Bernard's Watch
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''Bernard's Watch'' (informally known as ''Bernard'' in the reboot series) is a British children's drama series about a young boy who could stop time with a magical
pocket watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristw ...
. The show was created by
Andrew Norriss Andrew Norriss (born 1947) is a British children's author and a writer for television. Background Andrew Norriss was born in 1947. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead followed by University at Trinity College Dublin (1966–70) ...
and was produced for seven series that aired on
CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
from 14 November 1997 to 31 March 2005.


History

The concept of the show originally formed the basis of one of the most famous episodes of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'', entitled " A Kind of a Stopwatch", first broadcast in 1963. In 1991, Alexander John Howard conceived of a series based on the same concept but it took six years to get funding. The show eventually began as a single 15-minute episode, however it was suggested it could work as a series. Four more stories were written by creator
Andrew Norriss Andrew Norriss (born 1947) is a British children's author and a writer for television. Background Andrew Norriss was born in 1947. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead followed by University at Trinity College Dublin (1966–70) ...
, who thought, in his own words, "that would be it". However he ended up writing six series. The original series aired from 14 November 1997 to 7 December 2001 and was produced by Central Television. It was written by Norriss, who also wrote the book "Bernard's Watch", a novelisation based on the first three series, which was published in 1999 by Puffin. It was primarily filmed at
South Wilford CofE Primary School Wilford is a village in the city of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. The village is to the northeast of Clifton, southwest of West Bridgford, northwest of Ruddington and southwest of Nottingham city centre. It is at a meander of the Rive ...
,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
. These series were produced by Lewis Rudd and directed by David Cobham. A couple of years after its original run, the show was revived for two more series and included a change to the format and new cast and filming location. The first of the new series was produced by Carlton Television and aired from 6 January to 30 March 2004. The second of the new series, and the seventh and final of the show overall, was renamed ''Bernard'', produced by Granada Yorkshire and aired from 6 January to 31 March 2005. The school scenes were filmed at Kerr Mackie Primary School,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
.


Synopsis


Original series (1997–2001)

The first run told of a young boy called Bernard, played by David Peachey, from Oakwood, Nottinghamshire, who was always late, until a
postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...
gave him a "magic watch" which could stop and rewind time. He soon found out that the postman had magical powers, and that these watches were given to people who needed them. The rules of him keeping his watch were that he must not use it to commit crimes or hurt anyone. Every episode focused on Bernard or someone to whom he'd lent the watch facing a problem or simply doing day-to-day things and trying to sort them out, using the watch.


New series (2004–2005)

The second run was significantly different to the original. According to the final opening sequence, the watch simply flew through Bernard's window. The character of the "postman" did not exist, and Bernard seemed to be the only person in the world who had such a watch. His best friend Nathan knew about the watch. This series revolved mainly around Bernard's school, Pentup Primary, where he'd usually get the better of his bullying schoolteacher Ms Yvonne Savage and a popular girl called Nicolette who is his arch rival.


Novel

As well as the TV series, Andrew Norriss also wrote a novelisation based on the first three series of the show in 1999. In the context of the novel, Bernard received the watch from an elderly aunt, who had received it from her husband who acquired it from an old friend, although they never knew how the friend had obtained the watch as by the time he passed it on he had suffered a stroke and couldn't speak. Unlike in the TV show where using the watch was harmless, the watch has a subtle side-effect on the user in that it uses up the iron molecules in their blood, leaving regular users vulnerable to anaemia requiring them to consume iron supplements on a regular basis, causing Bernard to collapse when he avoids taking the iron-tainted drink provided by his aunt because he didn't like the taste and was unaware of the side-effects of the watch. On a personal note, Bernard is only living with his father, as his mother died before the events of the novel, and Karen is also shown as living with a single parent with her mother having divorced before she was born. At the novel's conclusion, the watch is briefly stolen by a woman who once worked as a housekeeper for Bernard's aunt, but she is captured when the watch runs down and she tries to threaten Bernard for the key. Ill at various points throughout the book, Bernard's aunt dies in the penultimate chapter, but her spirit appears to him after her death to tell him that the true purpose of the watch is for 'learning'. In the final chapter, Bernard uses the watch key on a chain his aunt gave him to wind it back up, Bernard and Karen enjoying the restoration of the watch as Bernard concludes that he has time to learn what she meant by that comment.


Main cast


Original series: 1997–2001

*Narrator –
Liza Goddard Louise Elizabeth Goddard (born 20 January 1950) professionally known as Liza Goddard, is an English television and stage actress, best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Goddard was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire.Before 1 ...
*Bernard Beasley – David Peachey *Postman – Jack McKenzie *Mr John Beasley – Martin Neil *Mrs Jane Beasley – Ruth Hudson *Grandad – Barry Jackson *Karen Hewitt – Phoebe Allen (series 1–5) *Nathan Hewitt – Patrick Ball (series 1–5) *Lucy – Elizabeth Mellor (series 4-5) *American Postman –
Derek Griffiths Derek Griffiths (born 15 July 1946) is a British actor, singer, and voice artist who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama. Career Griffiths was ...
(series 4) *Sam Vernon – Samantha Birch (series 5) *Aunt Rowena –
Victoria Wicks Victoria Wicks (born Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks; 18 April 1959) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Sally Smedley in Channel 4's comedy series ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Mrs. Gideon in ''The Mighty Boosh'' (2004), ...
(series 5)


New series: 2004–05

*Bernard Beasley – Ryan Watson *Nathan – Ezrah Roberts-Grey *Robbie – Nick Baker *Nicolette Ashbury –
Rosie Day Rosie Jane Day is an English actress, director and writer. She is known for her roles as Mary Hawkins in the Starz series '' Outlander'' and Sarah Jessica Parker's daughter in the comedy film '' All Roads Lead to Rome''. She starred as Tina Pem ...
*Ms Yvonne Savage –
Kay Purcell Kay Purcell (6 December 1963 – 23 December 2020) was an English actress. She was known for her roles as Cynthia Daggert in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2001–2002), Candice Smilie in the school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (20 ...
*Mr Steel –
Martin Ball Martin Ball (born October 10, 1964) is an English theatre and television actor. He was born and grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated in 1992. Career His various theatre ...


Episodes


Media releases

There were several sell-through VHS tapes available of the show, featuring episodes from the first two series, though the publisher has since deleted these.


References


External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0171980, title=Bernard's Watch
Bernard's Watch at memorabletv.com
1997 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 1990s British children's television series 2000s British children's television series ITV children's television shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Central Independent Television Television shows featuring audio description ITV television dramas English-language television shows British children's fantasy television series British time travel television series Television about magic Television series about children