Genie in the House
Genie in the House is a British sitcom broadcast on Nickelodeon about a widowed father (Philip) with two teenage daughters (Emma and Sophie) who find a golden lamp while exploring the loft of their new home. A rub of the lamp releases Adil, a trainee genie from Balamkadaar who has been confined to life in the lamp for a thousand years. Genie in the House ran for four series, from May 2006 to December 2010, with a total of 78 episodes. The series was aired in over 100 countries and in March 2012, Genie in the House aired on the Starz Kids & Family pay-TV network in the United States.
| Genie in the House | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | You Wish (original pilot) |
| Created by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Jean de Aguiar and Kevin Eldon |
| Opening theme | There's a Genie in the House |
| Ending theme | There's a Genie in the House [instrumental] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 78, including specials (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Phil Ox |
| Production location(s) | Elstree Studios |
| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Moi j'aime la television S.A |
| Distributor | Moi j'aime la television S.A |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Picture format | 16:10 |
| Original release | 29 May 2006 – 4 December 2010 |
Production
The show is based on an original idea — the collective work of Phil Ox, Steven Bawol, Isabelle Dubernet and Eric Führer — and is a French/English co-production, produced in English by French company Moi j'aime la television. At one point, You Wish! was considered as a working title, and was used for the pilot show, but it was discovered that there had been an American sitcom, You Wish, with the same name, so Genie in the House was chosen instead.
The show's theme song was written especially for the show, with music by Jean de Aguiar and lyrics by Kevin Eldon. It is sung by Lorraine Pearson.
Series 1 was recorded at Elstree Film and Television Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and was first aired on 29 May 2006. It is currently being repeated on Nickelodeon in the UK. Series 2 started recording at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood on 29 June 2007, for broadcast in October 2007. The show has been sold, sometimes in dubbed form, to Turkey (Turkish), France (French), Belgium (Walloon/Flemish), Italy (Italian), Spain (Castilian), Portugal (Portuguese), Russia (Russian), Ukraine (Ukrainian), India (Hindi), The Netherlands (Dutch) and Germany (German). Filming for the third and final series took place at Twickenham Film Studios, London and began in June 2008 ending with a 3 part story 'The Legend of The Dragon', with a teleplay by one of the main series writers Bennett Arron who also had a cameo role as The Great Suprendo. It was filmed on location in Paris nearby countryside.
Soundtrack
- There's a Genie in the House by Lorraine Pearson (theme song only)
- Tropical Girl by Kevin McDermott and in double trouble with Ashley B
- The Pineapple Song by Ayshea
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 26 | 29 May 2006 | 7 May 2007 | |
| 2 | 26 | 5 November 2007 | 27 May 2008 | |
| 3 | 11 | 3 November 2008 | 5 January 2009 | |
| 4 | 15 | 10 August 2009 | 4 December 2010 | |
Characters
Adil the Genie
Adil (Jordan Metcalfe) was born in the fourth century in the suburbs of the city of Balamkadaar. He has the outward appearance of being 15 years old but has actually lived for 1500 years. His father was a genie (to be found today in a bottle of pop at the bottom of the Nile) and his mother was a teacher of the Dance of the Seven Veils. Like all children, Adil went to school, only his was a Genie School, the world-famous School for Genie Arts and Sciences. Adil was not a perfect student. One day he climbed into a lamp as a dare, strictly forbidden for first-year students, and got himself stuck. Unfortunately, the 40 thieves chose that very night to burgle the school and steal the lamp. Forgotten for 100 years or so in Ali Baba's cave, the lamp eventually passed from hand to hand, before ending up in the attic of the Norton family's new home. Adil is proud to be a genie and is always ready to serve his new master and mistresses. But he does have a problem. Unfortunately, he often skipped his classes and never finished the academic year. Because of this, he has not quite got the hang of magic, and rarely gets things right, and most wishes are granted more or less "approximately". Adil is always at the root of whatever is going on, and his costume (red pantaloons, red waistcoat and red turban) rarely changes.
Philip Norton
Philip (Adam Morris) is a talented and successful designer father. He constantly has to meet the deadlines set by his boss, Max, as well as bringing up two teenage girls. With an over-eager genie to the mix, Philip sometimes feels a bit put upon.
Adil is categorically forbidden to grant Emma and Sophie wishes for three reasons:
- It's a very bad habit to get what you want simply by clicking your fingers.
- If anyone finds out there is a genie in the house, life could become very difficult.
- Adil usually grants wishes incorrectly, whereafter there has to be dealt with troublesome consequences.
