. Each week, deep in an underground laboratory, three defective robots tamper with test-bed equipment, whilst the mad professor who created them is out shopping. Each week the story centers around a new invention that the professor has come up with, but is more about the robots than the professor..."while the cat is away the mice will play" being a key hook for the kids. Chaos and mayhem always ensues (with Tom usually at the center of it), but comes to an abrupt ending with the return of the professor, who usually puts matters straight....along with the robots, who he takes to with a screwdriver and makes adjustments to their circuits. Although mostly pure entertainment, an educational element will feature with each week's gadget. (i.e. if the machine miniaturises then there will be a focus on the dial and what the numbers mean, etc) Another aim is to plant the seeds of an idea that science can indeed be a lot of fun. In our first story of the matter replicator,letters of the alphabet are placed in a slot and the machine produces an object which begins with the letter chosen. The first letter our protagonists place in the machine is the letter 'E'. The machine produces an elephant....naturally! In search of a solution to the problem of the elephant, the three little robots work their way through the rest of the alphabet in sequence, hoping the machine will produce an object to help them. Before we reach the letter 'M' ( which of course produces a mouse to frighten off the elephant), all manner of strange objects materialise, still beginning with the correct letter, but not obvious choices. This causes more problems and hilarity. The look of the Laboratory is intentionally realistic and futuristic. This should enhance the ludicrous designs of the robots and make them look even sillier (and hopefully more amusing). All the props and gadgets that feature each week, should be background dressing and visible, so that the children wonder about what the props might do. Once they find out that each one does indeed do something, it will make them wonder about the props even more. I also have Synopsis for twelve more episodes



  Synopsis in two
sentences		 'Tom Dick and Harry' is about the madcap adventures of three silly robots, who meddle with their inventors gadgets whilst he is at work. The unfolding choas comes to an abrupt end upon the Professors return to the lab, who usually puts matters straight. Kinda LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE meets FORBIDDEN PLANET meets DICK SPANNER.
Toms profile Tom is the simplest of the three robots and speaks the least, but makes up for it by being the most active of the bunch. When he does talk, his high-pitched monosyllabic stuttering make him sound like MAX HEADROOM on helium. He also makes lots of silly noises during speech, similar to the character from STOP THE PIDGEON/DASTERDLY & MUTTLEY series. I think Joe Pasquali would be a good choice to do the voice of Tom. He is the naughtiest of the three, but this is based on the ignorance of innocence rather than mischief as he also suffers from A.D.D and short term memory loss. He could be repaired in a future episode and become more talkative. I saw Tom's character being similar to Micheal Keatons fourth clone in the film MULTIPLICITY...retarded, defective, capable of great sillyness. His antennea rotates when he's thinking and the top of his head rotates when he's excited.
Dicks profile Dick is Elegant, has full command of the english language and is slightly camp in its delivery, also with a mechanical edge, but not pitched as high as Tom. I thought Julian Clarey would be great as the voice of Dick. He is practical and logical and is the most intelligent of the trio and enjoys a sense of humour that encompasses wit, irony and innuendo but not sarcasm. He often looks at the camera and addresses the audience. He is sometimes SPOCK like with his observations, much to the confusion of the others. Far too independant to be the Professors loyal servant. He is curious and adventurous.....the leader of this hapless band.
Harrys profile Harry is Deadpan, Droll,sarcastic and generally miserable. He is funny in the same way that JACK DEE is funny and he sounds like a cross between VICTOR MELDREW and MARVIN the paranoid robot from HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Jack Dee or Arthur Smith would be ideal for the voice of Harry. Having been left out in the rain for many years, he is totally covered in rust and so squeaks a lot when he moves about, so he is understandably unhappy. When he does laugh, its usually at his own jokes. He's a bit jealous of Dick because he's a newer robot and is Intelligent enough to give Dick a hard time. Although these three robots may be at cross-purposes most of the time, they are all freinds together, when push comes to shove. Harry also has a mouse in a treadmill in his chest compartment, so he could sometimes talk to the mouse or take advice from it. His mouth lights up in sync with each syllable to indicate speech.
Professor Pea brain PROFESSOR PEA-BRAIN Character Profile Professor Pea-Brain is the scatterbrained inventor responsable for all the hardware in the series. Unlike the Heath-Robinson-esque inventor WALLACE (of WALLACE & GROMMIT), Pea-Brain is a retired Scientist of the Quantum Mechanical kind, so he is more interested in large amounts of power and energy and creating things like Time Machines and Matter Transferance devices etc and the fantastic lightshows that go with them. To the Professor, the robots are merely servants created to help him in his experiments, (though are now seldom used due to their defective behaviour)....an ongoing project, to be meddled with as and when he gets the urge to. He is the stereotypical eccentric inventor, walking that fine line between genius and insanity. He carries all manner of gadgets in his pockets and has steel toe-caps so's as not to have his toes trodden on by a clumbsy robot. He sounds a bit like actor Donald Sinden, but with more gravel. His moustach moves up and down to indicate speech. He has a long suffering wife who knows nothing of his activities below ground. Brian Blessed might be good as his voice.
a real sweety She may look brutish, but Mrs Pea-Brain is actually very sweet....and tries her best to look feminine. Even though the Prof loves her just the way she is, she is always doing aerobics, jogging with a walkman and obsessed with getting in shape....only to ruin all her hard work by binging on Chocolates and slobbing out in front of the soaps....and escape from the crazy goings-on thats she's convinced (by now) are a figment of her imagination. She knows nothing of her husbands activities below ground and is unawares that he often makes presents for her , rather than buy them...so they sometimes have a scentific theme (symbol of an atom on a t-shirt or as earrings for example). In a later episode, she will find out about the lab and then hark on at the prof about being clever enough to do the things he does, but not clever enough to invent an anti-fat pill!! The revelation explains much....and she no longer feels confused. The Professor needn't have worried and should have trusted his wife from the start.
Fembot in error. The professor doesn't really understand what makes women tick...and so failed in his attempt to make a female robot. De-activated and rusting in a cupboard, it is only when Tom Dick & Harry find her, that she is brought back to life again. She is sexy and silly (just like the other robots)....and a bit scary, with her huge bulging frog-like eyes...which have large lashes to go with them. Chrome finish, with Black rubber Gators at her joints, she is the most advanced of all the robot designs....in hardware at least.
Brainbot Professor Pea-brain actually has a very large brain....but its not his own. Having rescued a beached whale, he manages to save its life by preserving its brain. Even cleverer than the Professor, Brainy helps him with his experiments...especially the tough ones - like time travel...and upgrading the robots in general. He hovvers around with his anti-gravity generators and has camera lenses for eyes. He has psychic powers.
Swiss-army atoms The first in a series of over-the-top props. Fully animatable, fully illuminated, brushed aluminium finish, retractable probe. Drawing only serves as a departure point. Construction of miniature could be ad-libbed using household objects to save time and money.
Time Machine

The largest prop for the show is this time machine, featured in episodes 11 and 12 'Time to go' part 1 & 2.
The rotation of the central tube and illuminated screw, gives the impression of movement in one direction, so you can walk with time or against time, depending on which end you enter the device. I have started making this miniature - although it is much less comical than this design.

 
Whatever.... A non-descript device, that could appear in episode 9 maybe 'Little Green Men' as the shrinking machine. Again, just a starting point...plenty of room for 'evolution' of the design.