Something Else (2003)

The trusty old umbrella is beginning to fall apart and they decide it’s time to purchase another. Unfortunately, the umbrellas in the Everything You Need Shoppe and at Nix´s umbrella farm aren’t quite ready. However, Something can’t wait - so he decides to grow one himself using his new Accelerater Potato Laser. Taking some seeds from Nix, Something succeeds in growing an umbrella within minutes. As Something and Something Else stand back to admire this scientific feat, the umbrella suddenly starts to get bigger and bigger, taking on enormous proportions. Elsewhere is plunged into darkness as the new umbrella gets so big that it blocks out the sun. How are they going to shrink the umbrella? Will Elsewhere ever see sunlight again?!

Domestic bliss is shattered when SE forgets about his chores and leaves Something waiting for his lunch. Something decides to create a schedule so that he will always get his meals on time. Unfortunately, Something Else's over-zealous nature means that he takes his scheduling and time saving to an extreme. Everything is done at breakneck speed and meals are soon restricted to one uni-meal in the middle of the night! What can Something do? Can he stop Something Else's manic scheduling? Will Something ever be able to rest for 5 minutes again?

Something and SE have become lazy, in fact, they haven't moved from their chairs for weeks. SE decides that they should go for a hike to the Rather Tall Hill to get some exercise. However, all their friends in Here and There warn them that the hill is inhabited by a terrible monster – named Ghastly George. To make matters worse, no-one has returned from a trip to the hill alive and able to tell their tale. Despite being scared, the two head off on their adventure to the Rather Tall Hill with SE leading the way. Will they encounter the monster? Will they return to Here and There to tell the tale?

Swift and Canny decide to take a well-earned break and leave the responsibility of babysitting the shop and Handful to our trusty heroes, SE and Something. Swift and Canny are especially concerned that their best customers, the Storkers, are not upset and that the shop is run efficiently in their absence. Surely it can't be that difficult to look after the Everything You Need Shoppe? Surely SE and Something can handle Handful? However, with a fateful combination of light bulbs, a trampoline, an infinitely extendible fishing rod and Handful; things don't go quite as planned!

It's Tuesday morning and Something is tinkering with his new invention, the Bubble Flying Machine. Meanwhile, upstairs in the kitchen, SE is making his Unusually Crunchy Muffins (as he does every Tuesday). Unfortunately, SE has run out of rockberries, an essential ingredient for the muffins; even the local store is fresh out. SE rallies the troops for a hike to the top of Berry High Mountain to gather fresh rockberries and Something decides to try out his new flying machine. Something reaches the top first, finds the berries and pops a few in his mouth – just to make sure they are ripe of course! But they're not rock berries, they're icicle berries and Something instantly turns into a big block of ice! How are they going to thaw Something? More importantly, will SE manage to bake Tuesday's Unusually Crunchy Muffins?!

With the wind blustering outside, SE decides that this would be a perfect opportunity to test Something’s new kite, his ‘Fly me to the moon’ kite. Unfortunately, with a few more alterations to make, Something’s new kite isn’t ready in time and the wind dies down before they’ve had a chance to test it. Dejected, SE sits in a chair and hears a funny squelching noise. At the same time, Something is searching for his tube of ‘Forever Glue’. SE tries to move from the chair and can’t – he has sat on the tube of glue and is now stuck to the chair forever! As the residents of Here and There try to help SE get out of the chair, they too get stuck to it! Will they ever get out of the chair? Surely there’s antidote…?

Something has come up with an amazing new invention, a Duplicator! Something and SE will never run out of anything again – no more odd socks and certainly no shortage of Crunchy Clusters. SE immediately wants to show Something’s new invention to everyone at the Everything You Need Shoppe and despite Something’s reservations, they take the duplicator into town to demonstrate its capabilities. Unfortunately, during the demonstration, the duplicator gets stuck and not only produces hundreds of oranges but also replicates Handful! Will they find a way of turning two back into one? Could Here and There cope with having two Handfuls?!

Something Else has collected so many vouchers from his bottles of ‘Dr Snakeoil’ that he has won a holiday for himself and Something. Unfortunately, instead of a holiday to an exotic and relaxing place, they have won a holiday to The Stinky Slimy Place! There, they come across Prettier and Prettiest who, despite large cerise blotches over their skin, swear by the mud’s ability to make them pretty and their skin incredibly soft. Something jumps in without a second thought but SE, unimpressed with the mud and the holiday, decides to return home. When Something returns from his holiday with ultra-soft fur, a marketing plan kicks into action and bottles of ‘Dr Something’s Marvellous Mud’ are soon on the market. Will Here and There soon be full of animals with ultra-soft fur or were those cerise blotches a bit more sinister…?

