Series / Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack was a British children's television comedy-drama series which aired on CBBC in the UK from 1990 until 1993. Each series had its own title, but it's referred to collectively as Uncle Jack for convenience's sake. It came from the same team of Jim Eldridge (writer), Jeremy Swan (producer/director) and Jonathan Cohen (composer) that had previously produced Bad Boyes, with a number of actors appearing in both shows.

Uncle Jack starred former Manfred Mann frontman Paul Jones as Jack Green, a committed environmental activist whose life was one long crusade against plans by The Government or MegaCorp organisations to ruin our planet. In doing so, he became entangled with the intelligence services, as represented by M.I.5, its leader M (Roger Hammond) and delightfully dotty Dorothy, aka Agent Seven (Tricia George), in a vague parody of the James Bond films. He was assisted by his nephew and niece Kate and Michael, and in the final series by another niece, Helen. In each series the Big Bad was the Vixen (Fenella Fielding), a female super-spy and expert marine biologist who planned to exploit her own or others' scientific knowledge to conquer the world.

The series were Uncle Jack and Operation Green (1990);Uncle Jack and the Loch Noch Monster (1991);Uncle Jack and the Dark Side of the Moon (1992) and Uncle Jack and Cleopatra's Mummy (1993).

Uncle Jack provides examples of:

