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Wizadora | |
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Created by |
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Starring |
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Composers | Hutt 'N' Thrust Rod Anderson |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 7 |
No. of episodes | 204 [1] |
Production | |
Producer | Janie Grace |
Running time | 10 (Oxford series) 15 (ITV, series 1) 9 (ITV, series 2-7) |
Original release | |
Network | ITV (CITV) |
Release | 15 September – 3 November 1991 |
Release | 5 January 1993 – 26 February 1998 |
Wizadora is a children's television programme created by Don Arioli and Carolyne Cullum. It was originally broadcast on SWR in 1991 and it was used as an English-language learning tool for non-English speakers. In 1993, the series was picked up by ITV in the United Kingdom.
A pilot show starred Fawlty Towers writer and actress Connie Booth, who had been alerted to the character by John Cleese who had taken an interest in the production. The pilot was never broadcast.
The concept was then developed into a language teaching tool for children to learn the English language, published by Oxford University Press in 1991. Books, audio, and media were produced alongside the series. The title role of Wizadora was played by Connie Booth in an unaired pilot, before Maria Gough took on the title role for Oxford University Press. Cathy Lawday was the writer and editor of the books and media produced for Oxford.
In 1992, Meridian Broadcasting took up the series. Considerable changes were made for this series. Some major changes included the introduction of Wendy van der Plank as Wizadora, who remained as the character from 1993 to 1996. Lizzie McPhee took over the role in 1997 until the series end. Tatty, who was originally played by a woman (Debbie Cumming), was now played by a man (Joe Greco 1993–94, Steven Ryde 1994–98) and Phoebe, who was originally played by actor Emma Amos, was re-introduced as a "life-sized" model. Many characters were introduced and the original characters were given a makeover. Connie Booth was brought back in to write episodes for the series among others.
Wizadora's companions included –
Puppeteers Phil Eason, Francis Wright, Michael Bayliss, Sue Dacre, Jeremy Stockwell, Don Austen, Brian Herring, Neil Sterenberg, Rebecca Nagan, Debbie Cumming, and Sheila Clark worked on the series.
The ITV series was made for Meridian Broadcasting by production companies Workhouse and North Pole Productions at The Fountain Studios in New Malden and directed by David Crozier. Fifteen episodes of Series 3 were directed by Wendy J. Dyer. The theme music was composed by Dave Hutton who was also the Senior Cameraman on the first four series of the show. The theme tune for the ITV series was recorded at Gordon Thrussell's studios at Ashford in Kent and the credits show music by 'Hutt and Thrust'. This was because the director, David Crozier, did not want the same name for two different credits on the programme (i.e.: Snr Cameraman and Music). The other cameramen were Roger Backhouse, and Angus Macmillan and sometimes Steve Leach. The vision mixer was Julie Miller.
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
Oxford | 8 | 15 September 1991 | 3 November 1991 | |
1 | 18 | 5 January 1993 | 4 May 1993 | |
2 | 30 | 6 September 1993 | 6 July 1994 | |
3 | 30 | 7 September 1994 | 15 December 1994 | |
4 | 32 | 5 September 1995 | 21 December 1995 | |
5 | 34 | 3 September 1996 | 26 December 1996 | |
6 | 20 | 2 September 1997 | 23 October 1997 | |
7 | 32 | 28 October 1997 | 26 February 1998 |
One episode of Wizadora starring Lizzie Mcphee was broadcast on CITV on 5 January 2013 (the show's 20th anniversary) as part of a CITV anniversary special. The Channel received its highest viewing figures to date: Wizadora attracted 460,000 followed by Danger Mouse, which attracted 578,000 viewers during the "old skool" weekend run. [3] This was the first time the show has been broadcast in the UK since it was shown on Living TV in the early 2000s. As of June 2020, episodes from Series One are now showing on BritBox in the UK.
The earliest version of the show has been on DVD (Oxford Press). However, this is not the ITV version and is instead an educational package.
Some VHS cassettes were released in the mid-1990s with episodes from series one and series three are on The Video Collection International, except for series three.
VHS Title | Release Date | Episodes |
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Wizadora – The Magic Parcel (VC1297) | 14 June 1993 | The Magic Parcel, Time For Tidying, Hello Filbert |
Wizadora – A Colourful Day (VC1304) | 26 July 1993 | A Colourful Day, Lovely Weather, Picnic Problems |
Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles (VC1308) | 16 August 1993 | Mops and Bicycles, Hangle In Charge, A Very Special Day |
Wizadora – Wellingtons and Snails (VC1328) | 1 August 1994 | Wellingtons and Snails, The Purple Powder, Tea Time Troubles |
My Little Wizadora – The Magic Parcel/Time For Tidying (ML0019) | 1 April 1996 | The Magic Parcel, Time For Tidying |
My Little Wizadora – Lovely Weather/Picnic Problems (ML0020) | 1 July 1996 | Lovely Weather, Picnic Problems |
My Little Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles/Hangle In Charge (ML0021) | 1 July 1996 | Mops and Bicycles, Hangle In Charge |
My Little Wizadora – Hello Filbert/A Colourful Day (ML0031) | 7 October 1996 | Hello Filbert, A Colourful Day |
In 2003, Entertainment Rights produced a 9-minute pilot for a proposed rebooted series for Channel 5's Milkshake! strand with Anne Foy as Wizadora. Although a new version of the original theme tune was used and the overall look of the set generally in keeping with the earlier version, characters were given varying makeovers, with none of the original models being used, and several new minor characters introduced. CGI and Chroma key effects featured heavily. The proposed new series was not picked up, reportedly due to it being considered too costly.
Although there are no plans for the ITV series to return, the Oxford series is still in production with episodes being repeated on SWR Television. The original Oxford series is still used today as a teaching tool for children to learn English as second language. The DVD, book, and audio tapes are still available to buy online, along with a PC-CD ROM. A free app was produced in 2016. A website was set up in 2015, though it is now defunct as of 2018.[ citation needed ] In 2016, the German SWR Television Educational Programmes set up a website featuring the series to foster use of Wizadora films and educational games in elementary schools in Germany. Free educational games based on the series have been developed since 2016 (apps for Android, iOS, and web-based for desktop computers) and are available on www.wizadora.de.
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