| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Creator: | Paul Mendelson |
| Director: | John Stroud |
| Opentheme: | "My Hero" Theme |
| Endtheme: | "My Hero" Theme |
| Composer: | Philip Pope |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 6 |
| Num Episodes: | 51 |
| List Episodes: | List of My Hero episodes |
| Camera: | Multiple-camera setup |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Company: | Big Bear Films |
| Network: | BBC One |
My Hero is a British television sitcom, created by Paul Mendelson, and produced for the BBC between 2000 and 2006.[1] The series follows the exploits of an alien superhero known as "Thermoman" - a multi-powered superhero who originates from the planet Ultron - during his time between missions after falling in love with a British nurse he rescued. Although incredibly intelligent amongst his kind, Thermoman is unfamiliar with human life, which not only leads others to consider him dim-witted and idiotic, but also causes problems due to his many misunderstandings.
The main role of Thermoman was portrayed by Ardal O'Hanlon up until 2005, before he was replaced by James Dreyfus for the final series. The cast itself remained largely unchanged throughout its broadcast history, and included Emily Joyce, Lill Roughley, Tim Wylton, Lou Hirsch, Hugh Dennis, Geraldine McNulty, and Philip Whitchurch. Unlike most British sitcoms, Mendelson co-wrote episode scripts with a large team of writers. Each series also featured a varying number of episodes, with the first and second series containing six episodes, series three through five containing 10 episodes each and series six containing 8 episodes,[2] with a Christmas Special for 2000.[3]
Despite its viewing figures going into decline by the time of Dreyfus' appearance, the show remained a regular feature on British television, being regularly repeated on Gold in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the series was shown on PBS and, briefly, BBC America. In Australia, UKTV offered re-runs of the first three series, while BBC Entertainment provided repeats for Scandinavia. Three of the six series have been released on DVD; two on Region 1 DVD and one on Region 2.[4] Fans have since petitioned the BBC to release the complete series on DVD.[5]
The series focuses on the life of George Sunday, a man who comes off as idiotic, but who in reality is a superhero from the planet Ultron known as "Thermoman", who serves to safeguard humanity and the Earth, and Janet Dawkins, a British nurse who works at a local surgery in the London town of Northolt, whom George falls in love with after saving her life. The series focuses on the couple's efforts to cope with numerous problems that occur to them during their relationship, including dealing with Janet's obnoxius parents and the self-centered doctor whom she works for, and George's many misunderstandings of human culture, societial values and traits.
After the second series, the writers added in additional elements surrounding the couple being married and having children of Ultronian origin - capable of speech, intelligence and super powers for their infant age - and coping with issues surrounding their family lives. In the sixth series, George loses his old body, and replaces it with a new one that he gives the alias of George Monday, taking up work as a doctor alongside Piers at his surgery.
See main article: List of My Hero episodes.
In the United States, the series has been released on DVD via BBC Video; "Season One" was released on 16 January 2007,[6] while "Season Two" was released on 7 August 2007.[7] The sets are now currently out-of-print and no subsequent seasons have been made available on region 1.
In the United Kingdom, Series Three was the only series to receive a home video release. The "Complete Series 3" was released on VHS on 7 October 2002 via IMC Vision,[8] while two DVD sets, "Volume 1" (episodes 1 - 5 of Series 3),[9] and "Volume 2" (episodes 6 - 10 of Series 3) were also released on 7 October 2002.[10] [11] A DVD set containing "Complete Series 3" was additionally made available from IMC Vision on 14 May 2012.[12]
As of 2023, it has not been announced if My Hero will receive any subsequent series releases, or a complete series box set.
Series one and two of My Hero became available to stream in the UK via BritBox from 10 March 2022.[13] [14] Seasons 1 & 2 as well as the additions of Seasons 3 & 4 was added to BritBox via ITVX as of 18 February 2024 [15]