Welcome back to my (not so) brief history of Parallel 9! If you're new here, you've missed a fair old journey. What started as a twopart jaunt through my old VHS tapes as an anniversary tribute to a much missed/barely remembered (delete as applicable) Saturday morning TV show from thirty years ago turned into an opportunity to properly tell the story of how the programme was made for the first time. I've so far revisted the first and second series - and the behind the scenes story had plot twists worthy of the show itself.
But before I get onto the third and final series, a detour back to the first, and the reunion of the cast held to mark 30 years of the show. Each week two "elders" (so-called as time ran backwards on Zarb) would be "summoned" to Parallel 9 to take part in the show to share knowledge with the inquisitive Prince Mercator. Helen Schlûter (who as Helen Atkins played Calendular) had mentioned to me when we met how great it would be to find some of the children who had appeared on the programme and see what they thought of the experience. As luck would have it one of the "elders" who appeared on the very first programme, Chris Doughty, got in touch with me having read my blogs on the programme. He now lives in Canada, so he and I had an carefully-timed video call to talk about his story, which starts with his selection for the show in early 1992.
The cast of Parallel 9, photographed in April 1992
"I remember them interviewing people in the classroom. My teacher was a young dynamic guy who liked to encourage kids to do interesting things so I’m sure he was all over this concept!" A questionaire had been circulated to try and find suitable children. "I don’t remember much of what they asked but I guess they must have been looking for personalities that were a good fit with the idea of the show and that would engage with the format."
Show 1 script including Chris listed as "Elder 1"
"They said we’d like you to be on the first episode. I remember lots of phone calls between my parents and the producers, I guess trying to work out the logistics. I’m certain that we received letters along the same lines as your blog outlining the concept of the show" The new format was still in flux, meaning Chris was asked about one element of the Elders' visit that didn't make it past the off air pilot show. "It brought a lot back when I read your blog post. This idea of making your dream come true or granting you a wish, there were lots of conversations about that and what my wish would be, stuff that never ended up happening because they changed the way they were going to do it. I forget what my wishes were but I remember conversations being relayed, and back and forth ideas of what they were going to do."
Production staff in the Parallel 9 office. Notice the wall covered in scripts
A few weeks later, and Chris and his mother were on their way to Pinewood Studios. "I remember taking the train from Cardiff to Slough. That Friday night we went to a production office and they were chatting about what was going to happen the next day. They had two of the guests come in, so there’s a picture of me with Frank Bruno and Jim Bowen. I remember that office having a bunch of things up on the wall as well: calendars, schedules and things like that.
A page of the show 1 "script", with notes for Cal's dialogue from improvisation in rehearsals
That was when I first realised that it was a lot of improvisation. I saw the script that was very much laying out the structure and scenes, but without lines. They were trying to decide whether they wanted to pre-film any segments the night before for the following day. At that point I also met Hayley who was on the show with me. They sat us down and talked about the segments we’d be involved in - your arrival, the segment with games, the segment with the games consoles, Frank Bruno..."
Chris in the production office with Frank Bruno and Jim Bowen
"They decided that they were going to take us over to the set because they wanted to pre-film the arrival. That was very overwhelming as a ten year old! You go into this sound stage, and the set was incredible. So much effort was put into it. I distinctly remember the smell actually - one of these smells that strongly triggers memories, and I think it’s the smell of fibreglass or something like that. I remember all the little glass bead things that made up the sand of the floor, the suspended walkways and obviously the pool in the middle with the Tope. It was really quite well designed to allow them to do this live show but also it didn’t feel like a studio. This was a full 360 degree set that once you were there you turned around and you were on Parallel 9. I remember them giving us a little tour and a very, very careful trip around the suspended walkways."
Chris and Hayley's arrival on Parallel 9 via the "Stargate" lift was pre-recorded for a couple of reasons. "I think they did the filming first because they wanted to get our genuine wonderment at the world, so we got taken around the outside and into the bottom of lift that was the arrival place with all the lights and dry ice. They wanted us to get a genuine first impression of the world. I remember all the smoke, and the heat of the lights behind us.
The directions we were given were fairly simple - you’re going to arrive and go down the ramp. Then of course Helen comes up to us and introduces us to Roddy, and we did that little introduction scene then. They just wanted to get the more technical part with the lift pre-recorded at this point. Show 1 and the lift breaks down - can you imagine it?" You don't have to as this did indeed happen later in the series as this clip (which is sadly audio only) demonstrates.
Chris remember being very impressed with the prospective programme. "The effort they put into it, the set, the calibre of the people they got to pull it off, a very catchy theme song…I can only imagine what the pitch meetings were like trying to get the funding and approval for this." There's also a poignant memory of the show's creator and Executive Producer. "Jill Roach was around. I think she met with us briefly but she was doing a million different things, but I do remember my Mum saying she’d overheard her getting emotional and saying “tomorrow my baby’s going to be born”. Thinking of how much she herself had poured into this concept to make it work, and that they were changing things up to the last minute, I can only imagine what an adventure it was like as part of the production team and the cast."
"I remember being very excited and hyped up, and it being hard to sleep, then getting up in the morning and heading over to the studio and getting ready for the live show." Chris remembers being slightly thrown by the show's lead - Roddy Maude-Roxby as Mercator. "We knew the concept, we knew it was supposed to be this alien world but in hindsight Roddy really threw himself into the role and tried to be alien! Not just his eyebrows and fingers but sometimes not quite understanding what you’ve said, or having a response that was unexpected. Some of the things he said and did were quite off-putting as a kid! It was funny and strange. This was the concept of the show - someone’s trying to learn about the world through these kids that they’re summoning. Roddy was really invested in the role which was impressive but also terrifying."
This was no more noticeable than in Chris's first live segment, when he presented Mercator with a drawing of Parallel 9 he'd created on his computer, only to be questioned how he had done this whilst being summoned in his sleep! "That was me as a ten year old trying to pick up some of the cues on what the show was about. I remember doing that drawing on the computer imagining the backstory that they gave us and trying to play with that. I didn’t have any real acting skill but it was funny! I distinctly remember having to think hard with what I was going to say because the response was unexpected. You can see that happen a lot in the episode with the guests - that conversation with Frank Bruno takes some weird turns. I can see why they veered away from that later on because it created all sorts of complications but it was so ambitious, and as a concept it was amazing."
Chris's scenes were mostly with Helen Atkins as Calendular and Jenny Bolt as Steyl. "Helen was the main liaison with the kids as they wanted to buildup that rapport, and of course she was playing a human. The one thing I distinctly remember with Steyl was they were making some changes on the fly during that first episode. They were realising that they either needed some filler time, or a cut to allow them to move something around. I remember her as Jenny coming to me and saying “OK, we’re going to do a little introduction to this next scene. This is what I want to do”. This is where she grabs my face and says “you think Mercator has power? I have power too” and then she summons the music video. She pulled me aside, rehearsed that bit with me during the live show, and then said here’s the moment, don’t look at the camera. It was broadcast live ten minutes later! That hit home the improvised nature and that the actors were working quite hard. I don’t know the process that led to that scene happening and what direction was given, but it worked and fit seamlessly into the show." This scene and the music video following it are indeed missing from the script, suggesting the show was underunning quite considerably as a result of the live improvisational format.
Chris also appeared in a (planned) segment with some games consoles, as part of the episode's overarching theme of games and rules. "The really funny thing is I was into computer games but didn’t have a console…and what did I bring? A manual! Something that’s essentially not even a game."
"On the show I gravitated to the game I was familiar with not necessarily because I wasn’t interested in the fantastic power of the new consoles, but as a kid you go for what you know! In hindsight that’s really funny that I’d go for the most retro of the games. I was probably one of the first kids in the UK to play on a SNES."
"In the last ten years or so I’m really involved with the video game music community with a focus on retro stuff. It was a funny thing after I was established in this community to have this video of my opting for the NES over everything else, but also video evidence of me being there when stuff that is very retro was cutting edge. It’s an interesting little gem. I remember being starstruck with Julian Rignall as someone who plays games for a living."
