The Big Garage

The Big Garage is a children's television program that aired on The Learning Channel. It was produced by Prisma Productions in association with Winchester Entertainment. It debuted on The Learning Channel on September 29, 1997. Aimed at preschool children, the show follows the adventures of several anthropomorphic taxicabs. At the end of each episode, there are two short scenes. The first is about a stop sign, and the second is about a group of tools (a hammer, a saw, three spanners, some nuts and bolts, an oil can, and a pair of pliers).

The show came to an end on July 17, 2001 and no longer broadcasts on The Learning Channel. Repeats can be seen on Smile of a Child, a Christian-based children's channel despite the fact that the show itself does not contain any Biblical elements. It can also be seen online streamed at the Smile of a Child website for those areas that do not have cable access to the show.

Characters

• London is a blue taxicab, which wears the number 1. As his name suggests, he has a British accent and closely resembles a typical taxicab in the UK. He is a 1960 Austin A40 Farina voiced by Terrence Scammell.
• ZigZag is a purple taxicab, which wears the number 2. She is the fastest taxicab on the show. Her overconfidence sometimes gets the better of her. She is a 1946 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe voiced by Patricia Rodriguez.
• Yorkie is a yellow taxicab, which wears the number 3. He likes to be "cool" and speaks, true to his name, with a New York accent, and closely resembles a typical New York City taxicab. He is a 1957 Ford Fairlane voiced by Rick Jones.
• Mimi is a red taxicab which wears the number 4. She appears to be somewhat shy. She is also the only taxicab with her name written on her, near her trunk. She has a pacifier in her mouth, as she is the "baby" of the four taxis. She is a 1969 Subaru 360 voiced by Liz MacRae.

Other characters

• Rusty is a green tow truck which lives in a junkyard. It seems that in some episodes he is the gang's nemesis and in some is their friend. He is also seen singing with the taxis and Pump, though he has never sung solo. He is a 1948 Chevrolet 3100 voiced by Rick Jones.
• Pump is a Human-esque gas pump in the garage. He's the mentor to the taxicabs (and Rusty, on occasion), and he sings the opening theme song, as well as other songs with the taxis. Voiced by Thor Bishopric.
• Tooly is a small red toolbox. He works with a group of mischief-loving wrenches called the "Spanners", who always seem to be running away from Tooly. Tooly is often seen chasing after them in almost every episode. Voiced by Rick Jones.
• Flash is a traffic light who keeps making up rules besides stopping on a red light. Voiced by Liz MacRae.
• Stop is a cartoon stop sign who loves to have fun, mostly by playing hopscotch, as we see in her introduction. Voiced by Patricia Rodriguez.
• There are some cartoon tools as well, including Hammer, Saw, the Bolts, the Nuts, Ruler, the Spanners and Oil Can. Pump narrates this segment.

Villains

• Scrap is the gang's complete nemesis and always tries to make the taxicabs break down so he can get them towed to Scrapland. He tricks Rusty into doing bad things. He also does not like it when the taxis sing songs (each episode has one song, sung twice per episode). It was never revealed to what Scrap is supposed to be. Voiced by Terrence Scammell.

Voices

• Terrence Scammell - London / Scrap
• Patricia Rodriguez - ZigZag / Stop
• Thor Bishopric - Pump
• Liz MacRae - Mimi / Flash / Spanners
• Rick Jones - Yorky / Tooly / Rusty / Spanners

Episodes

1. Stop and Listen!
2. The Mixup
3. Share and Shake Alike
4. Welcome to the Big Garage
5. Boo! Who? - The taxis believe that London was taken by a ghost when he goes missing.
6. Blow Your Own Horn
7. The Great Rescue - Scrap has Rusty carnap London so he can scrap him. Yorky overhears this and goes to warn London. But by the time he reaches the garage, London isn't there. Once London finds out what has happened, he gets the taxis for help, only to find that Scrap has cut his radio dead. The taxis must try to save London, all on their own!
8. All out of Zoom
9. Sounds Funny to Me
10. And the Winner is......
11. What About Mimi?
12. The Big Bang - In the middle of the night, something wakes up London and he hides. The taxis must now find him and the something scared him.
13. You Better Believe It
14. An Eensy Weensy Lie
15. Lickety-Split
16. Slow but Sure
17. King for the Day
18. Copy Cars
19. Breaking All the Rules
20. The Missing Wheels
21. First Things First - Rusty and London are testing a magnet one morning, when it suddenly goes out of control and links them together. The taxis must now find a way to unstick Rusty and London.
22. Just Along for the Ride
23. Un-Pumped
24. Rain, Rain, Go Away! - London doesn't want to go out in the rain because, he's afraid he might get muddy. But he soon ends up in trouble when he gets stuck in a muddy puddle.
25. The Heat Wave - A heat wave strikes Taxi Town and London's engine overheats, leaving him stranded in a tunnel.
26. London's Oil Crisis - When London's engine squirts oil in his eyes, he ends up being blind. Now, Yorky must be his eyes.
27. Super London - London wishes he could be a superhero so he can help all his friends.
28. A Day at the Beach - The taxis are having a day at the beach when a strong wave breaks the jetty that London is on and he sails away from shore.

References

External links

• The Big Garage on imdb.com