Bouncer (Neighbours)
Encyclopedia
Bouncer is a fictional Labrador Retriever
from the Australian Network Ten
soap opera
Neighbours
. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years. He was played by Bouncer throughout his duration on the show and he was trained by Luke Hura.
During Bouncer's time on Neighbours he lived at three addresses, survived road accidents, being lost, a house fire and being poisoned by some mushrooms. Bouncer's fan cards became the most popular out of any cast member.
Thirteen weeks after finishing his final scenes on Neighbours, Bouncer died of cancer aged seven. Following his death, Bouncer was sent more tributes from fans around the world than any of the human cast.
One of Bouncer's most famous storylines had him dreaming that he was getting married to Rosie, Clarrie McLachlan's Sheepdog
, who lived next door. During an interview, Anne Charleston
(who played Madge Bishop
) said "The whole cast was mortified about that! It reduced it to a three-year-old's programme. It was very strange."
failed to save Lucy Robinson
's pet Terrier
, Basil, from drowning, he went to the local shelter and brought home Bouncer for her. Lucy was hurt and angry that Mike was trying to replace Basil and was initially reluctant to have anything to do with the new puppy. However, Bouncer soon won her over and she grew to love him as much as Basil. When Lucy left Ramsay Street
for a trip around Europe, she left Bouncer with Mike, who became fond of the dog. Mike and the rest of the Clarke household grew to love Bouncer so much, that when Lucy returned she let Bouncer stay at No.28. However, Bouncer had found new company in the form of lonely Mrs Mangel
. Bouncer began to spend a lot of time in Mrs Mangel's house and she grew fond of him too. When Mike found out, he and Mrs Mangel fought over who Bouncer should live with and they decided to let Bouncer choose for himself. He ran to Mrs Mangel instead of Mike and Mike let Bouncer live at No.32 with her. After Mrs Mangel got married and moved to England with her new husband, Bouncer was left with her son Joe
. Bouncer missed Mrs Mangel at first, but he soon found a new loving owner in Joe's son, Toby
and the two became inseparable. Bouncer became a hero of Ramsay Street when he saved Madge
and Sky Bishop
from a fire at the Mangel house by barking for help.
He moved next door to No.30 with Toby and Dorothy Burke
when the Mangels moved to the countryside. Dorothy and Phoebe Bright, who also lived in the house, enjoyed having Bouncer live with them. When Toby and Dorothy decided to leave Ramsay Street to join the Mangels in the country, Toby knew he could not leave Bouncer behind and took him with him. But Bouncer missed the street and just days after leaving, Toby called Jim Robinson
to say that Bouncer had run away. The residents were sure that Bouncer was heading back to Ramsay Street and it was Hannah Martin
who found him and a litter of puppies that he had fathered in Anson's Corner. It was then arranged for the puppies to live at a farm in the country near Bouncer. Doug and Pam Willis packed their car with the puppies and drove them and Bouncer to the country.
. The newspaper also added the storyline in which Bouncer saves Madge from a chip pan fire to their list of memorable moments. They said "One of those scenes you think you might have imagined, but no, Bouncer tenaciously calls the emergency services as an inferno engulfs the Mangels". Vicky Frost of The Guardian
named Bouncer as one of the best TV dogs and pet insurance
company Petplan
named him the tenth "Top TV Pet" and the ninth best "Male TV Pet". The BBC
said Bouncer's most notable moment was "Being nominated for a special bravery award by Toby Mangel."
MSN TV
editor Lorna Cooper also commented on Bouncer and his dream stating: "Neighbours featured some bizarre dream sequences: there was the Christmas edition with Mike Young and Shane Ramsay as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and the episode in which Harold Bishop fantasised about being a Scottish laird. But nothing has topped Bouncer the Labrador's dream that he was marrying Clarrie McLachlan's dog, Rosie. What were the writers thinking?" Bouncer's dream was later named the second "weirdest" storyline in the show's history.
Josephine Monroe commented positively of Bouncer in her book Neighbours: The first 10 years, stating: "Bouncer was a hero - he even answered the phone and barked to Joe when baby Sky was in trouble - and often had major storylines of his own like the time he was run over and nearly died. But most importantly, he was a loyal and loved friend." She also branded him as one of the most loved characters in the serial's history.
