Wizadora

''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.

Development

The series' pilot 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 English as a second 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 the unaired pilot, before Maria Gough took on the role for Oxford University Press. Cathy Lawday was the writer and editor of the books and media produced for Oxford.

In 1992, Meridian Broadcasting picked up the series for broadcast on television. Considerable changes were made for this series, including 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.

Characters

* Wizadora (played by Connie Booth in the unaired pilot episode, Maria Gough in the Oxford series, and Wendy van der Plank (1993-96) and Lizzie McPhee (1997-98) in the ITV series) – The title character and protagonist of the series, a trainee and later apprentice wizard who receives her magic wand in the pilot episode and initially has problems getting her spells right. Some of the things in Wizadora's kitchen are able to talk due to stray spells. Wizadora often breaks the fourth wall and talks to the viewers, and usually asks for their help when casting her spells. Wizadora's catchphrases include "Oh, botheration!" and "Time for a bit of Wizzification!".

Wizadora's companions

* Tatty Bogle (played by Debbie Cumming in the Oxford series and Joe Greco(1993-94) and Steven Ryde (1994–98) in the ITV series) – A dim-witted scarecrow who lives in Wizadora's back garden and continually gets his words muddled up. The character was played by a woman before being reintroduced as a man for ITV. Ryde was the voice-over announcer between programmes for ITV's CITV strand during the same period.
* Stan the Shopkeeper (played by Brian Murphy) – A shopkeeper who regularly takes delivery of new magical catalogue items and is very cautious of Wizadora's spells.
* Pippa the Postwoman (played by Tessa Hatts) – A postwoman who rides a bike on her rounds and ofter becomes tired.
* Top/Sticky/Bottom – Three talking drawer people, who resemble socks. Once described as "a real nuisance" by Wizadora, they are very naughty, usually teasing Hangle and/or Filbert, and are always attempting to steal food or getting up to some kind of mischief whenever Wizadora's back is turned. Their antics usually end up causing much trouble; one time Top invented a Grub Grabber to try and steal some food, but the device frightened Filbert who accidentally knocked over some potions, some of which got into Very Old Fish's tank and turned him into a purple blob. Wizadora usually punishes them by zapping them back into their drawers with her wand.
* Phoebe – A talking telephone. In the Oxford series, actor Emma Amos was dressed in a pink costume to play the role. In the ITV series, Phoebe appears as a 'life-sized' model telephone, pink with a yellow headset, but in later series, she is orange with a red headset. From Series Six onwards, her headset is red with coloured stars on it. Phoebe answers calls, takes messages, and speaks various languages. Phoebe was voiced by four different voice actors during the ITV series run.
* Filbert (ITV Series One to Five only) – A squeaking vegetable (a Vegimal) and a fellow trainee wizard. He is also regularly seen gardening. He was born from a seed in the first ITV series, and at first, Wizadora had no idea as to who he was. He loves to water plants and is best friends with Tatty. In Series One, Filbert talked in gibberish as he was still learning how to speak, and in later series, English, as the character develops. Filbert often gets himself into trouble, although meaning well. He is very kind-hearted and is always offering to help out Wizadora or Tatty. In the Series Five episode "Filbert's New House", he leaves Wizadora's place to start a new life independently.
* Dog Doormat (ITV Series One only) – A barking doormat.
* Hangle – A purple coat hanger (but who insists on calling himself a cloak hanger) with a yellow rain coat, glasses and a purple moustache, who has quite an obsession with cleaning. In the episode "Hangle's Big Day", he locks everyone out in the garden because he thinks they are too untidy. As a result, he ends up hurting his back due to being too stubborn. He has a crude sense of humour and is also quite bossy. In the first episode of Series One, Hangle introduces himself as "Cliff Hangle, cloak hanger extraordinaire".
* Very Old Fish – A cryptic, talking male fish who likes to tell stories about his life.
* Poot (ITV Series Two onwards) – Wizadora's computer, who is often used to help with Wizadora's questions. In Series Two and Three, Poot was male, green and flat shaped. In Series Four, the character was re-introduced as a female and was given a more computer-like appearance with a pale orange face (Rebecca Nagan's).
* Nigel the Snail (ITV Series Two onwards) – A blue snail who lives with Very Old Fish.
* The Crows (Series Three onwards) – Two crows; brothers called Boris and Horace, who cause mayhem for Tatty Bogle in the garden.
* Roxy (Introduced in Series Five) – A friendly talking spider who lives in Tatty's treehouse.
* Dusty (seen in ITV Series One and again in Series Six) – A creature who lives under the fridge, has a very loud operatic voice, and is usually sleeping.
* Tom and Katie (played by Harriet Carmichael and Adam Johnstone; Oxford series only) – two children who live near Wizadora. Not seen in the ITV series.

