Genre: | Children's television series |
Creator: | Bob Block |
Director: | Robert Reed Vic Hughes |
Starring: | Ellis Jones Roy Barraclough Hugh Paddick Joe Dunlop Lynnette Erving Arthur White |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Language: | English |
Num Seasons: | 2 |
Num Episodes: | 26 |
Producer: | Daphne Shadwell |
Runtime: | c.25 minutes |
Channel: | ITV |
Pardon My Genie (1972–1973) was a children's comedy series produced by British ITV contractor Thames Television, and written by Bob Block, who later created Rentaghost.
The premise was that a magic genie (Hugh Paddick in the first series, Arthur White in the second series) appeared in present-day Britain, summoned by a young apprentice named Hal Adden, a pun that goes some way towards characterising the series. Various comical misunderstandings arise, primarily aimed at youngsters. Arthur White replaced Paddick for the second run of 13 episodes. Throughout both series, Hal was played by Ellis Jones, with Roy Barraclough as his long-suffering boss, Mr. Cobbledick. In achieving "magic" effects, it contains examples of early "blue-screen" technology.
The first series of 13 episodes was released on DVD on 22 September 2009. The second series of 13 episodes was released on 1 July 2013.