Bananaman (TV series)
British animated television series (1983–1988)
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Bananaman is a British animated comedy series which ran from 3 October 1983 to 15 June 1988. It was based on the comic strip character Bananaman from the DC Thomson comic Nutty, and directed and produced by Terry Ward and Trevor Bond at 101 Productions.[2] The show ran for 40 five-minute episodes, each of which featured the voices of The Goodies (Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie) and Jill Shilling.[2][1][3] The soundtrack was composed by Dave Cooke.[4][5]
- Tim Brooke-Taylor
- Graeme Garden
- Bill Oddie
- Jill Shilling
| Bananaman | |
|---|---|
Title card | |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Bernie Kay |
| Directed by | Terry Ward |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Dave Cooke |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 40[1] |
| Production | |
| Producer | Trevor Bond |
| Cinematography | Stephen Williams |
| Editor | Morgan Daniels Limited |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production companies | Beano Productions 101 Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 3 October 1983 – 15 June 1988 |
Parts of the character Eric Wimp were changed for the series: he was now called Eric Twinge, had a distinctive banana-shaped hairstyle rather than being bald (like he was in the first few years in the comic), and had a love interest (only when transformed) in the form of Fiona, a newsreader, based on Selina Scott.[6][7][8]
"This is 29 Acacia Road. And this is Eric, the schoolboy who leads an amazing double life. For when Eric eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs. Eric is Bananaman, ever alert for the call to action!"
When Danger Mouse first aired on Nickelodeon in America, Bananaman was shown after it to round out the show to a half hour.[3]
Cast
- Tim Brooke-Taylor as Eric, King Zorg of the Nerks, Eddie the Gent, Auntie, Appleman, Narrator and additional voices
- Graeme Garden as Bananaman, General Blight, Maurice of The Heavy Mob and additional voices
- Bill Oddie as Crow, Chief O'Reilly, Doctor Gloom, the Weatherman and additional voices
- Jill Shilling as Fiona, Mother Nerk, Samantha and additional voices
Series guide
Episodes
Series 1 (1983)
| No. overall | Series no. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Bananaman Meets Dr. Gloom" | 3 October 1983 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Big Breakout" | 7 October 1983 |
| 3 | 3 | "Ice Station Zero" | 10 October 1983 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Alien Planet" | 14 October 1983 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Kidnap Caper" | 17 October 1983 |
| 6 | 6 | "House on Hangman's Hill" | 20 October 1983 |
| 7 | 7 | "Destination Danger" | 24 October 1983 |
| 8 | 8 | "Wall of Death" | 27 October 1983 |
| 9 | 9 | "Jaws of Steel" | 31 October 1983 |
| 10 | 10 | "Banana Kid" | 4 November 1983 |
| 11 | 11 | "Auntie's Back in Town" | 7 November 1983 |
| 12 | 12 | "Tunnel of Terror" | 11 November 1983 |
Series 2 (1984)
| No. overall | Series no. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "Mystery at the Old Mine" | 4 October 1984 |
| 14 | 2 | "Lost Tribe of the Tapiocas" | 11 October 1984 |
| 15 | 3 | "Trouble at the Mill" | 18 October 1984 |
| 16 | 4 | "The Web of Evil" | 25 October 1984 |
| 17 | 5 | "The Mummy's Curse" | 1 November 1984 |
| 18 | 6 | "The Night Patrol" | 8 November 1984 |
| 19 | 7 | "Fog of Fear" | 15 November 1984 |
| 20 | 8 | "A Tank Full of Trouble" | 22 November 1984 |
| 21 | 9 | "Double Trouble" | 29 November 1984 |
| 22 | 10 | "The Last Banana" | 5 December 1984 |
| 23 | 11 | "Intergalactic Olympics" | 12 December 1984 |
| 24 | 12 | "Memory Lane" | 15 June 1988 |
| 25 | 13 | "The Final Orbit" | 19 December 1984 |
Series 3 (1986)
| No. overall | Series no. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | "Disaster at Devil's Cove" | 7 January 1986 |
| 27 | 2 | "Night of the Nerks" | 14 January 1986 |
| 28 | 3 | "The Snowman Cometh" | 21 January 1986 |
| 29 | 4 | "Pirate TV Station" | 28 January 1986 |
| 30 | 5 | "Battle of the Bridge" | 4 February 1986 |
| 31 | 6 | "Harbour of Lost Ships" | 11 February 1986 |
| 32 | 7 | "Visibility Zero" | 18 February 1986 |
| 33 | 8 | "Battle of the Century" | 25 February 1986 |
| 34 | 9 | "The Perils of Ping Pong" | 4 March 1986 |
| 35 | 10 | "The Great Air Race" | 11 March 1986 |
| 36 | 11 | "Cavern of the Lost" | 18 March 1986 |
| 37 | 12 | "Clown Capers" | 25 March 1986 |
| 38 | 13 | "Banana Junction" | 1 April 1986 |
| 39 | 14 | "The Crown Jewel Caper" | 8 April 1986 |
| 40 | 15 | "Operation Total" | 15 April 1986 |
