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Paul Mendelson

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Paul Mendelson is a television, film and radio scriptwriter.

Early life and career

He studied Law at Cambridge University, where he gained a first class honours degree, after attending Newcastle Royal Grammar School, Glasgow High School and Harrow County Grammar. For a short time he ran the family law department of a small firm of city solicitors and then became an advertising copywriter for Ogilvy and Mather. Whilst working as creative director for a major London advertising agency, he began writing his first television series.

Writing career

Paul Mendelson's first hit television series was the BBC Comedy May to December, which ran for 39 episodes, from 2 April 1989 to 27 May 1994 on BBC One and was nominated for BAFTA best comedy. It starred Anton Rodgers as a widower solicitor in love with a much younger woman. He then created and wrote the BBC series So Haunt Me about a family home haunted by the ghost of a Jewish mother, played by Miriam Karlin. The show was produced by Cinema Verity for the BBC and originally aired from 1992 to 1994. Mendelson's most recent television situation comedy series in the UK is My Hero which ran for six seasons on BBC One from February 2000 to September 2006. Based on his own experiences with testicular cancer he wrote the acclaimed ITV play Losing It, starring Martin Clunes, for which he was nominated Televisual Awards Best Writer 2007. Having also survived prostate cancer, Mendelson is actively involved in cancer awareness charities and events.

Current projects

Paul Mendelson created the original idea and is creative consultant on the Dreamworks Animation/Fox forthcoming series 'Neighbors From Hell'. He writes original plays for BBC radio and adapts Joyce Porter's Chief Inspector Dover novels for BBC Radio 4. Mendelson is currently developing his BBC radio play 'A Meeting in Seville' as a movie (Whistlingthorn Films)

External links

British TV sitcom (2000–2006)

Paul Mendelson
GenreSitcom
Created byPaul Mendelson
Written byPaul Mayhew-Archer
Directed byJohn Stroud
Starring
Opening theme"My Hero" Theme
Ending theme"My Hero" Theme
ComposerPhilip Pope
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes51 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Editors
Camera setupMultiple-camera setup
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBig Bear Films
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release4 February 2000 (2000-02-04) –
10 September 2006 (2006-09-10)

My Hero is a British television sitcom, created by Paul Mendelson, and produced for the BBC between 2000 and 2006. 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, with a Christmas Special for 2000.

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 reruns 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. Fans have since petitioned the BBC to release the complete series on DVD.

Premise

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.

Cast

George Monday, as portrayed by James Dreyfus
Janet Dawkins, as portrayed by Emily Joyce
  • Ardal O'Hanlon as George Sunday AKA "Thermoman" (Series 1–5) - A dim-witted superhero, intelligent on alien matters, but completely unable to understand human society and values.
  • James Dreyfus as George Monday AKA "Thermoman" (Series 6) - George's new alias after losing his old one due to financial troubles, who shows some intelligence but is still misunderstanding human culture.
  • Emily Joyce as Janet Dawkins - A British nurse and George's lover, who often struggles with the alien aspects of his life and people.
  • Lill Roughley as Ella Dawkins - Janet's obnoxious mother.
  • Tim Wylton as Stanley Dawkins - Janet's mildly obnoxious father.
  • Lou Hirsch as Arnie Kowalski - George's cousin, and a former superhero who was stripped of his powers for abusing them. Initially written to living in the US, the third series saw writers relocate him to Northolt and develop a relationship with Mrs. Raven.
  • Hugh Dennis as Dr. Piers Crispin - A self-centred, pompous TV doctor who runs his own surgery in Northolt and regularly looks for ways to increase his fame and popularity.
  • Geraldine McNulty as Mrs. Raven - Piers' surgery receptionist, a vindictive, sadistic woman with a cruel liking for basking in other people's misery.
  • Philip Whitchurch as Tyler - George and Janet's next-door neighbour, who suffers delusions and hallucinations that cause him to mix up fictional elements, most from science-fiction, fantasy and conspiracy theories, with real-life. He is the only one to know of George's real identity. After the first series, the writers gave him more prominence, including being George's assistant at his shop.
  • Moya Brady as Avril (Series 1) - George's assistant in his shop. The character was written out after the first series.
  • Pat Kelman as the Ultron Postie (Series 3–6) - Ultronian postman who delivers correspondence to George on Earth
  • Finlay Stroud as Apollo "Ollie" Sunday (Series 2–6) - George and Janet's son. He is highly intelligent in human life, compared to his father, with his superpowers.
  • Madeline Mortimer as Cassandra "Cassie" Sunday (series 5–6) - George and Janet's daughter, highly intelligent, possessing the power of premonition and foresight.

Episodes

Main article: List of My Hero episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
174 February 200022 December 2000
2614 May 200118 June 2001
3107 June 200223 August 2002
4108 August 200310 October 2003
5107 January 200525 March 2005
6821 July 200610 September 2006

Home media

In the United States, the series has been released on DVD via BBC Video; "Season One" was released on 16 January 2007, while "Season Two" was released on 7 August 2007. 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, while two DVD sets, "Volume 1" (episodes 1–5 of Series 3), and "Volume 2" (episodes 6–10 of Series 3) were also released on 7 October 2002. A DVD set containing "Complete Series 3" was additionally made available from IMC Vision on 14 May 2012.

As of 2024, 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. Seasons 1 & 2 as well as the additions of Seasons 3 & 4 was added to BritBox via ITVX as of 18 February 2024

See also

References

  1. My Hero at the BBC Comedy Guide.
  2. My Hero at Big Bear Films home page
  3. "My Hero episode guide and forum". TV.com.
  4. My Hero at BBC America.
  5. My Hero News, episode guide and interviews at downthetubes.net
  6. "My Hero: Season One DVD". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. "My Hero: Season Two DVD". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  8. "My Hero: The Complete Series 3 [VHS] [2000]". Amazon.co.uk. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  9. "My Hero - BBC Series 3 - Episodes 1-5 - Starring Ardal O'Hanlon, Emily Joyce, Hugh Dennis and Lou Hirsch [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  10. "My Hero - BBC Series 3 - Episodes 1-5 - Starring Ardal O'Hanlon, Emily Joyce, Hugh Dennis and Lou Hirsch [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  11. "My Hero - BBC Series 3 - Episodes 6-10 - Starring Ardal O'Hanlon, Emily Joyce, Hugh Dennis and Lou Hirsch [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  12. "My Hero - Complete Series 3 - BBC1 Starring Ardal O'Hanlon, Emily Joyce, Hugh Dennis & Lou Hirsch [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  13. Goren, Or (18 February 2022). "Coming To BritBox UK March 2022: Sandition's Return". cordbusters.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  14. "New on BritBox in the UK: What's added in March 2022?". britishperioddramas.com. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  15. https://www.itv.com/watch/my-hero/10a2177

External links

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