Other cast and credits

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.

Transmission guide

Oxford Series (1991)

#Phoebe Calling – 15 September 1991
#A Red Banana – 22 September 1991
#Happy Birthday – 29 September 1991
#The Magic Cloak – 6 October 1991
#Can You Fly? – 13 October 1991
#Where Is Katie? – 20 October 1991
#The Picnic – 27 October 1991
#Hangle Is Lost – 3 November 1991

Series 1 (1993)

#The Magic Parcel – 5 January 1993
#Time for Tidying – 12 January 1993
#Hello Filbert – 19 January 1993
#A Colourful Day – 26 January 1993
#Lovely Weather – 2 February 1993
#Picnic Problems – 9 February 1993
#Mops & Bicycles – 16 February 1993
#Hangle in Charge – 23 February 1993
#A Very Special Day – 2 March 1993
#Wellingtons & Snails – 9 March 1993
#The Purple Powder – 16 March 1993
#Tea Time Troubles – 23 March 1993
#The Octocleaner – 30 March 1993
#Wand & Superwand – 6 April 1993
#Eggs & Bicycles – 13 April 1993
#Tricky Things Umbrellas – 20 April 1993
#Autumn Laughter – 27 April 1993
#Firework Party – 4 May 1993

Series 2 (1993–1994)

#Poot Saves the Day – 6 September 1993
#A Change for Filbert – 13 September 1993
#A Good Day for Sun – 20 September 1993
#Just Your Imagination – 22 September 1993
#The Thingummy Jig – 27 September 1993
#Where Was I? – 29 September 1993
#I Smell a Smell – 4 October 1993
#The Squeaking Door – 6 October 1993
#Magical Music – 11 October 1993
#To Have and to Have More – 13 October 1993
#Rhyme Time – 18 October 1993
#I Spy – 20 October 1993
#Cheers and Tears – 25 October 1993
#Round and Round the Garden – 27 October 1993
#Eat Well, Stay Well – 1 November 1993
#Look Before You Leap – 3 November 1993
#Easy as One Two Three – 8 November 1993
#Strangers Among Us – 10 November 1993
#Five Carrot Pie – 15 November 1993
#Something Old, Something New – 17 November 1993
#Be Careful, Wizadora! – 22 November 1993
#Soft, Strong, Brittle and Weak – 24 November 1993
#Coughs and Sneezes – 29 November 1993
#No More Please – 1 December 1993
#Who Needs Elbows – 6 December 1993
#Mine All Mine – 8 December 1993
#A Use for Everything – 13 December 1993
#Peace and Quiet – 29 June 1994
#A Matter of Size – 30 June 1994
#Good Friends – 6 July 1994

Series 3 (1994)

#A Message from Max – 7 September 1994
#Pips and Plants – 8 September 1994
#Sneezeberries – 14 September 1994
#Too Big, Too Small – 15 September 1994
#Bubble Trouble – 21 September 1994
#A Sing-Song for Stan – 22 September 1994
#Sixes and Nines – 28 September 1994
#All Together Now! – 29 September 1994
#I Smell a Lie – 5 October 1994
#Pippa's Surprise – 6 October 1994
#Cheer Up, Filbert! – 12 October 1994
#Let's Dance! – 13 October 1994
#The Shopping List – 19 October 1994
#Tatty's Tablecloth – 20 October 1994
#The Tantrum Spell – 26 October 1994
#The Great Flood – 27 October 1994
#Buttons and Holes – 2 November 1994
#The Litter Spell – 3 November 1994
#Fun with Books – 9 November 1994
#No Time for Tea Time – 10 November 1994
#Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough – 16 November 1994
#The Grabber – 17 November 1994
#Pedal Power – 23 November 1994
#The Mud Monster – 24 November 1994
#Wool Trouble – 30 November 1994
#Pots and Spells – 1 December 1994
#That's What Friends Are For – 7 December 1994
#A Stuck Sticky – 8 December 1994
#Use Your Imagination – 14 December 1994
#Beginnings and Endings – 15 December 1994

