Mike and Angelo S3E1 (1990) - FULL EPISODE

The New Angelo. Angelo is unwell - very unwell. At first it seems to be just a few of his quirks being more pronounced than usual, but before too long, it becomes clear that it may be far more serious than that. This episode was originally broadcast on Wednesday, 14th November, 1990, and stop reading here if you've no idea how the story is resolved. MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. To cut a long story short, original Angelo actor Tyler Butterworth had decided to leave the show, but agreed to one last appearance to enable a smooth transition to new Angelo actor Tim Whitnall. And, so, Angelo is essentially on the verge of death when he transforms into his new self. I'm tempted to use the word "regeneration" here, but despite the similarities, I gather that Doctor Who wasn't really the inspiration at all - it seems that E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was in the back of the writers' minds from the very inception of the programme. (That's where the title of the show comes from - E.T. having ripped off Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam's finger touch signifying the meeting of two worlds, which is the fundamental premise of Mike and Angelo.) They just used the death and resurrection as an opportunity to change actors in between, and then carried on without further explanation. It's amazing how bleak a children's sitcom can get: as far as Mike and his mum are concerned, Angelo *is* actually dead, and they react to the tragedy accordingly. The peril is real, and there's only sporadic comic relief. I wonder whether they'd get away with going to such depths of despair nowadays. On a happier note, there's some nice Children's ITV continuity with Jeanne Downs and Scally at the beginning and end, plus I've left in some ads at the start to help boost that retro flavour. The first one in particular is really quite something. Look out also for a promo for Sea Dragon - a CITV show I seem to have no memory of whatsoever. Anyone? Many thanks as always to Lee for providing this recording. (This is a transfer from an old videotape, so please don't expect full HD quality. To the best of my knowledge, this material is not available commercially anywhere in the world, and has been uploaded for its historic interest. That said, if you are a copyright holder and object, please don't hesitate to contact me.)