Julian Wrignall in the Parallel 9 office
Chris and Hayley were presented with a sensational prize for appearing on the programme: tickets to see Michael Jackson live. So what was it like? "The crazy thing about ten year old me was I had no interest in Michael Jackson. I grew up playing classic piano so I had different musical tastes to the rest of my peers. I thought pop music was stupid. So I actually sold the tickets! One of my biggest life regrets is I could have seen Michael Jackson perform in his prime. I sold them to my Godmother who had a great time! They used the money to buy one of those fancy Habitat things for my hamster. My parents supported my choice but in hindsight I wished they’d said “no, you’ll regret this!”.
Hayley and Chris receive their backwards Parallel 9 watches
Amongst other souvenirs, including screener tapes and scripts, was the one unique gift that all children who appeared on the first series received: the Parallel 9 watch, which actually showed time going backwards - just like on Zarb. This boasted a unique take on the Parallel 9 logo unseen anywhere else. The watch sadly stopped working some time ago, but Chris has kindly got it repaired for this blog, meaning 31 years on we can finally see the genuinely backwards watch in action!
By 1055 the show was off air. "I remember the elation when it was over that they’d actually pulled it off, probably mostly to plan, and then maybe this realisation that we’re going to be doing this for the next however many weeks every Saturday and it’s going to be just as stressful every time? I remember lots of the crew and cast on their cigarette breaks as I was trawling the building to get anybody associated with the production to sign the script!"
Chris outside Stage J at Pinewood - the home of Parallel 9
It wasn't just people associated with the show who signed Chris's script. "I remember wandering around Pinewood Studios and seeing the 007 stage. As we were wandering over to the cafeteria after the show, we bumped into Rik Mayall who was there filming Carry On Columbus in costume. His autograph is also on my script! My Mum was like “you need this guy's autograph”!"
Chris recalls reaction amongst his peers back at school on Monday was mixed. "Kids are cruel. It’s hard to take pride in that because people are going to try and knock you down a peg. I don’t remember being boastful of it, but I do remember being told many times that the programme was rubbish, seeing you on TV was the best part of it but the kids didn’t really get the show at all. I think that was a wider experience of people that had watched the show although it’s really cool to find out that there were other people that watched it and loved it, like yourself, and got into it!"
In the weeks that followed the programme changed quite dramatically. The set was lit in brighter colours, the tone was lightened, the pace was quickened and more structured editorial features were added. The major change however was a move away from the improvisational approach which in hindsight Chris can understand. "It does sound like as the show progressed they decided it wasn’t sustainable doing it that way and they got much more tightly scripted segments. As a kid it was an overwhelming experience but looking back - wow, they were really trying hard to do something new, different and interesting and it was really really difficult and challenging. It’s no wonder the show had the issues that it had that led to all the changes. I love improvisation stuff. We have a really good theatre company in Vancouver where they do improv comedy 5 nights a week. I love that but it’s really really hard, and to do it in this setting - not only improvising but you’re aliens in space on this planet where time runs backwards and there’s special guests…that was a big deal!"
Chris embraced the changes that were made and became an avid viewer of the show over the summer of 1992. "I do remember loving the chemistry between Skyn and Thynkso and the roles that they involved into. I remember being interested in the story they were trying to tell with Mercator and the bigger arc of that. I remember liking the addition of the voice of the Tope - it was clearly lacking in those first few episodes and then they realised "yeah you know what this is going to help to give this thing a voice". It got that little bit less serious but I think it struck a good balance. I watched it every week and there were some things they added like the fun stuff for the kids - the backwards races where they taped it and ran the tape backwards. Sometimes I was thinking "oh I wish I’d got to do some of that" - but at the same time I was still overwhelmingly positive about my experience and it was just cool each week to tune in each week and say “I’ve been there”." Two of Chris's classmates were also chosen to be in the programme later in the series (one of whom appeared exactly two months later) by which time as part of the changes the "Elders" were mostly found reviewing films and music videos.
The return of Parallel 9 in April 1993 saw one of the most all-encompassing revamps in the history of children's TV, with the only surviving elements being the character of the Tope and the title of the show. "I know my feeling on seeing the beginning of the second series was "what the hell? This is just a completely different show with the same name slapped on it". I was frustrated that they weren’t going to continue the story they were telling from the first season and to build on what they had done with those characters and how the show had evolved, because I did feel that it had got stronger and tighter as it went on, and given the chance to tweak that a bit I think it could have continued to get stronger rather than just wiping the slate clean. It was so far divorced from the original concept that I can’t imagine many of the people still involved from the original were remotely happy about it. I wonder what it was like from Jill Roach’s perspective to see the concept change so dramatically? Do you just to a certain extent wash your hands of it, and say if this is what they want we’ll give them what they want but you don’t have that passion for it anymore. Your dream gets changed beyond what you were hoping to do, but you’ve still got your name attached to it. It must have been disheartening to see that happen or to be told that’s what had to happen to keep your show alive in any form."
Chris believes Parallel 9's legacy is amongst other fondly remembered programmes of his childhood like Knightmare and The Crystal Maze. "I loved high concept kids TV that didn’t insult the viewer that was intelligent, had good writing, good acting, good concepts and there are plenty of examples of that. You had people that were willing to give something like a chance, and give it the resources to build that incredible set and get on some really great guests and hire some actors that were up to the task. I’m glad that the first series of Parallel 9 got a chance to exist in the form that it is - warts and all! You can’t necessarily say that it’s a classic of British children’s TV but even if you don’t enjoy it as a show you have to respect the level of effort and production value that went into it."
I'm hugely grateful to Chris for reaching out to share his story and photos, and of course resurrecting the backwards Parallel 9 watch!
Coming next time - from the very beginning to the very end, as multiple revamps later the Parallel 9 story ends with series 3...
A man emerges from a caravan seemingly in a barren wasteland. He seems surprised to see us but explains he's helping aliens research Earth, and we can come with him if we want. Cue titles...
This is the story of a largely forgotten Saturday morning programme that mixed fictional elements set on an alien planet with the standard Saturday morning TV fare. At the age of 8, Parallel 9 completely captured my imagination and was the first TV show I'd been properly obsessed with, though it was clear even at that age that it had perhaps not panned out the way they'd expected and it has had something of a mixed reputation in the years since. Writing my original tribute to the first series not only revealed far more people were fond of it than I'd thought, but also brought me into contact with the cast and a prompted hugely unexpected reunion to mark its 30th anniversary. This in turn gave the opportunity to tell for the first time the behind-the-scenes story of what actually happened.
I'm nothing if not a completist, so let's continue the story. Now aged 9, in April 1993 I was very surprised to hear that Parallel 9 was in fact returning. Given the way the 1992 run ended ended, what on earth (so to speak) would the show consist of, and would it be any good? This is my guide to the second series of Parallel 9, and once again I'm hugely grateful to a number of those who worked on it - including both main presenters - for contributing. Did the new look do the business for me - and more importantly, the wider audience? Read on...
Series 2 (1993)
The headline of the new look is that Parallel 9 is no longer a prison planet. Instead it is being used by Zarb as a research centre to investigate Earth life, discover knowledge and interact with humans. Whilst the planet Zarb remains in charge the "Time Barons" are no longer mentioned, nor is the idea of time going backwards. Despite the pace being quickened and the tone lightened, the core concept - "aliens learning about Earth" - is identical to series 1, but shorn of the slightly dark idea of it being done by criminals breaking free from a repressive regime.
This huge change was not an accident, as presenter Richard Norton recalls. "The first series was incredibly different. It became more of a magazine show, it was a different show. I think that was what they had to do to get it recommissioned. They had 2 more seasons in the pipeline in that contract, but it was on the proviso that they provided something that was different from the first one."
As a result the second series of Parallel 9 is such a huge contrast to the first it is perhaps easier to make a list of what stayed the same: the name, the logo and the character of the Tope. Everything else - titles, theme tune, cast, set and format - was completely overhauled. A key change this year was the addition of an "Earthbase" from which a human presenter would anchor the show, communicate with the planet and send guests for their research. The intention here was presumably to find a more identifiable point for young viewers to jump on than the previous year's "Earth girl whisked to a prison planet in her sleep" angle.