Celebrating the serial's twenty-fifth anniversary, British magazine NOW profiled their favourite characters, Bouncer was included and they branded his dream sequence as one of the serial's most memorable moments and citing his on-screen death as the main plotline for the year. Orange U.K. brand Bouncer as "arguably the most famous dog in soap history" and describe his relationship with Joe as "touching". Doyouremember.co.uk, a website dedicated to 1980's culture, criticised the writers of Bouncer's dream stating: "Was the writer on LSD? Or maybe somebody slipped a magic mushroom into the lasagne at Lassiters."
Daniel Bettridge of The Guardian said the "Neighbours' faithful golden retriever" was one of the best actors to "tread the Ramsay Street tarmac." He described Bouncer's dream as the "infamous episode dedicated to a doggy daydream where he married the saucepot sheepdog from next door. Woof."
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
from the Australian Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years. He was played by Bouncer throughout his duration on the show and he was trained by Luke Hura.
Development
When Neighbours needed a golden labrador puppy, they went to domestic animal trainer, Luke Hura, who provided them with Bouncer.During Bouncer's time on Neighbours he lived at three addresses, survived road accidents, being lost, a house fire and being poisoned by some mushrooms. Bouncer's fan cards became the most popular out of any cast member.
Thirteen weeks after finishing his final scenes on Neighbours, Bouncer died of cancer aged seven. Following his death, Bouncer was sent more tributes from fans around the world than any of the human cast.
One of Bouncer's most famous storylines had him dreaming that he was getting married to Rosie, Clarrie McLachlan's Sheepdog
Herding dog
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...
, who lived next door. During an interview, Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress currently based in Galway, Ireland and the UK. She is known for her roles as Madge Bishop in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Lily Butterfield in Emmerdale.-Early career:...
(who played Madge Bishop
Madge Bishop
Margaret Mary "Madge" Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986. Madge was one of the matriarchs of the Ramsay family. She departed in 1992, before making a return in 1996...
) said "The whole cast was mortified about that! It reduced it to a three-year-old's programme. It was very strange."
Storylines
When Mike YoungMike Young (Neighbours)
Michael James "Mike" Young is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Guy Pearce. He made his first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986...
failed to save Lucy Robinson
Lucy Robinson
Lucy Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Melissa Bell. She had previously been portrayed by Kylie Flinker and Sasha Close. She was created by producer Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' original characters. Lucy was a prominent figure...
's pet Terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
, Basil, from drowning, he went to the local shelter and brought home Bouncer for her. Lucy was hurt and angry that Mike was trying to replace Basil and was initially reluctant to have anything to do with the new puppy. However, Bouncer soon won her over and she grew to love him as much as Basil. When Lucy left Ramsay Street
Ramsay Street
Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera Neighbours live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. Neighbours storylines primarily centre around the residents of the Street, which was named after the...
for a trip around Europe, she left Bouncer with Mike, who became fond of the dog. Mike and the rest of the Clarke household grew to love Bouncer so much, that when Lucy returned she let Bouncer stay at No.28. However, Bouncer had found new company in the form of lonely Mrs Mangel
Nell Mangel
Eleanor "Nell" Worthington is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Vivean Gray. She made her first on-screen appearance on 29 April 1986. She was known almost exclusively to others as "Mrs Mangel". The character caused controversy among some of the...
. Bouncer began to spend a lot of time in Mrs Mangel's house and she grew fond of him too. When Mike found out, he and Mrs Mangel fought over who Bouncer should live with and they decided to let Bouncer choose for himself. He ran to Mrs Mangel instead of Mike and Mike let Bouncer live at No.32 with her. After Mrs Mangel got married and moved to England with her new husband, Bouncer was left with her son Joe
Joe Mangel
Walter Joseph "Joe" Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Little. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 8 August 1988. Little later departed the serial and Joe left in 1991. In 2005 Little agreed to reprise the role as part...
. Bouncer missed Mrs Mangel at first, but he soon found a new loving owner in Joe's son, Toby
Toby Mangel
Toby Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Geurens. He made his first on-screen appearance on 10 November 1988. Toby was originally played by Finn Greentree-Keane from 1988 until 1990...
and the two became inseparable. Bouncer became a hero of Ramsay Street when he saved Madge
Madge Bishop
Margaret Mary "Madge" Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986. Madge was one of the matriarchs of the Ramsay family. She departed in 1992, before making a return in 1996...
and Sky Bishop
Sky Mangel
Sky Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephanie McIntosh. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 February 1989, played by Miranda Fryer. McIntosh took over the role on 13 August 2003 when the character returned to the show...
from a fire at the Mangel house by barking for help.