Series 4 (1995)

#Who's Afraid of the Dark? – 30 August 1995
#Sounds Brilliant – 31 August 1995
#Big Uns and Little Uns – 5 September 1995
#Mirror, Mirror – 7 September 1995
#Filbert's New House – 12 September 1995
#Making Pippa Strong – 14 September 1995
#Shadow Monsters – 19 September 1995
#Sharing Magic – 21 September 1995
#Too Full – 26 September 1995
#Stan's the Man – 28 September 1995
#Good Winners and Bad Losers – 3 October 1995
#Follow the Track – 5 October 1995
#Snow in July – 10 October 1995
#Shape Up – 12 October 1995
#Here's One We Made Earlier – 17 October 1995
#Bless You – 19 October 1995
#It's a Good Job – 24 October 1995
#Communication Breakdown – 26 October 1995
#Hangle Takes a Trip – 31 October 1995
#Glad Rags – 2 November 1995
#Top of the List – 7 November 1995
#Sticky Moments – 9 November 1995
#Fish Alive – 14 November 1995
#First Things First – 16 November 1995
#Watch Out Below – 21 November 1995
#I Spy With My Little Eye – 23 November 1995
#Making and Breaking – 28 November 1995
#Beside the Seaside – 30 November 1995
#Inside Out – 5 December 1995
#You Can Count on Poot – 7 December 1995
#Tatty's New Boots – 12 December 1995
#Boots, Beads and Beards – 14 December 1995

Series 5 (1996)

#Tatty Town – 5 September 1996
#Wizadora Plays Football – 10 September 1996
#Drawer People Behaving Badly – 12 September 1996
#Aunt Dora's Parcel – 17 September 1996
#Bottom Gets Lost – 19 September 1996
#There's No Place Like Home – 24 September 1996
#The Music Spell – 26 September 1996
#Something Fishy – 1 October 1996
#Take Care – 3 October 1996
#Wizadora's Bad Dream – 8 October 1996
#Sentimental Journey – 10 October 1996
#I'm in Charge – 15 October 1996
#What's Yours Is Mine – 17 October 1996
#What About Me – 22 October 1996
#Hurry Up – 24 October 1996
#Jungle Fever – 29 October 1996
#Roxy's Web – 31 November 1996
#What Did You Say – 5 November 1996
#Old Habits Die Hard – 7 November 1996
#A Moving Story – 12 November 1996
#Safety Last – 14 November 1996
#Stan's Difficult Day – 19 November 1996
#Bending the Rules – 21 November 1996
#The Crows – 26 November 1996
#A Rainy Day – 28 November 1996
#Hangle's Big Day – 5 December 1996
#Knit Twit – 10 December 1996
#You Are What You Are – 12 December 1996
#The Jealous Queen – 17 December 1996
#Goodbye, Wizadora – 19 December 1996

Series 6 (1997)

#The Paper Chase – 7 January 1997
#Crow Overboard – 9 January 1997
#If We Could Be Giants – 14 January 1997
#The Strange Parcel – 16 January 1997
#Anyone for Doubles – 21 January 1997
#Cheese Tasting Tuesday – 23 January 1997
#Sticking Together – 28 January 1997
#The Wish Spell – 30 January 1997
#A Night Out – 4 February 1997
#Down Goes Top – 6 February 1997
#The Upside Down Spell – 11 February 1997
#The Wrong Cloak – 13 February 1997
#No Doughnut for Breakfast – 2 September 1997
#The Useful Spell – 4 September 1997
#The Mystery Box – 9 September 1997
#It's Time for Rhyme Time – 11 September 1997
#The Helpful Spell – 16 September 1997
#Dream On – 18 September 1997
#A Promise Is a Promise – 23 September 1997
#Collecting Crows – 25 September 1997
#Welcome Back, Tatty – 30 September 1997
#Friends – 2 October 1997
#The Old Switcheroo – 7 October 1997
#The Strange Spell – 9 October 1997
#The Mischievous Spell – 14 October 1997
#Tottie Bagel – 16 October 1997
#Wizadora Shrinks – 21 October 1997
#Temper Temper – 23 October 1997