The Earthbase was a caravan seemingly in a barren wasteland, where Richard Norton would be based during the live shows. "I had a great relationship with the crew that were based around the caravan. The design of that caravan I had input with, that was great fun with the art department. I said wouldn’t it be great if we had one of those American 50s Airstream-style [caravans], with that kind of retro sci-fi feel, and had that surf vibe inside and all that stuff. They ran with it, and said “we can’t afford an Airstream, but we can paint this one grey…”. I think in the end they did a really good job with it, that was really good fun."
With the help of some rudimentary special effects and a lot of imagination, the caravan was the portal to Parallel 9. "The guests would actually go in through the plastic strip curtain with a smoke machine in it, jump out the back of the caravan, run across the car park and run into the studio! It was good fun." The surface of the planet would once again take residence in Stage J at Pinewood Studios all Summer, but there were rules put in place (initially at least) about who was allowed to go there - or come down to Earth: "They were very clear that the aliens could never come back through that door because they thought that might be too scary for kids. The fact that we could go to their planet by invitation was fine but there was never anything from that world that could come to ours. And I couldn’t go to theirs. I was pushing for that - I said I want to make the trip. I think that’d be really cool if we could do that. They started talking about that when Lucinda came into it, and I never got to do it."
The new planet set followed a similar, if much brighter concept to the previous year. A number of themed areas sat around the Tope, but it seemed Zarb had been frugal when converting from penal planet to research facility as some of it looked rather familiar. The "Starbridge" area was virtually identical to how it looked in series 1, and other reused pieces of 1992 set included a bridge that featured prominently in the opening titles (which now accessed the upper level of the new control centre) and the suspended helicopter.
The Tope was also clearly the same prop, though now surrounded by a crystalline pool instead of water. There was also initially a new rather uncomfortable-looking plastic seat attached to it where guests would appear when particulated up to the planet from the Earthbase, though like series 1's "occasional table" this would be removed fairly swiftly.
The new areas included the control centre, a garden and a number of internal rooms shielded from the main part of the set to for items to be presented from. One major contrast to series 1 was there was no bespoke performance area for bands and singers to appear in, and live music appears to have been very rare during this run.
The bridges, such a striking element of the original design, were again a big feature of this one - though slightly less impressively now they were not circling the entire set connected to one other. The set was also coloured in much brighter and garish colours. This appeared to be a reaction to the "cool" tones of the original but undoubtedly made it look far cheaper and more like a TV studio. Returning voice of the Tope Stephen Hope-Wynne summarises the programme became "more colourful, bright lime and American cartoon Puff-n-Stuff land and less dark space-age".
6 members of the crew appear in shot...
The loss of the "cinematic" style of series 1 was inevitable, with the key casualties being the end of letterboxing and there being no camera crane this year. As well as no graceful shots of the set anymore this did mean that everything was captured by wobbly hand-held cameras instead, many of which ended up in shot, meaning some of the scale was lost. There were also many more shots of the "ceiling" of the planet than before with the new set slightly less believeable as an alien world.
The new theme tune, composed by Paul Joyce, reflected the change of style and couldn't have been more different than Ed Welch's series 1 composition. The series 2 theme is however absolutely of its time. It sits perfectly in amongst the Euro-rave-pop sound that was popular in early 1993 and is something of an ear worm. This recording from the 1994 series is in stereo, so pop some headphones in to give your ears a real workout...
Parallel 9...
When time is on your side
You've got to get to Parallel 9...
Deep in outer space, we're gonna take you out of this world
To Parallel 9!
It's not as deep and meaningful as "they're gonna take your time away" but given the changes to the show, that's the point really. The theme was composed by Paul Joyce, who was commissioned by new Executive Producer Peter Murphy who he'd known from his time as controller of children's at HTV. Paul recalls: "I met with the director, Michael Kerrigan at Pinewood and he talked me through the vision for show. I knew how long the song needed to be and I went away and created a demo. They liked it immediately and the finished master required very little amendment as I recall."
The unique sound of the theme was inspired by the vision for the new series. "It was a sci-fi setting, and I adore this genre so it was right up my street to create something that you wanted to listen to again and again (hopefully!) and try and unpick the various sounds." And as for the voice singing those lyrics...."You may be interested to know that they decided to keep my voice on the finished song. I only intended it to form part of the demo. This has happened a few times in my career, where the demo vocals have proved more popular than subsequent performers."
Although a huge contrast to Ed Welch's series 1 theme, Paul had yet to hear it. "I think I was so busy at the time that I never listened to the theme for the first series! I have now of course...it’s a different approach to my theme." Unlike Welch's creation the Joyce theme is a continual prescence throughout the programme, not only heard at the start and finish but in a short burst every time a guest particulates to Parallel 9 (confusingly credited as "PARTIC TO ZARB" on some paperwork) and a super-extended 12-inch club-mix version during the Malachite Challenge segment. Paul also created virtually all of the incidental music and stings used on series 2 and 3 of the programme.
Visuals provided by Pizzaz Pictures (now known as Studio AKA) depicted an entertaining, vibrant and pacey cartoon journey from the Earthbase cavaran through space to Parallel 9. They concluded with the same logo as series 1, now depicted in dark red. "I created the song and the title imagery was created around it" recalls Paul Joyce. "They had a demo really early on and the sequence of sounds and ideas didn’t change that much." It's hard to think of a greater contrast with the crime, court and sentence sequence that opened the first run.
The series 2 publicity photocard, which used an identical design to series 1 (courtesy of Robin Blamires)
The only member of the cast to continue from series 1 was Stephen Hope-Wynne as the voice of the Tope, who recalls the transition. "The first series grew organically yet fast. An endurance exercise, it would exhaust everyone as most were unsure whether this strange phenomenon would be permitted to have another series, ever. Jill Roach, the boss, would not let on. Months later, having moved onto other jobs, I was asked if I would be interested in being recalled to P9. Mysterious as usual, my arrival at Pinewood was warmly welcomed yet not many people I knew were there. Eventually, I was introduced to some actors who I did not know."
Former Home and Away & Neighbours star Richard Norton was engaged to host events as the "token human". "The guys that were casting it were [Executive Producer] Peter Murphy and Casting Director Derek Barnes. I suppose they thought we’ll get an actor as there’s a lot of role play involved, and they were casting actors as the P9 planet characters, and I think they wanted to go along that sort of route for the presenter. I did an audition that they liked. I wanted to be anarchic in my approach and they like it, so that was that. I was up against a few people like Dexter Fletcher - there were some really tangible names, so I was incredibly flattered that they offered it to me. There was a whole other furore around the fact I’d just got married to my then girlfriend, and there was a work visa argument about the credibility of my marriage, so there was a lot of personal stuff that revolved around that as well. So I did feel a lot of extra pressure."
Richard was given a lot of sway in how his role would fit into the new format. "I wanted things to be frantic. Imagine being the only person connected to these aliens. I really felt that was a draw somehow for me to be like the link to the audience and say “I’m the one they’re contacting, I’m the one they’re dealing with, I’m the connection here and I’m helping you come into this with me”. I suggested to Richard that his persona was almost like a young nutty professor. "That’s exactly what I wanted it to be. I somehow stumbled across this, and I was messing around in my garage, which is a good hook for any teen sci-fi thing."
Up on Parallel 9, research was led by...Mercator. Yes, you read that right.
This wasn't the chap with the big eyebrows though (who was presumably still in Slough McDonalds trying to buy a Big Mac with his remaining mertz). He was also no longer a Prince. The new "Commander" Mercator played by Christopher Wild was a spiky blonde-haired thoughtful and dreamy type, apparently in charge of proceedings at the research centre but often seemingly anything but. It is never clarified on air why he shares a name with a previous incumbent on the planet. Perhaps it's a popular boy's name on Zarb? I do however recall a scene where the crew found some giant eyebrows as a quick in-joke, though it does raise the bizarre thought that Mercator 1.0 kept a supply of spares...
Joining Mercator was enthusiastic and dilligent second-in-command Zee, played by Frances Dodge who until 1991 had headed up the presentation team of Ghost Train, Parallel 9's close Saturday morning cousin on t'other side.
Imperious and suspicious visitor Dr Kovan was portrayed by Karl Collins. Initially his prescence provided much of the dramatic tension, though in time he would settle in, becoming much less stuffy and as much a part of the crew as the others.
