Supergran
Encyclopedia
Super Gran is a 1980s
children's television programme
, about a grandmother with super powers. The show was adapted by Jenny McDade from books written by Forrest Wilson and was produced by Tyne Tees Television
for Children's ITV
, with the titular character played by Gudrun Ure
, and Iain Cuthbertson
as her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
), acquires superpowers when she accidentally hit by a magic ray created by Inventor Black (Bill Shine
). Under the guise of 'Super Gran', she protects the residents of the fictional town of Chiselton from villains such as the Scunner Campbell (Iain Cuthbertson
) and his gang, The Muscles (Alan Snell and Brian Lewis). Super Gran was normally assisted by her grandchildren, including Eddison (Holly English).
, including Tynemouth
, Whitley Bay
, South Shields
and Beamish Museum
. Inventor Black’s laboratory was housed in an empty church on Tynemouth Front Street, now Land of the Green Ginger. Sets were housed in an old warehouse in North Shields
; its corrugated roof
caused sound difficulties when it rained.
The theme song was performed by Billy Connolly
. The full version was released as a single in March 1985 and reached number 32 in the UK singles chart
.
Many guest stars appeared on the programme, including George Best
, Spike Milligan
, Roy Kinnear
, Geoff Capes
and Charles Hawtrey
. It was Patrick Troughton
's final television appearance.
The transmission of the first episode in 1985 was preceded by a "making-of" documentary.
The character of Super Gran came seventh in The Glasgow Herald
s 2003 poll, "The Most Scottish Person In The World".
Two videos were released, each containing three episodes. The first series was released by Network DVD
on a 2 disc set on 10 August 2009, and the second series on 16 May 2011. The Whitley Bay Playhouse is scheduled to host a Super Gran evening in February 2012.
produced two games based on the show in 1985.
The game Super Gran was an action game involving Supergran's anti-gravity belt. It was released for the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 16
, Commodore 64
and ZX Spectrum
.
Super Gran - The Adventure was a text adventure based on the show, written by Adventure Soft
's Brian Howarth
. The premise is that Super Gran has to save people whilst looking out for Scunner Campbell. This game was released on the Acorn Electron
, BBC Micro
, C16, C64 and Spectrum.
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
children's television programme
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, about a grandmother with super powers. The show was adapted by Jenny McDade from books written by Forrest Wilson and was produced by Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
for Children's ITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
, with the titular character played by Gudrun Ure
Gudrun Ure
Gudrun Ure is a Scottish actress, most famous for her portrayal of the titular character in Super Gran. She also starred in the pilot of a series called Life After Life, written by Yes Minister creator Jonathan Lynn...
, and Iain Cuthbertson
Iain Cuthbertson
Iain Cuthbertson was a Scottish character actor. At 6' 4", he was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive "gravelly" heavily accented voice.-Early life:...
as her arch nemesis, The Scunner Campbell.
Premise
An elderly grandmother, Granny Smith (Gudrun UreGudrun Ure
Gudrun Ure is a Scottish actress, most famous for her portrayal of the titular character in Super Gran. She also starred in the pilot of a series called Life After Life, written by Yes Minister creator Jonathan Lynn...
), acquires superpowers when she accidentally hit by a magic ray created by Inventor Black (Bill Shine
Bill Shine
Bill Shine, born Wilfred William Dennis Shine, was a British theatre, film and television actor. Shine was born into a family of theatre actors; among others, Shine's father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine was a theatre actor who also...
). Under the guise of 'Super Gran', she protects the residents of the fictional town of Chiselton from villains such as the Scunner Campbell (Iain Cuthbertson
Iain Cuthbertson
Iain Cuthbertson was a Scottish character actor. At 6' 4", he was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive "gravelly" heavily accented voice.-Early life:...
) and his gang, The Muscles (Alan Snell and Brian Lewis). Super Gran was normally assisted by her grandchildren, including Eddison (Holly English).
Production
The show was filmed in various locations around North East EnglandNorth East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
, including Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
, Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay is a town in North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the North Sea coast and has a fine stretch of golden sandy beach forming a bay stretching from St. Mary's Island in the north to Cullercoats in the south...
, South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
and Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
. Inventor Black’s laboratory was housed in an empty church on Tynemouth Front Street, now Land of the Green Ginger. Sets were housed in an old warehouse in North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
; its corrugated roof
Corrugated galvanised iron
Corrugated galvanised iron is a building material composed of sheets of hot-dip galvanised mild steel, cold-rolled to produce a linear corrugated pattern in them...
caused sound difficulties when it rained.
The theme song was performed by Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
. The full version was released as a single in March 1985 and reached number 32 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Many guest stars appeared on the programme, including George Best
George Best
George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
, Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, Roy Kinnear
Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear was an English character actor. He is best remembered for playing Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
, Geoff Capes
Geoff Capes
Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a former athlete, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor...
and Charles Hawtrey
Charles Hawtrey (film actor)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
. It was Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
's final television appearance.
The transmission of the first episode in 1985 was preceded by a "making-of" documentary.
