Mike and Angelo

*This is about the show as a whole. For the characters Mike and Angelo, see Mike and Angelo*

## Mike and Angelo

The most famous titlecard, showing Mike and Angelo juggling.

## Main Information

### Main Cast

*(In order of most appearances)*Tim Whitnall
Shelley Thompson
Michael Benz
Katy Murphy
Matt Wright
Tyler Butterworth
Steven Geller
Gemma Gregory
Jade Magri

## Series

### First Episode

"Mike Meets Angelo"
 16 March 1989

### Last Episode

"The Return of Hank Sinatra"
 7 March 2000

## Production Information

### Writers

Lee Pressman
Grant Cathro
Alex Bartlette

### Producers

Charles Warren
Alan Horrox

### Production Companies

Thames Television (1989-1991)
Tetra Films (1993-2000)

***Mike and Angelo*** is a British sci-fi sitcom which aired from 1989 to 2000. Created by Lee Pressman and Grant Cathro, it was their second commisioned show after *T-Bag*.

The first episode premiered on 16th March 1989. The final aired 7th March 2000.

## Plot

*A more detailed verion of this description is available on the Series Guide.*

Thoughout its entire run, *Mike and Angelo* centred around the household of 7 Larkswood Lane in London suburb Cricklewood.

The first 4 series of the show focused on American boy Mike King emigrating to London with his mother Rita. In his new home, Mike finds an old wardrobe in his room, opening it to discover the mysterious Angelo - a humanoid with superhuman powers. He soon realises Angelo has Amnesia, and doesn't know where he is or where he came from and thus cannot leave. As a result of this, Rita and Mike decide to give Angelo a place to stay in their attic.

Together, the three characters realise they have the same problem - Americans Mike and Rita must learn how to live in London, while the non-human Angelo on Earth.

Mike King returns to America to live with his dad Tony at the start of Series 4. Angelo is saddened by this but soon gains a new friend in the form of Ellie, the daughter of one of Rita's journalist colleagues.

Series 5 saw the introduction of a second Mike - Mike Mason, the cousin of the first Mike. He arrives at Larkswood Lane after his workaholic mother Patti embarks on a European work tour, taking him along with her, and they stop for a visit while in London. He soon realises that he wants to stay there with Rita and Angelo instead, and so he is left there until the trip is over. He returns in Series 6 and continues staying there until Series 10.

Rita gains a new job at the start of Series 7, so returns back to America. Mike and Angelo soon realise they need a housekeeper to help run the house, and one is found in Glaswegian drama student Katy.

After Mike Mason leaves, Angelo finds a new Mike in the form of Mickey - the niece of posh neighbour Daphne Fawkes-Bentley. Soon after, in Series 12, Katy's nephew, who is also amazingly called Mike, moves into 7 Larkswood Lane and thus became the final Mike.

The show reaches its end when Angelo finds success as country singer Hank Sinatra, fronting an ice-cream advertisement campaign.

## Characters

***Main page: Characters***

Mike and Angelo always had a set dynamic of three main characters - Mike, Angelo and a matriarch:

### Angelo

*See Angelo for more details*

Angelo is arguably the main character in *Mike and Angelo* - a feat somewhat helped by the fact he is the only character who appears in every single episode. An initially enigmatic character, Angelo emerges from an abandoned wardrobe in the first episode, with no knowledge of who or what he is. He has skills and powers beyond any humans - his two most famous being his abilities in walking on the ceiling and creating unusual inventions.

Throughout *Mike and Angelo*, not one but two actors portrayed Angelo - Tyler Butterworth originally played the character in Series 1 and 2 but decided to leave before Series 3. He was replaced in the first episode of Series 3 by Tim Whitnall in a scene not too disimilar to a Doctor Who regeneration. Tim Whitnall would portray the character for the next 10 series of the show's run, up until it's end in 2000. Of the two, Tim Whitnall's Angelo is the more widely known/famous incarnation of the character.

