''Fourways Farm'' is a British 1993-1996

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

-themed children's television series produced by Case Television and Dutch Education Television from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in the United Kingdom during Channel 4 Schools between 1993 and 1996 and regularly repeated until approximately 2007. A Welsh version titled ''Fferm Bryn Gwynt'' was broadcast on the ''

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

Ysgolion'' strand from 1994 to 1997.

Plot

Nine talking animals (all voiced by Martin Jarvis) live together in fictional ''Fourways Farm''. In every episode in the series, one or more of the anthropomorphised animals make an accidental but interesting scientific discovery. At nightfall daily, the animals deduce a logical explanation for it as they prepare to go to bed; it happens in most of the episodes. Often, the three mischievous rats, Uno, Duo and Trio, make mischievous attempts to get some food out of the animals during the series, but they occasionally put their mischief aside to help out whenever there is trouble afoot. In the first nine episodes, the farm animals say "Good Night" to each other, but in the other sixteen episodes, only the closing theme tune is used, as the end credits roll on screen.

Characters

* Davenport the

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

- An optimistic

Border collie The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...

who speaks in an excitable, posh voice. * Martha the Cow - A mellow

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

who mulls over all situations. She speaks with a

West Country accent West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of the West Country, an area found in the southwest of England. The West Country is often defined as encompassing the officia ...

. * Godfrey the Horse - A grey and white pessimistic

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

who still prides himself on his talents. He speaks with a memorable

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

accent. * Ginger the Cat - A lazy orange and white

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

who speaks with a posh

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

accent. * Dudley the Pig - A gluttonous

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

who tends to waddle like a

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

whenever he moves, and enjoys eating

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

s. He speaks with a

. * Brenda the Duck - A bossy

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

who can mostly be seen at or close to her pond, which she enjoys swimming in. She speaks quite loudly, with a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

accent. * Uno - A quick-witted male

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

who is the leader of the Rat Pack. He always wears sunglasses, does most of the scheming, and is a cockney, just like Duo and Trio. * Duo - A dim-witted male rat who has two buck teeth that always stick out of his mouth, is not very bright, and speaks in a deep voice. * Trio - A hyperactive female rat who speaks in a distinctively high-pitched voice. * Voltaire - A gentle and friendly

weathercock A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , me ...

who is the

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

and can mostly be seen on top of the farm's archway near the barn where most of the animals live and sleep at night. He only speaks in

Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent of British English regarded as the Standard language, standard one, carrying the highest Prestige (sociolinguistics), social prestige, since as late as the beginning of the 2 ...

Episodes

VHS Tape Releases

References

* http://shop.channel4learning.com/?page=shop&cid=14&pid=1642 {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708135301/http://shop.channel4learning.com/?page=shop&cid=14&pid=1642 , date=8 July 2011 * http://www.r-e-m.co.uk/rem/xrem.php?T=28911 * http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/prog226.htm 1993 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series 1990s preschool education television series British children's comedy television series British children's fantasy television series British preschool education television series Peabody Award–winning television programs Television shows set on farms