Super Gran facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Super Gran |
|
|---|---|
Gudrun Ure as Super Gran
|
|
| Created by | Forrest Wilson |
| Written by | Jenny McDade |
| Starring |
|
| Narrated by | Bill McAllister ("The Reporter") |
| Theme music composer | Phil Coulter Billy Connolly |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Keith Richardson (1985) Graham Williams (1986–1987) |
| Cinematography | Graham Brown |
| Editor(s) | Mike Pounder |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV Network (CITV) |
| Original release | 20 January 1985 – 31 May 1987 |
Super Gran is a fun British TV show about an amazing grandmother who suddenly gets super powers! It started as a series of books written by Forrest Wilson. Later, Tyne Tees Television turned it into a children's television show for Children's ITV.
The main character, Super Gran, was played by Gudrun Ure. Her biggest enemy was a bad guy named The Scunner Campbell, played by Iain Cuthbertson. The show first aired from 1985 to 1987. There were two full seasons, each with 13 episodes, plus a special Christmas episode. All the episodes have been released on DVD. The show even inspired two computer games!
Contents
What is Super Gran About?
The story begins with an older lady named Granny Smith (Gudrun Ure). One day, she's accidentally hit by a special magic ray! This ray was created by a clever inventor named Inventor Black (Bill Shine). After being zapped, Granny Smith gains incredible superpowers!
She then becomes 'Super Gran' and uses her new abilities to protect the people of her town, Chiselton. She often has to stop villains like the sneaky Roderick Scunner Campbell (Iain Cuthbertson) and his clumsy helpers, The Muscles (Alan Snell and Brian Lewis) and Tub (Lee Marshall, Jason Carrielies).
Super Gran usually has help from her grandson, Willard (Iam Towell, Michael Graham), and Inventor Black's assistant, Edison (Holly English, Samantha Duffy). Each episode was narrated by Bill McAllister, who was known as "The Reporter."
Super Gran Episodes
Before the very first episode aired in 1985, there was a special "making-of" show that showed how they created the series.
Series One Highlights
Here are some of the exciting adventures from the first season:
- "Supergran and the Magic Ray" (January 20, 1985): This is where it all begins! Granny Smith gets her powers from Inventor Black's ray.
- "Supergran and the Course of True Love" (February 3, 1985): A rich Scottish man, Angus McSporran (Billy Connolly), wants to marry Supergran. At the same time, Scunner Campbell tries to marry a rich heiress. Supergran isn't happy about either plan!
- "Supergran and the Super Match" (February 17, 1985): Supergran helps an old local football team play against a top team. Even a famous footballer, George Best, makes an appearance!
- "Supergran Grounded" (February 24, 1985): Supergran gets hurt by a strongman named Geoff Capes. While she's weak, Scunner Campbell tries to kidnap someone important. Can Super Gran still help?
- "Supergran and the Raving Beauty Contest" (April 7, 1985): Supergran organizes a beauty contest. Scunner Campbell tries to rig it so his daughter wins!
Christmas Special
- "Christmas Supergran: The World's Worst Circus" (December 24, 1986): A festive adventure where Supergran deals with a very strange circus.
Series Two Highlights
Here are some of the adventures from the second season:
- "Supergran and the Racing Cert" (March 8, 1987): A rock star named Newcastle Brown (Gary Glitter) comes to town for a pigeon race.
- "Supergran and the Birthday Dambusters" (March 22, 1987): Scunner Campbell and his gang join the RAF (Royal Air Force). Supergran is surprised to find she actually misses them!
- "Supergran and the Rookie Recruit" (April 5, 1987): The Chiselton Games are happening. Scunner Campbell is trying to cause trouble, and a clumsy new police officer, P.C. Derek Dumpling (Melvyn Hayes), is on his first day!
- "Supergran and the State Visit" (April 12, 1987): This episode features a special guest, Charles Hawtrey.
- "Supergran and the Heir Apparent" (May 31, 1987): The final episode of the series, with a guest appearance by Patrick Troughton.
Computer Games
In 1985, a company called Tynesoft made two computer games based on the Super Gran show.
- The first game, simply called Super Gran, was an action game. Players used Supergran's anti-gravity belt to fly around. It was available on computers like the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
- The second game was called Super Gran - The Adventure. This was a text adventure game, which means you played by typing commands and reading descriptions. It was created by Adventure Soft's Brian Howarth. In this game, Super Gran had to save people while keeping an eye out for Scunner Campbell. This game was released on the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, C16, C64, and Spectrum.
See also
In Spanish: La Superabuela para niños
