''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 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 wristwatches became popula ...
. 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 at Dingwall in Scotland in 1947. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead followed by University at Trinity Co ...
and was produced for seven series that aired on
CITV
CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
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 series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'', 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 at Dingwall in Scotland in 1947. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead followed by University at Trinity Co ...
, 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 filmed in and around
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
with the school scenes shot at South
Wilford
Wilford is a village and former civil parish in the Nottingham district in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The village is to the northeast of Clifton, Nottinghamshire, Clifton, southwest of West Bridgford, northwest of Ruddi ...
CofE Primary School in the first four series. These series were produced by Lewis Rudd and directed by David Cobham.
Three 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
Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
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 in
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
.
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, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...
gave him a "magic watch" which could stop 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 school teacher 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
*Bernard Beasley – David Peachey
*Postman –
Jack McKenzie
*Mr John Beasley –
Martin Neil
*Mrs Jane Beasley –
Ruth Hudson
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
*Grandad –
Barry Jackson
*Miss Picot – Perry Neville
*Karen Hewitt –
Phoebe Allen Phoebe or Phœbe may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Phoebe (given name), a list of people, mythological, biblical and fictional characters
* Phoebe (mythology), several Greek mythological figures
* Phoebe, an epithet of Artemi ...
(series 1–3)
*Mr Terrence Hewitt – Philip Childs (series 2–3)
*Mrs Sue Hewitt – Clare Beck (series 1-3)
*George the burglar –
Al Hunter Ashton
Al Hunter Ashton (26 June 1957 – 27 April 2007), born Alan Hunter, was a British actor and script writer.
Life
Hunter was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, and came from a working-class background. Born Alan Hunter (he later changed his name ...
(series 3)
*Lucy Rownham –
Elizabeth Mellor
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ...
(series 3-4)
*Mrs Rownham –
Jaq Croft (series 3)
*Mr Rattle –
Leslie Grantham
Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...
(series 3)
*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 1970s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama.
Career
Griffiths was ...
(series 4)
*Sam Vernon –
Samantha Birch
Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences.
Etymology
Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might ...
(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 Roberts – Ezrah Roberts-Grey
*Nicolette –
Rosie Day
*Ms Yvonne Savage –
Kay Purcell
Kay Purcell (6 December 1963 – 23 December 2020) was an English actress. She was best known for portraying the roles of Cynthia Daggert in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2001–2002), Candice Smilie in the BBC school-based drama series ' ...
*Mr William Steel –
Martin Ball
*Mr Ken Beasley –
Steven Houghton
*Mrs Sonia Beasley –
Amanda Abbington
*Charlie –
Ian Kirkby (series 1)
*Trish – Lily Smith (series 1)
*Danni – Paige Harris (series 1)
*Floyd – Robert Horwell (series 2)
*Andi – Taylor Bourke (series 2)
*Hayley – Katie Pearson (series 2)
*Blake – Freddie Bolt (series 2)
*Jo – Sophie Carrigill (series 2)
Episodes
Home video releases
The whole of the first series and the first six episodes of the second series of the original run of the show were released on VHS shortly after they were first aired aimed at children aged 7 to 12 each with a
U certificate. The third series episode ''Time Share'' has since become available to stream on
BritBox
BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...
and
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...
but this is currently the only commercial release of any of Bernard's Watch.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title
''Bernard's Watch''at memorabletv.com
1997 British television series debuts
2005 British television series endings
1990s British children's television series
1990s time travel television series
2000s British children's television series
2000s time travel television series
British children's fantasy television series
British time travel television series
British English-language television shows
ITV children's television shows
ITV television dramas
Television shows about magic
Television series about children
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows filmed in Nottinghamshire
Television shows produced by Central Independent Television