Respect Your Elders: The Making of Parallel 9 - Part 3a

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 two part 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...