Strange Hill High

Strange Hill High
Genre	Animated series, Mystery fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Sci fi
Created by	Yoshimi & Katoi
Written by	Josh Weinstein Jason Hazeley Joel Morris Mark Oswin James Griffiths Andrew Burrell Bede Blake Ben Teasdale Emma Kennedy Reid Harrison Kirstie Falkous Stuart Kenworthy
Directed by	Geoff Walker & Chris Tichbourne
Starring	Emma Kennedy Doc Brown Richard Ayoade Jonathan Keeble John Thomson Caroline Aherne Marc Silk Melissa Sinden
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	26
Production
Producer(s)	Phil Chalk and Andrew Burrell
Running time	22 mins.
Release
Original network	CBBC
Original release	8 May 2013 – 15 December 2014
External links
Website
Production website

Strange Hill High is a children's animated series for CBBC.

Premise

Josh Weinstein (The Simpsons, Futurama) writes the series,^[1] created using an animation technique combining puppets, Japanese vinyl toys and digital effects. Strange Hill High follows students Mitchell Tanner, Becky Butters and Templeton as they explore their extraordinary school, uncovering absurd and outrageous occurrences as they go.

Series 1 of the show was filmed at Factory Transmedia's studios in Altrincham, Greater Manchester during 2012/13,^[2] and is a co-production between CBBC, FremantleMedia and Factory.

Cast

Main Cast

• Emma Kennedy as Becky Butters
• Doc Brown as Mitchell Tanner, Bishop and others
• Richard Ayoade as Templeton
• Jonathan Keeble as Mr. Abercrombie
• John Thomson as Peter Dustpan and others
• Caroline Aherne as Stephanie, Croydonia and others
• Marc Silk as Matthews, Tyson, the Ghosts in Detention and others
• Melissa Sinden as Miss Grackle and others

Guest Stars

• Chris Johnson as Ken Kong
• Alison Moyet as Terpsichore (a.k.a. Joy)

