Bing is a British Preschool Show based on the book series by Ted Dewan. The series stars the titular character, a three-year-old bunny, as he explores the messy, but fun reality of preschool life. The show premiered on CBeebies on June 9th, 2014. It ran for two seasons, adding up to 104 7-minute episodes. In 2021, it made a cable premiere on the newly-premiered Cartoonito USA feed with an American cast redubbing the British one, although it was taken off the air and removed from HBO Max the following year, thus fading into obscurity there. The show has become a huge success in the United Kingdom, however, spawning spin-off books, multiple live shows, and even its own personalized hotel room featured in Cbeebies Land.
Bing contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptational Expansion: In the original book series, Bing and Flop were the only characters that appeared. Naturally, the universe of the books had to be expanded with new characters and locations for the TV series to work.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the original book series, Flop was simply Bing's stuffed toy he brought everywhere with him. While Bing's parents were not shown, they were established. In the show, Flop has taken the role as Bing's guardian and Bing's parents are nowhere to be heard about.
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Pando the panda.
- Hopitty Voosh the bunny.
- All-CGI Cartoon
- "Anger Is Healthy" Aesop: In "Toy Party", Bing, Sula, and Pando are having a tea party with their toys (Hoppity Voosh, Fairy Hippo, and Bullabaloo). Bing starts to get jealous of all the attention Sula is giving to Pando, so he ruins the tea party and angers his friend. The two get physical, and Flop and Amma have to step in and teach the kids that while being angry is okay, hurting someone is not, and there are other ways to get your anger out.
- Art Evolution: Season 2 has much better animation then the first season, most noticeably in the shading and character animation.
- The Baby of the Bunch: One-year-old Charlie is a literal example of this.
- Birthday Episode: "Birthday" takes place during Bing's birthday party and focuses on him teaching a dance to his friends.
- In one episode, Bing has the opportunity to choose a present for Sula's birthday. He picks out a special fairy wand but when it's time to give it away, he is reluctant.
- Blanket Fort: Bing makes himself a pillow fort in one episode. He has fun playing in it until Coco and Sula use it for their big bad wolf game and won't let Bing in.
- Broken Treasure: Bing is prone to breaking things, including Flop's phone, a cake, and his toy Eggy Head. Justified since he is only a toddler.
- Canon Foreigner: Every character other than Bing or Flop.
- Christmas Episode: The episode "Presents" and "Snow" both take place on Christmas and are styled as a double-feature. In the first episode when Bing receives a new sled for Christmas, he is unable to use it since there is no snow on the ground. The following episode focuses on Sula, Nicky, and him playing in the newly bestowed snow, but Bing's reluctance to wear his mittens causes him to retreat inside freezing.
- Clashing Cousins: Bing and Coco normally get along fine, but still fight occasionally. Bing also has conflicts with his baby cousin Charlie sometimes.
- Clear Their Name: In one episode, Bing breaks a vase and blames Charlie for it. As time goes on, Bing grows more remorseful and decides to tell Flop the truth.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: Pando, one of Bing's friends, does not like wearing pants. He is commonly seen just wearing briefs.
- Cue the Rain: In one episode, Bing and Flop are preparing for a picnic. When they finally finish getting ready to go, it starts to rain.
- Death Is a Sad Thing: Bing squishes a butterfly to death in one episode, and he and his friends sadly grieve over it.
- The Diaper Change:
- Charlie gets his diaper changed in "Bake". This distraction causes the cookies Bing and Coco prepared to burn.
- Charlie gets another diaper change in "Birthday".
- Every Episode Ending: Every segment ends with Bing talking to the audience and recapping the events of the episodes to the viewer. Flop comes in at the end and says something along the lines of: "(Subject of episode); It's a Bing thing."
- Expressive Ears: Bing's ears droop down when he's upset. This is made the subject of one episode when the kids discover that Bing's ears are his "knack".
- Girlish Pigtails: Coco's ears are styled to look like these.
- Good Parents: Flop, Amma, and the rest of the adults in the show are all patient and warm with their children.
- Halloween Episode: The episode "Halloween" takes place on the titular holiday, with Bing attending a party at the creche.
- Heh Heh, You Said "X": Bing has this reaction in one episode when Amma says "bum-bum".
- Injection Plot: In "Vaccination", Bing goes to get a shot. When he comes out of the examination room upset, Pando assumes that he was upset because the shot hurt and doesn't want to go get his. As it turns out, Bing was sad because he did not receive the sticker he wanted after the shot.
- Injured Limb Episode: Bing breaks his arm in "Accident" and struggles when he is unable to move it around like he usually does.
- Kids Love Dinosaurs: One of Bing's favorite toys is Biteysarus, a toy dinosaur.
- Lost Toy Grievance: Bing loses Hoppity at the park in "Lost." In another episode, "Dark", he loses Hoppity at night, so he and Flop must search the backyard to find him.
- Lovable Jock: Pando
- The Nicknamer: In one episode, Pando starts calling Bing "Bingly Bangly", much to the latter's chagrin.
- Performance Anxiety: In one episode, all the children are performing at a local talent show. Bing is excited to sing his song at first, but when the time comes for him to perform, he freezes up on stage.
- Pointless Band-Aid: After Coco gets a paper cut, Bing wishes to have a plaster of his own. He makes one out of tape, but when he starts to take it off, it is too painful to remove.
- Potty Emergency: In "Hide and Seek", Bing has one after refusing to use the bathroom before playing hide and seek. When he is found, he immediately has an accident.
- Potty Failure:
- In the book "Get Dressed", Bing is determined to dress without help. When he finally finishes up, he pees himself, and the process must be started all over again.
- In the episode "Hide and Seek", Bing needs to go to the toilet but is reluctant to pause the game he is playing with his friends. Naturally, he doesn't make it.
- Downplayed in "Blanket". While he doesn't have a total accident, Bing pees on his favorite blanket by accident after it falls into the toilet.
- Security Blanket:
- Bing has his Hoppity Voosh stuffie.
- Sula has her Fairy Hippo toy.
- Pando has his Bullabaloo toy.
- Coco has her Rainbow Fairy Mice figurines.
- Sick Episode: Bing and Flop both have separate ones.
- Sixth Ranger: Nicky, Sula's cousin, joins the main cast in Season 2. Doctor Molly, the local doctor and the mother of Coco and Charlie, also plays a more prominent role.
- Toilet Training Plot:
- Multiple books based on the TV series are based on learning how to use the toilet.
- Downplayed with the episode "Hide and Seek". While Bing and his friends are toilet-trained, they still need to learn the important moral of stopping play to use the bathroom when needed.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Doubles with Stock Animal Diet. Bing's favorite food is a carrot.
- Slumber Party:
- Bing and Coco have a sleepover together in one episode.
- In another, Bing goes over to Sula's to sleepover with her and her cousin Nicky.
- Pando and Bing have an impromptu sleepover in the episode "Mine" when the former falls asleep in the latter's bed.
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: "Butterfly" focuses on Bing wanting to show a butterfly he found to his friends, only for him to squeeze it so hard it suffocates to death. This episode was so shocking, that news articles were written on it
and parents took to social media to complain. - Vague Age: Unlike most of the kids, Coco's age is never confirmed in the show. However, her behaviors resemble those of a 5-6 year old.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Bing and Sula argue often but still consider each other best friends.
The Stinger? It's a Bing thing.
