Treasure (animated TV series)

Treasure is an animated television series that ran from 13 September 2000 until 17 December 2001 and aired on BBC Two in the United Kingdom, ABC Kids in Australia, and YTV in Canada. It aired for 1 season of 13 episodes. The series was based on the popular newspaper column of the same name by Michele Hanson which became a book, Treasure: The Trials of a Teenage Terror (Virago Press, 2001, ISBN 1-85381-711-2), published under the pseudonym Gina Davidson.^[1] Treasure chronicles the life of Michele Hanson's daughter, Amy Hanson.^[2] 17 years later, Hanson died on 2 March 2018 at the age of 75.^[3]

Treasure
Created by	Michele Hanson Christine Roche
Based on	Treasure: Trials of a Teenage Terror by Michele Hanson
Developed by	Aaron Simpson
Directed by	François Perreault
Voices of	Frances Barber Elly Fairman Jasmine Fitter Jonathan Kydd Rosemary Leach Julie Legrand Tisha Martin Kate O'Sullivan
Composers	Michel Corriveau Robert Marchand
Country of origin	United Kingdom Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (26 segments) (8 episodes missing)
Production
Executive producers	David Ferguson Helen Nabarro Colin Rose
Producers	Cassandra Schafhausen Sylvie Bringas Orly Yadin
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	CINAR Corporation BBC Bristol Halo Productions
Original release
Network	BBC2 (United Kingdom) YTV (Canada)
Release	13 September 2000 (2000-09-13) – 17 December 2001 (2001-12-17)

Production

The characters were designed by illustrator Christine Roche.^[4]

This show was aimed at an older audience than most other works by CINAR (now known as "WildBrain"), and was consequently able to discuss darker themes and make more use of profanity.

Like Bob & Margaret (another British-Canadian-made television series), this show was set in England, but added with darker themes.

Major characters

• Treasure (voiced by Jasmine Fitter) – The title character, a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her mother and grandmother. She is in many ways as a typical rowdy dumb blonde, with a love of hanging out with her friends, shopping, fashion, and rebelling against her family. A major focus of the show is how her family and friends put up with her behaviour.
• Mum (voiced by Frances Barber) – Treasure's mother, who finds herself having to put up with having to look after both her troublesome daughter and her grumpy elderly mother. As much as she just wants Treasure to behave, she is shown in flashbacks to have been not that different from her daughter when she was her age.
• Grandma (voiced by Rosemary Leach) – Treasure's tough-as-nails grandmother, who despite her age is fiercely independent and tends to refuse from those who offer it, mainly from Brian. Her friends often come over to play bridge.
• Brian (voiced by Jonathan Kydd) – Mum's boyfriend, who sometimes comes over to visit. Treasure doesn't particularly approve of him, and he is similarly often taken aback by the behaviour of the family as a whole.
• Rosie (voiced by Tisha Martin) – One of Treasure's two best friends, a Black British girl who is more willing to go along with Treasure's antics than Delilah.
• Delilah (voiced by Elly Fairman) – The other of Treasure's two best friends, a girl whose hair is dyed pink. She acts mostly as the voice of reason among the three, and when she goes along with Treasure's antics mostly does so begrudgingly.
• Mrs. Perez (voiced by Julie Legrand) – Treasure's family's next-door Spanish British neighbour, a somewhat uppity woman who doesn't mind her neighbours, but disapproves strongly of Treasure's behaviour. She has a son Treasure's age.
• Poppy (voiced by Kate O'Sullivan) – Treasure's pet dog, who has a habit of constantly drooling on things.

Telecast and home media

Treasure was aired on BBC Two in the United Kingdom, ABC Kids in Australia, and YTV in Canada. The series never saw a home release of any kind, and in online, thus most of it is considered lost media.

Episodes

Of the 13 episodes that originally aired, only five are currently known to survive online.

Episode No.	Episode Title	Air Date	Description
1	"When Mum Met Brian"/"Grandma's Room"	13 September 2000	When Mum Met Brian – When the man Mum was dating cheats on her, she looks for someone else to date and eventually meets Brian. Grandma's Room – Treasure and Grandma get their bedrooms redecorated.
2	"Little Black Dress"/"Night Club"	20 September 2000	Little Black Dress – Treasure buys a short black dress that she plans to wear while going out with her friends later that night, something Mum doesn't approve of. Night Club – Treasure wants to go out to a night club called the Strobe, but Mum is hesitant to let her go.
3	"A Feminine Mystique"/"Treasure's Party"	27 September 2000	Episode missing
4	"The Goldfish Murderer"/"The Big Sleepover"	11 October 2000	The Goldfish Murderer – Treasure discovers that her goldfish are sick, and while she manages to save them for a while, an oddball friend of hers makes it worse. The Big Sleepover – Treasure wants a male friend of hers to spend the night at her house, but Mum disapproves, worried about what might happen when Treasure is left alone in her bedroom with a boy.
5	"Dog's Eyeball"/"What Do We Want"	25 October 2000	Episode missing
6	"Two Wheels Good"/"Grandma Wins Prize"	8 November 2000	Episode missing
7	"Treasure is Not Stupid"/"Everyone Go Away"	22 November 2000	Episode missing
8	"Treasure in Space"/"Links With Europe"	5 December 2000	Episode missing
9	"Fit for Life"/"Feeding Treasure"	19 December 2000	Episode missing
10	"Fame"/"Who Are We?"	30 January 2001	Episode missing
11	"Eco Treasure"/"Big Day Out"	5 February 2001	Eco Treasure – When Treasure and her friends learn that the trees at the local park are being cut down to make way for a new multiplex, they decide to stage a protest. Big Day Out – Treasure's class is taking a field trip to France, and she's embarrassed to learn that Mum is tagging along.
12	"Unwelcome Visitor"/"Milestone Year"	12 February 2001	Episode missing
13	"Two Faces of Treasure"/"Nightmare on Oxford St."	17 December 2001	Two Faces of Treasure – Mum goes to a parent-teacher conference and learns that Treasure is apparently far more well-behaved at school than at home. At the same time, Treasure has gotten a job at the supermarket. Nightmare on Oxford St. – Treasure and Mum are out Christmas shopping when Treasure decides to give money to a homeless man, causing her to become fiercely adamant about helping the homeless. (Final Episode)