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The Trap Door

The Trap Door

Page under construction since 3rd March 2008...

The Trap Door is a 1984 children’s animation from the UK.  It quickly achieved cult status, and won “Best Model Animation” at the 1988 British Animation Awards.  Today, it still maintains a strong fan base with its hilarious and bizarre sense of humour appealing to adult enthusiasts and students alike.  A complete DVD of all the episodes is now available, as well as other merchandise including posters and T-shirts.  For more info, check out the Wikipedia article, or the excellent website: TheTrapDoor.org.

If you've never seen the show, I strongly recommend you watch some episodes on YouTube immediately, or even better, buy the DVD for only £5 from Amazon!


Episode Guide

Below is my short guide to all 40 episodes of the show, complete with a screenshot from each episode.  Since I’m a big fan of Boni, I’ve also included an audio clip of Boni from each episode!  Just click on the loudspeaker icons

Note:  Berk often enjoys “bonking” various monsters, but here “to bonk” always means “to hit on the head”... any other meanings of the word are purely coincidental

—  Warning: plot spoilers below!  —

Episode 1x01 - Breakfast Time
1x01 
Breakfast Time
A yellow creature with a giant mouth eats the breakfast that Berk prepared for The Thing Upstairs, and Berk scares off a big red monster by showing him his own reflection in a mirror!
 
Episode 1x02 - Slither, Wriggle and Writhe
1x02 
Slither, Wriggle and Writhe
Boni helps Berk to put some shelves up, without much success. A mass of bothersome orange tentacles emerges from the Trap Door, but Berk bonks them with a piece of wood until they depart.
 
Episode 1x03 - Food for Thort
1x03 
Food for Thort
Berk feeds the various plants in the garden of The Thing Upstairs, including Thort (“an onion with a beak”). Nasty stinging bees fly up through the Trap Door, but fortunately Thort loves to eat them.
 
Episode 1x04 - Lurkings
1x04 
Lurkings
Berk goes fishing at the swamp with Boni and Drutt, but leaves the Trap Door open. Rogg climbs out, and follows them to the swamp. Berk gets a fright when Rogg appears behind him, and he falls into the swamp.
 
Episode 1x05 - Gourmet’s Delight
1x05 
Gourmet’s Delight
Berk prepares a gourmet dinner for The Thing Upstairs. Bubo arrives and starts a scunge fight while temporarily invisible, but Berk manages to catch him, and discovers that he can be inflated via a hole in his head!
 
Episode 1x06 - Creepy Crawly
1x06 
Creepy Crawly
A giant black spider comes out of the Trap Door, and spins a web in which it manages to catch Berk. Drutt comes to the rescue, tying up the spider in its own web, enabling Berk to push it back down the Trap Door.
 
Episode 1x07 - The Big Thing
1x07 
The Big Thing
Rogg goes up to the castle roof with Boni. Berk and Drutt, thinking Boni has been kidnapped, go outside to look for him. On the roof, Boni’s waffling sends Rogg to sleep, and he falls off, landing on Berk!
 
Episode 1x08 - Ghoulies
1x08 
Ghoulies
Berk discovers an old book of spells, and tries reading a spell. Green “ghostly ghoulies” appear, and make Boni and Drutt float through the air. Berk reads the spell backwards, and the ghoulies disappear.
 
Episode 1x09 - The Dose
1x09 
The Dose
The Thing Upstairs has a cold, so Berk makes his special medicine, but a small green morphing creature oozes out of the Trap Door and drinks it all. Eventually, the creature’s mum comes to fetch him.
 
Episode 1x10 - The Thingy
1x10 
The Thingy
Berk nails the Trap Door shut, but a large pink monster bursts through it, and fires lightning bolts from its eyes which transform Berk, Boni and Drutt into a variety of different shapes and sizes.
 
Episode 1x11 - Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite
1x11 
Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite
Berk jumps down the Trap Door to rescue Boni, who’s been grabbed by a monster. But he can’t find Boni, and he’s quickly surrounded by horrible monsters. And then he wakes up – it was all just a nightmare.
 
Episode 1x12 - Fester Rancid
1x12 
Fester Rancid
Bubo pushes Boni on his trolley down to the swamp, and then plays a tune on Boni’s skull by hitting it with a stick! But Berk soon arrives, grabs Bubo and chucks him into the swamp.
 
Episode 1x13 - The Pain
1x13 
The Pain
The Thing Upstairs has got toothache, and while Berk is sorting him out, a giant slug climbs out of the Trap Door and chases Drutt. But Berk soon arrives and gives it a good bonk with “old fatso’s tooth”.
 
Episode 1x14 - The Little Thing
1x14 
The Little Thing
A little honking orange thing comes out of the Trap Door, and Berk chases it all over the castle. But unfortunately it goes into the bedroom of The Thing Upstairs and wakes him up... and Berk gets the blame!
 
