It tells the story of Mee and his family who just moved into a dilapidated zoo and took on the challenge of preparing the zoo for its reopening to the public.

Though each episode invariably starts and ends in Dixon Bainbridge's dilapidated zoo, the "Zooniverse", the characters of Vince and Howard often depart for other locations, such as the Arctic tundra and limbo.

The family is in ragged shape and needs a new life, so Benjamin buys a dilapidated zoo in a lush bit of country somewhere outside San Diego.

In this genial family entertainment, a widower (Matt Damon) with two kids buys a dilapidated zoo in a lush bit of country somewhere outside San Diego.

The book's story follows Mee, who buys and moves into a dilapidated zoo (now Dartmoor Zoological Park) in the English countryside.

The series is set in a run-down, dilapidated zoo in England known as the "Zooniverse".