Mr Majeika
Encyclopedia
Mr Majeika is the title of a series of children's books, written by Humphrey Carpenter
, and also a children's television series starring Stanley Baxter
. The stories have also been broadcast on radio. The first volume, Mr Majeika, first published in 1984, was followed by Mr Majeika and the Music Teacher, Mr Majeika and the Haunted Hotel and The TV Adventures of Mr Majeika.
He thereafter astounds them with magical trickery which bring lessons to life, whether it is providing chips during dinner for all the children, or turning the nasty Hamish Bigmore into a frog for his insolence. Whatever the consequences, Class Three are sure that with Mr Majeika around, they will not be bored again. A recurring character in Whilomina Warlock, a witch that first appeared as a music teacher and has turned up regularly since in various disguises.
In the television series, Mr Majeika is an irrepressible wizard, sent to "Britland" from the planet Walpurgis because he had failed his O-level sorcery exam for the seventeenth time. He drops into the sleepy village of Much Barty, finding a post at St Barty's School as Class Three's new form-teacher, where he quickly befriends two of the children, Melanie Brace-Girdle and Thomas Grey. Both of these characters are also in the books, but Melanie is a much less important and very different type of character in the books. Also in the books, Thomas has a twin brother called Pete.
Majeika enters into his magic with reluctance, however, because he is trying hard to behave himself on Earth, and because the Worshipful Wizard of Walpurgis is keeping an eye on him from above. All the same, trickery becomes more and more necessary, leading Majeika, Melanie and Thomas into some remarkable adventures. Their fun is despised, but usually prompted, by the horribly spoilt Hamish, a pupil so ghastly that his mere presence had caused the resignation of the previous class teacher and frightened off the 79 applicants for the post. But one waggle of Mr Majeika's oddly tufted grey hair is all that it takes for Bigmore to be put firmly in his place.
Humphrey Carpenter
Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster.-Biography:...
, and also a children's television series starring Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
. The stories have also been broadcast on radio. The first volume, Mr Majeika, first published in 1984, was followed by Mr Majeika and the Music Teacher, Mr Majeika and the Haunted Hotel and The TV Adventures of Mr Majeika.
Plot
The focus of these stories is Mr Majeika, a teacher at St Barty's Primary School, a typical English primary school. However he is no ordinary man, as is apparent when he flies into Class Three's boring lesson on a magic carpet, which he then turns into a cycle, confounding the headmaster; Mr Majeika is a wizard!He thereafter astounds them with magical trickery which bring lessons to life, whether it is providing chips during dinner for all the children, or turning the nasty Hamish Bigmore into a frog for his insolence. Whatever the consequences, Class Three are sure that with Mr Majeika around, they will not be bored again. A recurring character in Whilomina Warlock, a witch that first appeared as a music teacher and has turned up regularly since in various disguises.
In the television series, Mr Majeika is an irrepressible wizard, sent to "Britland" from the planet Walpurgis because he had failed his O-level sorcery exam for the seventeenth time. He drops into the sleepy village of Much Barty, finding a post at St Barty's School as Class Three's new form-teacher, where he quickly befriends two of the children, Melanie Brace-Girdle and Thomas Grey. Both of these characters are also in the books, but Melanie is a much less important and very different type of character in the books. Also in the books, Thomas has a twin brother called Pete.
Majeika enters into his magic with reluctance, however, because he is trying hard to behave himself on Earth, and because the Worshipful Wizard of Walpurgis is keeping an eye on him from above. All the same, trickery becomes more and more necessary, leading Majeika, Melanie and Thomas into some remarkable adventures. Their fun is despised, but usually prompted, by the horribly spoilt Hamish, a pupil so ghastly that his mere presence had caused the resignation of the previous class teacher and frightened off the 79 applicants for the post. But one waggle of Mr Majeika's oddly tufted grey hair is all that it takes for Bigmore to be put firmly in his place.
Production
The series was written by Jenny McDade. Carpenter wrote the fourth book based on McDade's scripts, The Television Adventures of Mr Majeika.Cast
- Stanley BaxterStanley BaxterStanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
as Mr. Majeika - Roland MacLeodRoland MacLeodRoland MacLeod was an English actor of film and television.He appeared as a vicar in John Cleese's film A Fish Called Wanda and The Last Remake of Beau Geste....
as Dudley Potter - Fidelis MorganFidelis MorganFidelis Morgan is a British actress and writer.She was born in a red gypsy caravan, Kiomi Romani, which stood in a corner of the grounds of the ancient Abbey of Amesbury, halfway between Stonehenge and Woodhenge...
as Bunty Brace-Girdle - Eve Ferret as Pam Bigmore
- Claire Sawyer as Melanie Brace-Girdle
- Simeon Pearl as Hamish Bigmore
- Richard MurdochRichard MurdochRichard Bernard Murdoch was a British comedic radio, film and television performer.Richard Bernard Murdoch attended Charterhouse School. He then appeared in Footlights whilst a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge...
as Worshipful Wizard - Andrew Read as Thomas Grey
- Adele SilvaAdele SilvaAdele Silva is an English actress and television personality who has been on stage and television since she was a young girl. She is best known for playing the role of Kelly Windsor in the television soap opera Emmerdale....
as Fenella Fudd - Christopher MitchellChristopher MitchellChristopher Mitchell was a British actor most notable for his role in the BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum as Gunner Nigel 'Parky' Parkins....
as Ron Bigmore - Sanjiv Madan as Prince
- Pat CoombsPat CoombsPat Coombs was an English actress. Coombs was considered one of Britain's great character actresses, specialising in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female — comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms...
as Miss Flavia Jelley - Vernon DobtcheffVernon DobtcheffVernon Dobtcheff is a French and British actor.Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup...
as Wizard Marks - Robin DriscollRobin DriscollRobin Driscoll is a British actor and writer, best known as a writer of Mr. Bean. He and Rowan Atkinson are close friends.He appeared with Rowan Atkinson in Laughing Matters - Visual Comedy, a documentary on the mechanics of visual humour....
as Sgt. Sevenoaks