A Dom Com that aired on CBBC from 1997-1999. It followed the adventures of the Wild family, centering on protagonist Natalie, who was the "normal" middle child.
Tropes used included:
- All Girls Like Ponies: Natalie wanted her own horse, and helped out with a friend's horse in exchange for riding lessons.
- Animal Lover: Arthur was obsessed with wildlife - usually things like insects, reptiles and toads, but he loved all other animals too.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Arthur, known as "Wart." Natalie often filled this role for Serena.
- Attention Whore: Georgina, who always insisted on being the centre of attention. When Serena got engaged, Georgina even pushed for her own boyfriend to propose so she could announce her engagement during Serena's wedding and steal the spotlight.
- Bad Date: Natalie had a few of these throughout the show. Her first ever date was ruined by her getting sprayed with water, ruining her outfit and makeup.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted temporarily in one episode where Natalie, who wasn't wearing a crash helmet, fell off her boyfriend's bike and had bloody wounds on her face.
- Betty and Veronica: In season three Natalie was torn between kind, reliable Chris (Betty) and rebellious Dave (Veronica.)
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Natalie did this a lot.
- Bumbling Dad: Dr. Wild, although not totally stupid, was completely incompetent at cooking or house chores.
- Catchphrase: Arthur's was "I bet David Attenborough never had to put up with this."
- Character Tic: Natalie's ability to Instant Costume Change, and her habit of standing in her bedroom doorway and throwing her school bag onto the bed.
- Creepy Housekeeper: Mrs. Tinge, who was briefly hired in season three to take care of the Wild children.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Matt for Georgina. By her own admission, there was nothing really wrong with him, she just found him boring.
- Double In-Law Marriage: Although marriage wasn't involved, Natalie and Serena respectively dated brothers Chris and Simon in the first season.
- Driving Test: A subplot involved Georgina's misadventures whilst learning to drive, finally leading up to her taking her test.
- Dude Magnet: Natalie, Serena, and Georgina all had a constant stream of boys interested in them.
- Emo Teen: Georgina wore black clothes with heavy black makeup, believed herself to be an intellectual, and was always complaining about how much her life sucked.
- Every Episode Ending: In the first two seasons, each episode concluded with the Wild parents in bed discussing recent events. They did not take part in the third season, although some episodes used the same ending with Georgina's parents who had arrived to take care of Natalie and Arthur.
- Filthy Fun: Arthur loved to get dirty and was constantly playing in mud.
- Final Season Casting: The actors of the Wild parents quit before season three and a series of babysitters and relatives came to look after Natalie and Arthur. This was incorporated into a season three episode where Natalie's headmaster becomes concerned about her chaotic home life.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Serena falls in love with Orlando whilst he is staying with the Wild family on a foreign exchange. She instantly moves to the USA to be with him, and they get married just a couple of months later. Georgina pushes for a guy she's known a very short time to propose so she can steal the spotlight at Serena's wedding. In one episode, the family prepares for Aunt Yvette's wedding to a man she has only just met, although it ends up not going ahead.
- Girl Posse: In one episode Natalie gave a monologue about the importance of having one so that you're never alone if a more popular friend is busy.
- Granola Girl: Natalie's boyfriend Dave was a male example.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Aunt Yvette, who still seemed to get plenty of attention from men her own age.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes / Tacky Tuxedo: The cheap, lurid pink bridesmaids' dresses and frilly caps that Aunt Yvette expected Natalie and Georgina to wear for her wedding, along with a Little Lord Fauntleroy-esque suit for Arthur.
- Instant Costume Change: Natalie somehow had the ability to do this: Once per Episode, she would arrive home in her school uniform, throw her bags into her bedroom, go in herself, and reappear in casual clothes.Natalie: This is me at school... (costume change) and this is me the rest of the time!
- In the Blood: Arthur was very similar to his aunt and uncle (Georgina's parents), both eccentric archaeologists who loved wildlife.
- It's a Costume Party, I Swear!: A variant: Natalie's invitation to a party is chewed up by the neighbour's dog and she has to put it back together. She misreads "old clothes" as "gold clothes", and shows up in a glamorous outfit to what turns out to be a paintball party.
- It's All About Me: Georgina had this attitude. When Natalie accused her of not thinking about anyone other than herself, Georgina agreed and didn't see a problem with it.
- Just Friends: Arthur and Emily remained platonic despite the entire family assuming them to be a couple. In the final episode, they tried kissing but both decided they didn't like it.
- Large Ham: The constantly dramatic and over-the-top Aunt Yvette, who was ostensibly a professional actress.
- Lice Episode: One episode had the whole family catching lice, just before Granny's visit, and the nits accidentally being poured into a mug.
- Magic Realism: The show had many elements of this including Natalie's ability to instantly change her clothes; highly contrived "coincidences" or unexplained events; the characters (including the dog) being advised what to do by an unseen "horoscope"; and the Wilds' dog being able to talk to the audience.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Natalie tended to get less sympathy, and attention, from her parents than Arthur and Serena (later Georgina.)
- No Name Given: The Wild parents are never given names and are just credited as "Mum" and "Dad."
- Put on a Bus: Serena moves to the USA after the first season. After the second season, Mrs. Wild joins her and Dr. Wild goes on a long business trip to Belgium. The series ended with the whole family emigrating.
- In season 1, Mrs. Wild was put on a bus for a couple of episodes with the premise that she'd gone to look after the children of a friend who was in hospital.
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Spiritual Successor: Had one in the form of Welcome to Orty-Fou (1999-2000.) It was written by the same head writer and, like The Wild House, was a children's Dom Com with elements of Magic Realism (the father of the family was a struggling animator whose creations could come to life.) - Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Serena was replaced with her cousin Georgina, who was supposed to be more edgy and rebellious than Serena but filled the same role of the boy-crazy older sister figure.
- Talking with Signs: Mrs Wild would wear signs round her neck, saying (for example) "No one is to mention nits to Granny".
- Tom Boy: Arthur's best friend Emily who, like him, loved nothing more than getting dirty and hunting for insects.
- Unnecessary Makeover: In season three, Georgina begins dating the much older Gavin, who's wealthier than her previous boyfriends and whom she wants to propose so she can have a wedding like Serena. In order to keep him interested, she ditches her gothy look and starts wearing frilly, floral clothing that even her shabbily-dressed, middle-aged parents think makes her look like a grandmother.
- Wacky Parent, Serious Child: This trope tended to come up in any episode where Dr. Wild was left to look after the kids. Georgina was also somewhat more down to earth than her eccentric parents.
- Weight Woe: Mrs. Wild was usually on some kind of diet.
- Women Are Wiser: Mrs. Wild was almost always portrayed as the sanest, calmest, and wisest member of the family.