As well as the actor changing, Angelo's backstory would also change during the shows run. By the end of the show, it was known he was an alien from the planet Ptarg, whereas in the original continuity his origin was nearly completely unknown.

### Mikes

*See Category:Mikes for more details*

The original Mike was Mike King, who was the person who found Angelo in the wardrobe. However, his actor Matt Wright left after Series 4 and by the end of the show there had been four, if not arguably five or even six characters who were a titular Mikes

Mike KingEllieMike MasonMickeyMike*Mikes*

* Mike King (Matt Wright) - Series 1 to Series 4
* Ellie (Jade Magri) - Series 4. There was also Lucy (Kate Ryan) in this series. Both of these characters statuses as Mikes is contentious among fans.
* Mike Mason (Michael Benz)- Series 5 to Series 10. The longest running Mike.
* Mickey Fawkes-Bentley (Gemma Gregory) - Series 11. The female Mike
* Mike (Steven Geller) - Series 12. Katy's nephew.

The Mikes were all child characters who lived either in the house or nearby. They would become, in some regards, Angelo's sidekick - although most of the time the show would follow their own personal problems which Angelo or another character would try to help them with.

### Rita and Katy (the "Matriarchs")

*See Rita and Katy for more details*

RitaKatyIn order to keep the household safe from the actions of Mike and Angelo, the house would be looked after by two characters: originally Rita - the mother of Mike King and later Katy - the housekeeper. Katy is particularly famous for screaming "Angelo!" whenever he does something horribly wrong.

## Production History

### Creation

*Mike and Angelo* was created by Lee Pressman and Grant Cathro in the late 1980s - the second show to be created by them for Thames Television (ITV London Weekday franchisee). They were commisioned by Thames' new head of children's television, Alan Horrox, to come up with a show that would only require a single set when filming. This resulted in the idea that the show would be set in a house, and to make it interesting, Pressman and Cathro decided to have a fantasy element to the show - which quickly became the character who would become Angelo.

The original working title for Mike and Angelo was "Monster in the House".

Thames Television commissioned the program with the intention to sell the show abroad to territories such as the USA, and as a result the program was made to be multicultural and to have mass international appeal. In hindsight, the show in the end was a mixed success in that regard - it did have international sucess but seemingly less than was hoped.

### Production

*If Mike and Angelo* is famous (or infamous) for something, it is its transformation throughout its 11 year run. The series was originally a comedy-drama - focused on Mike King in particular, with a running theme that all three of the main characters were aliens in different ways. The show would gradually shift from these roots soon on from it's inception, although the theme of what "being an alien" is would remain for much longer.

The first changes the show experienced occured for Series 2. The main change here was it was decided that Angelo was an alien - not an angel as was originally intended and his name implied . Next, and even bigger were the changes made after Series 2 had been broadcast. When both the series' were due to be reaired, the show was re-edited with a new theme and laugh track, suddenly turning it into a sitcom.

More changes came with the production of Series 3, where the first major casting change came in. Tyler Butterworth decided not to continue as Angelo (presumably as he had been cast in ITV sitcom *Fiddler's Three*) and so a replacement was needed. After extensive auditioning, one was found in Tim Whitnall, with the in-universe explaination being that Angelo had nearly died and thus regenerated like The Doctor from *Doctor Who* into a new form. The next series after that, the original Mike left in the show due to actor Matt Wright returning back to America himself. Quick replacements for the character were drafted in with Ellie (played by Jade Magri) and Lucy (played by Kate Ryan).

The show was originally not intended to go farther than about Series 4, but then Thames Television lost their ITV franchise and their replacement - Carlton Television, decided out of Pressman and Cathro's three shows (*T-Bag*, *Mike and Angelo* and *Spatz*) that they wanted to continue *Mike and Angelo.* This was likely because it was the cheapest of the three shows to produce - it had a single set (the house) and only three regular cast members so was financially the most straightforward. As a result, the show was renewed for a fifth series.

