''Mr. Microchip'' is a live-action children's television series that focused on the world of

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

and the (then) relatively new home computer trend of the early 1980s. Several 8-bit home computers of the era were seen in the show, including the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

, Commodore,

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

and Tandy series. It was originally broadcast in Canada on the CBC, between 1983 and 1985, and later shown in the U.K., Australia and South Africa.

Production

The show was produced by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

animation company,

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

, whom at the time had also produced some of its first television series: '' Inspector Gadget'', ''

20 Minute Workout ''20 Minute Workout'' is a Canadian-produced aerobics-based television program that ran from 1983 to 1984, in which "a bevy of beautiful girls" demonstrated exercise on a rotating platform. Series background ''20 Minute Workout'' was created by ...

'' and ''

The Edison Twins ''The Edison Twins'' is a Canadian children's television program which ran for six seasons on CBC Television from March 3, 1984 to December 17, 1986. The Disney Channel also picked up the rights in the mid-1980s. Six seasons were produced by Nelva ...

''. A total of thirteen episodes were produced. The original scripts were later re-used to produce the same thirteen episodes in French, using different actors, as a show titled ''M. Micropuce''. All twenty-six episodes were produced during the summer of 1982 through the fall of 1984. The series was created by Skip Lumley and Michael Hirsh, Nelvana and Ventura Pictures, produced by Michael Hirsh and directed by Peter Jennings. Most of the computer hardware, software and electronics in the show were donated by various companies, looking to promote their products at the time. To date, the show has not been released on home video or DVD.

Synopsis

Aimed at school students aged nine to fifteen, and designed to teach children basic knowledge about computers. It featured Skip Lumley, an adult computer consultant, and his two neighbours, twelve-year-old Stevie Grosfield and his ten-year-old sister Dayna Simon. Visiting Skip's workshop, Stevie and Dayna learned about computers through hands-on demonstrations and clear, analogy-filled explanations.Synopsis (slightly modified) taken fro

Retrieved May 25, 2006. The trio were accompanied by an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

fantasy computer named Lumley and a robot called Hero.

Episodes (1982-84)

Episode 1 - "Information please"
Episode 2 - "Bits of programming"
Episode 3 - "Memory is made of this"
Episode 4 - "The computer has a code"
Episode 5 - "Problems, problems, problems"
Episode 6 - "You can count on computers"
Episode 7 - "Flights of fancy"
Episode 8 - "A pixel is worth a thousand words"
Episode 9 - "Music on key"
Episode 10 - "Does that compute?"
Episode 11 - "Games computers play"
Episode 12 - "Ask the teacher"
Episode 13 - "Computers don't do windows"

References

1980s Canadian children's television series Television series by Nelvana 1983 Canadian television series debuts 1983 Canadian television series endings {{Canada-kids-tv-prog-stub

Production

Synopsis

Episodes (1982-84)

See also

References