The final member of the team was something you suspect was the last thing envisaged when the series was originally pitched - a bright pink puppet dinosaur, voiced by David Claridge of Roland Rat fame. It wasn't clear from the plot how or why Brian the Dinosaur ended up on Parallel 9 (and it's stated in the first show that his presence is agaist Zarbian rules), but he came with a curious backstory that was regurgitated at every opportunity which mainly involved being from Rotherham, liking heavy metal and saying the catchphrase "Cup o' tea?". Attention to detail on the Rotherham angle included references to genuine chippy The Happy Fryer. Brian also continually and relentlessly pestered most of the female visitors to the planet for a "snog" in an element of the programme that hasn't aged well, and he had a variety of nicknames for the others including "Kojak" and "slaphead" for Dr Kovan and "bog brush head" for Mercator.
Whether by accident or design, the addition of Brian was well-timed for dinosaur fever hitting the UK in the summer of 1993 with the release of the film Jurassic Park. Claridge was named in the Radio Times billings but was kept anonymous on the show itself, with Brian listed as "Courtesy of Triassic Mgt Rotherham". Claridge would also contribute a second puppet member of the cast to the programme midway through the series.
Stephen Hope-Wynne recalls the big changes this lineup brought. "Series 2 was a different beast. David Claridge brought an arsenal of ideas including a puppet dinosaur and another gleamingly talented range of actors, designers and costume ideas." Richard Norton wanted to establish more of a double act with Claridge but came up against the rules for the new format. "I really enjoyed working with him even though it was over the camera, but I wanted them to be in the same room. I went on The Big Breakfast a couple of times and worked with Zig and Zag. When they’re good puppeteers you buy into it, and you’re not looking at the operator as they’re so good at it, you want to just engage, and he had that skill. I really wanted them to bring Brian down to the caravan, and they said they can’t, it’s crossing the worlds. But I wanted Brian to be my co-presenter. Hiding a dinosaur in a caravan, I think that would have been a good one."
When recalling the impending revamp of the show, series 1 cast member Kevin Short suggested to me that Roach & Partners would need to "change the producers and directors, or change the cast". In the end they changed both. As well as the new on-air team, Michael Kerrigan and Claire Winyard became the new "Series Producers/Directors" - the combined roles perhaps installed to avoid the mismatch between the two positions that occurred at the start of the 1992 run. Series 2 thus went to air with an almost entirely different crew in front of and behind the cameras, with only a handful of production roles continuing for a second year (including Senior Floor Manager Julie Sykes and Line Producer Sally Debonnaire). Despite this, as with series 1, there would once again be changes during the run, including one very prominent one...
Prelaunch
Richard Norton appears on the final Going Live!
The traditional "guest appearance by presenter of the new Saturday morning series starting the following week" hadn't taken place the previous year because, of course, there was a heavy duty storyline to keep to at that point which didn't involve one of the cast making a trip to TC7. This time around Richard Norton was able to pop in to the final edition of Going Live! and be a judge in a live edition of Run The Risk in Hammersmith Park. Later in the programme back in the studio Phillip and Sarah appear to have been instructed to promote the return of Parallel 9 before instead saying they will very much be fast asleep this time next week.
The first glimpse of the new look programme was seen a couple of hours later in a trailer immediately after the final emotional pants-swing, and due to the high profile nature of the farewell to the much-loved Going Live! this 25 seconds of footage is possibly the most-viewed of all the three years of Parallel 9.
The footage appears to be taken from a dry run, mirroring the off-air pilot produced for series 1 nine days prior to its launch, suggesting these clips may have been just a couple of days old at this point.
The series 2 "pilot" appears to have been a dry run of show 1 with numerous similar setups to that which would actually transmit a week later including Brian wearing a blonde wig and the trapese group Exstatic. There are some visible differences from the transmitted programme, however. The "Earthbase" caravan interior has yet to be fully decorated and looks quite mundane compared to the design that appeared on screen a week later.
The title sequence also doesn't appear to have been finished at this point, with the silver series 1 logo used on the endboard. There is however one other major difference...
That's not Mercator.
It perhaps takes a couple of views to register but the dark-haired actor playing the new Mercator clearly isn't Christopher Wild. At first glance it can perhaps be assumed his hair was dyed blonde for the show proper, but on closer inspection it does appear to be an entirely different person. Unlike the rest of the cast, he is only in two shots in the trailer - one as a long shot, and the other from behind, which suggests they weren't keen for us to see him either.
So who is the mystery man? Radio Times to the rescue. Whilst the programme listing for episode 1 (as seen in the episode guide below) doesn't list any of the cast, the banner photo at the top of the page does.
Now that on the right is Karl Collins as Dr Kovan, and we can assume cockup rather than conspiracy is behind the caption claiming he is Mercator. But this error does reveal that Pete Lee-Wilson was expected to be playing the lead when the magazine went to press around the same time that the pilot was recorded, and a quick Google reveals that yes, that is the guy in the trailer. "He was actually really good" recalls Richard Norton. "I think it was contractual, something to do with his work commitments, he may have got a job somewhere else, and they had to bring someone else in. I think it was as simple as that. Chris Wild came in [as Mercator], bless him, he had to watch the pilot and jump straight in on week 1. I remember having a lot of conversations with him. I remember him talking it through in costume in the rehearsal and I was like “mate, everyone’s got so much to remember”."
So here's the story of series 2 as it went out. Like series 1, often there's a mismatch between the billing and what actually went out. Unlike series 1, there aren't clips available for every episode - far from it. As a viewer, I was excited the show was returning but keen to not end up pushing my luck with VHS supplies again, so I have very few videos of this series to share. I did actually record a fair few clips on audio cassettes (which were far cheaper and plentiful), but audio reconstructions are hard enough to sit through for missing Doctor Who episodes so I'll spare you them. For the most part we're mining YouTube, which results in a spike at the begining, middle and end.
Show 1 - tx 24/04/93, 0900-1100
The billing from Radio Times. This year Parallel 9's series 2 launch faced competiton from What's Up Doc, ITV's flagship winter Saturday-morning series then nearing the end of a mammoth 34-week commission that had actually commenced whilst series 1 was still on air.
Unseen since 1993, here is the series 2 relaunch of Parallel 9. Other than the promo this is the first time any footage from Richard Norton's time on the show has been posted online. "That first show…I dread to look at it! I just sense my nervousness. I remember Andi Peters doing a link to us while we were rehearsing, probably about half an hour ahead of it happening, and just the realisation at that point that this clock was ticking, we’re gonna do this!"
The show begins with Richard explaining what he's up to and giving a tour of the caravan before sending his first guests up to Parallel 9. On the planet, we meet the three inhabitants who give us a fairly chaotic introduction to the new format: Commander Mercator and second-in-command Zee will receive research instructions from Zarb each week to find answers to. Brian will attempt to derail them and the show itself (and indeed is already criticising the vision mixing and making light of a camera issue in the caravan). Later we meet Dr Kovan who crash lands on the planet, apparently as an unintended consequence of Mercator's meddling.
Production paperwork gives the series this new, rather wordy synopsis:
Parallel 9 is a unique fantasy adventure linking this world with a plane in outer space. From his caravan earthbase our presenter works as a finder/fixer for Commander Mercator and his crew on Parallel 9. Special guests and children journey from Earth to the planet. Mysterious happenings in outer space link back and forth to fun and games on Earth. All this and the weekly dramatic element of the aliens providing an intergalactic journey from an eyeview that looks back on Earth in all its glory.
Despite this the document goes on to still list Mercator incorrectly as "an alien prince". It does however show quite how much music Paul Joyce composed for the programmes, with "Tope Theme", "Brian's Den Theme", "Control Base Theme", "Garden Theme" and "Junkyard Theme" all featuring over the two hours. It's also the first time the programme's slot has run to the full 120 minutes, though it would be the only time this series. The cartoon inserts were also better-chosen than the previous year, with the ever-popular if slightly ancient The Flintstones airing alongside Bugs Bunny shorts.
