Johnson and his friends, which include McDuff, a concertina, Diesel, a truck, Alfred, a hot water bottle, and Squeaky, a robot, are toys that belong to a boy named Michael, unseen except for asleep in his bed. They reside in his bedroom, and but do not move or show any signs of life until he has left the room or fallen asleep. Each episode involves a story about the toys, and it will usually have a little message to convey to the children, about sharing, cheating, complaining, or similar.