Series one
| Episode title | |Original airdate | Directed by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Supergran and the Magic Ray" | 20 January 1985 | Anthony Simmons Anthony Simmons (writer) Anthony "Tony" Simmons is a British writer/film producer. He was associated with, though separate from, the Free Cinema movement; he said he was greatly influenced by Humphrey Jennings and by Michelangelo Antonioni’s movie Il Grido.-Career:Simmons claimed: "I wasn’t aiming to be a film director. I... |
1 | ||
| While watching her grandson play football, Granny Smith (Gudrun Ure Gudrun Ure Gudrun Ure is a Scottish actress, most famous for her portrayal of the titular character in Super Gran. She also starred in the pilot of a series called Life After Life, written by Yes Minister creator Jonathan Lynn... ) is hit by a ray created by Inventor Black (Bill Shine Bill Shine Bill Shine, born Wilfred William Dennis Shine, was a British theatre, film and television actor. Shine was born into a family of theatre actors; among others, Shine's father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine was a theatre actor who also... ), giving her magical powers. |
|||||
| "Supergran and the Skimmer" | 27 January 1985 | Gerry Mill | 2 | ||
| "Supergran and the Course of True Love" | 3 February 1985 | Tony Kysh | 3 | ||
| "Supergran and the Pearl of Pinnell's End" | 10 February 1985 | Anthony Simmons | 4 | ||
| "Supergran and the Super Match" | 17 February 1985 | Tony Kysh | 5 | ||
| "Supergran Grounded" | 24 February 1985 | Tony Kysh | 6 | ||
| Geoff Capes Geoff Capes Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a former athlete, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor... injures Supergran during an event at a stadium Gateshead International Stadium Gateshead International Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The stadium is primarily set up for athletics, with a running track, but it is home to Gateshead Thunder rugby league club, Gateshead Senators American Football and Gateshead FC. It has also held a... . Meanwhile the Scunner Campbell plans to kidnap honorable Bertrand Battenburg and Supergran is too weak to help! |
|||||
| "Supergran and the Magic Ian" | 3 March 1985 | Gerry Mill | 7 | ||
| "Supergran and the TV Villains" | 10 March 1985 | Gerry Mill | 8 | ||
| "Supergran and the Doppelganger" | 17 March 1985 | Tony Kysh | 9 | ||
| "Supergran and the Day at the Sea" | 24 March 1985 | Tony Kysh | 10 | ||
| "Supergran and the Raid on Race Day" | 31 March 1985 | Anthony Simmons | 11 | ||
| "Supergran and the Raving Beauty Contest" | 7 April 1985 | Roger Cheveley | 12 | ||
| "Supergran and the Missing Hissing" | 14 April 1985 | Roger Cheveley | 13 | ||
| Guest starring Spike Milligan Spike Milligan Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the... |
|||||
Series 2
| Episode title | |Original airdate | Directed by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Supergran and the Racing Cert" | 8 March 1987 | Tony Kysh | 1 | ||
| Rock star Newcastle Brown (Gary Glitter Gary Glitter Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s... ) arrives to enter his pigeon in a race. |
|||||
| "Supergran and the Treasure Trovers" | 15 March 1987 | 2 | |||
| "Supergran and the Birthday Dambusters" | 22 March 1987 | 3 | |||
| "Supergran and the Yankee Doodle's Boodle" | 29 March 1987 | 4 | |||
| "Supergran and the Rookie Recruit" | 5 April 1987 | 5 | |||
| "Supergran and the State Visit" | 12 April 1987 | 6 | |||
| "Supergran and the Chiselton Street Blues" | 19 April 1987 | 7 | |||
| "Supergran and the School for Scoundrels" | 26 April 1987 | 8 | |||
| "Supergran and the Media Star" | 3 May 1987 | 9 | |||
| "Supergran Snookered" | 10 May 1987 | 10 | |||
| "Supergran and the Fancy Dress Fanciers" | 17 May 1987 | 11 | |||
| "Supergran and the Chronic Crooner" | 24 May 1987 | 12 | |||
| "Supergran and the Heir Apparent" | 31 May 1987 | 13 | |||
Reception and legacy
Super Gran won an Emmy, and sold to over 60 countries worldwide. According to director Tony Kysh, "Tyne Tees was one of the first Western companies to sell to China TV where Supergran was a big success."The character of Super Gran came seventh in The Glasgow Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
s 2003 poll, "The Most Scottish Person In The World".
Two videos were released, each containing three episodes. The first series was released by Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
on a 2 disc set on 10 August 2009, and the second series on 16 May 2011. The Whitley Bay Playhouse is scheduled to host a Super Gran evening in February 2012.
Computer games
TynesoftTynesoft
Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.- History :The company was originally set up in 1983 to release educational software but soon moved into the video games market on which it concentrated for most of its time...
produced two games based on the show in 1985.
The game Super Gran was an action game involving Supergran's anti-gravity belt. It was released for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 16
Commodore 16
The Commodore 16 was a home computer made by Commodore with a 6502-compatible 8501 CPU, released in 1984. It was intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20 and it often sold for 99 USD...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
.
Super Gran - The Adventure was a text adventure based on the show, written by Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft is a UK-based video game developer established by Mike Woodroffe, first as an importer and reseller of Adventure International games. The firm operates out of Sutton Coldfield, and is best known for the Simon the Sorcerer series of games....
's Brian Howarth
Brian Howarth
Brian Howarth is a computer game programmer. He wrote many interactive fiction computer games in the early 1980s in a series called Mysterious Adventures....
. The premise is that Super Gran has to save people whilst looking out for Scunner Campbell. This game was released on the Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, C16, C64 and Spectrum.
External links
- Comedy Guide - Supergran at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Publicity photographs
- The Bubble Burst