The Way Things Work (TV series)

The Way Things Work is a children's television series based on the best-selling book of the same name by David Macaulay.

The program ran daily on BBC2 and CBBC from 2001 to early 2002, before it was discontinued due to a lack of both episodes and audience.

The programme aims to teach basic principles of science to young viewers and revolves around the residents of the backward Mammoth Island as they struggle through daily life with the use of outlandish contraptions.

Due to the popularity of the book The Way Things Work by David Macaulay, Millimages pitched a concept for an educational television series with similar features to Schlessinger Media, who accepted the idea and agreed to distribute the programme to the BBC upon completion.

The programme had a very short lifespan; it consisted of 26 episodes, each attempting to educate children about basic science, of 15 minutes each.

The show takes features from the book, such as the constant abuse of the Woolly Mammoth, and the detailed and colourful explanations of the machines.

Peter Lustig, announced the program presented by dandelions in the German version, the 26 episodes of the show, sang the title song and synchronized to the inventor.

He is responsible for the construction of the machines on Mammoth Island, and is always presenting labour-saving apparatus, which often caused difficulties of its own.

Frank: Pilbeam's brother and Olive's father, who takes charge of building the Inventor's inventions.