This next series was the first to be produced for Carlton by Tetra Films (an independent production company born from the Thames children's department). This series is frequently referred to as a "soft reboot" by fans due to the fact the show gained a new theme tune and titles; the house and characters themeselves were redesigned and there was a reintroductory nature to the series' episodes. It also noteably introduced Mike Mason - the second, blond-haired Mike who would remain Mike until Series 10, played by Michael Benz. This "Mike" is the most well-known of the four.

Series 6 was the final to contain many of the shows original characters, as only Mike Mason and Angelo would return in Series 7. That series would see Rita replaced with housekeeper Katy (played by Katy Murphy).

The next series (Series 8) saw the show become increasingly comedy focused, and was the moment the show's most famous dynamic really began to emerge: the chaotic, zany but destructive Angelo; the sarcastic Mike Mason; and the angry, fed-up but also complicit Katy. This dynamic would remain in place up till Series 10, when Michael Benz left the show.

During this time, many production staff (most noteably Series 1 - Series 8 director Neville Green) would move on to work on similar CITV alien show *Whizziwig* (also produced by Carlton). It's cast included Tyler Butterworth, the original Angelo.

### End

*Mike and Angelo* would end production in 2000, and Tetra Films, the production company behind the series would close down. The rights to the show and it's master tapes are currently believed to be in the hands of Fremantle Media, owners of - among other things - the Thames Television brand.

It's believed the programme ended after its twelve season as a result of a general feeling that the show had run it's course. This is understandable due to the sheer longevity the show had - it survived far beyond it's intended life and ended up being produced for just under 11 years.

As well as this, it should be noted there was a huge shift in Children's ITV's audience demographic into the new millennium. A new alien sitcom was made for the network during this time (possibly to fill the gap left by *Mike and Angelo*) called *My Parents Are Aliens,* which had recognisable similarities to *M&A*. This latter show ended up being just as, if not more successful than *Mike and Angelo* had been.

### Syndication

Countries known to have aired *Mike and Angelo* outside the United Kingdom during the 1980s, 90s and 2000s include Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Australia plus many more. Noteable in particular is Mexico, as they are known to have had a dubbed version called *Mike y Angelo* which featured at least the first two series. It aired in the early 1990s.

## Seasons

***Main page: Series***

*Mike and Angelo* was a long running show - it ran for almost 11 years with a grand total of 12 series. This wiki has an individual page for each series:

* Series 1
* Series 2
* Series 3
* Series 4
* Series 5
* Series 6
* Series 7
* Series 8
* Series 9
* Series 10
* Series 11
* Series 12

## Theme Music

If *Mike and Angelo* is famous for anything, it would be it's theme music - especially its third theme tune.

The show had a total of three theme tunes - explored in full on the Theme Music page.

## Availability

There has never been any official releases of *Mike and Angelo*.

After the programme finished it's original run in 2000, no episodes were repeated on CITV (and the UK overall) at all for several years afterwards. However, on the 4th January 2013 and the 5th January 2013, two episodes from the programme were repeated on the CITV channel, as part of a celebration of the CITV brand's 30th anniversary.

Since then, however, many unofficial uploads have appeared on YouTube, and as of 2022, just under 60% of episodes are available to watch online.

## Notes

1. ↑ Note: Frematle at least has distribution rights, as seen by their logo being at the end of the CITV Old Skool Weekend broadcasts in 2013.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jack's Throwback Attack Podcast - S5 E3 - A Chat With Lee Pressman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viRcLvoKaEg&t=64s
2. ↑ "The sci-fi channel encyclopedia of TV science fiction" by Roger Fulton, page 291 - https://archive.org/details/scifichannelency0000fult/page/290/mode/2up
3. ↑ Whizziwig: IMDB Full Cast and Crew - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663611/fullcredits/?ref\_=tt\_cl\_sm