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Luna was a British children's science fiction TV comedy show produced by Central Television for the ITV network which ran for two series in 1983 and 1984. The first series was recorded at the former ATV studios in Elstree, the second at their Nottingham facility.

Premise

Luna was also the name used by the show's two central characters, the first played by Patsy Kensit (1st series) and a replacement by Joanna Wyatt (2nd series). Luna was co-written by Colin Prockter and Colin Bennett; Bennett also acted in it. The show was created and produced by Micky Dolenz of the pop group the Monkees. Dolenz said that the idea for Luna dated back to the late sixties and was based on his daughter Ami; the idea only came into being after he had met Colin Bennett in Hollywood. The character 80H was played by Roy Macready and U2 by Bob Goody.

The show was about the domestic life of an eccentric family group set in the year 2040 in sector 80 of a colony named the Efficicity, although in the setting the characters are not in fact biologically related but assigned to shared living quarters by the bureaucracy. Parts of the setting were decidedly dystopic; in the first episode, Luna is threatened with execution for having lost her citizen's identity card.

A distinctive feature of the show was the language of "techno-talk", used by all of the characters and described as an alternative version of English that had emerged to make it easier for computers to understand human speech. Techno-talk was characterised by the formation of new words from stems that already existed in regular spoken English. It also had echoes of George Orwell's Newspeak, albeit that it had been created for a different purpose. For example, the characters live in a "habiviron" (from habitat and environment); similarly, school is "eduviron"; a child is a "diminibeing" (abbreviated to "dimini") and "regrets!" and "gratitudes!" replace "sorry" and "thank you".

The first season was repeated in the weeks immediately prior the broadcast of the second season, but the programme has not been repeated since then.

Characters

• Luna (1st season: 72-batch-19Y) - a female "diminibeing". Luna is kind and demure; having been raised in a "dimini colony", she knows very little about the old world but is curious to learn about it and keen to fit in with the others. Andy likes her for the "civilising influence" she brings to the habiviron. Luna was given her name by Andy, because she asked for one; Andy chose it because she was "batched" on the moon.
• Luna (2nd season) a different character from the above, intended as a replacement - the original Luna has left and so the habiviron is assigned a new diminifemale at the start of the second season, but she adopts the same name as her predecessor. Although equally as kind-hearted as her predecessor, she has a somewhat less demure and more lively and outgoing personality.
• Brat (3G-batch-19Y) - a geeky male diminibeing. Brat is younger than Luna, and extremely intelligent and technical; he can fix most of the machines in the habiviron if necessary. Unfortunately, he is also extremely spoiled and selfish; he has made attempts to have both Andy and Luna replaced (Andy with a newer model android and Luna with a male diminibeing) and Jazzmine returned to her abusive owner the Clunkman. He is also ignorant about the old world, but unlike Luna, he actively refuses to learn about it or co-operate with the adults; he even persistently insists on using code numbers to identify the other characters (calling Luna "72" and Andy "CB"). Brat was given his name by Gramps during one of their arguments; neither he nor Luna actually knows what the word means. He does eventually bond with both Luna and Jazzmine when each turns out to be proficient in his favourite computer game Laser Blaser Phasers and later starts to rebel against 80H by playing pranks on him.
• Gramps (WB1889U) - an aging punk, and the original inhabitant of Habiviron Jo-Y. He grew up in the old world and often has difficulty understanding the other characters' use of techno-talk, which he hardly ever uses himself (Andy generally translates for him). He does not particularly like having to share his habiviron with diminibeings, but tolerates them regardless. He has a large stash of old world artifacts (such as teapots, rubik cubes, Monopoly games, etc.) in his bedroom, which are now considered illegal. He never uses code numbers, and cannot even remember his own; he introduces himself to Brat and Luna as "Gramps".
• Andy (CB1979D) - the habiviron's malfunction-prone android. Andy is an outdated model of android; the habiviron is entitled to receive a newer one, but Gramps keeps Andy around since he knows Andy will tolerate his "inefficient" ways. Andy is familiar with the old world, and frequently quotes from Shakespeare or other historical literature, which most of the other characters (even Gramps) don't recognize. Andy was given his name by Gramps, because he is an android; he also uses the name "CB".
• Mother (1984726SD) - the habiviron's computer, who runs all the standard functions of the habiviron and keeps Andy charged. Mother is Andy's nickname for her, she hates it.
• Jazzmine - Luna's alien pet; a "little simple" (from the planet Sim). Luna rescued Jazzmine from mistreatment at the hands of a travelling junk trader. Although unable to speak human language (although Luna appears to understand her and sometimes her meaning is implied with tone of voice), Jazzmine can perform some complex tasks, and has healing powers.
• 80H - the sector "bureaubeing". 80H is in charge of the whole sector, including resource allocation and law enforcement, and has ultimate power (including the power of life and death) over every being in Sector 80 of the Efficicity. He's addressed as "your burificence" and his arrival at the habiviron is always proceeded by a fanfare provided by Mother; he wears a shiny black suit with a black full-face helmet and speaks in a harsh ring-modulated voice. Underneath the helmet, though, is a regular, balding and stressed-out office worker; he finds the helmet uncomfortable and only wears it when required by official business. 80H is in fact quite kindly (albeit somewhat of a jobsworth) and, like most of the adult characters, remembers and has a certain amount of affection for the old world; unfortunately, the demands of his employers ("the central bureaubureau") often conflict with this. Many of the other adult characters appear to have known him in the old world, and still use his old name ("Sid"), which he hates.
• 40D - 80H's ditzy assistant (1st season).
• 32C - 80H's assistant (2nd season).

Episodes

Series 1

Series 2

Converted songs

Many of the episodes of Luna feature "techno talk" versions of classic or music hall songs. These include:

• I belong to 3540 (I Belong to Glasgow) and Maybe it's because I'm a 3540er (Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner), sung by the Clunkman in 1.2.
• I do like to be beside the Saline (I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside) and We're Porting along on a Tidal Displacement (We're Riding Along on the Crest of a Wave), sung by the whole group in 1.5.

References

1. Feature on Joanna Wyatt as the new Luna TVTimes February 11-February 17, 1984
2. West, Roy (22 January 1983). "Luna is set to take off". Liverpool Echo. No. 31966. p. 2. Retrieved 28 April 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. TVTimes January 22–28, 1983, listing page of ITV Saturday 22 January 1983, credits for Luna include "80H ...Roy Macready"

External links

• Luna at IMDb
• http://luna.randomstatic.net/ - a fan site

• 1983 British television series debuts
• 1984 British television series endings
• British children's science fiction television series
• ITV children's television shows
• Dystopian television series
• 1980s British children's television series
• 1980s British comic science fiction television series
• British television shows featuring puppetry
• British English-language television shows
• Absurdist fiction
• Television series by ITV Studios
• Fictional astronauts
• Television shows produced by Central Independent Television
• Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios