| My Hero | |
 Series title card |
|
| Format | British sitcom Science fiction sitcom |
|---|---|
| Created by | Paul Mendelson |
| Starring | Ardal O'Hanlon (Series 1-5) James Dreyfus (Series 6) Emily Joyce Hugh Dennis Geraldine McNulty Lou Hirsch Philip Whitchurch Lill Roughley Tim Wylton |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 51 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Geoffrey Perkins Marcus Mortimer Sophie Clarke-Jervoise |
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 4 February 2000 – 10 September 2006 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
My Hero is a British BBC sitcom created by Paul Mendelson and directed by John Stroud. It sees the dim-witted superhero "Thermoman", portrayed by Ardal O'Hanlon and later James Dreyfus, trying to cope with life on earth in the form of health store owner George Sunday, married to Janet Dawkins. The show aired on BBC One from February 2000 to September 2006 for six series and fifty-one episodes, one of which a Christmas special broadcast in December 2000. In the UK, re-runs air on G.O.L.D.; in the United States, it is shown regularly on select PBS stations and on BBC America. Re-runs are also aired on the subscription channel UKTV in Australia.
In 2002, the third series was released on DVD including actor biographies and out-takes. The first series was released on Region 1 DVD in America on January 16, 2007.
Contents |
Cast & Characters
Main article: List of My Hero characters
- Ardal O'Hanlon- Thermoman/George Sunday (for series 1–5)
- James Dreyfus- Thermoman/George Monday (for series 6)
- Emily Joyce- Janet Dawkins
- Madeline Mortimer - Voice of "Cassie Sunday"
- Finlay Stroud - Voice of "Ollie Sunday"
- Hugh Dennis-Dr Piers Crispin
- Geraldine McNulty-Mrs Raven
- Lou Hirsch-Cousin Arnie
- Philip Whitchurch- Tyler
- Lill Roughley- Ella Dawkins
- Tim Wylton-Stanley Dawkins
Plot
George Sunday is the dim-witted "Thermoman", a super hero of multiple powers from planet Ultron. He does his best to fit in with life on earth, but unfortunately George's unfamiliarity with human life leads to many misunderstandings. At the beginning of the series, George saves wife-to-be Janet Dawkins from danger, and after falling in love, the pair later have children born with full sets of teeth and fluent English from birth. Janet's admirer is self-obsessed doctor Piers Crispin, whose receptionist is the miserable Mrs. Raven.
Amongst other characters in the show are Ella and Stanley Dawkins, Janet's mother & father, and George's cousin Arnie, a one-time superhero who lives as an American and runs a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. He, too, is from George's home planet.
Episodes
There are 51 episodes of My Hero over six series. The first series was broadcast on 2000-02-04 and the last on 2006-09-10.
The show was written by a team of writers, as are most American sitcoms, as opposed to by the creator(s) alone, in British sitcom tradition (apart from the first season). The writers of the show were creator Paul Mendelson, along with Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Alexander, Simon Braithwaite, Gary Lawson, John Phelps, Ian Brown and James Hendrie.
Some of the episode titles pun on other TV or film titles. Examples include: Cassie Come Home (Lassie Come Home), How Green was my Ollie (a novel How Green Was My Valley), Time and Time again (Back to the Future II), The First Husbands Club (The First Wives Club).
All episodes were filmed at Teddington Studios, Middlesex with a live studio audience (save for parts with CGI effects) and on location in Pinner, Middlesex. The green roofs seen through the windows in some shots are the flats on Capel Gardens. A curious feature of the show were the constant jokes about nearby Northolt.
Reception
The show was enjoyed by family audiences; however, the sixth series, beginning in July 2006, saw James Dreyfus taking over from Ardal O'Hanlon in the lead role, as George loses his former human identity in a game of poker.
The cast change proved unpopular with viewers, as the show began suffering from plummeting ratings[citation needed] and thus was moved to a Sunday afternoon slot. The series was then cancelled in September 2006 due to these low ratings. It has been rumoured that ITV were going to bring the programme back as part of their investment into comedy. No announcement has yet been made, but if the series is revived, it may possibly be around the autumn/winter of 2009.[1]
References
- ^ "My Hero No More". Down the tubes. 2006-09-25. http://www.downthetubes.net/tv/my_hero/. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: My Hero (TV series) |
- My Hero at the Internet Movie Database
- My Hero at TV.com
Official
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