Something and SE have been asked to stand in for Nix as the Grand Poobas at the Umbrella Harvest Grand Parade. Something and SE have never been given such an honour and SE realizes that they must both be stylish, witty and elegant for the occasion. Because Something is always such a mess, SE decides that he must attend a course at Charm School before he can be a Grand Pooba. After intensive tuition, Something emerges as a cravat-wearing, classical music-loving bore with no interest in having fun with SE at all. How can SE get his friend back? Will Something ever want to have fun again?

It’s SE’s birthday and Something has forgotten! In a flash, Something runs down to the Shoppe and picks a present for SE, a little talking plant. SE loves his present and finds it especially endearing that the Plant calls him ‘Mama’. The next morning, to their horror, the Plant has grown to enormous proportions and is in the process of devouring the house! Swift informs Something and SE that within two days, the Plant will have reached adulthood and will become carnivorous! Will Something and SE be able to return the Plant to its natural habitat before it eats not only the house, but them as well?

Something has developed the ultimate rotten cheese machine and the smellier the cheese, the better! Something hates the smell and asks Something to stop his inventing and get rid of the cheese. Something has a better idea though; to build an extension to the house so that he can invent what he likes and create as much of a stink as he wants. Something wastes no time in enlisting the help of friends and they all start digging into the hill, ignoring SE’s blueprint designs. But with no proper foundations, how will the extension stay up and the house not fall down? Disaster is imminent - will Something and SE still have somewhere to live after this building adventure?

SE is cooking his wholesome Chucknut Hotpot for lunch and in the process, staining the walls and ceiling with black smut from the stove. As the concoction gets hotter and hotter, there is a sudden bang, the hotpot explodes resulting in glop being splattered all over the room. As SE starts to clean up the mess, he makes an exciting discovery; the Chucknut Hotpot is actually a Super Cleaner Fluid! With a rush of excitement SE demonstrates his new invention to all the residents of Here and There and soon, SE cannot produce enough of the Hotpot for the number of orders he is receiving. Soon Here and There is spotless - even the streets are glinting. With everything being so polished, the residents start to slip and slide and sunglasses are obligatory to cut out the glare. Not everyone is happy. Will dust ever be allowed to settle again in Here and There? Will Swift ever sell another broom?

Something has been working on yet another invention, this time, the ‘Smell-be-gone’ air refresher. As he tests it, a huge, green, stinking cloud emanates from the workshop. He had put cabbages into the machine instead of carnations! With such a terrible stink enveloping the house, Something and SE have to leave for a few days until the smell has had a chance to dissipate. The two of them manage to create havoc wherever they stay and eventually, they are barred from all the homes in Here and There. Where will they stay whilst the terrible stench still lingers? Will the smell ever go?

Something and Something Else can’t sleep, in fact, they haven’t slept for days. Not only are they incredibly tired but they have also developed nervous tics because the situation is so dire. They go to Nix to ask for his help and in turn, he sends them to the Valley of Zeds to see The Ever-Sleepers – the only people that hold the secret to a good night’s sleep. When they find Big Snooze, he does have a solution for them; but it’s not what they were expecting…!

The Musical Wind is on its way to Here and There and a Happy Feet King must be found. With a cacophony of music engulfing the land, the only one not dancing is Something Else. As fate would have it, SE is picked as the Happy Feet King and must now dance an elaborate Sunset Salsa under the Giant Glittery Tree, otherwise the Musical Wind will never return to Here and There. Does SE dislike the Musical Wind because he can’t dance or is it simply because he won’t dance? With everyone’s hopes resting on SE to serenade the wind before the sun sets, will SE be able to perform the task or will the Musical Wind be gone forever?

It’s hot, it’s very hot and all the plants in Here and There are shriveling in the heat, except…one very large watermelon in SE’s greenhouse. With the watermelon, SE wins the annual Horticultural Fair in Here and There and suddenly everyone is demanding large watermelons from SE. During the night, SE has an idea how to get enough water to make so many large watermelons – by irrigation of course. Before SE wakes, Something is already hard at work creating a dam to supply, not only SE with all the water he needs, but also the rest of Here and There with enough water to power all their machinery. But with all this water being used, where are the trees and the ground going to get their water from? And will Something’s dam hold the pressure?

SE’s dreams have come true…The Storkers are putting on a play and SE will have the chance to audition for the lead part of The Hero of the Phantom of Here and There. During the audition, SE gets a severe case of stage nerves and to his shock, Snoot and Snide offer the lead role to Something. With Something now acting ‘the star’ and SE being bossed around by rest of the crew, tempers are running high and SE tries to find a way to sabotage the performance. Will the show go on or will SE ruin his best friend’s stage debut?

