Nilus the Sandman

Nilus the Sandman is a Canadian part-animated and part-live-action television series that originally aired on The Family Channel from 5 October 1996^[1][2] to 25 October 1998.^[3] The series was preceded by three Nilus the Sandman television specials broadcast between 1991 and 1994 on CTV.^[4][5][6] The series was produced by Cambium Film & Video Productions and Delaney & Friends Cartoon Productions, and distributed by The Family Channel and Western International Communications (WIC).

Nilus the Sandman
Genre	Fantasy Children
Created by	Michael Fawkes
Written by	Michael Mercer
Directed by	Chris Delaney
Starring	Rhys Huber Britt Irvin
Voices of	Long John Baldry Ian James Corlett Don Francks Cathy Weseluck Rhys Huber Britt Irvin
Theme music composer	Rick Fox
Composer	Rick Fox
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producers	Chris Delaney Arnie Zipursky
Producers	Chris Delaney Arnie Zipursky Julie Stall
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	Cambium Film & Video Productions Delaney & Friends Cartoon Productions
Original release
Network	Family Channel
Release	5 October 1996 (1996-10-05) – 25 October 1998 (1998-10-25)
Related
Nilus the Sandman: Monsters in the closet (1994)

The show features the Sandman, named Nilus (voiced by Long John Baldry), who helps children and teenagers through their dreams while they are asleep, with the dream stories being animated. The scenes at the beginning and the end of each episode are shot in live action in Vancouver, British Columbia. The show has a total of 26 episodes which aired over two seasons.^[3]

The show later aired on A Channel in Alberta and MTN in Manitoba.

Synopsis

Nilus the Sandman helps children with day-to-day difficulties through helping them achieve happier dreams. While the children sleep he sneaks in and takes sand out of his pocket and flicks it into the air, which leads the children into their animated dream. The children are first surprised with their new animated avatar-self and start a journey discovering Nilus's friendly acquaintances – a talking clam and a camel – who help him during his mission.

Cast and characters

• Long John Baldry as Nilus the Sandman
• Ian James Corlett as Blue the Camel
• Cathy Weseluck as Pearl the Talking Clam
• Don Francks as The Boogie Man
• Britt Irvin as Amy
• Rhys Huber as Gus
• Dale Gillespie as Carrotio
• Micheal Fawkes as Frantic
• Marcus Hondro as Uncle George
• Simon Wong as Nick
• Kirk McMeekan as Coach
• Christopher Lovick as Various
• Stevie Vallance as Additional Voices
• Donny Osmond as Trendoid

Precursor television specials

Prior to the series' premiere, three Nilus the Sandman television specials were broadcast on CTV:

• Nilus the Sandman: The Boy Who Dreamed Christmas is a Christmas special which premiered on 1 December 1991.^[7][8][9]
• Nilus the Sandman: The First Day is a back-to-school special which premiered on 3 September 1993.^[6]
• Nilus the Sandman: Monsters in the Closet is a Halloween special which premiered on 27 October 1994.^[5]

Episodes

The series aired a total of 26 episodes over two seasons between 1996 and 1998.^[3]

Season 1 (1996–97)

