But even the fraternal boy-girl twins portrayed on TV are best buddies (Buffy and Jody on A Family Affair, The Walshes on Beverly Hills 90210, Phil and Lil - at least until they get out of diapers - from Rugrats). About the only twins that we can recall who really didn't get along all that well were Jessica and Liz Wakefield of Sweet Valley High.

Well it turns out that one of England and Europe's hottest television shows is a hip new cartoon series featuring fraternal twins who are diametrically opposite in just about every fashion. And on top of that, they really don't like each other that much.

The Cramp Twins show was launched in England last fall and immediately became the top-rated animated show in that country among children aged 4-14. It is also part of BBC One's Saturday Morning Show of cartoon highlights. And on Cartoon Network UK (the British equivalent to America's Cartoon Network), Cramp Twins is the most popular daily show among kids aged 4-9.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The show began airing in Germany, France and Spain in December, 2001 and is scheduled to begin airing in Italy and Latin America the middle of this year.

'Cramp Twins' is based on the graphic comic novels by Brian Wood (written in 1995 and 1997 and published by Bloomsbury Publishing but the two books below are being released in America later this year). The 30-minute show tells the story of 10-year-old twin brothers Wayne und Lucien Cramp. Lucien (the one with the glasses) is mild-mannered and aims to please, while Wayne (the one with the purple head) is the trouble-maker. The other primary characters on the show are Mr. and Mrs. Cramp and fellow 10-year-old Tony "Shrimp Boy" Parsons.

So the big question is, why should we care about a British cartoon show about twins that has never aired in the United States? Simple, as any parents of young twins can tell you, whether you like it or not, cartoons are going to be a big influence on your children's lives during their formative years. So your twins may as well start watching a show about other twins.

And even though, the show might be considered a bad influence to your twins (after all, they really don't like each other and Wayne lives to cause trouble), the fact of the matter is that there may be a little bit of Wayne and Lucien in every set of twins. That plus the fact that the animation looks interesting is enough to sway this writer into thinking the show may become popular here in the states.