My Hero (series 1)

My Hero Series 1
No. of episodes	7
Release
Original network	BBC1
Original release	4 February – 22 December 2000
Season chronology

The first series of British television comedy My Hero ran from 4 February 2000, to 22 December 2000. The series featured seven episodes, and introduced the main cast of George Sunday, Janet Dawkins, Piers Crispin, Tyler, Mrs. Raven, Arnie, Ella Dawkins, Stanley Dawkins and Avril. The series was broadcast on BBC1, and was overseen by series creator Paul Mendelson. The series was released on DVD in the United States on 26 January 2007 in Region 1 format.

Episodes

#	Title	Writer(s)	Director	First broadcast	Code
1	"My Hero"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	4 February 2000 (2000-02-04)	IPEA144D
Northolt nurse Janet Dawkins attempts to return to a bit of normality after being rescued by Thermoman, after falling into the Grand Canyon when a nasty gust of wind caught her off guard. However, when hypochondriac Irishman George Sunday drops into the health centre, little does she know that he is in fact her saviour. Unconvinced that he is who he says he is, Janet asks George to prove his identity, which he does so by completing a variety of various superhero acts. But will he bag the girl? And is Janet prepared to go out with a superhero?
2	"Guess Who's Coming to Lunch"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	11 February 2000 (2000-02-11)	IPEA145X
Janet invites George to move in with her, despite not receiving the blessing of her mother and father, Ella and Stanley. Meanwhile, as Janet prepares to cook the family Sunday lunch, Thermoman is called away to a natural disaster, leaving his chance meeting with Janet's parents hanging in the balance. Meanwhile, Janet's colleagues at the health centre are puzzled as to why she is attracted to the peculiar Irishman, and Piers concocts a plan to attempt to nab Janet for himself. But will she see through his disguise?
3	"Mission Impossible"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	18 February 2000 (2000-02-18)	IPEA146R
Thermoman's rescue mission to save Grimsby from being destroyed by an abandoned Russian space station is hampered by an accident involving Marmite. Janet offers to wash his costume, but it only results in George suffering an allergic reaction to the washing powder. When he goes for a medical examination, Piers discovers his real identity - and blackmails George into leaving Janet if he wishes to keep his identity secret. However, before he can do so, George erases his memory - and unfortunately, it also results in the doctor's hair falling out.
4	"Thermoman's Greatest Challenge"	Paul Mayhew-Archer	John Stroud	25 February 2000 (2000-02-25)	IPEA147K
Patients and Staff at the health centre begin to get suspicious when Thermoman makes a number of repeated visits to save Janet from the smallest of things, including a wasp sting and a large spider. Piers believes that has made a new celebrity friend, and invites Thermoman to be guest of honour at the fund-raising party he has organized, to boost his own public image. Janet's parents insist that both George and Janet attend the party, so that George can personally thank Thermoman for saving Janet from falling into the Grand Canyon. However, it's not quite as easy as that.
5	"Old Man Riverdance"	Paul Mayhew-Archer	John Stroud	3 March 2000 (2000-03-03)	IPEA148E
George is surprised when he receives a visit from his father, Seamus, the original Thermoman, who now resides in a nursing home for retired superheroes in Florida. However, he soon discovers that all is not as clear as it is made out to be - Seamus is unhappy that his son is cohabiting with an Earth girl, and that it is interfering with his work. Having given the couple two days to try and prove him wrong, Janet hatches a plan - Seamus has to meet her parents. But is her plan enough to keep her relationship with Thermoman safe?
6	"The Party's Over"	Paul Mayhew-Archer	John Stroud	10 March 2000 (2000-03-10)	IPEA149Y
George plans a surprise birthday party for Janet's 30th birthday, which proves to be a slightly confusing concept for the superhero - and he struggles to keep the party a secret. Meanwhile, Janet begins to enjoy spending time with George's cousin Arnie, Tyler attempts to chat up Mrs. Raven, and Piers hires a girl from the TV studio to be his date, however, claiming that the night out is part of his next television project - but little does she know that the firesome doctor has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
7	"Christmas"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	22 December 2000 (2000-12-22)	IPEA340E
Thermoman tries to get into the spirit of Christmas by dressing up as Santa Claus, and delivering presents to his nearest and dearest - Janet's parents, Stanley and Ella, Mrs. Raven, Piers, Arnie and Tyler. However, his special treat fails to go as well as planned, as his recipients begin to suspect a trickster is at work. In an attempt to rectify a miserable Christmas dinner, George persuades the real Father Christmas to visit, and give everybody a special present. Piers, however, is skeptical - and thinking it is a joke, asks for a jigsaw puzzle. Little does he know...

References

• My Hero at the BBC Comedy Guide.
• My Hero at Big Bear Films home page
• My Hero at BBC America.
• My Hero at IMDb
• British TV Comedy Guide
• My Hero episode guide and forum at TV.com
• My Hero at the British Sitcom Guide
• My Hero News, episode guide and interviews at downthetubes.net

My Hero
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Paul Mendelson
Written by	Paul Mayhew-Archer
Directed by	John Stroud
Starring	Ardal O'Hanlon Emily Joyce Hugh Dennis Geraldine McNulty Lou Hirsch Philip Whitchurch Lill Roughley Tim Wylton James Dreyfus
Opening theme	"My Hero" Theme
Ending theme	"My Hero" Theme
Composer	Philip Pope
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	51 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Geoffrey Perkins Marcus Mortimer Sophie Clarke-Jervoise
Producers	John Stroud Jamie Rix
Editors	Mykola Pawluk Graham Hutchings
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Big Bear Films
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	4 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 re-runs 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

Series	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	7		4 February 2000	22 December 2000
2	6		14 May 2001	18 June 2001
3	10		7 June 2002	23 August 2002
4	10		8 August 2003	10 October 2003
5	10		7 January 2005	25 March 2005
6	8		21 July 2006	10 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 2023, 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 18th Feb 2024

See also

• Mork & Mindy

External links

• My Hero at IMDb