Pugwall (1989 - 1991)
Children's series
42 episodes x 30 minutes
Series synopsis:
Thirteen-year-old Peter Unwin George Wall, otherwise known as Pugwall (Jason Torrens), is an ordinary suburban kid with a big dream – he wants to be in a successful rock band. With his mates Bazza (Troy Beckworth), Orfo (Jay McCormack), Stringbean (Ricky Fleming) and Jenny (Rebecca Blomberg), Pugwall creates a band, the Orange Organics. In each episode the kids play their original music and Pugwall continues his hilarious ongoing battles in the ordinary events of a teenager’s life – friends, school and of course, his family. His mother Supes – short for Superwoman (Louise Hall), father Herohead (Ken James), and annoying younger sister, Marmaloid (Emma Snow) love him very much, but they can make life very difficult sometimes.
Curator’s Notes:
Pugwall was a great hit when it went to air in 1989. Its quirky lead character, Pugwall, was played by the captivating Jason Torrens. It had a stellar support cast including Ken James (Skippy) returning to the screen after a long break, Elspeth Ballantyne as Aunt Annabelle and Maurie Fields as Uncle Harry.
The series was quite original and Pugwall, with his quirky intimate chats to camera is a compelling and at times painful mix of daggyness and cool, fluctuating between the two as so many teenagers do.
The 16 episodes of this first series were followed quickly by a longer second series, Pugwall’s Summer (1991, 26 episodes). Based on the popular Pugwall novels by Margaret Clarke, the hilarious, well-observed and empathetic scripts were written by esteemed writer and actor Alan Hopgood. A newspaper reviewer at the time described Pugwall as a cross between the two Moles, Kylie and Adrian. (The schoolgirl-with-attitude Kylie Mole was an iconic 1980s character played by Mary Anne Fahey in The Comedy Company, and Adrian Mole the fictional teenage angst ridden ‘hero’ of Sue Townsend’s books, beginning with The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982)).
The series’s original music, all written by Peter Moscos, was released by EMI records in conjunction with the series. The band consisted of Pugwall (Jason Torrens) guitar and vocals, Jenny (Rebecca Blomberg) lead vocals, Bazza (Troy Beckworth) keyboard, Orfo (Jay McCormack) drums and Stringbean (Ricky Fleming) bass guitar.
Titles in this series
Pugwall – Hollow Drums 1989
Thirteen-year-old Pugwall (Jason Torrens) is trying to get a band together. The first task is to find Orfo (Jay McCormack) a drum set. Eventually, and by luck, Pugwall and Orfo legitimately buy a great drum set, cheap. Now the band ...