Episode 1x15 - Don’t Open That Trap Door
1x15 
Don’t Open That Trap Door
Berk discovers a radio while cleaning the “creepy crawly things” out of his cupboard. It plays the Trap Door theme tune, and hundreds of creatures emerge from the Trap Door, disturbing The Thing Upstairs.
 
Episode 1x16 - Junk Food
1x16 
Junk Food
The Thing Upstairs sends his rubbish down to Berk, when Rogg arrives and eats it all. Rogg goes up the lift into the bedroom of The Thing Upstairs, who then kicks him out into the hall.
 
Episode 1x17 - Yechh!
1x17 
Yechh!
While Boni is asleep, a strange beast lays loads of eggs, which then hatch into little green creatures. Berk enjoys watching them... until they start bursting into large piles of yellow slime!
 
Episode 1x18 - Flyin’ Wotsit Fingy
1x18 
Flyin’ Wotsit Fingy
Berk tries to take a photo of Drutt, when “a small green thing with wings” flies out of the Trap Door. Berk tries to catch it, but it escapes and gets into the bedroom of The Thing Upstairs.
 
Episode 1x19 - Strange Goings On
1x19 
Strange Goings On
Berk plans a picnic for everyone in the swamp, but Boni is pulled down the Trap Door and has a “frightful experience” which completely puts him off the picnic. (A great episode for Boni fans!)
 
Episode 1x20 - Midnight Snack
1x20 
Midnight Snack
Berk and Boni are asleep, when four “greedy horrors” arrive. They eat all the food in the kitchen, and make loads of mess. Berk leads them into an ambush, and makes them tidy up their mess.
 
Episode 1x21 - Nasty Stuff
1x21 
Nasty Stuff
Berk tries to make some medicine to cure his headache, but instead it turns anyone who drinks it into a “hideous monster”... and unfortunately Berk, Drutt and Boni all drink it!
 
Episode 1x22 - Sniff That
1x22 
Sniff That
A green thing with eight eyes arrives, and also a brown thing with a big sucking mouth. The brown one sucks up the green one, and Berk finds it’s also useful for sucking the blockage out of his drain.
 
Episode 1x23 - Vile Pile
1x23 
Vile Pile
All the rubbish that Berk has chucked down the Trap Door has turned into a disgusting creature which spits yellow scunge, but Berk sorts it out with one of his kitchen utensils.
 
Episode 1x24 - Slightly Weird
1x24 
Slightly Weird
Berk is out getting breakfast for The Thing Upstairs, and finds some mushrooms. But one mushroom decides it doesn’t want to become breakfast, and it runs off, so Berk has to chase it.
 
Episode 1x25 - Bye Bye Berk
1x25 
Bye Bye Berk
Berk decides he’s had enough of dealing with monsters from the Trap Door and looking after The Thing Upstairs, and he leaves the castle... but has he really gone forever?
 
Episode 2x01 - Scunge
2x01 
Scunge
Berk bonks a pink monster and does some cooking in his kitchen. Bubo arrives and chases Drutt, and then starts a scunge-fight. Rogg joins in, and then whacks Bubo down the Trap Door.
 
Episode 2x02 - Oh Globbits
2x02 
Oh Globbits
While Berk is busy getting rid of a “giant flying sponge”, a burst water pipe slowly floods the castle. Berk realises too late that he should’ve kept the sponge to soak up the flood water!
 
Episode 2x03 - Moany Boni
2x03 
Moany Boni
Boni dreams that a “horrid little thing” gives him a six-legged body, turns Berk into a bright red giant, and makes other weird things happen. But was it only a dream...? (A great episode for Boni fans!)
 
Episode 2x04 - The Horrible Thing
2x04 
The Horrible Thing
Berk decides to have a game of hide-and-seek. A “horrible gooey custardy thing” oozes out of the Trap Door while Berk and Boni are hiding, and Berk sends it up the lift to The Thing Upstairs for dinner.
 
Episode 2x05 - Not Very Nice
2x05 
Not Very Nice
Berk cleans an eyeball of The Thing Upstairs, but it falls down the Trap Door. Berk goes down after it, and after searching for a while, he finds it “inside the mouth of some horrible thing”.
 
Episode 2x06 - Bugs
2x06 
Bugs
The castle becomes infested with “27 million” “wiggly slimy crawly things”. After seeking refuge on the castle roof with Boni, Berk manages to get rid of them by playing music on a bugpipe.
 
Episode 2x07 - Yum Yum
2x07 
Yum Yum
Berk drops Drutt down the Trap Door. Feeling sorry, he tries to retrieve him, but fishes out a sweet little orange thing instead, which mutates into an “appalling creature” with “nasty big teeth”.
 
Episode 2x08 - Birthday Surprise
2x08 
Birthday Surprise
It’s Boni’s birthday, so Berk bakes him a cake. Meanwhile, Drutt builds a nest and has babies. At Boni’s birthday party, Boni gets his present (a wig), but Drutt’s babies eat his birthday cake!
 
