Bumper's Block

Bumper ' s Block was a children's programming block that aired on Vision Network on Saturday nights from September 1991 until March 1997. It was hosted by Naomi Karma and Felix Olajide, as well as the titular mascot, Bumper, and aired a variety of both then-current and older children's programming. It was the first ever children's television strand in Kuboia to have an official name.

Bumper's Block proved to be a surprise hit with the Kuboian public, with viewing figures sometimes reaching over three million, which was over half of Kuboia's population at the time. Though the block ended suddenly in March 1997, many of the programmes that aired on Bumper's Block continued to air on its successor, KT.

History
Bumper's Block debuted on 14th September, 1991 at 7:00p.m., with The Incredible World of Riddles being its first programme to air. It was created as a test to see if families and adults without children would react well to children's programming airing at a later period of the day - beforehand, programmes for children were usually only aired in the morning. Despite receiving criticism at first, with some branding its gimmick "unusual", Bumper's Block was popular in its heyday.

The block usually ran from 7:00p.m. to 9:25p.m., immediately after the news. In 1993, its runtime was increased so it would continue airing until 10:00p.m., though sometimes it would end at a slightly earlier time depending on Vision Network's schedule for the night. Bumper's Block only aired during the school term - it did not run on Saturdays that occured during the Easter, Summer or Christmas school holidays (it did run during the November Holidays, however).

Discontinuation
On 27th March, 1997, it was revealed that Bumper's Block would be axed after its final day on-air on the 29th. The decision was supposedly made to use the normal branding more often, which would be cheaper. The final day featured a "Goodbye" party, and consisted of the most popular programmes that aired on the strand throughout its run.

After Bumper's Block
Despite the strand's discontinuation, some of its original programming continued to receive new episodes, with shows such as The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu, The New Adventures of The Sweet Treets and Rat Labyrinth airing new episodes on Saturday evenings throughout the autumn and winter of 1997.

Revival hoax
In September 2021, a group of Kuboian adults set up fake a Facebook account claiming that Bumper's Block would be returning as a nighttime strand on Vision One in 2022. Several days later, TVVC confirmed on their Twitter account that there were no plans for a Bumper's Block revival, and the Facebook account was fake. The group supposedly consisted of over thirty people, with several former contestants who appeared on Rat Labyrinth and Penny Arcade.

BBC
TVVC formed a partnership with the BBC in early 1993. The partnership meant that several of Bumper's Block programming would air on the Children's BBC strand and vice versa.

Food and drinks
Bumper's Block partnered with KFC, Pizza 24 and Comfort Zone throughout its run. During the in-vision continunity links, Karma and Olajide would show a special 6-digit number code, which would grant customers a special offer, such as 40% off all food bills. In order to use the offer, customers would have to phone up the restaurant and state the code after making their order. The offer was valid from 6:30p.m. to 9:00p.m. every night Bumper's Block ran.

Original programming
Bumper's Block comissioned a variety of original programming during its lifetime, which included both live-action and animated programming.

Live-action

 * Harvy's House (premiered 1993; series 1-5 only)
 * Rat Labyrinth (premiered 1994; series 1-4 only)
 * Penny Arcade (premiered 1995; series 1-2 only)

Animated

 * The Incredible World of Riddles (premiered 1991)
 * The Magic Box (premiered 1992)
 * Centre Park (premiered 1993)
 * Greenwood Forest (premiered 1993)
 * Blue Owl (premiered 1994)
 * The Adventures of Charlie and Tutu (premiered 1994; series 1-4 only)
 * Ouraine (premiered 1995)
 * The New Adventures of The Sweet Treets (premiered 1995; series 1-2 only)
 * Blackberry Street (premiered 1995)

Acquired programming
Most of Bumper's Block's acquired programming came from the BBC (Fireman Sam, Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Oakie Doke, Pingu and Spot), DIC Entertainment (The Get Along Gang, The Littles, The Wizard of Oz and the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons), and other international sources (Danger Mouse, Garfield and Friends and The Raccoons).

Legacy and other media
Bumper's Block and its programming have continued to receive frequent mentions and references since the strand's discontinuation. It has in particular been centred around questions in Kuboian game shows in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Some surveys that were carried out in the late 2010s and 2020s reveal that a large portion of Kuboians who were born after Bumper's Block was axed were still familiar with its name.

References and homages
A plush toy of Bumper makes an appearance in a few episodes of the Kuboian animated television series Cindi and Friends.

Bumper, as well as Harvy from Harvy's House and Tack the Rat from Rat Labyrinth have made several appearances in other media since the strand's discontinuation, especially during the Children's Appeal Day telethon.

Open Eagle has ranked Bumper's Block number one in their "Top Ten Things From the 90s We Miss" list and number four in their "Top Ten 90s Stuff Kids Today Still Recognise" list. They also ranked Bumper number nine in their "Top Ten Kuboian Icons" list.