He moved next door to No.30 with Toby and Dorothy Burke
Dorothy Burke
Dorothy Miriam Burke is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Maggie Dence. She made her first on-screen appearance on 7 March 1990...
when the Mangels moved to the countryside. Dorothy and Phoebe Bright, who also lived in the house, enjoyed having Bouncer live with them. When Toby and Dorothy decided to leave Ramsay Street to join the Mangels in the country, Toby knew he could not leave Bouncer behind and took him with him. But Bouncer missed the street and just days after leaving, Toby called Jim Robinson
Jim Robinson (Neighbours)
James "Jim" Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Dale. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, which was the shows first episode. Jim was the patriarch of the Robinson family. Dale departed the show in 1993 after...
to say that Bouncer had run away. The residents were sure that Bouncer was heading back to Ramsay Street and it was Hannah Martin
Hannah Martin
Hannah Martin is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Rebecca Ritters. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 July 1992. Hannah is the only child of Philip and Julie Martin and the younger sister to Michael and Debbie. The Martin family were written out...
who found him and a litter of puppies that he had fathered in Anson's Corner. It was then arranged for the puppies to live at a farm in the country near Bouncer. Doug and Pam Willis packed their car with the puppies and drove them and Bouncer to the country.
Reception
Bouncer's dream sequence was named as one of Neighbours most memorable moments by The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. The newspaper also added the storyline in which Bouncer saves Madge from a chip pan fire to their list of memorable moments. They said "One of those scenes you think you might have imagined, but no, Bouncer tenaciously calls the emergency services as an inferno engulfs the Mangels". Vicky Frost of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
named Bouncer as one of the best TV dogs and pet insurance
Pet insurance
Pet health insurance pays the veterinary costs if one's pet becomes ill or is injured in an accident. Some policies will also pay out when the pet dies, or if it's lost or stolen....
company Petplan
Petplan USA
Petplan USA is a Philadelphia-based pet insurance company, providing insurance for pet owners to cover veterinary bills. Since 2003, it has operated in partnership with Petplan UK, a unit of what Bloomberg describes as "Europe's largest insurer", Allianz SE....
named him the tenth "Top TV Pet" and the ninth best "Male TV Pet". The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
said Bouncer's most notable moment was "Being nominated for a special bravery award by Toby Mangel."
MSN TV
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
editor Lorna Cooper also commented on Bouncer and his dream stating: "Neighbours featured some bizarre dream sequences: there was the Christmas edition with Mike Young and Shane Ramsay as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and the episode in which Harold Bishop fantasised about being a Scottish laird. But nothing has topped Bouncer the Labrador's dream that he was marrying Clarrie McLachlan's dog, Rosie. What were the writers thinking?" Bouncer's dream was later named the second "weirdest" storyline in the show's history.
Josephine Monroe commented positively of Bouncer in her book Neighbours: The first 10 years, stating: "Bouncer was a hero - he even answered the phone and barked to Joe when baby Sky was in trouble - and often had major storylines of his own like the time he was run over and nearly died. But most importantly, he was a loyal and loved friend." She also branded him as one of the most loved characters in the serial's history.
Celebrating the serial's twenty-fifth anniversary, British magazine NOW profiled their favourite characters, Bouncer was included and they branded his dream sequence as one of the serial's most memorable moments and citing his on-screen death as the main plotline for the year. Orange U.K. brand Bouncer as "arguably the most famous dog in soap history" and describe his relationship with Joe as "touching". Doyouremember.co.uk, a website dedicated to 1980's culture, criticised the writers of Bouncer's dream stating: "Was the writer on LSD? Or maybe somebody slipped a magic mushroom into the lasagne at Lassiters."
Daniel Bettridge of The Guardian said the "Neighbours' faithful golden retriever" was one of the best actors to "tread the Ramsay Street tarmac." He described Bouncer's dream as the "infamous episode dedicated to a doggy daydream where he married the saucepot sheepdog from next door. Woof."
External links
- Character profile at the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...