Metal Mickey facts for kids
Metal Mickey is a famous five-foot-tall robot. He was also the star of his own spin-off television show. A person named Johnny Edward created, controlled, and voiced the robot.
Metal Mickey first appeared on British TV in 1978. This was on an ITV children's show called The Saturday Banana. Later, Humphrey Barclay saw Mickey on Jimmy Savile's show, 'Jim'll Fix It'. He saw children talking with the friendly robot. This gave him the idea to create the Metal Mickey TV show.
A pilot episode was filmed quickly. Soon after, the series started with its first six episodes. In total, 41 episodes were made. They were shown in three different series between September 1980 and January 1983. The show was very popular. At its peak, about 12 million people watched it. Micky Dolenz, who was in the pop group The Monkees, helped produce and direct the show.
Metal Mickey Television Show
Quick facts for kids Metal Mickey |
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| Written by | Colin Bostock-Smith |
| Starring | Metal Mickey |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | London Weekend Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 6 September 1980 – 15 January 1983 |
The Metal Mickey television show ran from 1980 to 1983. It was created by LWT's Humphrey Barclay. He said the show had the fun of Star Wars and the Daleks. He also compared it to Mork and Mindy.
The series was set in a normal British family's home. The youngest child in the family was a science boffin (a very smart person). This child had built Metal Mickey. Mickey was supposed to help out around the house. The family included a mother, father, three children, and a grandmother.
London Weekend Television made the show. It was shown on the ITV network. All 41 episodes were written by comedy writer Colin Bostock-Smith.
British comedy actress Irene Handl played the grandmother. Mickey had a special nickname for her: "my little fruitbat". He also gave nicknames to other family members. He called his inventor "Clever Clogs". His inventor's sister was "Stringbean". Their father was "Bootface". Irene Handl was not a big fan of science fiction. She once joked about E.T.. She said, "Why should I cry over a bleedin' Hoover attachment?" This meant she thought E.T. looked like a vacuum cleaner part.
Metal Mickey's famous saying was "boogie, boogie". His favorite snack was "Atomic Thunderbusters". These looked like lemon bonbons (small candies).
Cast of the Show
- Michael Stainton ... Father
- Georgina Melville ... Mother
- Ashley Knight ... Ken
- Lucinda Bateson ... Haley
- Lola Young ... Janey
- Gary Shail ... Steve
- Metal Mickey ... Metal Mickey
- Irene Handl ... Granny
Metal Mickey's Music
Metal Mickey also released several songs. He was listed as the artist on these records. He even had his own music label called "Mickeypops".
Some of his songs included:
- "Lollipop"/"Eugene" (EMI, 1979)
- "Metal Mickey Magic"/"Meet Metal Mickey" (Mickeypops, 1980)
- "Sillycon Chip"/"Dubb Vahzun" (Mickeypops, 1981)
- "Do The Funky Robot"/"Do The Funky Robot Again" (Mickeypops, 1982)
- "Theme Tune From 'Metal Mickey'"/"Fruitbat Rap" (Hollywood, 1982)
- "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"/"Eugene Machino" (Hollywood, 1983)
