Horse 3144 - The Bird Who Lives At No.8

While waiting in line at the bank, one gets to see far more children's television than one wants too. I for instance have seen Dora The Explorer stare blankly at the screen while children are expected to yell back at her, I have watched in horror as Ryder in Paw Patrol spend has spent millions of dollars on stupid devices for his unholy puppy army of the daytime, I have seen the antics of Peppa Pig, and now I have seen several episodes of Hey Duggee.

Hey Duggee is a show from BBC's Cebeebies, which is narrated by Alexander Armstrong who has deigned to provide his services when he isn't hosting BBC One's game show Pointless. Duggee is the titular character who is a very big brown dog and the apparent leader of the gang in the show.

A curiosity about this show is that while Duggee towers over all of his friends, they have been blessed with the power of speech while he has not. This has the effect of rendering him as more of a blank canvas than the protagonists of other childrens' cartoons; which is arguably why the producers of this show have done this. 

However, this post is not about Duggee, or the fact that he seems to have collected a badge for every single activity in the world; including badges for Pizza, Dancing, Drawing, Bouncing, Jam, First Aid, Be Careful and a host of others. I would not be surprised if he had badges for time appropriate things such as Handwashing, Clapping For The NHS, Insurrection, or Being Prime Minister Longer Than A Lettuce Lasts.

No. this post is about a mysterious character who lives somewhere in the Hey Duggee universe; who has no speaking parts and therefore remains uncredited. This post is about the Bird Who Lives At No.8. Very little is known about the Bird Who Lives At No.8, other than the fact that he is brown, spends most of his day inside, and that he happens to own a pair of underpants for some reason.

Animals wearing clothing is already an acceptable thing within this universe as Duggee is attired in various coats and jackets at various times, some of the other animals wear pants, and the octopus has a headband. Exactly why the Bird Who Lives At No.8 needs a pair of underpants though, is baffling.

Yet again I find myself confused by a children's show as I ponder the mysteries of the world that has been built for us. Most of the universe of Hey Duggee is fairly self-explanatory and I am even prepared to accept that a bunch of small animals might join the Squirrel Club for fun. Various animals of different species in a television series is a common trope in children's media; including on the aforementioned Peppa Pig. 

However when if comes to the subject of the Bird Who Lives At No.8, I have questions that go beyond this.

Why does bird's house in a tree, get post and need a No.8 on the door? Why doesn't he have a postbox out on the street somewhere? Does this imply the existence of other trees with birds in them, who require postal delivery services? Why is a bird getting post in the first place? I see no evidence that he's connected to the electric, or would be assessed for council rates. Would a bird be called up for jury duty? Does he pay tax to the Inland Revenue?

What is he doing all day long that he always answers the door in his undies? Maybe this bird is nocturnal; in which case he'd ben sensibly asleep during the day, so that makes sense. Is the Bird Who Lives At No.8 not actually nocturnal but unemployed and just unmotivated? What if there is something more sinister and the Bird Who Lives At No.8 is actually hiding from someone like the rent collectors, or someone he has taken out a black market unregulated loan with? 

However that still doesn't explain why the Bird Who Lives At No.8 is answers the door in his underpants. It is already established in this universe that all of the animals wear clothes but even so, it is still rather a bit creepy that the Bird Who Lives At No.8 is answering the door in his undies all the time. It makes you wonder just how safe a neighbourhood for children, that this place is.

Also given that badges seeming exist for just about every single activity, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Duggee had a Collecting Post or Delivering Post badge. Perhaps most mind chilling of all, is the possibility that Duggee knows what's going on. Our big brown friendly protagonist with badges for everything could also have a I Know What The Bird Who Lives At No.8 Does badge. This might go along with his MI5 and MI6 Security Clearance badges.

Aside:

Owing to the borderless graphics of Hey Duggee, it could very well be that the whole show exists within another childrens' television show and has leaked into the rest of the world. I think it not unreasonable that Hey Duggee is actually a TV show within the Blueyverse. Curiously in Bluey, there has been seen on multiple occasions, underpants seen in piles of laundry despite the fact that nobody appears to wear any.