Pelle Politibil (TV series)

Pelle Politibil ("Pelle The Police Car" in Norwegian, pronounced "Pe-la Po-la-ti-beel") is a Norwegian children's TV series that was produced and aired exclusively in Norway from 1993 to 1997. It follows the adventures of a VW Beetle police car named Pelle Politibil and his driver Rikhard in their day-to-day activities as law enforcers. Along the way they meet Janne, an ambulance driver, and her ambulance, Sally Sykebil, whom they proceed to grow close to. 3 seasons were made, the 1st aired in 1993, the 2nd in 1995, and the 3rd in 1997, after which the show was cancelled for unknown reasons. All episodes can be watched on YouTube courtesy of user Masse av Underholdning, (meaning "Lots of Entertainment" in Norwegian) or MAU: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnDV5Gp33OMrHyUFw8izoA

Season 1 (1993)

 * Pelle Politibil Får En Venn ("Pelle The Police Car Gets A Friend")
 * På Besøk I Barnehagen ("Visit To Kindergarten")
 * Pelle Blir Syk ("Pelle Gets Sick")
 * Tyven/Pelle Blir Bortført ("Thief/Being Abducted")
 * Festen ("Feast")

Season 2 (1995)

 * Krangel Og Spetakkel ("Argument And Litter")
 * Tyvjakta ("Thief Hunting")
 * Pelle Rømmer ("Pelle Escapes")
 * Pelle Får En Idé ("Pelle Gets An Idea")
 * Belønninga ("Reward")

Season 3 (1997)

 * Den Store Bølgen ("The Big Wave")
 * Skurkene Kommer ("The Villains Are Coming")
 * Leteaksjonen ("Exploration Campaign")
 * Tyven ("Thief")
 * Arrestasjonen/Pelle's Bursdag ("The Arrest/Pelle's Birthday")

Cast

 * Lars Andreas Larssen as the voice of Pelle Politibil and the narrator
 * Åge Magnussen as Rikhard
 * Anne Helgesen as Janne
 * Guri Jonsson as the voice of Sally Sykebil (Season 1)
 * Marit Andreassen as the voice of Sally Sykebil (Seasons 2 and 3)
 * Oddbjørn Olsen as The Police Master
 * Harald Krogtoft as Tasse
 * Terje Bartholsen as Lange-Leif
 * Lennart Mårli as Lars
 * Steinar Toftesund as Lure
 * Terje Jonassen and Jo Wintervoll as The Ambulance Company Guys

Trivia

 * The 1st season was produced in 1991 but didn't air until 2 years later in 1993.
 * There is a rumor that a 4th season was planned but was cancelled for unknown reasons.
 * Some of the unused TV series plots were seemingly later reused for Pelle Politibil books.
 * Each series was filmed the year before it aired, with the exception of the 1st season which waited 2 years before airing.
 * Only 5 episodes were produced per season, with 15 in all across all 3 seasons.
 * Each episode starts with a flashback/recap of the previous episode, most likely to get viewers up-to-speed on what happened last episode and how those events tie into the current episode.
 * Season 2 is unique for a number of reasons, including that it was never released on DVD, only VHS, and of course Sally's different appearance, noteworthy is that this is the only season in the series where she was not a type of Mercedes 230, but a W123 instead.
 * Lennart Mårli and Steinar Toftesund composed the music for the series in addition to playing the roles of Lars and Lure.
 * Both Pelle and Sally's plates were pieces of paper put on top of their existing registration plates. This can be seen on Sally in Season 1: her plate is narrower than Pelle's, (she also appears to have no actual plate in her plate holder) later on in Season 2 onwards she got a proper width plate.
 * The instruments used to play the opening song were changed in Season 3, and so was the logo, now colorful and with it's own unique font rather than the simple white with black-outlined letters the first 2 seasons used.
 * In addition starting from Season 2 onwards the opening sequence started with a shot of Pelle's exhaust spewing out white smoke, from Pelle Blir Syk, and then Pelle and Rikhard leaving the station and driving through the city, before cutting to the logo like the previous season did. Why these shots were added to the intro is not known.