The pace was fast in the new show, in a huge contrast to the sometimes glacial pace of series 1. The other main difference was that what was left of the semi-educational angle was largely eradicated, so the "research" ordered by Zarb each week largely leads to pop music, soap stars and "get involved in physical activity, kids!" types of feature. Production paperwork reveals far more of the programme was actually live than in 1992, with the only pre-filmed studio items in show 1 being the acrobat performance and the Malachite Challenge gameshow segment (though the vision mixer gives the game away somewhat by using fancy DVE transitions into and out of these as if linking into a pop video). Seemingly the intention was to keep the pace up by avoiding the need to pre-record unless absolutely necessary, so we don't actually see anyone "particulating" onto Parallel 9 from Earth at this stage. The fairly ponderous filmed items from the first series were also dropped.
A phone-in competition was held which for the first time justified the progamme being live, since all previous viewer interaction had been solicited by post. The pre-recorded message when ringing in was in fact provided by David Claridge as Brian the Dinosaur, as my sister and I discovered to our delight when entering.
The "Malachite Challenge" game segement was a development of the assault course sequence featured at the end of series 1's Parallel Playback, taking the idea further by going around the entire planet set. Stephen Hope-Wynne, who as the Tope played a big part in the segment, recalls: "A gameshow idea was brought in big-time on series 2 and a lot of energy expended on it as a thrilling bit of interactive audience fun to attempt at a Crystal Maze type thing."
It was indeed a major part of the first programme, forming a big part of the trailer and running for ten whole minutes, and provides a great opportunity to see the new set which has been built around the new feature. The only problem is that with the challenges involved between the running about being fairly slow and quite pedestrian physical games it's not that interesting to watch, and despite being a pre-record the collecting of "clues" is riddled with mistakes (even admonishing one of the contestants at one point). The slide, ball pond and climbing net also dominate the set for the sake of a few seconds' use on screen, making the alien planet look more like a soft play centre. Despite the evident effort involved the Malachite Challenge was scrapped entirely after one programme, and viewers visiting the planet - a key part of the format since the launch - was never a regular part of the show again.
Richard Norton recalls the fallout. "They ended up ditching this because it was too convoluted. I remember the actors were struggling with that and the fact that they had to communicate what has just happened with the game. There were no rules that were explained or laid out, it just sort of happened. A lot of very pedestrian explaining that had to be done. I remember that being one of the first production meetings, saying we need to get out of that explaining mode. Then the actors saying the script they were learning was about explaining stuff rather than being the character and interacting. The guests were like “I’ve no idea what’s happening here”, great to have the guests on the backfoot though. I remember them switching ideas so quickly that it was hard to get your head around. I can’t imagine what it was like for the set builders. “All of a sudden we’re doing what?”. It was changing constantly. But it was a good laugh."
Amongst those guests on show 1 were Sylvester McCoy, unlike many others completely at home and turning in a superb appearance seemingly for no reason other than 1993 was the 30th anniversary of Doctor Who. Sylvester starred in Apartness, the play directed by series 1's Kevin Short which formed the occasion for Parallel 9's own 30th anniversary celebration. Kevin was kind enough to introduce me to Sylvester following the performance, who patiently listened to us both trying to explain what the show was but claimed to never have heard of it. It took a moment before I remembered and reminded him... you were on it!
The show ends with Zarb accepting this week's research report and the cast and guests dancing around the control room in celebration for well over a minute - an underrun that Richard Norton was also instructed to assist with. "I remember that! I can actually remember them coming to me and saying “stretch, stretch, stretch” and I was like “I have totally run out of gas and stuff to say". Their stuff was so scripted and to time, which I thought was so difficult for them, and to anticipate how long that would take, particularly once the adrenaline kicks in and things speed up, I found quite a lot of the time them coming back to me to fill a bit because things had gone quicker than they thought they would. Or things had lasted a lot longer - they couldn’t get them out of the ballpit to see the Tope or whatever, then all of a sudden it was 'we’re out of time, can you quickly do the competition again, forget that bit, and onto this!' " The credits roll over more studio antics and an extended instrumental of the theme tune. This format would continue until around halfway through the series before it was decided to use a pop video under the credits instead.
Norton recalls the impact this first transmission had on him. "I didn’t have any real presenting experience when I started. It was extremely nerve-wracking. It was the most stressful moment of my professional career doing that first episode. We built up over about a couple of weeks of rehearsing and building some content before the first episode. Everything went really well with the pilot - I was kind of given free reign to be as nutty or anarchic as I wanted to be. Then all of a sudden when it got real there was a lot of other stuff that had to be done that I wasn’t expecting, like the competition stuff, the phoning in, terms and conditions, people speaking in your ear, that sort of thing I struggled with. I remember the buildup. We stayed in a hotel somewhere out by Pinewood and you’d be on set from 5am before going on air at 9. I remember the adrenaline was just so high. Afterwards we got through the first show, and I remember everyone going to the bar at Pinewood so everyone could just breath a sigh of relief, and I felt buzzing. I was driving home along the A40 into London and feeling the fatigue start to hit. I went home to my flat in London, fell asleep on my bed about lunchtime, I woke up at 7am the next day! I was that exhausted! I’ve never experienced anything like it. I thought “wow, there is so much more to this than I expected." "
Show 2 - tx 01/05/03, 0900-1055 Another cosmic edition of the series that takes you out of this world, mixing dramatic adventure on a fantasy planet. This week's guests include singer Louie Louie and the new star of the West End musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Darren Day. Brian the Dinosaur causes comic chaos while Zee and Kovan help Mercator sort out events at Mission Control.
Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Mercator, or deliver your knowledge in person, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv. PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
Note the addition of "Earthbase" to the contact address from this week. Richard Norton recalls a particular challenge around the format: "The guests were my favourite bit as well, meeting Bill Oddie, Colin Jackson, various other people - that bit I loved, but I wasn’t allowed to interview them because they had to save all the interview questions for when they were up on the planet!"
Show 3 - tx 08/05/93, 0900-1055 Another edition of the series that mixes dramatic adventure on a fantasy planet with star guests, fun, cartoons, competitions and music. Today, there's magic from Paul Zenon of Tricks'n'Tracks (Thursdays at 4.30pm), a visit from the Thunderbirds puppets and music with new videos from Janet Jackson and Girlfriend.
With Richard Norton. Producer Michael Kerrigan Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Mercator, or deliver your knowledge in person, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W12 8ZZ.
The Saturday morning show having a trail often live from the studio at the end of Friday's Children's BBC was a tradition spanning the best part of twenty years, but had been eschewed by Parallel 9's first series presumably to remain faithful to the format. From series 2, this was no longer a concern. Following a rather strangled Eurovision-based apology from Toby Anstis is show 3's promo:
Look out for Brian clutching his secret box and mention of Lucinda Cowden's first appearance, best known as Melanie from Neighbours. Cowden turned in a terrific performance pleasingly showing some real anger at her harrassment by Brian, and it clearly did not go unnoticed by Roach & Partners. I'm undecided if this trail was actually live but some of the back-and-forth seems too well-timed for it not to be. Definitely pre-recorded was the trail in the traditional live linkup around 8.30am the following morning because it was used again the week after, so this was potentially devised as a way of avoiding disrupting pre-show rehearsals. Brian does the honours again, presumably because he looked the same every week. From my cassette of clips from that morning:
"Eh up Toby in that weird little Broom Cupboard! Brian here, just intefering to make sure you and your time-travelling pals will be tuned into Parallel 9 for another galaxy of stars. Later - at 9 o'clock. Cup o'tea?"
Without wanting to overanalyse (but hey, that's what I'm here for) the references to "time-travelling" are slightly odd given meddling with time was most definitely not the format this series. From this Saturday Parallel 9 would again be in direct competition with Gimme 5 over on ITV, this time extended until the end of August (though with three weeks off for coverage of the British Lions rugby tour).
Show 4 - tx 15/05/93, 0900-1055 Another cosmic edition of the series that takes you out of this world, mixing dramatic adventure on a fantasy planet with star guests, fun, cartoons, competitions and music. Today: Mercator and crew are convinced that the Flintstones are an accurate picture of life on earth, and Brian the Dinosaur thinks he is running the planet.
Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Mercator. or deliver your knowledge in person, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
A recording I have of the closing theme on cassette reveals that the Magic Roundabout characters visited this week with the narrator butting at various points throughout the show much to everyone's frustration.