• Accidental Misnaming: When M is holding Jack at gunpoint near the end of the first series.
  M: Mr Green? My name is... immaterial.
  Jack: Oh, how do you do, Mr Immaterial.
• Activist-Fundamentalist Antics: Jack's sister Elizabeth sees his - very public - protests as this and is embarrassed by him. So, initially, is his nephew Michael.
• Adults Are Useless: Hardly any of the adults in this have any idea what's really going on, whether it's Kate and Michael's parents Elizabeth and Edward, the intelligence services, ambassadors, generals or teachers. The only clued-up characters apart from the kids are Jack himself, The Vixen, and in series 1 and 3, Cynthia Birdwood.
• Adventurer Archaeologist: Jack, M and Dorothy find themselves on an archaeological dig in Egypt in series 4.
• Affably Evil: The Vixen is superior, cruel, yet always immaculately polite and charming, even to people she's threatening. She always calls Jack "Mr Green".
• Baker Street Regular: Helen's friend Saleem in series 4 is part of a street gang, and they help Jack search for Cleopatra's treasure. The boys playing the gang get a credit on the final episode.
• Boarding School: Kate goes off to boarding school for series 3, with her friends replacing Michael, and the school is the main setting for the series.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Characters randomly start addressing the camera during series 4.
• Classified Information: The premise of series 1 - Jack has inadvertently stumbled on a secret formula for a gas that dissolves human bones. Not surprisingly, everyone is keen to get their hands on it, including the Vixen.
• Cliffhanger: Each episode (except the last of each series) ends on a cliffhanger.
• Code Name: M, Agent Seven and the Vixen, though we know Agent Seven's real name is Dorothy Greckle.
• Cold Ham: The Vixen. Occasionally she becomes a Large Ham.
• The Ditz: Dorothy.
• Double Agent: M brings the Vixen in as this in series 1, because of her knowledge of biology. She soon turns the situation to advantage and starts working solely for herself, though.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The early episodes of series 1 play out as a very straight children's drama, before the quirky humour sets in.
• Egypt Is Still Ancient: The setting for series 4.
• Embarrassing Animal Suit: Series 4 starts with Jack visiting a museum to research vital information for his trip to Egypt. Only trouble is, he's still dressed as a penguin, having come straight from a demo about Antarctica. And is trying to drive.
• Femme Fatale Spy: Well, it's a children's show, but the Vixen was likely one in her youth.
• Funny Foreigner: Jose Cuervo, a South American would-be revolutionary who works alongside the Vixen in her early schemes, then becomes the caretaker at Kate's school in series 3 and is working in Egypt in series 4. He's played by a pre-Coronation Street Jimmi Harkishin.
• Government Conspiracy: Lies behind the events of series 1.
• Green Aesop: The basis for series 1 and 2 in particular.
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: In trying to discover the secret of Cleopatra's tomb at the climax of series 4, the Vixen manages to pull the pyramid down on herself. She escapes, though.
• Hostile Weather: The Vixen plans to use this in series 3 to blackmail and control humanity, via a Weather-Control Machine. Used in one Cliffhanger against Jack, and in another against a Cabinet Minister by blowing out his window with a lightning bolt.
• Incredibly Obvious Bug: In a vase of flowers on M's desk in the first series.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Jose Cuervo.
• Instrumental Theme Tune: A jolly march by Jonathan Cohen.
• Lethal Eatery: Mustapha Pipi's cafe, the Camel's Breath, in series 4. He assures Jack it is very clean, and starts killing bugs to prove it.
• Master of Disguise: The Vixen. Averted with Dorothy who occasionally dons a Paper-Thin Disguise.
• Meaningful Name: Jack Green. Not only is he a very 'green' person, but a Jack-in-the-Green (or Jack o'the Green) is a traditional character in English May Day celebrations, representing spring, Nature and new life.
• Mummy: Guarding Cleopatra's tomb in series 4.
• National Stereotypes: The British, American and Russian Ambassadors in the first series. The Australians and the Egyptians in the final series.
• No Budget: The final series looks noticeably cheaper than those that came before, with minimal location shooting and the whole of Egypt built in the studio.
• Novelisation: By Jim Eldridge himself.
• Overt Operative: Agent Seven/Dorothy Greckle. Jack is on first name terms with her and doesn't even bother using her codename.
• Previously on…: Each episode begins with a recap, followed by appropriate stills in the opening titles, in the same way Jeremy Swan opened Bad Boyes.
• Pun: Lots, especially as time goes on. "Is M around?" / "Oh, positively circular."
• Punny Name: Miss Fortune in series 3, and Mustapha Pipi in series 4.
• Put on a Bus: Kate and Michael go off to school between series 2 and 3. Kate reappears alone in series 3, but both children are replaced by Helen for series 4.
• Reluctant Retiree: M and Dorothy have been given early retirement from M.I.5. in series 3 and are working at the local weather station near Kate's school. However, in series 4 they have returned to their old roles.
• School Play: A sub-plot throughout series 3 is Kate's school play, with Miss Fortune as Queen Elizabeth I. Even Jack takes a part, and is nearly beheaded by the Vixen at the climax when she replaces Miss Fortune.
• Series Continuity Error: Dorothy's surname was originally Evans but later became Greckle.
• Shout-Out: The opening episode of series 4 references Grange Hill (when Jack is researching 'ancient cereals') and Eldorado. There are even more James Bond references than usual with failed spy Denis Ashington-Smythe, who wears a white tuxedo and bow-tie at every hour of the day, and even wants his orange juice shaken, not stirred. Later in the series the Australians torture M by singing him the themes and reciting plots from soaps such as Home and Away and Neighbours.
• Show Within a Show: While in Egypt, Jack puts on a play about Cleopatra's treasure with the aim of Bluffing the Murderer and bringing in an audience of everyone interested in stealing that treasure. Though, considering it's everyone he's already met, he needn't have bothered.
• Smug Snake: The Vixen.
• Snake Charmer: Saleem, an Egyptian boy who befriends Helen in series 4. He joins her side after her Uncle Jack saves the life of Saleem's pet snake.
• The Sociopath: The Vixen. She has no qualms about using human beings in her experiments and is oblivious to the mass deaths and suffering her plans would cause.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: The Vixen.
• Spy Catsuit: Worn with great style by the middle-aged Fenella Fielding as the Vixen.
• Stock Footage: Shows Jack's journey around (a very studio-bound) Egypt in series 4.
• Stock Ness Monster: The premise of series 2. It's not Loch Ness but Loch Noch, which is said to have its own resident monster. In fact, it's human beings that have mutated as a result of contact with the water of the loch, which has been contaminated by toxic waste.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Jack's niece Helen replaces Kate and Michael as the main child character in series 4, allowing the series still to be called Uncle Jack.
• That Reminds Me of a Song: About Once a Season, Paul Jones as Uncle Jack would get the chance to sing and/or play the harmonica. This had little or no relevance to the plot.
• The '90s: Helen's pink jacket, enormous hair and bum bag in series 4.
• Three Cameras: Or maybe four, at the BBC. Multi-camera is used throughout.
• Toxic Waste Can Do Anything: It's contaminating Loch Noch in series 2, and causing human beings to mutate into hideous monsters, including M. The Vixen plans to try it on Jack.
• Treasure Hunt Episode: Practically every character is looking for Cleopatra's treasure in series 4, in contrast to the environmental plots of previous series.
• Vacation Episode: Series 1 and 2 both have an episode when the characters go away for a break, also resting the main plot for a week. They still run into the Vixen, though.
• Video Inside, Film Outside: Averted - unlike on Bad Boyes, OB video was used for the location sequences.
• Weather Manipulation: The basis of the Vixen's plan in series 3.