If the girls break this rule, he has no hesitation in using the full range of traditional punishments. He'll ground his daughters, withhold their pocket money or forbid them from staying at their aunt's house in the country, or all of the above.
Despite his dislike of magic, Philip seems to like Adil as a person. The genie's presence means that Philip is no longer the only man in the house, and gives him someone to watch sport with on the TV and play Tennis by also having fun at the same time. He has encouraged Adil to become a football fan, an F1 fan, a fan of the Olympic Games... in fact he has made him a fan of every single sport you can watch. But if Adil does break the rule and grant his daughters their wishes, he is severely punished, the most effective punishment is being locked up in the lamp for an entire weekend. Philip has forbidden his daughters to use Adil's services and extends that prohibit to himself.
Sophie Norton
Sophie (Katie Sheridan), the older of the sisters. Passionate about what makes the world tick, Sophie's favourite lessons are physics, chemistry, history and geography and she would love to go to university and to study as different languages and subjects as possible. She apparently doesn't like drama, however. Days off, weekends, and holidays are a handful of activities, sports, and educational visits of all kinds. She is not particularly interested in romance, often being oblivious to the attentions of boys until Emma points out her crush on her boyfriend Clive. Sophie thinks Adil is great but at times clueless. He never, ever stops asking questions and Sophie just loves to answer as many as she can. Although she doesn't like it, on several occasions she has defied her father by making wishes and has decided that if she's going to risk breaking her father's rules, she must take the utmost care.
Emma Norton
Emma (Vicky Longley), the younger of the two sisters by a year, Emma finds schoolwork intensely boring, unlike her sister. She manages to get by at school without too much difficulty, but without any brilliance either. She does appear to enjoy reading, but much prefers a good story to boring facts and figures in textbooks. Her days off, her weekends and holidays are organised around going to see a film with her friends, spending hours painting, shopping, designing, singing (although she is no good), watching TV, going to parties, dating, dancing or moving the furniture around in her room... She loves her friends and her favourite topic of conversation is boys. She at times gets on well with Adil especially since she loves to hear his wacky stories, whether they are true or not. Although she knows the risks of Adil's botching magic, they do not faze her; indeed, she seems to get some fun out of the ridiculous situations his magic gets them into. She loves designing clothes and dreams of becoming a top fashion designer.
Caroline Smart
Caroline (Victoria Gay) is Philip's helping hand around the house and with the girls. Although technically she lived next door, she managed to persuade Philip years ago to give her a key to the house so she could come and go as necessary. Caroline was never brought back for the next two series and her character is referred to as having recently moved to France and married.
Other Characters
- Abdab (Nicholas Khan) (Series 1-2)
- Aisha (Leyla Pellegrini)
- Alex Delaney (Shamus Iqbal)
- Ali Baba (Peter Peralta)
- Anabell Scott (Hannah Tointon) (Series 1)
- Bonnie Swift (Georgia Slowe)
- Clive (Darren John) (Series 2-4)
- Dancer (Pixie Lott) (Series 1 Episode 14)
- Djamola (Deborah Alobah)
- Elmer Norton (Glyn Angell) (Series 3)
- Frank McCartney (David McMullen)
- Harold (Jack Blumenau) (Series 1)
- Hunk (Glyn Angell)
- Jamilla (Susan Kyd)
- Lady Isabella (Elizabeth Conboy)
- Len (Alexander Wilson)
- Lindy Lou (Kristal Archer)
- Mamoun (Matthew Leitch)
- Max Baxter (Angus Kennedy)
- Melissa Fox (Ellen Lister) (Series 2)
- Miss Mayer (Katy Bartrop)
- Mr Hull (Richard Freeman)
- Mr Preston (Philip Fox)
- Mr. Osterman (Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis) Note: He is Austrian-born.
- The Mummy (Tom Underwood)
- Nanette (Olivia Caffrey)
- Nev (Harry Lloyd)
- Reject #1 (Danielle Mitchell)
- Reject #2 (Eleanor Wild)
- Reject #3 (Kayleigh Batchelor)
- Reject #4 (Lyneah Johnson)
- Owen (Theo Fraiser Steele) (Series 2-4)
- Peggy (Arabella Weir) (Series 2)
- Prince Otto (Nathan Guy)
- Prince Otto's Courtier (Eric Kolelas)
- Royal Hunk (Joshua Bowman)
- School Friend (Jermaine Lynch)
- Shona (Jessica Ashworth)
- Sophie's PA (Naomi Heffernan)
- Atom, Boyband Member and Dancer (Tom Andrew Hargreaves)
External links
- Genie in the House on IMDb
- Official Site (dead link - website now closed)