By now Richard Norton was addressing his confidence presenting live TV. "I got some coaching as I felt like I wasn’t up to scratch as a presenter from a guy called Peter Settelen who coached Princess Diana in public speaking, so he had a lot of experience in getting people to talk to the camera in an informal way, be more casual and relaxed, and be themselves. He taught me some techniques. With that confidence I came back and week on week I found I was getting stronger."
Show 5 - tx 22/05/03, 0900-1055 Another edition of the series that takes you out of this world, mixing adventure on a fantasy planet with star guests, cartoons, competitions and music. Today: what is the secret that Kovan finds in the pool? Richard thinks Brian the Dinosaur is off his planet, and the aliens are watching Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne, Richard Norton and Christopher Wild. Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Mercator, or deliver your knowledge in person, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv. PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
The first time the entire cast gets a credit in Radio Times. Richard Norton recalls working with them: "All the actors were great fun. I got on well with everyone. I spent most of the week in with the researchers trying to plan all the stories and the scripts. I spent at least the mornings during the week with them. I had a lot of help with a guy called John Bullivant who was a researcher at the time, and he helped me with some of the script writing."
Show 6 - tx 29/05/93, 0900-1055 Another edition of the series that takes you out of this world, with star guests, cartoons, competitions and music. Today: guest Julia Sawalha talks about young film-makers; top prizes in an extra special competition; cartoon fun as the aliens dig into The Flintstones; guests include an invasion of Richard's earthbase by monster trucks.
Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Mercator, or deliver your knowledge in person, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
Richard Norton recalls this episode as one of his favourites. "There were a couple of episodes I can’t find on my old VHSes and I’d really like to see. There was one where I entered on a monster truck, which comes over the sand dunes, but we kind of wheelied into the sand dunes and I jumped out and started presenting the show and rang into the caravan. The whole thing was around these stunt cars who were doing a show at Wembley."
Patrick Moore gets no mention in the billing but appeared on this show no doubt having a whale of a time playing along with the format as he often did on children's TV. My audio recording reveals he played along on the xylophone to the closing theme.
Show 7 - tx 05/06/93, 0900-1052 In today's edition of the series that takes you out of this world, Tim Whitnall arrives to do some research for his part as an alien in ITV's Mike and Angelo. Top club comic Mickey Hutton is also on hand with tips on how to be funny and gives Kovan advice on lightening up his character. Meanwhile, between his usual bouts of mischief, agony dinosaur Brian answers more pets' letters in Pets' Problem Corner and helps Peter Simon from BBCtv's Star Pets in his attempt to recruit talented animals. The music is provided by Lisa Stansfield and the WWF, who perform in their latest videos. Plus a report on roller-blading, Britain's latest craze, and more cartoon capers from The Flintstones and Bugs Bunny.
With David Claridge , Karl Collins , Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne, Richard Norton and Christopher Wild.
Series producers Michael Kerrigan and Claire Winyard A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W12 8ZZ.
Note the change to the contact message from this week removing most of the blurb used since series 1 that no longer really matched the format.
Stephen Hope-Wynne recalls "this series saw considerable changes, evaluations, directors, producers" and here's where it began. Despite the billing one half of the Producer/Director team Michael Kerrigan has left the series. Production paperwork shows that this programme was produced by none other than series creator Jill Roach herself, her name hastily scribbled into the box.
According to the paperwork Lucinda Cowden made her second appearance in seven shows this week, described as "Neighbours actress who drops in to see Richard on the show", which you suspect wasn't entirely coincidental.
Show 8 - tx 12/06/93, 0900-1030 Today's edition of the cosmic series asks: what kind of wildlife exists in the Zarbian world? Richard Norton sends an expert to the planet to find out. Brian the Dinosaur is in Pets' Problem Corner, while Zee puts a star guest through Cosmic Charisma. Plus cartoon fun from Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope -Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Producer Claire Winyard Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: if you want to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
The changes continue with (again in contrast to the billing) Billy Macqueen installed as the new Producer. Macqueen had created and produced Ghost Train, the not dissimilar format mashing together scifi-themed dramatic segements with Saturday morning editorial features which aired on ITV between 1989 and 1991, so was perhaps the ideal candidate to take on Parallel 9. In not unrelated news, after eight shows this was the final programme to be fronted by Richard Norton, who picks up the story.
This example of the signed photo sent out to viewers is without Norton's signature, suggesting it was issued shortly after his departure but before a new card had been produced.
"Although I was contracted for 22 episodes I only did 8. There was a hiccup in the middle with producers, and I think Peter Murphy left. I think there was a falling out among the higher ranks, and they weren’t getting the ratings they wanted, so there was this kind of push for it to perform...I remember having a meeting with Roach & Partners and I wanted to know what they wanted to do long term, and I got the impression I wasn’t part of that. They wanted to bring people in and try different people out, and I was like “OK well I’ve found it hard enough to get the confidence to be at this point now, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it if you’re going to do that and push me in and out. I said I’d rather have a clean break and if you bring someone else in and do something different that’s fine, but I don’t want to be used as a buffer for when you change someone else over, I’d find that tricky.” I do think it was unfortunate because I do think I’d got to a point where I was comfortable with it, and I think I was doing quite a good job by the end of it. For me it was just a shame it didn’t last as long for me that I would have liked. I haven’t ventured forth into presenting since as a career. I was maybe a little bit shell-shocked from that!"
Despite the way it ended, Richard is impressively positive about the experience. "It was a great learning experience for me. I valued it, it’s given me a lot of confidence when I was then doing interviews with people and respecting what other people do in that line of work, [and] it boosted my expectations of what I could do."
Show 9 - tx 19/06/93, 0900-1052 In today's edition of the cosmic series, there's interplanetary basketball and Richard Norton awaits some special guests from Australia in the Earthbase. Meanwhile on the planet, Brian the Dinosaur embarks on a career as an eco-detective, Kovan unravels new mysteries from the pool and Mercator and Zee get an urgent message from the Zarbian High Command. Plus music and cartoon action.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild. Producers Lome Magory, Claire Winyard
Executive producer Peter Murphy A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9 write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
Below is some of the only footage I have kept of this series on VHS - a random collection of clips left over after other things were recorded on top of it.
Lucinda Cowden made her debut as solo host from this edition much to her own surprise: "I came in as a guest when fellow Neighbours actor Richard Norton was hosting. It wasn’t an easy gig with lots of live crosses and Rich wasn’t enjoying it, so at first they asked me to co-host with him which I thought would be fun but when I got to rehearsal it was just me! Which was a bit of a shock and made it tricky for Richard and my friendship for a while to be honest. I had no idea what I was doing but had a fantastic floor manager Michael Jelves who would magically get me through the first couple of shows till I got more confident. It was fun once I got a handle on it!"
It is likely this image, as published in Radio Times a few weeks later, was used for the new signed photo sent to viewers
Norton was also expecting to be co-presenting until it was agreed he would part company with the programme. "That’s what I thought was going to happen as well. I did one or two episodes with Lucinda when she came in as a guest and kind of stuck with me for a bit, and then they flipped it because a new director came in, and everything changed. We’re actually really good mates still. Funnily enough in the UK we’ve ended up working together quite often, doing plays together and being cast in stuff, so I think we’d have done a really good job together personally. But stuff happens, producers make decisions because they have to, you know what it’s like. People’s arms are twisted, things are forced, that’s what happens. It’s a cutthroat industry!"
In the narrative of the show, Lucinda discovers a postcard from Richard letting her know that he can't do the show this week as he has measles but despite saying he "should be well enough to do the Bob Hoskins interview next week", Norton was never mentioned on screen again. So, did Richard get struck down with measles? You can probably guess: "That was basically a lie." The fictional measles however appears to have particulated up to Parallel 9 to infect both Mercator and the Tope. This Twitter fan account for Alexander Siddig has some images from the Deep Space Nine star's appearance on this show to promote the UK airing of the series that would begin later that summer on Sky 1. Also on the programme this week was guest Neneh Cherry, which Lucinda tells me was one of her favourite guests over her time presenting Parallel 9.