No.	#	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Carrotio"	5 October 1996 (1996-10-05)
Nilus and a boy named Gus who hates vegetables meet an opera-singing carrot named Carrotio.
2	2	"Rock-a-Bye Baby"	12 October 1996 (1996-10-12)
A boy named Todd finds it difficult to adjust to the fact that he has a new baby sister.
3	3	"Pirates of Pi"	19 October 1996 (1996-10-19)
Bored to tears, A Girl named Rhonda falls asleep in math class and wakes up in Nilus the Sandman's dream world, awash on a sea of numbers.
4	4	"The Bully"	1 November 1996 (1996-11-01)
A boy named Kevin Taylor is bullied at school and likes to read comic books about superheroes. He wishes that he was a superhero so that he would no longer be bullied and, while dreaming, he is given a chance to become one, thanks to Nilus and his friend Atlas.
5	5	"King of the Universe"	8 November 1996 (1996-11-08)
A boy named Jack doesn't need his sister's help with his homework, even though he is failing school badly. In fact he doesn't need anyone's help. He just wants everyone to leave him alone to play with his beloved dinosaurs.
6	6	"Cupid's Bow"	15 November 1996 (1996-11-15)
A Girl named Kate isn't really ready to date yet, but an upcoming Valentine's dance may force her into it. When two boys invite her to the party, she is in a quandary.
7	7	"Chaos Rules"	22 November 1996 (1996-11-22)
A boy named Spencer has big dreams of making the winning hit in a World Series baseball championship. What he doesn't dream about is chores, Then he has a dream about a world with no more orders and no more rules.
8	8	"The Day of Living Dangerously"	29 November 1996 (1996-11-29)
A boy named Daredevil Danny has been challenged to risk his neck on another hair-raising bike stunt, and he never refuses a dare. When he crashes his bike and is knocked out cold, Nilus appears and offers the boy his ultimate dream of adventure.
9	9	"Game Over"	6 December 1996 (1996-12-06)
A boy named Norman "Fingers" Callaghan is obsessed with a video game. Trying to beat "Karn, the Mindmaster" has become his whole world, even if he puts his friendships, hobbies and school grades at risk for it.
10	10	"About Face"	13 December 1996 (1996-12-13)
A girl named Amy Campbell loves baseball, but is increasingly fascinated by her big sister Sandra with her gang of friends, who seem to live for the latest fashions and makeup. When she falls asleep, Nilus takes her on an adventure in beauty land.
11	11	"The Music Lesson"	24 January 1997 (1997-01-24)
A girl named Cynthia is fed up. She just cannot play the latest piece of cello music her teacher has given her, no matter how hard she practices. When Nilus brings to life her bow and music stand, Cynthia begins to learn about patience.
12	12	"Next Stop"	2 February 1997 (1997-02-02)
A boy named Brian and his family is moving to another city. Brian's parents want him to give away some of his old toys, and when Brian meets Nilus and a troupe of toys come alive, he learns how to move forward.
13	13	"Not a Happy Camper"	7 February 1997 (1997-02-07)
A girl named Jenny is "not a happy camper." Stuck in the middle of nowhere, with girls she has never met before, Jenny isn't fitting in. Can Nilus teach her to give this situation another chance?

Season 2 (1998)

No.	#	Title	Original air date
14	1	"If Dreams Die"	6 September 1998 (1998-09-06)
Nilus has to save Dreamland after Frantic steals Nilus's Dream Dust Hourglass. Meanwhile, Nilus accompanies a girl named Bonnie who learns about how misunderstandings can cause conflict.
15	2	"Shop Til You Drop"	7 September 1998 (1998-09-07)
Nilus accompanies a girl named Amy who loves to shop and who dreams that she is going on a shopping spree, but her shopping eventually goes too far.
16	3	"Otherwise"	13 September 1998 (1998-09-13)
Nilus accompanies a boy named David who frequently breaks promises and brags about himself. David's claims about himself are tested when he is forced to battle a monster.
17	4	"Speak Up"	14 September 1998 (1998-09-14)
Nilus accompanies a girl named Jennie who cares deeply about the environment, but is too shy to speak out about it.
18	5	"Loose Change"	20 September 1998 (1998-09-20)
Nilus accompanies a boy named Norm who finds it difficult to keep money and frequently borrows money from his friends. In his dream, Norm learns about the negative effects of greed on friendship.
19	6	"The Joker"	21 September 1998 (1998-09-21)
Nilus accompanies a boy named Willie, the school trickster, who often has trouble distinguishing between humorous and hurtful. In his dream, Willie learns to respect others.
20	7	"Weedworld"	27 September 1998 (1998-09-27)
Flowers and weeds must work together to find water.
21	8	"The Dream Doors"	28 September 1998 (1998-09-28)
Nilus accompanies a girl named Bonnie who lacks confidence in herself.
22	9	"Someone Just Like Me"	4 October 1998 (1998-10-04)
When a soccer ball bounces off a wall, it temporarily knocks Danny out of reality and into a dream world.
23	10	"House of Horrors"	5 October 1998 (1998-10-05)
David is locked in a haunted house with ghosts and ghouls, and is told that the only way out is to find a mysterious glove.
24	11	"Achy Breaky Bod"	11 October 1998 (1998-10-11)
There's a loud, unruly guitar-playing virus running loose in Farah's body that needs to be treated.
25	12	"The Wizard Is Ill"	12 October 1998 (1998-10-12)
It's Poison Pincher Crab Country, and if you ain't a crab, you ain't welcome.
26	13	"Guilty"	25 October 1998 (1998-10-25)
Lan's dream takes him into a George Orwell-style factory.