It seems the inhabitants of Here and There like collecting things. Something Else has his sand collection, The Long Ones have an enviable collection of sports trophies and Nix has a wonderful collection of umbrella paraphernalia. Something is jealous that he doesn’t have a collection. However, he is certain that if he did start a hobby, he would be a much better collector than SE. Naturally, SE is furious. The Long Ones decide to hold a collecting competition between SE and Something to see who is the best collector – and Something decides to collect all things fungal. But things don’t go to plan when their collections go missing – and SE accuses Something of cheating…

SE always wins when they have a vote in the house, but only because Kevin takes SE’s side! Something realizes that this is unfair and therefore creates a teddy of his own, but this one’s going to be better than Kevin, it’s going to be battery powered! Nigel is Something’s chosen teddy and with a lop-sided smile, seems intent on removing Kevin from his pedestal. With such a force on the loose in the house, will Kevin ever be able to sway the vote in SE’s favour again? More importantly though, will Something be able to control Nigel and his insatiable appetite for power?

It’s the annual ‘Here and There Days’ competition and this year, the prize of appearing on Robin Screech’s TV show will go to the best-decorated house in the land. With such an amazing prize on offer, there is no way that Something and Something Else can lose. The Everything you Need Shoppe is a complete scrum with all the residents of Here and There buying up all available decorations. Competition is at fever pitch and Something and SE turn to covert tactics to spy on their opponents and sabotage anyone else’s chance of winning. Are these devious actions the way to win the competition? With such a huge number of decorations, can Something and SE beat off all their rivals?

Something has developed a rickety-looking rocket for high-speed travel but before he takes it for its first flight, he needs to test his miniature prototype. Without SE noticing, Something takes Kevin and uses him as a test pilot. Unfortunately, the remote control isn’t working quite as planned and Something can’t get the rocket with Kevin on board to return. Meanwhile, SE is convinced that Kevin has been kidnapped and launches into Sherlock Holmes mode in an attempt to find the guilty thieves. Will Kevin ever be able to find his way home? Will Something admit to what he has done?

SE is throwing his annual garden party and everything is going according to plan; until, that is, Something starts sneezing uncontrollably! Not only does he offend all the guests and destroys Canny’s new hairdo but he then sneezes all through the night and keeps everyone awake. The residents of Here and There banish Something from the town and he leaves, still sneezing and in search of a new home. With the help of Swift, SE gives Something lots of different potions to try to get him to stop sneezing - but nothing is working. Eventually, they manage to work out that Something is actually allergic to SE! Will they be able to produce a potion that will get rid of Something’s allergy? Or will Something have to live in the woods forever?

SE just won’t stop talking and it means that Something can’t concentrate on his new invention, ‘The Big Mover’. When Something complains, SE takes the criticism to an extreme and pledges a vow of silence. Unfortunately for Something, everyone in Here and There hears of this and they give SE their support and also join in with the silent treatment. Now no one is talking to Something! Will silence reign forever in Here and There?

Every once in a while, the moon bathes Here and There in a warm rosy pink light. When this phenomenon happens, there is no telling what strange occurrences will take place; it could rain hats and clogs, people may start talking in rhyme, but more importantly, the Lesser-spotted-not-seen-very-often-Moth may appear in a cocoon and hatch – but this only happens once in a pink moon! Unfortunately, SE misses the remarkable event of the moth hatching and Something decides to try and make it up to SE by…painting the moon pink! But, can Here and There cope with the unusual happenings that accompany a pink moon, on a daily basis? Will all the residents have to wear crash helmets to protect them from the unusual rain storms?

Something Else has come to the end of his tether. Something is creating so much mess that SE can no longer cope. Does SE continue to tidy up after Something? No, he goes on strike! Unfortunately, Something seems to be enjoying living in even greater mess and SE has only one choice, to become messy himself. Under the careful supervision of Dirty Bob, SE becomes a disciple of dirt and soon, Something and SE are living in a house that resembles the Really Filthy Field. Soon, the house is filled from floor to ceiling with junk and Something and SE have to start living outside! Will SE ever go back to being tidy again or are they both doomed to a world of filth forever?

Something is convinced that SE’s life is too calculated and predictable and that the most exciting things in life can happen by chance. On a trip to the Everything You Need Shoppe, Something and SE have a near mid-air collision with Snoot and Snide and just as SE is about to hit the ground, Something swoops underneath him and saves him. SE can’t quite believe that his friend saved his life and vows never to forget it. Unfortunately, SE takes his appreciation to an extreme and starts treating Something like a hero; painting his portrait, making him breakfast, lunch and dinner and most embarrassingly of all, creating a statue of Something for the town square. How is Something going to cope with all this adoration? Can he settle the score so that SE no longer feels that he owes Something his life?