My Hero (series 2)

My Hero Series 2
No. of episodes	6
Release
Original network	BBC1
Original release	14 May – 18 June 2001
Season chronology

The second series of British television comedy My Hero ran from May 14, 2001 to June 18, 2001. The series featured six episodes, and the entire main cast reprised their characters from series one, with the exception of minor character Avril. This series saw Janet Dawkins become Janet Sunday, after marrying George, and Janet and George having their first child, Ollie Sunday. The series was broadcast on BBC1, and was again overseen by series creator Paul Mendelson. The series was released on DVD in the United States on 7 August 2007 in Region 1 format.

Episodes

#	Title	Writer(s)	Director	Original airdate	Code
1	"Parents"	Paul Mendelson, Paul Mayhew-Archer	John Stroud	May 14, 2001 (2001-05-14)	IPEA341Y
When George's actions ruin an amateur dramatics production, held by the Northolt Amateur Dramatic Society, that Janet's parents, Stanley and Ella, are participating in, Janet finally snaps, and in an attempt to deflect their anger, admits to them that George is Thermoman. Although George enjoys his new relationship with the in-laws, their inability to keep his secret results in him being forced to erase the memories of most of their friends, culminating in Mrs. Raven attempting to seduce him, dressed as Marilyn Monroe.
2	"Girlfriend"	Simon Braithwaite, Paul Alexander	John Stroud	May 21, 2001 (2001-05-21)	IPEA344F
George is horrified when a woman from Ultron, claiming to be his fiancée, turns up at the flat. Little does Janet know that her would-be boyfriend is already engaged - to a six-foot warrior princess back on Ultron, Xil. When she arrives to claim him as her rightful husband, Janet, who had just been complaining things were getting predictable, is mortified – and extremely upset. Her mother, Ella, misinformed that the newcomer is from Ireland, and is ecstatic when she realises that her daughter will at last be free of George.
3	"Car"	Simon Braithwaite, Paul Alexander	John Stroud	May 28, 2001 (2001-05-28)	IPEA343L
George takes time out from his superhero duties to continue working hard in the health shop, to save up some money to buy Janet a much-needed car. Thus, he arranges for Arnie to be given his powers back, to help out with his superhero work. But when Arnie steals the crown jewels on his first day at work, George realises that he can't be trusted. Can he save his cousin from certain imprisonment? Meanwhile, Mrs. Raven realises that she is attracted to the American hunk, and attempts to ask Arnie out on date. But things do not quite go to plan.
4	"Nemesis"	John Phelps, Gary Lawson	John Stroud	June 4, 2001 (2001-06-04)	IPEA345A
George has to contend with an old school rival who takes over Piers' body, to create an Earth-born superhero who will put him out of business. "Miracle Man" manages to ruin George's life, taking away all of his clients, and even attempting to seduce his girlfriend. Arnie realises that there is only one way that George can regain his crown – and that is to challenge Miracle Man to the ancient rite of 'Chong-Ching' – known here on Earth as rock-paper-scissors – to force him to leave Earth. But will his plan go off without a hitch?
5	"Pregnant: Part 1"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	June 11, 2001 (2001-06-11)	IPEA342S
When Janet discovers that she is pregnant, George is over the moon – and gives her special powers to protect herself and the unborn baby. However, he begins to regret his decision when Janet's enthusiasm with her new powers changes her into a woman he barely recognises. In an attempt to change Janet back into the woman she once was, George revokes her powers – but not before Mrs. Raven accidentally lets slip to Janet's mother Ella that she is pregnant. Janet forceably denies that she is pregnant, until a growth spurt reveals a surprising large baby bump.
6	"Wedding: Part 2"	Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Mendelson	John Stroud	June 18, 2001 (2001-06-18)	IPEA346T
Janet's father, Stanley, insists that her and George's baby must not be born out of wedlock, and due to Ultronian law, George's bosses are somewhat agreed, claiming that George will get in trouble with the Ultron Council for failing to set a good example for humans, a matter made more difficult by the fact that Ultronian pregnancies only last six days. But just as Janet is walking down the aisle, her waters break – will the vicar manage to complete the ceremony before the baby arrives, or will George be condemned to a life under Ultronian ruling?

See also

• List of My Hero episodes
• My Hero (Series 1)
• My Hero (Series 3)
• My Hero (Series 4)
• My Hero (Series 5)
• My Hero (Series 6)

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 2024, 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 18 February 2024

See also

• Mork & Mindy

External links

• My Hero at IMDb