Episodes

Series 1

#	Title	Written by	Original air date
1	"King Mitchell"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	8 May 2013
Templeton is made to clean the toilets after being caught running in the corridor, however, he believes it is part of a TV show. When Mitchell accidentally causes Tyson to smash his head on the toilet wall, they discover a hidden chamber belonging to an ancient knight, who says the person who owns the table is his king. Mitchell owns the table and is therefore made King Mitchell. But when Becky lets slip that Mitchell isn't a king, Sir Bogivere beings a fight, with Mitchell suggesting they do rock-paper-scissors.
2	"99 Cool Things to do with a Time Machine"	Ben Teasdale	15 May 2013
Mitchell, Becky and Templeton are running late for school. Mitchell has an idea to turn the school clock back so that they still have plenty of time before they need to be in school. However, they soon realize that Mitchell has not only turned the school clock back, but he has also turned time back as well. Mitchell sees this as a chance to do and go where he wants without getting into trouble. But the clock is overpowered and soon, time is all over the place.
3	"The Lost and Found Boy"	Josh Weinstein	22 May 2013
A man asks Mitchell if he has seen his son, but Mitchell says he hasn't. But before he can ask what the man's son is called, the man has mysteriously disappeared. Ms Grimshaw sees Mitchell is late but doesn't believe he was helping a man outside and is sent to Abercrombie's office. When things start to mysteriously disappear around the school, everyone except Becky and Templeton believe that it is Mitchell stealing everything. But when they find a boy living in the lost and found, they discover the truth about all the mysterious goings on.
4	"Snoozical"	Reid Harrison	29 May 2013
It is Becky's dream to be in the school musical and she decides to audition for it. However, her singing is really bad. In music class, the students and Ms Grackle all make Becky go to sleep and she wakes up in a dream. Everyone is singing and dancing and Becky thinks she is missing the musical auditions. However, on her way, she meets The Grackle monster and it begins chasing her. When Becky wakes up, The Grackle monster has followed her out of her dream and to the auditions. Becky sings badly before Mitchell sets off one of the fire showers that makes Becky sing beautifully.
5	"Big Mouth Strikes Again"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	5 June 2013
Becky wants everyone to start eating healthy food and she sets up a fruit and vegetable stall in the canteen. But no one is eating it until Mitchell spray paints it all to make it look like "fun fruit". But the Cook is angry as he is losing all his customers and before long, his true identity is revealed when the Tooth Fairy appears from his head. Big Mouth decides everyone is food and he starts chasing everyone around the school.
6	"The Most Boring Book In The World"	Ben Teasdale	12 June 2013
History projects are due and Mitchell hasn't done his so he says he'll copy something from the library. But everyone tells him the truth about the library but he doesn't believe it. Becky and Templeton read a very boring book that sucks them in and takes them back to the Victorian times. Mitchell must save them and Becky finds that the book is written by Mr Balding and she communicates with Mitchell through the past to the present book. Mr Balding writes a new version and it is no longer the most boring book in the world.
7	"Read All About It"	Stuart Kenworthy	19 June 2013
Croydonia is chief editor of the school newspaper and when Mitchell, Becky and Templeton decide to be part if it, she gives them all individual roles. But when Mitchell comes up with fake stories that are printed, they all start becoming true and the gang and Murdoch must save the school before it is destroyed.
8	"Health & Safety"	Emma Kennedy	26 June 2013
It is 'Safety Week' at school and Mitchell, Becky and Templeton are caught being "unsafe" and are taken to a room where they must watch a film about safety. But they are soon trapped in the movie and they must find a way to get out of it. Mitchell suggests by walking backwards, time will go backwards and they'll soon be out of the film. But there are many safety hazards along the way.
9	"The Ghost Writers of Strange Hill High"	Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris	3 July 2013
Mitchell hasn't done his English or his Abercrombie project and he tries to hide to prevent himself from getting into trouble. But the room he ends up in is haunted by ghosts who do work all day every day. He soon figures that he can use the ghosts to do his homework for him and that he can make loads of money from it.
10	"Teacher's Pets"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	10 July 2013
Mitchell, Becky and Templeton discover a machine that shrinks and makes things bigger. But when it is accidentally aimed at the animals in the science lab, all the animals are made huge and they roam the school. The trio must save everyone before the animals take over for good.
11	"Lucky Becky"	Kirstie Falkous	17 July 2013
Becky believes she has bad luck after a tree falls on her. To try and end her bad luck, she joins the cheerleading team but soon finds an old rabbit costume. But the costume get stuck to her and all that seems to happen in the school is bad luck. Meanwhile, a chess competition is on and Becky's 'good luck' makes Bishop win for Strange Hill.
12	"Becky vs Bocky"	Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris	24 July 2013
Election day is coming up for Student President and Becky & Stephanie battle it out for the role. Templeton makes a mascot for Becky but overnight, it comes to life and makes friends with Becky. Everyone instantly asks who it is so Becky lies saying that the creature is her cousin, Bocky. But after Becky shouts at her, Bocky joins forces with Stephanie so that Stephanie wins.
13	"End Of Terminator"	Josh Weinstein	31 July 2013
It is the end of term and when Nimrod crashes out, Abercrombie brings in CATE, a robot teacher. The school facilities are replaced by creepy CATE products and soon, Mitchell and Becky find out what she is doing. So they bring Nimrod back to life so that he can help destroy CATE and get her out of the school.

Series 2

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Ratings

Episode ratings from BARB.^[3]

