The Demon Headmaster (1996 TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Demon Headmaster. |
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The Demon Headmaster Title Card
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| Genre | Science fiction drama |
| Created by | |
| Starring | Terrence Hardiman Frances Amey Gunnar Atli Cauthery Thomas Szekeres |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 3 (1996–1998) |
| No. of episodes | 19 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time |
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| Original network | |
| Picture format | 4:3 Colour 576i |
| Original release | 2 January 1996 – 22 January 1998 |
The Demon Headmaster is a British TV show for kids. It's based on a series of popular children's books by Gillian Cross. The show is a science fiction drama. It was first shown on CBBC between 1996 and 1998.
The first series had six episodes. It aired twice a week in January 1996. The second series had seven episodes. It was shown weekly from September to November 1996. The third series also had six episodes. It aired twice a week in January 1998.
Many school scenes for the first series were filmed at Hatch End High School in London. Other scenes were shot around West London. The building called Vulcan Tower is actually the Atrium building in Uxbridge. Computer effects were used to make it look like it was on a traffic island near Warwick Avenue tube station. Later series filmed scenes in the village of Sarratt, Hertfordshire. Other places in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire were also used.
A new TV series, which is a direct sequel, started on CBBC in October 2019. In this new show, Nicholas Gleaves plays the main character. It was confirmed that this new series continues the story of the original show.
About the Books
The TV show The Demon Headmaster was based on four books by Gillian Cross. The scripts for the show were written by Helen Cresswell.
The first three episodes of the TV show's first series came from the first book, also called The Demon Headmaster. Episodes 4 to 6 were based on the second book, The Demon Headmaster and the Prime Minister's Brain.
The stories for the second and third TV series were created in a special way. Gillian Cross wrote the main ideas for these new TV stories first. Then, she wrote the books based on those TV storylines. Helen Cresswell then turned these storylines into scripts for the TV show.
What Happens in the Story
Series 1 (1996)
Part 1 – The Demon Headmaster (Episodes 1–3)
This part is sometimes called Look Into My Eyes. However, this title does not appear on screen.
Dinah Glass moves in with the Hunter family. She starts going to the same school as her foster brothers, Lloyd and Harvey. Things are tough because her brothers seem to dislike her. Also, the school is very strange. Students sometimes act like robots and do odd things. Even Dinah finds herself behaving strangely. She believes the headmaster has some kind of power over everyone. Dinah is determined to find out what is going on. But the Demon Headmaster is just as determined to stop her.
Part 2 – The Prime Minister's Brain (Episodes 4–6)
Octopus Dare is a new computer game at school. Everyone is playing it, but only Dinah is really good. Soon, Dinah can only think about Octopus Dare. She wins a spot in the big final competition. She is very excited. But something about it all feels strange and scary to Dinah. So, her friends go with her to the final. Soon, they get into trouble. The person in charge of the computer game turns out to be their old enemy, the Demon Headmaster!
Series 2 – The Demon Headmaster Strikes Again (1996)
Dinah's father gets a new job at the Biogenetic Research Centre. But guess who is the director there? It's the Demon Headmaster! This time, he wants even more power. He is messing with how living things change over time, called evolution. The Headmaster has made a machine called an Evolution Accelerator. This machine can speed up the process of evolution. He wants Dinah's DNA to create a "perfect" human. This human would have Dinah's smarts but no feelings. He then puts Dinah in great danger to test his ideas.
CBBC Pantomime – The Demon Headmaster Takes Over TV (1997)
On Christmas Day 1997, CBBC showed a special called The Demon Headmaster Takes Over TV. This was a recorded version of the CBBC Pantomime. It was performed at the CBBC Big Bash event in National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. The first two TV series have been shown many times. However, this special was only shown once and has never been repeated.
Series 3 – The Demon Headmaster Takes Over (1998)
Dinah and her brothers are quite sure they have gotten rid of the Demon Headmaster for good. The army starts taking apart the biogenetic research centre. Dinah contacts Professor Claudia Rowe. She is an expert in biology and genetics at a nearby university. With Dinah's help, Professor Rowe saves some important materials. They become friends. Then, strange things start to happen.
Libraries begin to close, and their books are taken away. Telephones stop working, and there is no internet. People start talking like robots, even Professor Claudia Rowe. More and more people seem to be wearing strange badges. All these things add up to one conclusion: the Demon Headmaster must be back! Dinah's search leads her to the university. There, she finds he has taken over a project about artificial intelligence. He is creating a Hyperbrain. This is a computer with super-human intelligence. It could control all information in the world. Both the Demon Headmaster and the new Hyperbrain want Dinah. They want the special knowledge she has.
Home Media Releases
VHS
| Release name | Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Demon Headmaster Look Into My Eyes | 5 January 1998 | United Kingdom | PG | BBC | PAL | English | None | Re edited into to 70 minute long episode Series 1, Episodes 1–6 |
DVD
| Release name | Release date | Country | Classifaction | Publisher | Format | Region | Language | Subtitles | Notes | REF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBC Classics – Demon Headmaster / Tom's Midnight Garden | 2011 | United Kingdom/Australia | U/G | BBC / Reader's Digest | PAL | 2/4 | English | None | Unlike the VHS version the DVD shows The Demon Headmaster uncut Series 1, Episodes 1–6 | |
| The Demon Headmaster - The Complete Series | 14 May 2018 | UK & Ireland | PG | BBC / Simply Media | PAL | 2 | English | English | 3 disc set |
Main Cast
Regular Characters
- Frances Amey as Dinah Glass (later called Dinah Hunter) and Eve (in Series 2)
- Terrence Hardiman as The Demon Headmaster
- Gunnar Cauthery as Lloyd Hunter
- Thomas Szekeres as Harvey Hunter
- Anthony Cumber as Ian
- Kristy Bruce as Ingrid
- Rachael Goodyer as Mandy
- Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs. Hunter
- Katey Crawford Kastin as Rose Carter (series 1 and 2)
Series 1 Cast
- Jake Curran as Jeff (episodes 1–3)
- Danny John-Jules as Eddy Hair (episodes 1 and 3)
- Florence Hoath as Bess (episodes 4–6)
- Andrea Berry as Camilla Jefferies (episodes 4–6)
- Danny Kanaber as Robert Jefferies (episodes 4–6)
Series 2 Cast
- David Lloyd as Mr. Hunter
- David Baukham as Mr. James
Series 3 Cast
- Jay Barrymore as Michael Dexter
- Nina Young as Professor Claudia Rowe
- Richard Hope as Professor Tim Dexter
- Tony Osoba as Mr. Smith
- Alphonsia Emmanuel as the Voice of the Hyperbrain and the Hyperbrain Lady
- Natasha Lee as Kate
Awards
The show was nominated for an award. It was nominated for Best Drama at the BAFTA Children's Award in 1997.