Another change instigated was a new writer for the show. Peter Corey, well-known as the author of the popular series of 1990s children's books "Coping With..." was credited as "Series Writer" for the first eight shows. This week Mark Billingham took over as "Storyline Writer". At the time Billingham was a familiar face on children's TV, appearing in Maid Marian and her Merry Men and What's That Noise amongst others. He was also building a career as a writer, and it was in this capacity he was engaged to work on Parallel 9. The improvisation and cast contributions of the previous series were now long gone. Cowden recalls "I had no input into the planet storylines - they were heavily plotted and scripted"
Show 10 - tx 26/06/93, 0900-1055 In today's edition of the cosmic series, it's a very special day for Brian the Dinosaur as everyone goes big on dinosaurs. From earthbase to planet: there are model dinosaurs, movie dinosaurs, museum dinosaurs, and the arrival of a little pink dinosaur. Lucinda Cowden invites the guest stars to go on an intergalactic dinosaur hunt, with comic results involving Mercator and the crew in an awfully big adventure.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild. Producers Lome Magory, Claire Winyard
Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv. PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
Here's the promo for this week's show that aired on Friday 25th June at about 5.30pm on BBC1. This was Lucinda's second show so the trail depicts her getting to grips with sending items up to the planet.
This week saw an addition to the cast. Since show 1 Brian had been protecting a box with secret contents, later revealed to be an egg. This week it hatched live on air revealing a baby dinosaur that was apparently Brian's little brother. As seen in the previous week's clips, a viewer's competition held to name the new addition in anticipation of the hatching saw the somewhat unlikely winner of "Derek", or "Deggit" as he himself would say. To Brian's disgust his new baby brother referred to him as "Mama", hated heavy metal and was a big fan of Take That. Mercator would also find himself addressed as "Tata".
Derek did not receive a credit, but production paperwork reveals he was operated by Lesley Claridge. This piece suggests that Lesley was David Claridge's wife, and the Brian/Derek partnership was a fairly obvious recreation of the Roland Rat/Kevin the Gerbil duo from some years previously.
Show 11 - tx 03/07/93, 0900-1052 In today's edition of the cosmic series, pop group East 17 and singer Dannii Minogue plan a party on Parallel 9. They are joined by Brian the Dinosaur, Zee, Mercator, and Kovan and co in the intergalactic danceathon of the century. Plus cartoon fun with Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 128ZZ.
A decent chunk from this edition opens with a brief snatch of the Tope's usual morning menu. Stephen Hope-Wynne recalls "my character used to open the show every week with a monologue to camera to tell the audience the forward refs. I remember the glorious Julie Sykes, Studio Floor Manager, counting down my opening scene at the top of one show with "on air in 5 - 4 - 3 -. only 7 million viewers" - RED LIGHT! Having a lot of characters and words to remember in a monologue while the other scene was being set up and could not read any autocue so a big memory job. We had a fire on one day which I did not realise and, apparently, I nearly sat it out in my booth, but Julie rushed back in to get me out until it all got made safe and the studio floor reopened. My own fault as I'd turned off the sound on my cans for a moment when the evacuation was given. Lots of love for Julie."
The focus of this upload is the appearance of Kim Wilde, who guests without pointing out she'd been to the planet before fourteen months previously when it looked rather different. The plot of this edition appears to be a Live Aid-style fundraiser called "Planet Aid" to head off the sale of Parallel 9, though Wilde is put off taking part by prehistoric sex-pest Brian. Also here is a nice little regular feature at this point where guests would contribute memorable personal items for a time capsule fired into space to achieve "intergalactic immortality".
Show 12 - tx 10/07/93, 0900-1052 In today's edition of the cosmic series: the baby dinosaur loves exploring P9 but unfortunately gets stuck on the Tope and transferred to Earth. Zee realises the baby dino has gone missing and traces his footprints down to Earth. Will she rescue him in time? Down at the P9 Earthbase, Lucinda tries to send up all the usual Earth info: Bugs Bunny, Flintstones, pop videos and any other research material she can find.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. whte to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
Dannii Minogue (another guest making a return visit to the planet) was billed to appear the previous week but Derek's presence in the caravan, breaking the rules established just 3 months earlier, points to this clip of her appearance being from the 10th July edition instead. Continuing the changes, Lucinda appears to be redecorating the Earthbase (and ending up looking like the "How Do You Do Fellow Kids" meme). Minogue appears on "In Bed With Mi' Dinosaur" before becoming the latest victim of the Brian school of seduction.
Show 13 - tx 17/07/93, 0900-1055 In today's edition of the cosmic series: Kovan goes to Earth to research a top-secret project while Lucinda particulates herself to Parallel 9. Brian still can't believe that his baby brother hates all heavy-metal music. Mercator and Zee are worried by Zarb HQ's reaction to the latest research documents. Could they close P9 down?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen
A Roach production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv. PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
I've not idea whether the billed two-way travel actually happened but if it did, it shows further considerable breaking of the format rules. Where are the Time Barons when you need them?
Show 14 - tx 24/07/93, 0900-1052 In today's edition of the cosmic series, the Tope goes haywire and the whole planet begins to go to pieces. Every system starts to break down, including transportation - which explains why two innocent strangers mysteriously materialise on the planet! Who is responsible for the sabotage - and why are the new arrivals so keen to stay?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope -Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv. PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
Banner photo at the top of the Radio Times daytime listings for the 24th July. The caption is strangely coy about naming Lucinda and also has misinterpretted the billing to assume Brian and Derek are the new arrivals...
I have a lot of this show recorded on a C90. I don't know why, but as with the previous year the start of the school summer holidays possibly had something to do with it. So whilst you can't see it I can tell you is that the billing above was fairly accurate. The chaos included Brian and Kovan having a body swap (resulting in both doing rather good impressions of the other) and Zee upon attempting to visit the Earthbase (and breaking the rules yet again!) being sent into something similar to "nether space" almost exactly a year earlier. The two strangers mentioned in the billing above were mechanics apparently sent to fix the Tope, but were not particularly good at it due to their ulterior motives. They were played by The Two Marks, a comedy duo who featured a lot on children's TV during the late 80s and early 90s including on (you've guessed it!) Ghost Train. One Mark of the duo was future comedy legend Mark Heap, who would get even closer to the Tope's inner workings the following year.
Guests include Vanessa-Mae (here aged just 14 and using her full name Vanessa-Mae Nicholson) helping Zee with her research into child stars (and whose violin is promptly broken by The Two Marks) and "TV Earth guest and DJ" Anthony McPartlin in the final summer where he was allowed to appear anywhere without Declan Donnelly by his side. Ultimately Derek saved the day by simply switching the Tope off and on again which revealed the real villain behind the chaos: Xorgon, who was a recurring baddie this season. More on him later...
Show 15 - tx 31/07/93, 0900-1055 Cosmic series. Zee is celebrating her 200th birthday, which involves a strange physical transformation. The rest of the crew are busy planning birthday surprises and squabbling over presents. Meanwhile, Brian the Dinosaur decides it's time to take a trip to Earth. Who will win the competition to have Brian and baby Derek as their guests?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope -Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: tosend a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv. PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
This clip mostly consists of a location VT with Take That meeting a viewer, but it's worth mentioning that despite turning up to the opening of an envelope in the early 1990s the 'That never actually appeared live on Parallel 9. Here is Mark in the broom cupboard plugging their video (but not the band) being on the first series, there's the competition above, and there's also (spoilers) a similar one in the final series. Maybe they couldn't be arsed to go to Pinewood?
Show 16 - tx 07/08/93, 0900-1052 The crew decides there's more to life than data, statistics and research, in this week's edition of the cosmic series. Instead, they immerse themselves in the world of fine arts. Mercator becomes a painter, Zee learns ballet dancing and Kovan becomes a performance poet.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen
A Roach production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv. PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
Show 17 - tx 14/08/93, 0900-1047 How will Mercator cope when his parents come to visit? Will his position as Commander survive a barrage of baby photos and questions about when he's going to settle down? Baby dinosaur Derek wants everyone to meet his special friend Jim Genie - the crew just think he's another imaginary friend.