Series 7 (1997–1998)

#Good Manners – 28 October 1997
#Arty Party – 30 October 1997
#Tiny Troubles – 4 November 1997
#We Should Be So Lucky – 6 November 1997
#The Magic Carpet – 11 November 1997
#Crow Tamer – 13 November 1997
#No More Miss Mice Wiz – 18 November 1997
#Who Is Important – 20 November 1997
#Plant Power – 25 November 1997
#The Talent Contest – 27 November 1997
#A Quick Snack – 2 December 1997
#GGG-Ghosts – 4 December 1997
#Sing Sing Sing – 11 December 1997
#Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 1 – 16 December 1997
#Wizadora's Christmas Carol Part 2 – 18 December 1997
#The Frightful Creatures – 6 January 1998
#High Fliers – 8 January 1998
#A Right Pain – 13 January 1998
#No Place Like Home – 15 January 1998
#One Is Fun – 20 January 1998
#Future Shop – 22 January 1998
#If I Only Had a Heart – 27 January 1998
#Big Business – 29 January 1998
#A Barrel of Trouble – 3 February 1998
#Good Food Bad Food – 5 February 1998
#Exciting Times – 10 February 1998
#Wizadora Disappears – 12 February 1998
#Tatty's Birthday Surprise – 17 February 1998
#Double Trouble – 19 February 1998

Reception

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. This was the first time the show had been broadcast in the UK since repeats were shown on Living TV in the early 2000s. As of June 2020, episodes from Series One are now showing on BritBox in the UK.

Home video and DVD

The earliest version of the show has been released on DVD (Oxford University Press). However, this is not the ITV version and is instead, an educational package.

Video Collection International

Some VHS cassettes of the show were released in the mid-1990s by Video Collection International Ltd., featuring episodes from Series One to Three.

#''Wizadora – The Magic Parcel'' (14 June 1993) – The Magic Parcel, Time For Tidying, and Hello Filbert.
#''Wizadora – A Colourful Day'' (26 July 1993) – A Colourful Day, Lovely Weather and Picnic Problems.
#''Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles'' (16 August 1993) – Mops and Bicycles, Hangle In Charge and A Very Special Day.
#''Wizadora – Wellingtons and Snails'' (1 August 1994) – Wellingtons and Snails, The Purple Powder and Tea Time Troubles.
#''My Little Wizadora – The Magic Parcel/Time For Tidying'' (1 April 1996)
#''My Little Wizadora – Hello Filbert/A Colourful Day'' (1 July 1996)
#''My Little Wizadora – Lovely Weather / Picnic Problems'' (7 October 1996)
#''My Little Wizadora – Mops and Bicycles/Hangle In Charge'' (4 November 1996)

Astrion Video

#''Wizadora – A Message from Max'' (3 April 1995) A Message From Max and five other stories
#''Wizadora – Sneezeberries'' (3 April 1995) Sneezeberries and five other stories
#''Wizadora – Too Big, Too Small'' (18 August 1995) Too Big, Too Small and five other stories
#’’Wizadora – Sixes And Nines’’ (18 August 1995) Sixes and Nines and five other stories
#’’Wizadora – Bubble Trouble’’ (18 August 1995) Bubble Trouble and five other stories

UK VHS releases

DVD releases

* "Wizadora – Oxford DVD"
* "Wizadora – A message From Max And Other Stories"
* Wizadora – Series One, Volume One.

Revamp

In 2003, Entertainment Rights produced a nine-minute pilot for a proposed reboot of the series for Channel 5's ''Milkshake!'' children's programming 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, the 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. 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 o
www.wizadora.de

References

External links

*

Wizadora on German TV
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1991 German television series debuts
1991 German television series endings
1993 British television series debuts
1998 British television series endings
1990s British children's television series
1990s German television series
1990s preschool education television series
Das Erste original programming
British preschool education television series
British television shows featuring puppetry
British English-language television shows
ITV children's television shows
Südwestrundfunk
Television shows about magic
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows produced by Meridian Broadcasting
Television shows about wizards