Episode 2x09 - The Stupid Thing
2x09 
The Stupid Thing
While Berk gives The Thing Upstairs a slime bath, Drutt pulls a “worm” out of the Trap Door. But the “worm” is actually the tail of a big purple monster, which then starts playing with Boni and Drutt.
 
Episode 2x10 - Boo!
2x10 
Boo!
Berk insists on throwing all his rubbish down the Trap Door. The creatures down below aren’t too happy about this, so they send lots of horrible “ghoulies” to frighten Berk and make him stop.
 
Episode 2x11 - The Lump
2x11 
The Lump
The Thing Upstairs can smell something horrible, which turns out to be a “honking squeaking foul-smelling lump” that has appeared next to the Trap Door. Rogg arrives, and says he thinks it smells “lovely”!
 
Episode 2x12 - The Splund
2x12 
The Splund
While Berk is fixing the split pyjamas of The Thing Upstairs, the nasty Splund arrives and wants to eat Boni and Drutt. When Berk returns, he pops the Splund using his sewing needle.
 
Episode 2x13 - Nasty Beasty
2x13 
Nasty Beasty
It’s winter, and Berk has to fix the heater of The Thing Upstairs who’s freezing. Meanwhile downstairs, a “horrible hairy green thing” attaches itself to Rogg, Boni, and then Drutt.
 
Episode 2x14 - What a Weirdo
2x14 
What a Weirdo
A big flat purple creature with a large appetite eats Boni, Drutt, Drutt’s nippers and Berk’s cooking. But a few bonks from Berk (with some help from Rogg) soon resolves the problem.
 
Episode 2x15 - The Big Red Thing
2x15 
The Big Red Thing
A colossal violent red monster angers Rogg, and the two of them have a duel outside the castle. The monster wins, and Rogg dies. But is Rogg really dead, and where has the monster gone...?
 
   

The Boni audio clips are played using SoundManager2.


The Thing Upstairs

The Thing Upstairs is an unseen character.  His booming voice is often heard coming from his bedroom, and he’s often referred to by other characters, but he’s never actually seen.

There are only three occasions when parts of The Thing Upstairs are glimpsed:

The three glimpses of parts of The Thing Upstairs
  1. In The Little Thing, Berk enters the dark bedroom of The Thing Upstairs.  A flash of lightning silhouettes Berk against the window, and a spongy mass on the floor is also illuminated.  This is probably part of The Thing Upstairs, although we can’t be certain!
     
  2. In The Pain, Berk pulls a tooth out of The Thing Upstairs, and uses it to bonk a giant slug.
     
  3. In Not Very Nice, Berk cleans an eyeball of The Thing Upstairs.
It’s also possible to learn something about the nature of The Thing Upstairs by collecting little bits of information which are occasionally revealed.  Here is my complete list of attributes of The Thing Upstairs.  Please let me know if I’ve missed anything out!
  • More than one head
  • Has a front end and a back
  • Multiple slimy eyes
  • Needs all eyes to see properly
  • Eyeballs can be removed and replaced
  • Has a “best” eyeball
  • Can see out of an eyeball even when it’s detached
  • Big mouth
  • Teeth
  • Nostrils
  • Smelly feet
  • Strong enough to chuck Rogg through the air
  • Warts
  • Can grow new warts
  • Lumps
  • Lumps go blue in cold weather
  • Three lumps on the back
  • Flab
  • Various folds and creases
  • Able to fly (?)
  • Requires an occasional slime bath
  • Hates flying things
  • Wears pyjamas
  • Has a bed
  • Can sleep
  • Stinks
  • Repulsive
Berk enjoys inventing lots of different names for The Thing Upstairs, most of them insulting or derogatory!  Here is my complete list – please let me know if I’ve missed any names out!
  • Cold and sweaty one
  • Fat lump
  • Fat one
  • Fatty
  • Great bloat
  • Great blubber-mass
  • Great giant carbuncle
  • Great round one
  • Great swill-bin
  • Great wodge
  • Greedy bloat-bag
  • Him upstairs
  • Horrible fat wobbly lump of gooey blubber
  • Large and floppy one
  • Multi-warts
  • Noisy windbag
  • Old blubber-bag
  • Old blubber-buttocks
  • Old blubber-guts
  • Old fatso
  • Old fattage
  • Old fatty
  • Old fatty-slappy
  • Old flabby-fester
  • Old flabby ghastly
  • Old plumptitude
  • Overgrown fat sack
  • Sir
  • Sire
  • Soft and spongy one
  • The old carbuncle
  • Voluminous nose-bag
  • Wondrous and immensely wobbly one
  • Your flabbyness
  • Your gluttitudinousness
  • Your largeness
  • Your wobble-bobbliness
  • Your wobbliness
Contact me  –  Page last updated on 27th March 2008  –  Website hosted by 5quidhost (highly recommended!)
Michael Hogg