#	Title	Written by	Original air date
1	"The Curse of the Were-Teacher"	Josh Weinstein	29 April 2014
Careers Day has arrived and the class get their results back. But Mitchell is horrified when he finds out he is going to be a teacher. He goes to see the deputy head teacher but he attacks Mitchell, causing terrible things to happen. Mitchell turns into a were-teacher named Mr Tanner and everyone dislikes him.
2	"Invasion of the Templetons"	Andrew Burrell	6 May 2014
It is the annual science fair and Templeton's project is to blast into space. But when that backfires, he causes a huge hole in the playground that turns out to be an abandoned space ship. The school is soon invaded by Templeton aliens and the trio are kidnapped and taken into the galaxy.
3	"The 101% Solution"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	13 May 2014
A maths test gets Mitchell worried. He decides to cheat by copying a test by someone named Ian and he gets 101%, the worst possible grade. The school is soon taken over by The G Man and Mitchell discovers he has broken maths. Mitchell and Becky discover Ian, frozen in the school kitchen and they ask for his help to save the school.
4	"Little School of Horrors"	Bede Blake	20 May 2014
Becky kicks a ball through a window and when she finds it in the greenhouse, she also finds a lonely plant. Becky decides to try and help it but whilst she is at it, Mitchell plants a chicken nugget which grows into a massive chicken. However, Becky's plant is a creeper and it tries to take over the school.
5	"Big Templeton is Watching You!"	Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris	27 May 2014
Templeton is recruited as the school security officer and he must watch CCTV in every part of the school all day. But when Mitchell breaks the machines, he causes a space station to come crashing down and the only way to stop it destroying the school is by using the jelly shield. But with Abercrombie locked in a cage along with everyone else, Mitchell is the only free man to save the school.
6	"Crushing Embarrassment"	Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris	3 June 2014
It is April Fools Day and Mitchell decides to go round pranking everyone. But his actions have dangerous consequences when a beast living under the school drags all the embarrassed children under. Mitchell and Templeton are everyone's last hope and Mitchell manages to save everyone but deflating The Embarrassment with his humour.
7	"Mitchell Who?"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	10 June 2014
Mitchell is one 'F' away from being excluded. So he decides to delete his school record to prevent it. But whilst doing so, he also erases himself from existence and Samia is the only one who can remember him. They work together to get Mitchell back into existence by re-documenting his record.
8	"Innercrombie"	Andrew Burrell	17 June 2014
It is Valentine's Day and Abercrombie is unhappy with all the love and affection. Mitchell, Becky and Templeton find a secret passage into Abercrombie's head and they end up being able to control him. But when Tyson and Bishop get in there, Abercrombie's actions are even weirder than before.
9	"Ken Kong"	Stuart Kenworthy	24 June 2014
It is the swimming test and the students discover an island on the other end of the pool. So whilst Abercrombie is sleeping, they sneak off to the island where they find a huge boy, Ken Kong. They bring him back to the school and Abercrombie tries to get rid of him when Ken comes back for revenge.
10	"Mitchell Junior"	Emma Kennedy	1 July 2014
Everyone is given a doll to get the idea of what parenthood is like. But Mitchell gets the worst possible one and it ends up being an evil doll. No matter how much Mitchell tries, he just can't get rid of the doll. Mitchell throws the doll into a furnace where it gets really angry and wants revenge.
11	"The MCDXX Men"	Mark Oswin and James Griffiths	8 July 2014
Abercrombie is fed up of gaming consoles and he confiscates them all. Mitchell manages to save his but the teachers soon come after him. Mitchell and his friends discover a lift that takes them to an underground chamber. The chamber is full of old, superhero costumes that they all wear, taking them back in time.
12	"The Snide Piper"	Ben Bailey-Smith	15 July 2014
Templeton has been chosen to be the exchange student and go to France, whilst he gets replaced by a Templeton look alike, French exchange student. Meanwhile, Ms Grackle quits when the students get to her last nerve. Joy, a new teacher, comes to replace her but she is just like CATE and manipulates everyone. Mitchell and Becky try to stop her from making everything even worse and they get Matthews and Mr Balding to join them to stop Joy.
13	"A Strange Hill Christmas"	Josh Weinstein	15 December 2014
Christmas is coming and Mitchell really wants to start the holidays early. But he accidentally snows everyone in over the holidays and they must live in the school. Mr Balding's secret identity is revealed as Santa Claus. The school is taken over by evil elves that can only be stopped by heat. The snow clears and everyone makes it home for Christmas Day.

Episode No.	Airdate	Viewers	CBBC Weekly Ranking
1	8 May 2013	Under 244,000	Outside Top 10
2	15 May 2013	298,000	8
3	22 May 2013	360,000	3
4	29 May 2013	317,000	6
5	5 June 2013	Under 205,000	Outside Top 10
6	12 June 2013	Under 248,000	Outside Top 10
7	19 June 2013	224,000	10
8	26 June 2013	283,000	4
9	3 July 2013	Under 198,000	Outside Top 10
10	10 July 2013	294,000	2
11	17 July 2013	Under 262,000	Outside Top 10
12	24 July 2013	Under 212,000	Outside Top 10
13	31 July 2013	278,000	6

Awards and nominations

Awards
Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
67th British Academy Film Awards[4]	Best Animated Series		Nominated
Kidscreen Awards[5]	Best Animated Series		Won
British Academy Children's Awards[6]	Animation		Nominated

References

1. "Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein launches British TV show". BBC. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
2. "SOUND POST PRODUCTION MANCHESTER NORTH WEST ENGLAND". 4rfv.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
3. http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing/weekly-top-10?
4. http://www.factorytm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162:strange-hill-high-nominated-for-kidscreen-award&catid=36:our-blog
5. http://www.factorytm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162:strange-hill-high-nominated-for-kidscreen-award&catid=36:our-blog
6. "Children's in 2014". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.

External links

• CBBC - Strange Hill High
• Strange Hill High at the Internet Movie Database