- "The Ben Tiller Orchestra", "Larry" and "Ray" redirect here.
Ben Tiller is a minor character in the Jem animated series. He is a U.S. Army soldier in service in London in 1944 and also the leader of his own legendary swing music orchestra.
History[]
On their second stop while traveling through time, thanks to Techrat's "Time Travel Device", Jem and The Holograms land in London in 1944 during World War II times. After changing appearance to dress accordingly to the times via Synergy's holograms, Shana realizes where and when they are by looking at a poster on a wall that advertises the "The Ben Tiller Band" playing soon. Two soldiers passing by, named Larry and Ray, and who happen to be members of this band, hear them talking about Ben and invite them to their rehearsal.
At the rehearsal, the girls are introduced to Ben by one of the soldiers, who informs him they're also musicians. He asks him if he would allow them to collaborate with their music, but Ben initially shows himself reluctant to the idea, fearing they could mess up the arrangements. Kimber takes point and asks him to give them only half an hour of his time to show him what they can do, to which Ben convenes. At the conclusion of this time, Ben shows himself to be very pleased with the results and that night his band performs "We're Making It Happen" to great success.
Shortly after finishing the song, however, the place starts being bombarded and Ben tells everybody to hurry to the shelters. The Holograms are about to get crushed by falling debris, but just before the impact, they fortunately make their next jump in time.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ben Tiller and his orchestra are inspired by real life musician Glenn Miller and his Orchestra.
- Even though it is referred to as "The Ben Tiller Orchestra" by everybody on the show, it appears as "The Ben Tiller Band" on the poster advertising their next concert.
- The poster that advertises the orchestra's next performance reads "1944", which is the same year Glenn Miller disappeared.
- The lyrics of the song "Rockin' Down Through Time" actually mention the real life musician, Glenn Miller, even though in the show, Ben Tiller is used to reference him instead (probably to avoid copyright issues).