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv. PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
The Jim Genie computer games slot ("A-lad-in a console" - geddit?) mentioned here was a character played by a future star, as recalled by Stephen Hope-Wynne. "Jim Genie was a brilliant young researcher called Jason Bradbury who smashed the ceilings and became a brilliant innovator of show ideas such as the Gadget Show." Bradbury made a number of on-screen cameos, but his regular role of Jim Genie was recalled in this tweet from February 2021:
Show 18 - tx 21/08/93, 0900-1027 Mercator and his crew make preparations for the Zarbian royal visit. Unfortunately, all does not go to plan. Has Mercator blown his chances of a knighthood?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild. Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
And the Zarbian Queen is indeed mentioned in the Friday 20th August promo for the show. Hang on - wouldn't that be Mercator 1.0's Mum?! This also shows Christopher Wild has had a fairly drastic haircut at some point over the summer. Back in the Broom Cupboard, Philippa Forrester loses out on the job that was so obviously supposed to be hers. Sorry, I've still not got over that miscarriage of justice.
Show 19 - tx 28/08/93, 0900-1055 Kovan invents a machine that makes dreams come true. Will Zee's wish to meet intergalactic plumbers X and Y be fulfilled? Could Brian make it back down to Earth? Can Mercator wish the Watcher away? And will Kovan succeed in inventing a pinball game to be played over the telephone?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge , Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild. Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9. write to P9 Earthbase, BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
Parallel 9 Pinball was the show's belated take on the Going Live! computer game. Think Nip The Squid, Feed The Dog and the rest, and was as far as I know the first time the programme had put callers on air. It'd be well-received enough to be carried over to series 3, though it appears far less visually convincing than a similar pinball game I was playing at the time on my Amiga 1200!
Show 20 - tx 04/09/93, 0900-1012 All the crew members have to enter the annual intergalactic song competition. Mercator, accompanied by guitar, sings a love song; Zee becomes a cowgirl; Kovan croons; and Brian is predictably metallic. Will any of them win?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv, PO Box 9000. London W 12 8ZZ.
The annual short show due to The Cricket spoiling everyone's Saturday. Once again with impeccable timing, ITV's flagship Saturday morning show What's Up Doc returned for a second series today. The only other thing I know about this show is that there was no Friday promo as part of subterfuge in NC1 to instead screen an old clip of the departing Andi Peters when he looked slightly different.
Show 21 - tx 11/09/93, 0900-1055 It's the Festival of Sport and Gwenthrax returns as a Zarbian sports instructor to put Linford Christie , Colin Jackson and Darcey Bussell through their paces with the rest of the crew. And who will be the lucky pinball contestant?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
EARTH-KNOWLEDGE: to send a message to Parallel 9, write to P9 Earthbase. BBCtv, PO Box 9000, London W 12 8ZZ.
Show 22 - tx 18/09/93, 0900-1055 Last in the cosmic series. An alien beauty contest forms the backdrop to the final showdown between Mercator and Xorgon. Who will win?
With David Claridge, Karl Collins, Lucinda Cowden, Frances Dodge, Stephen Hope-Wynne and Christopher Wild.
Series director Claire Winyard Series producer Billy Macqueen A Roach and Partners production for BBCtv
The clip above shows Lucinda interviewing fellow Neighbours alumnus Jason Donovan. Seen here at the absolute fag-end of his original period of fame he was promoting what would be his final single to chart in the UK, reaching the giddy heights of number 41. And, as I slipped a tape in right at the end seemingly for old time's sake, here are the final few seconds of the series. Once again, the run ended on something off a cliffhanger.
The show ended with the Parallel 9ers being seemingly relocated to another research planet, but the feed to the Earthbase cuts out before Lucinda can find out where they're heading to.
Although ending with a similar form of finality to series 1 - and it's interesting how not one of the on-screen cast is given any kind of plot reassurance they'd be returning - it's a far less dark ending than a year earlier, and one that would eventually get a resolution (of sorts) in series 3. Note also Kate Lonergan in character as Maid Marian visiting the show, which turned out to be a significant visit when series 3 was cast...
Xorgon listed in the billing above was a recurring villain this series, and the voice may have been familiar even if the face wasn't. "The Tope seemed to be a little less prominent possibly because they gave me the chance to invent and play umpteen impromptu characters including one with a prosthetic silicone mask" says Stephen Hope-Wynne. "On one show I think I would play about 6 characters which was a make-up and quick change challenge as it became more live and a little wild. The silicone glue never set and always ran under my eyelids which was tricky for reading and eyesight through the series."
The end of the series marked the last appearance of Hope-Wynne as the voice of the Tope, severing the final cast link with series 1. "I was asked to join the cast for series 3. Sadly and stupidly I gave it up amid other influences in life and chose to pursue other projects which I kind of regret with curiosity as to what may have emerged if I had held onto the fuselage as it hurtled at increasing warp-speed. I should have stayed on for the final series just to see if I could have crossed over as a presenter so to create my own strands and programme ideas. I remember feeling very privileged to be allowed on this ship and how enthralling it was to watch the A/B screens as an interview was being conducted live and a scene being prepared and rehearsed live simultaneously on the same studio floor in different caves, lounges, or architectural hovels in the ornate sci-fi set that would blast us all with lights, colours and sounds."
Stephen Hope-Wynne: the departing face-behind-the-voice of the Tope
"On looking back I realise this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a guest among great and brilliant TV professionals at the top of their game. I am deeply grateful to the cast and the myriad of researchers, designers, make-up (Lisa Cavalli-Green), sound, light and arts departments, directors (Claire Winyard, Michael Kerrigan, Graham Williams, Simon Staffurth) who fabricated a stunning and memorable BBC entertainment product. It was jolly hard work yet an absolute privilege to be within and everyone there, at any time, regardless of which series, was brilliant at their work. A hugely exciting time." As well as Stephen's departure, Chistopher Wild and Frances Dodge would not return as Mercator and Zee the following year. Finally Billy MacQueen would not return as Producer in 1994 having taken charge of another troubled series midway through its run a few months earlier, but more on that next time....
And so ended the second series of Parallel 9. Did the revamp work? Despite my attachment to series 1 I've enjoyed looking back at this second run a lot more than I expected. It was a spirited attempt to rework the format and make it more accessible for casual viewers to jump onto whilst retaining the core concept. We'll gloss over the fact that the "Earth research" Zarb now shows such enthusiasm for is exactly what Mercator spent the previous summer imprisoned for! Whether the new conceit worked with the wider audience is another question, as there were clearly still concerns with its performance. This once again saw the programme evolving whilst on air, this time with personell changes both in front of as well as behind the camera.
Richard Norton believes that the programme should have been left alone. "It was so unique, and obviously had its following of people who really enjoyed it...I think it was a bit too out there for the Beeb. I think they needed to have faith in the original idea more. That is part of the trouble with people moving around, directors changing…I think that was more about the BBC putting pressure on the production company to say “we want it to be more like this” and feeding into it to change it, when they didn’t really need to - they just needed to trust it and trust the people who were doing it, and have good script writing." Though less drastic, there would be further evolution when the show moved into third and final incarnation.
Despite the way it ended for him, Norton is proud of his association with the show. "It was a really fun format, and it’s nice that someone like yourself is revisiting it. Kids really embrace that kind of other wordlyness really. As a kid you make that step to accept that as a format as it’s another world, and it looks like another world, and this has happened and they’re telling me this has happened so I’ll buy into it on a Saturday morning. It wasn’t like Going Live! or anything else, that was the nice thing about it. It was a really interesting experience and I was quite proud to be part of something so different."
Huge thanks to Richard Norton, Lucinda Cowden, Stephen Hope-Wynne, Paul K. Joyce and Kevin Short for generously sharing their experiences of working on the series. Thanks are also due to Robin Blamires, Dr. J Wallace, Paul R Jackson, Steve Williams and Russell Wright for their assistance with other details.
Thanks to YouTube users TV Time Machine, VHS Video Vault, Sticky tape 'n' rust, jeyem archives, Fitmom Lennie, Beckyb1976 and Neil Miles for use of their footage, and Instagram user bloomurder for the second example of the signed photo.
Coming in part 5 - the third Mercator, a little green man and a drastic new set design: Parallel 9's story concludes with series 3.
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