Boohbah: Comfy Armchair

Compiled from the popular PBS Kids-aired BBC series featuring a quintet of mute multi-colored blobbish creatures known as Boohbahs (“atoms of energy”), Boohbah: Comfy Armchair includes three episodes: the title entry, “Skipping Rope,” and “Record Player.” Designed for ages 3-to-6, Boohbah (made by the same folks who bring us the mind-numbing Teletubbies) features a similar framing device for each episode: the Boohbahs emerge from their strange pod-like lair to do a little frolicking, nicely synched to bouncy music, followed by the appearance of live-action tykes, who bring a bedecked box into an outlandishly-decorated room and conjure up a present (each program is named for the present) for the Storypeople (an ethnically-diverse live-action cast with generic titles such as Grandmamma, Mr. Man, Mrs. Lady, and Little Dog Fido), after which the action moves to Storyworld, where an adult narrator “directs” a story featuring a simple dilemma involving the children's offering. In “Comfy Chair,” for example, Grandpappa wants to sit in the chair, but Fido keeps taking his spot, so Grandpappa must sit in the dog basket! Later on, the Boohbahs “startle” each other, do a little more cavorting, and head on back to their bizarre little Boohbah beds. “Skipping Rope” and “Record Player” feature stories built around those items. DVD extras include a “Look What I Can Do” segment and a message for parents from creator Anne Wood. Compelling for the target age group, this nigh-psychedelic offering (which could inspire an acid flashback in some adults) is recommended. Aud: K, P. (J. Williams-Wood)